Updated October 6, 2008 ERISA 5500 Compliance Matrix
Name of Plan / Plan Document29 USC 1102(a) / Plan # / SPD
29 USC 1022 / Required 5500 filed (controller)
29 USC § 1024
26 USC § 6058
26 USC§ 6039D / SPD distributed
29 USC § 1024
(HR) / Eligibility
Who / Eligibility When / SAR Distributed
29 USC § 1023
HR function / Distribution of
Material Modification
29 USC § 1022(a) and 1024 (b)(1) /
Health Insurance / Omnibus document plus CUA health Plan
Omnibus plan adopted by Board of Trustees 3/7/05 effective 1/1/05 / 501 / All language necessary is in the Health Plan SPD / Filed 6-27-08 for year ending 12/31/07 / April 2007 (omnibus plan document sent out) / All FT and PT reg. / First day of employment or first day of following month w/in 30 days of employment / Sent 9/30/05
Note: SAR for 2007 posted Online Fall 08
Life and accident Insurance
Class One / PDF Document in file 05008 / 504 / In CIGNA document / Filed 6-27-08 / April 2007 / All active FT and PT regular employees
Full time faculty of the employer working a minimum of 20 hours per week. / First of month on or after 90 days of service
No waiting period for faculty. / Sent 9/30/05
Note: SAR for 2007 posted Online Fall 08
Life Insurance Class Two
(retirees) / PDF document in file 05008 / 504 / In CIGNA document / Filed 6-27-08 / April 2007 / All retired employees / At completion of time employee must be in active service / Note: SAR for 2007 posted Online Fall 08
Long Term Disability Class One / 503 / In CIGNA document / Filed 6-27-08 / April 2007 / Class one
All active part and full time faculty working a minimum of 30 hours per week / No waiting period / Note: SAR for 2007 posted Online Fall 08
Long Term Disability Class Two / PDF document in file 05008 / 503 / In CIGNA document / Filed 6-27-08 / April 2007 / All FT and PT non-faculty regular employees working a minimum of 30 hours per week / The first of the month on or after 12 months of service. / Note: SAR for 2007 posted Online Fall 08
Flexible Spending Plan and Premium Only Plan / Adopted by Bd. Of Trustees in 2005 March 7, 2005 effective Jan. 1, 2005
(3)documents, overall flex spending, then medical reimbursement, and dependent care reimbursement / 505 / Done: Includes grace period amendment / Filed 6-27-08 / April 2007 / All FT and PT regular employees / For medical, 1st of month following the date becomes eligible for health; for flex spending, the participation date / Note: SAR for 2007 posted Online Fall 08
Retirement
Defined contribution / CUA Plan Document TIA-CREF / 001 / Done / Filed 6-27-08 / April 2007 to employees: / All benefits eligible
employees / One year of service (at 1000 hours or more) and age 26 / Sent May 27 for plan year ending Aug. 03
Sent Oct. 6, 2004 for plan year ending Dec. 03; sent out nov. 2, 2005 for plan year Jan to Dec. 2004. HR had incorrect date and needs to send correction.
Note: SAR for 2007 posted Online Fall 08 / Due July 28, 2005*
TDA Retirement Plan / CUA Plan Document TIA-CREF / 002 / Done / Filed 6-27-08 / April 2007 / All except full time students / First of the month following employment / Sent May 27 for plan year ending Aug. 03 Sent Oct. 6, 2004 for plan year ending Dec. 03; ; sent out nov. 2, 2005 for plan year Jan to Dec. 2004. . HR had incorrect date and needs to send correction.
Note: SAR for 2007 posted Online Fall 08 / Due July 28, 2005*
Employee assistance program / Adopted by Board of Trustees 3/7/05 effective 1/1/05 / 506 / Done / Filed 6-27-08 / April 2007 / All regular full time and part employees and their spouses/ dependents / Upon date of hire / Sent 9/30/05
Note: SAR for 2007 posted Online Fall 08
* prior version drafted in 1998
Need for a written plan 29 USC § 1102. Establishment of plan
(a) Named fiduciaries.
