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I think that is part of the rub. Since each one has to be signed under penalty of perjury, I am under the impression the DOL will not accept filings unless each one has been signed individually. I am aware of third party software that allows the prepare to submit the forms in bulk but only after the plan administrator has signed each one in ink which is not practical.

We have a client that is the Plan Administrator to a very large number of plans. Is anyone aware of any way the Plan Administrator can bulk sign all the filings or does the Plan Administrator have to sign each Form 5500 individually? In short, is there a way to sign all the Form 5500s at one time? Thanks.

I believe there is an exception for an inadvertent MEWA for a short period of time under Federal law but the state law may not have this short term exception.

I have not heard of any hardship exception. Seems to me to be too subjective. Where do you draw the line if such an exception was allowed.

We represent a church that is exempt from ERISA that filed a Form 5500SF for a funded health plan. They should not have filed and now we are trying to figure out how to notify the DOL. If we simply stop filing, the DOL will probably contact us thinking that we should continue filing. We were thinking about filing an amended return and listing Code 4R on Line 8b but the funding never really changed. Another option would be to file an amended return and mark it final but then you have to say there were no participants and no assets which really isn't the case either. Bottom line is how do we get off this roller coaster?

Yes. Simply last Health - 4A on the second page of the Form 5500 and list that benefits are paid out of the employer's general assets.

The Form M-1 asks whether the entity is a plan MEWA or a non-plan MEWA. However, the 2014 Form 5500 does not make any distinction between the two The instructions to the 2014 Form 5500 simply says that the MEWA file the forms and attach a list of the employers, their EINs and an estimate of each employer's percentage of contributions. So the $ 64 question is, in the case of a non-plan MEWA, does each employer have to file their own Form 5500. An argument could be made (a bad result for the employers) is that the non-plan MEWA is a DFE and each employer has to file their own Form 5500. Assuming the non-plan MEWA is self funded with a trust, there would be no exemption from the filing requirements for each employer regardless of size since the plan would be "funded." As a practical matter, each employer would not be able to complete the financial data on the Form 5500 and those with over 100 participants would not be able to obtain an audit reporting listing their own claims, etc. In short, we do not see how the individual employers would be able to comply with the reporting requirements. Our review seems to strongly suggest the Form 5500s are being filed at the MEWA level and individual employers are not filing their own Form 5500s. Any insight would be appreciated!!!!!

I am not positive, but I am under the impression that the proceeds from a self funded life insurance plan are fully taxable whereas, benefits from an insured policy are tax free to the beneficiary. I would check that out if possible. I think it is under Code Section 101 or 105.

Well, to be honest, it is one of the largest insurance carriers in the Country.

A client's welfare benefit plan is being audited by the DOL. The auditor has provided us a list of items she wants to review. In a couple of places it says she wants a list or log of items distributed. For example, she wants a sample Certificate of Creditable Coverage and a copy of the Women's Health Cancer Notice and a list or log of all Certificates and Notices sent out since January 1, 2008. The carrier sent them out but did not keep a list or log. The carrier says there is no statute or regulation that requires them to keep a list or log. All I know is my client is the one being audited and that we will have nothing to show the auditor. Has anyone else run into this and how did it sit with the DOL?

First, if they are 2% shareholders in an "S" corp, the corporation can not make any HSA contributions for them (assuming they are 2% shareholders). Second, the comparability rules say you have to make the same contributions for everyone in the same category. However, if the HSA contributions are made pre-tax, then you only have to worry the discrimination rules under Code Section 125 which, depending on the size of the employer, could give you some flexibility in making higher contributions for the key employees.

That's it. Just mark that benefits are being paid out of the employer's general assets.

You guys are missing the point. There really can be a couple of situations. Under one scenerio, the former employee is hacked off with the employer and is being uncooperative on purpose. So the former employee does not care that the current coverage might cost him or her $ 100 or $ 200 per month since it could be costing the employer $ 1000s per month. That is, a new carrier maybe able to save the group $ 1000s per month. Another situation is that an individual could be in the election period. As you know, the employer (as plan administrator) has 44 days to get the notice out, the person has 60 days to elect and 45 days to pay. So the person may have no intention of electing COBRA so they simply disregard the employer's request to complete the application and yet the employer can not assume the person is not going to elect the coverage. The "bottom line" is that appealing to the person's better being to help the employer is not working for whatever reason. I like the idea about the old application but one carrier is not going to accept an old application that is outdated especially if it is from another carrier. So, again, it looks like the employer could be stuck with the current carrier because the employer can not submit applications for everyone that may be eligible for the new coverage.

A lot of lookers but few responses. First, the person in question is a former employee. Nevertheless, ERISA precludes an employer from taking action against an employee for ascertaining a claim or for enrolling in a health plan.

Do you have a broker who shops around for your insurance? It seems to me that you shouldn't have to complete an application for each employee in order to get a quote. Yes. There is a broker involved. For small groups, the carriers still do underwriting and, therefore, will not release a quote without the applications.