SAR

[SLuskin]

If the only reason you are doing a 5500 is because the plan is a Section 125 Plan (required by code section 6039D) then do you have to have a Summary Annual Report? We have never done one of these. Assume that if there is a requirement to file for the underlying welfare plan, that it is done on a different 5500 with a different plan number.

[pjkoehler]

A "Cafeteria Plan" per se, as defined in Code Section 125, is not an ERISA Title I employee welfare benefit plan at all. It is merely a fringe benefit plan, with respect to which Code Section 6039D requires the employer to file an annual return. Since the Cafeteria Plan (as distinguished from the component welfare benefit plan) is not covered by ERISA, it is not subject to the Act's reporting and disclosure requirements, including the requirement to furnish each participant with an SAR. The underlying component plan(s) would, of course, be separately covered by these requirements, so unless some exemption applies, an SAR would be required on the welfare benefit plan, but not on the Cafeteria Plan itself.