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5500 Preparer's Manual for 2012 Plan Years
The premier resource in the field of Form 5500 preparation, 5500 Preparer's Manual will help you handle the required annual Form 5500 filings for both pension benefits and welfare benefit plans.
The IRS has provided due dates for filing Form 8955-SSA, which replaces Schedule SSA (Form 5500), for the 2009 plan year and for later plan years. The IRS also discusses the availability of Form 8955-SSA for the 2009 and 2010 plan years and provides filing relief for plan administrators who have submitted Schedule SSA for the 2009 plan year or are completing Schedule SSA for the 2009 and/or 2010 plan years.
After Form 5500 (Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan) was moved to a completely electronic filing system, IRS-only forms and schedules, such as Schedule SSA (Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants With Deferred Vested Benefits), were removed from Form 5500. Schedule SSA has not been part of Form 5500 since the 2008 plan year. The IRS had previously announced that Form 8955-SSA (Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants With Deferred Vested Benefits) was replacing Schedule SSA of Form 5500 for returns beginning with the 2009 plan year (see CCH Pension Plan Guide Newsletter, Report No. 1846, July 19, 2010). In addition, the IRS had provided additional information about filing Form 8955-SSA on paper or electronically (see CCH Pension Plan Guide Newsletter, Report No. 1853, September 7, 2010).
Form 8955-SSA for the 2009 plan year is expected to be available for filing shortly, according to the IRS. The 2010 Form 8955-SSA is being developed and is expected to be available for filing later this year. However, the IRS is permitting plan administrators to report information on the 2009 Form 8955-SSA that would otherwise be required to be reported on the 2010 Form 8955-SSA. The IRS explains that it has developed a voluntary electronic filing system for filing Form 8955-SSA and that the system is ready to accept filings when the form is available for filing.
Filing due dates
Generally, Form 8955-SSA, like Schedule SSA, is filed by the last day of the seventh month following the close of the plan year (plus extensions). The IRS is providing plan administrators with additional time to file Form 8955-SSA for the 2009 plan year. The due date for filing Form 8955-SSA for the 2009 and 2010 plan years is the later of: (1) the due date that generally applies for filing the Form 8955-SSA for the 2010 plan year, and (2) August 1, 2011. Thus, for example, for the 2009 plan year or a short 2010 plan year, the due date is August 1, 2011.
Form 5558
Form 5558 may be used to apply for an extension of time to file Form 8955-SSA. The rules are the same for filing for an extension of time to file Form 8955-SSA as those that applied to Schedule SSA. The IRS notes that it is revising Form 5558 to allow filers to apply for an extension of time for Form 8955-SSA and that the revised Form 5558 is expected to be available soon. The automatic extension of time to file until the due date of the employer's federal income tax return is also available for Form 8955-SSA.
Relief for submitted Schedule SSA
According to the IRS, some plan administrators have submitted Schedules SSA to the IRS for the 2009 plan year and some administrators may be completing Schedules SSA for the 2009 and/or the 2010 plan year. The IRS will treat a Schedule SSA that is filed with the IRS for the 2009 or 2010 plan year by April 20, 2011 as satisfying reporting requirements, and no Form 8955-SSA is required to be filed for that year if the Schedule SSA is filed by April 20, 2011.
Notice of change for plans or administrators
Under Code Sec. 6057(b), administrators of plans subject to the vesting requirements of ERISA §203 are required to notify the Secretary of the Treasury of certain changes relating to the plans or plan administrators, such as any change in the name of the plan or in the name or address of the plan administrator. The changes are reported on a plan's Form 5500. The IRS states that neither the removal of the Schedule SSA from the Form 5500 nor the creation of Form 8955-SSA affect this requirement. A plan administrator should continue to report these types of changes on Form 5500 for the plan year in which the changes occur, according to the IRS.
Source: IRS Announcement 2011-21, I.R.B. 2011-12, March 21, 2011.
For more information, visit http://www.wolterskluwerlb.com/rbcs.
For more information on this and related topics, consult the CCH Pension Plan Guide, CCH Employee Benefits Management, and Spencer's Benefits Reports.
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