5500 Signature

[John Feldt ERPA CPC QPA]

If the Plan Administrator and the Employer are not the same, must both e-sign the Form 5500/5500-SF?

What if the TPA gets their own credentials to file on their behalf with written authorization (because the employer can't find "internet" on their computer), must the pdf attached to the e-signed 5500 have both a PA and ER signature if they are different entities/people?

[Peter Gulia]

Both Internal Revenue Code section 6058 and the first of the two regulations that interpret and implement it allow the return to be filed by the employer or the IRC section 414(g) plan administrator.

ERISA commands that a plan's administrator file an annual report.

The Form 5500 instructions seem designed under an assumption that the administrator can act for both the administrator and the employer.

It is unclear what to do if the employer wants to make a return that is different than the administrator's report (for the same year or period).

[John Feldt ERPA CPC QPA]

Okay, but DOL EFAST2 Q&A31 says:

"Do you need a separate registration for the 'Employer/Plan Sponsor' and for the 'Plan Administrator' (two separate signature lines) if the employer/plan sponsor and the plan administrator are the same person?

No, you only need to register one time for both purposes. The credentials that you get can be used for multiple years and on multiple filings. If the same person serves as both the plan sponsor and plan administrator, that person only needs to sign as the plan administrator on the 'Plan Administrator' line."

Doesn't this imply that both signatures are needed if the two are different?

[Peter Gulia]

You’re right that the EFAST2 FAQs (not only in Q&A 31 but also others) are ambiguous. For example, the third paragraph of Q33a does not describe what submission would be required or permitted if the employer wants to make a submission that is not the same as the administrator’s submission.

But if one has the more typical situation in which the employer approves filing the same Form 5500 return and report that the administrator approves, the regulation and the Form 5500 instructions align in saying that the administrator’s signature is enough.

In that situation, one might not worry about anything in off-rule guidance that might leave one in doubt about whether a second signature is needed to show the employer’s assent. It would be at least unseemly, if not improper, for the Internal Revenue Service to assess a penalty if the employer followed the Treasury department’s regulation.