(1) Every employee benefit plan shall be established and maintained pursuant to a written instrument. Such instrument shall provide for one or more named fiduciaries who jointly or severally shall have authority to control and manage the operation and administration of the plan.
(2) For purposes of this title, the term "named fiduciary" means a fiduciary who is named in the plan instrument, or who, pursuant to a procedure specified in the plan, is identified as a fiduciary (A) by a person who is an employer or employee organization with respect to the plan or (B) by such an employer and such an employee organization acting jointly.
(b) Requisite features of plan. Every employee benefit plan shall--
(1) provide a procedure for establishing and carrying out a funding policy and method consistent with the objectives of the plan and the requirements of this title,
(2) describe any procedure under the plan for the allocation of responsibilities for the operation and administration of the plan (including any procedure described in section 405(c)(1) [29 USCS § 1105(c)(1)]),
(3) provide a procedure for amending such plan, and for identifying the persons who have authority to amend the plan, and
(4) specify the basis on which payments are made to and from the plan.
Summary Plan Description 29 USC § 1022. Summary plan description(a) A summary plan description of any employee benefit plan shall be furnished to participants and beneficiaries as provided in section 104(b) [29 USCS § 1024(b)]. The summary plan description shall include the information described in subsection (b), shall be written in a manner calculated to be understood by the average plan participant, and shall be sufficiently accurate and comprehensive to reasonably apprise such participants and beneficiaries of their rights and obligations under the plan. A summary of any material modification in the terms of the plan and any change in the information required under subsection (b) shall be written in a manner calculated to be understood by the average plan participant and shall be furnished in accordance with section 104(b)(1) [29 USCS § 1024(b)(1)].
(b) The summary plan description shall contain the following information: The name and type of administration of the plan; in the case of a group health plan (as defined in section 733(a)(1) [29 USCS § 1191b(a)(1)]), whether a health insurance issuer (as defined in section 733(b)(2) [29 USCS § 1191b(b)(2)]) is responsible for the financing or administration (including payment of claims) of the plan and (if so) the name and address of such issuer; the name and address of the person designated as agent for the service of legal process, if such person is not the administrator; the name and address of the administrator; names, titles and addresses of any trustee or trustees (if they are persons different from the administrator); a description of the relevant provisions of any applicable collective bargaining agreement; the plan's requirements respecting eligibility for participation and benefits; a description of the provisions providing for nonforfeitable pensions; circumstances which may result in disqualification, ineligibility, or denial or loss of benefits; the source of financing of the plan and the identity of any organization through which benefits are provided; the date of the end of the plan year and whether the records of the plan are kept on a calendar, policy, or fiscal year basis; the procedures to be followed in presenting claims for benefits under the plan including the office at the Department of Labor through which participants and beneficiaries may seek assistance or information regarding their rights under this Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 with respect to health benefits that are offered through a group health plan (as defined in section 733(a)(1) [29 USCS § 1191b(a)(1)]) and the remedies available under the plan for the redress of claims which are denied in whole or in part (including procedures required under section 503 of this Act [29 USCS § 1133]).
29 CFR 2520.104b-2
§ 2520.104b-2 Summary plan description.
(a) Obligation to furnish. Under the authority of sections 104(b)(1) and 104(c) of the Act, the plan administrator of an employee benefit plan subject to the provisions of part 1 of title I shall furnish a copy of the summary plan description and a statement of ERISA rights as provided in § 2520.102-3(t), to each participant covered under the plan (as defined in § 2510.3-3(d)), and each beneficiary receiving benefits under a pension plan on or before the later of:
(1) The date which is 90 days after the employee becomes a participant, or (in the case of a beneficiary receiving benefits under a pension plan) within 90 days after he or she first receives benefits, except as provided in § 2520.104b-4(a), or,
(2) Within 120 days after the plan becomes subject to part 1 of title I.
5500 filing requirements:
ERISA: 29 USC § 1024. Filing and furnishing of information
(a) Filing of annual report with Secretary.
