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Hi to All, My most thought provoking client called a few days ago asking whether we keep records back into the 1990s and of course, we don't. He had a phone call from a former employee who received one of those infamous letters from the Social Security Administration saying that he "might" be due a benefit from my client's retirement plan. My client did happen to have proof of some sort in his office showing that this man was indeed paid out in 1998 and no further benefits are due. However, my client wants to know what would have happened if he didn't have or couldn't find this information. We have his plan's activity in our computer software back to 2005, and we have paper copies of everything for the last 7 years, but nothing as far back as the 90s. Whenever this has come up before in the various places I have worked, the position has been taken that if the plan does not have a balance for a certain participant today, then he must have been paid out in the past. So far no participants that I dealt with have ever insisted that I "prove" that he or she was paid out. How are other firms handling these inquiries? Have any of you had a participant who wouldn't take "no" for an answer and insisted on proof that he or she had been paid out in the past? Thanks as always!

I have several plans that have an extended due date to December 31, 2020 as a result of Hurricane Laura. However, the IRS Fire Website is down for maintenance until after the first of the year. Should I go ahead and file once the site is up knowing they are late and write a cause letter when penalties are assessed?

Good morning to all, Last year I did a massive review of all of our clients and got the 8955-SSA reporting ship shape, going back as far as we had records and being sure everyone was reported correctly. (These are all DC plans, mostly 401(k)s). On page 2, Part III, Item (g), I reported the vested account balances of those who had not yet been paid out. I am now reviewing a 2018 report for a colleague who has done an 8955-SSA and has reported the participant's total account balance instead of the vested account balance. The instructions for 2017 and 2018 are not specific, just saying ""For defined contribution plans, enter the value (in whole dollars) of the participant's account." It really doesn't address the fact that their total account balance and their vested account balance are (often) not the same thing. What are the rest of you doing? Thanks for your advice and tips as always.

I have an ERISA 403(b) plan client who has asked for help filing Form 8955-SSA, and they are subject to the electronic filing requirement for this return (must submit via the FIRE system). I know how to prepare this form but it is not one of my normal services through my consulting business so I do not have the software to create a properly formatted file that I could then submit via FIRE. I can't seem to find any software to create the file that isn't part of a large (costly) subscription or package. Is it possible to create a file without such software? I found the parameters provided on the IRS website, and it seems difficult.

Good day, I hope this is not a ridiculous question. Are deceased participants included in the 8955-SSA filing? The instructions are not clear to me. For example, if a participant dies while active, there is a benefit owed to the estate/beneficiary, but at this point is not owed to them, the SSN on the form. The same is true of those who termed in the past and were reported on an SSA, but died in the plan year. Their estate/beneficiary is paid out at this point, so should they be a D on the form with their SSN?

From the IRS Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE) site:Note: FIRE Production system will be down from 6 p.m.(EST) Dec. 11, 2015, through Jan. 18, 2016 for yearly updates. Question: Will the IRS accept paper 8955-SSA filings while the FIRE site is down during this time?

Has anyone else gotten a slew of IRS late notices this past week? I have had numerous clients receive late notices already. They all seem to be in error as 5558s were timely filed, and the 5500s were as well. Some of the notices are dated before the 15th, during the middle of the government shut down. I know much of the notice process is automated, I guess I didn't realize that they would be going out even during the shut down. Regardless, they don't appear to be correct, and are a pain. Thoughts?

We started receiving IRS notice CP283C it seems because we included Part III entry code "D" in our counts on line 6a & 6b. We are now being assessed $64 for each "D" that was included in our 6a $ 6b counts. Can we amend the 8955-SSA removing the "d" listings from our 6a & 6b counts and asking for an abatement of the penalty? Is there any other way of handling? Thank you for any help.

Does anybody know if the IRS FIRE system for submitting the 8955-SSA information is down due to the government shut down? If "yes", will there be an automatic extension on filing the IRS Form 8955-SSA that should have been filed on October 15th? Thanks!