Sign a Form Filing Signer Filing signers are: Plan administrators, employers/plan sponsors, or Direct Filing Entities who electronically sign the Form 5500/5500-SF/5500-EZ. Plan service providers that have written authorization to file on behalf of the plan administrator under the EFAST2 e-signature option.
While ERISA plans (and their plan fiduciaries) employ a variety of legal vehicles to invest the plan's assets, employee benefits practitioners, and even those who may not work with plan investments on a day-to-day basis, are well served by a basic understanding of the most common investment vehicles for ERISA plan ...
ERISA's protections apply to most employees' retirement plans, including 401(k) and pension plans. These include both defined-benefit and defined-contribution plans. Plans not covered by ERISA include government- and church-sponsored plans, IRAs and Social Security.
All pension benefit plans and welfare benefit plans covered by ERISA must file a Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF for a plan year unless they are eligible for a filing exemption. (See Code sections 6058 and 6059 and ERISA sections 104 and 4065).
There are 3 types of Form 5500: Form 5500-EZ—for one-participant plans only; Form 5500-SF for plans with fewer than 100 participants; and Form 5500—for plans with 100 or more participants. Forms 5500 and 5500-SF must be filed electronically using the DOL ERISA Filing Acceptance System (EFAST2)Opens in a new window.
You do not have to file Form 5500-EZ for the 2023 plan year for a one-participant plan if the total of the plan's assets and the assets of all other one-participant plans maintained by the employer at the end of the 2023 plan year does not exceed $250,000, unless 2023 is the final plan year of the plan.
All pension benefit plans and welfare benefit plans covered by ERISA must file a Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF for a plan year unless they are eligible for a filing exemption. (See Code sections 6058 and 6059 and ERISA sections 104 and 4065).
While ERISA does not require an investment policy statement, the Department of Labor has generally promoted it as being consistent with the fiduciary obligations set forth in ERISA.
The plan number is a three-digit number that is assigned to the plan by the plan administrator or plan sponsor. This three-digit plan number, in conjunction with the employer's nine-digit employer identification number (or EIN), creates a unique 12-digit number that is used by the DOL to identify the plan.
The easiest way to find out whether you are enrolled in a self-funded ERISA plan or whether you are enrolled directly in the state-regulated HMO or insurance company is to ask your employer.