(1) The administrator of any employee benefit plan subject to this part shall file with the Secretary the annual report for a plan year within 210 days after the close of such year (or within such time as may be required by regulations promulgated by the Secretary in order to reduce duplicative filing). The Secretary shall make copies of such annual reports available for inspection in the public document room of the Department of Labor.
Note that a welfare plan with fewer than 100 participants at the beginning of the plan year is not required to file an annual report, if the plan if fully insured or entirely unfunded, (e.g benefits paid from general assets) or a combination of the two. SeeReporting and Disclosure by W. Fulton Broemer, Broemer and Associates, LLC and 29 CFR 2520.104-20.
IRC: 26 USC § 6058. Information required in connection with certain plans of deferred compensation.
(a) In general. Every employer who maintains a pension, annuity, stock bonus, profit-sharing, or other funded plan of deferred compensation described in part I of subchapter D of chapter 1, or the plan administrator (within the meaning of section 414(g)) of the plan, shall file an annual return stating such information as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe with respect to the qualification, financial condition, and operations of the plan; except that, in the discretion of the Secretary, the employer may be relieved from stating in its return any information which is reported in other returns.
26 USC§ 6039D. Returns and records with respect to certain fringe benefit plans.
(a) In general. Every employer maintaining a specified fringe benefit plan during any year beginning after December 31, 1984, for any portion of which the applicable exclusion applies, shall file a return (at such time and in such manner as the Secretary shall by regulations prescribe) with respect to such plan showing for such year--
(1) the number of employees of the employer,
(2) the number of employees of the employer eligible to participate under the plan,
(3) the number of employees participating under the plan,
(4) the total cost of the plan during the year,
(5) the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of the employer and the type of business in which the employer is engaged, and
(6) the number of highly compensated employees among the employees described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).
For purposes of this section the term ''specified fringe benefit plan'' means any plan under section 79, 105, 106, 120, 125, 127, 129, or 137.
Peg’s note: There is no tax code reporting requirement for 117 tuition plans, tuition exchange plans, or metrocheck plans. In addition, the tax code 127 reporting requirement was suspended pursuant to IRS Notice 2002-24. Thus, the plans listed in the chart below have no 5500 reporting requirements at the present time.
SPDs distributed:
The SPD must be distributed to all participants and beneficiaries receiving benefits under pension plan, within 90 days after the individual becomes a participant or in the case of a beneficiary, within 90 days after first receiving benefits. (See also every 5th year on updates to incorporate plan amendments, and 10 if no amendments, which is unlikely.) See 29 CFR 2520.
Summary Annual Reports distributed
* 29 USC §§ 1021 (a)(2) and 1024(b)(3). 29 USC 1024(b)(3) reads: Within 210 days after the close of the fiscal year of the plan, the administrator shall furnish to each participant, and to each beneficiary receiving benefits under the plan, a copy of the statements and schedules, for such fiscal year, described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 1023(b)(3) of this title and such other material (including the percentage determined under section 1023(d)(11) of this title) as is necessary to fairly summarize the latest annual report.
See 29 CFR § 2520.104b-10(d). Labor regulations relax the 210 day time frame to nine months at close of plan year. No summary annual report is necessary for a plan with less than 100 participants and is fully insured or entirely unfunded or a combination. The summary annual report can be distributed using electronic media if certain conditions are met.
Material Modifications: 29 USC §1022(a) A summary of any material modification in the terms of the plan and any change in the information required under subsection (b) of this section shall be written in a manner calculated to be understood by the average plan participant and shall be furnished in accordance with section 1024(b)(1) of this title.
Whenever a material modification is made in the terms of the plan, or any change is made in the information to be disclosed in the SPD, a summary of the modification must be distributed. 29 USC § 1024(b)(1). This must go to all participants and all beneficiaries receiving benefits. A new participant must be provided with an SPD and all summaries of material modifications since the SPD was published. For beneficiaries, provide the materials within 90 days after person first receives benefits. For group health plans, if there is a material reduction in covered services and benefits, the summary description distribution period is shortened to 60 days.