BG5150 Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 Filings for 2016, 17 & 18 did not have the Sponsor's phone number entered. Client insists she wants it that way. 5500 software validates all the way without it. Is the phone # somehow optional? QKA, QPA, CPC, ERPATwo wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Gulia Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 If EFAST2-approved software validates the report, might a plan's administrator use that fact to defend, if later questioned, at least a presumption that the administrator could have reasonably believed that the report did not fail to meet a requirement because the report omitted the sponsor's telephone number? Just curious, does the report you describe also omit the administrator's telephone number? Peter Gulia PC Fiduciary Guidance Counsel Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 215-732-1552 Peter@FiduciaryGuidanceCounsel.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG5150 Posted October 13, 2020 Author Share Posted October 13, 2020 1 hour ago, Peter Gulia said: Just curious, does the report you describe also omit the administrator's telephone number? It's not a report. We fill in everything on the form and hit the 'Validate' button. The program then goes through its pre-determined checks and lets you know what's wrong, if anything. It doesn't tell you what's right, only errors (stuff that will make the filing fail) or warnings (stuff that will allow the filing to go through, but something you might want to just make sure of. One example is with our software, if a Schedule G is not attached ort indicated, and it's a large plan filer, we get a warning that we may want to include it. Or, if it is a former EZ filer that now has to file an SF, we have to say "first filing' that initial year and the program says, hold up buddy, are you sure you want to do this?) QKA, QPA, CPC, ERPATwo wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Presson Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 Very interesting. I've never processed a 5500 without the phone number or had anyone request it not be included. I looked at the instructions and it doesn't even suggest that it's optional. William C. Presson, ERPA, QPA, QKA bill.presson@gmail.com C 205.994.4070 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Gulia Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 I apologize for confusing you with my use of the word report. Because the annual report ERISA § 103 requires is filed using Form 5500, I sometimes use the word “report”, usually modified by the phrasal adjective “Form 5500” for what most people call a Form 5500. In this forum, I should have used the customary lingo. Still curious: Does the 5500 you describe also omit the administrator’s (rather than the sponsor’s) telephone number? And if so, does the validation treat that as not causing a submission to fail? Peter Gulia PC Fiduciary Guidance Counsel Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 215-732-1552 Peter@FiduciaryGuidanceCounsel.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou S. Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 If they do 5500s like we do for small plans then the Plan Administrator field simply has the box checked "Same as Sponsor" I can't ever recall trying to file a 5500 without a telephone number so don't know if would get rejected or not. And Peter we also often refer to the 5500 as the "Annual Report" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG5150 Posted October 14, 2020 Author Share Posted October 14, 2020 14 hours ago, Lou S. said: If they do 5500s like we do for small plans then the Plan Administrator field simply has the box checked "Same as Sponsor" I can't ever recall trying to file a 5500 without a telephone number so don't know if would get rejected or not. And Peter we also often refer to the 5500 as the "Annual Report" It obviously doesn't get rejected, because I see 3 years of filings without the Sponsor's telephone number. I just thought it was odd. I would think it would have to be on the SAAR though, and the SAR is developed using the info on the 5500... QKA, QPA, CPC, ERPATwo wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG5150 Posted October 14, 2020 Author Share Posted October 14, 2020 Oddly enough, if the phone # is there, the SAR reads "To obtain a copy...write of call the office of EMPLOYER at ADDRESS, or by telephone at (123) 456-7890. Without the phone number, it just stops at ADDRESS. I'm surprised the logic is there to omit the "or by telephone" wording. QKA, QPA, CPC, ERPATwo wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Gulia Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 BG5150, thank you for helping us learn. Sometimes, it’s a client that insists on not falling in with an assumed norm that helps us think through a rule. In the 1990s, my work helped an employer/sponsor/administrator design a disclosure regime in which Form 5500 reports, summary plan descriptions, summary annual reports, and other disclosures would show only an address that did not reveal any location of the employer, any of its executives, or anyone known to be associated with the employer. We did this without depriving any participant, beneficiary, or alternate payee of ERISA information rights, and providing the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury a useful means to communicate with the plan’s administrator. Peter Gulia PC Fiduciary Guidance Counsel Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 215-732-1552 Peter@FiduciaryGuidanceCounsel.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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