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.
Twelve pension and welfare benefit plans of the Federal Reserve System are governmental plans because the Federal Reserve is an agency or instrumentality of the federal government, and the plans only cover system employees, according to an Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) opinion letter.
The EBSA noted that, although the Federal Reserve differs from other governmental agencies in that its operations are not funded through the congressional appropriations process, and although the Reserve Banks are structured as self-supporting corporations, the Federal Reserve has many attributes of a governmental entity. For example, of the nine directors at each of the Federal Reserve's member banks, six are assigned to represent the public interest. Further, Federal Reserve Bank stock is issued pursuant to provisions of federal law, member banks must purchase a statutorily required number of shares, and stock dividends are set by law. Any Federal Reserve Bank profits, minus operational costs and dividend payments, are paid to the U.S. Treasury. The EBSA has also pointed out that both the PBGC and the IRS have previously determined that various Federal Reserve plans are governmental plans for purposes of ERISA.
For more information on this and related topics, consult the CCH Pension Plan Guide.
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