5500 Filings - missed/late

[MGOAdmin]

What happens in the event a company has not filed 5500 for the last few years and is charged penalties for not filing, but the company has gone bankrupt in that time? Who is liabile for the penalties if the company cannot pay?

[My 2 cents]

What happens in the event a company has not filed 5500 for the last few years and is charged penalties for not filing, but the company has gone bankrupt in that time? Who is liabile for the penalties if the company cannot pay?

Is this a defined benefit plan or a defined contribution plan? When the company went bankrupt, were no steps taken to terminate the plan? If a defined benefit plan, was it covered by the PBGC?

Was the company liquidated? Who is charging penalties and who do they think will pay them? Who was nominally responsible for submitting the filings? I don't think that fines for late/missed filings would be assessed against a third party administrator, just the sponsor, the plan administrator and/or one or more trustees, if applicable. Who will absorb the administrative costs of terminating the plan?

How could the bankruptcy proceedings not do something about the plan before allowing the employer to be liquidated?

What is the sound of one empty hand (with no money) paying fines?

[Lou S.]

To Add to what My 2 Cents says...

Since it is the Plan Administrators duty to file, they are liable for the penalties. In many cases the Plan Sponsor is the Plan Administrator. If the Plan Sponsor is bankrupt my understanding is that that IRS is simply another creditor for the penalties owed.

Is this an Orphan Plan? If so there is a whole DOL procedure for wrapping up an orphan plan where you simply file a final 5500.

edit - typo