orphaned plan sort of?

[Jim Chad]

I have not been able to figure out what happened to the old company.  But it seems to have gone out of business and the assets acquired by another bigger company.  Small company's plan was merged into big company's plan.

Is big company responsible for final 5500. etc of small company's plan?

 

[MoJo]

If it was "merged" into another plan - it's not orphaned, and typically, the buyer would be responsible for the "final" 5500 of the non-surviving plan (after all, it's due AFTER the acquisition/merger).

The answer is in the facts, however.  Was the plan part of the deal?  Did the plan actually merger into the acquirer's plan (or were there just rollovers into it)?

[Peter Gulia]

Also, it's possible that retirement plans merge without a merger of a business organization that sponsored or administered a plan.  In those circumstances, a buyer of business assets might not have made an obligation to file an annual report on the other plan.

 

[ERISAAPPLE]

Look at the terms of the old plan on the date of the merger to see who the administrator was at the time of the merger.