Annual disclosure statement required for 403(b)participants?

[pbarrett]

We have a frozen 403(B) plan. The investments are self directed by the participants in mutual funds via a group annuity insurance product. Presently we gather all the quarterly statements and produce an annual statement for the participant, an SAR, and a 5500. Because these particpants receive quarterly statements from the insurance co and the plan is now frozen, I am wondering if there is any need for us to prepare an annual participant statement. It is very time consuming and from what I have been reading, it appears to me it is not even required. What are the required participant disclosure requirements? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Carol V. Calhoun]

We've had some discussions of this issue on this board before. The basic problem is that a 401(a) plan is required to continue filing Forms 5500 so long as it has "trust assets," but not after it has distributed all of its assets to participants in the form of annuity contracts. In the 403(B) area, there are no comparable concepts, so it is harder to tell when Form 5500 filing can cease. And there simply is no black letter law on the issue. Of course, if you are dealing with a governmental or church plan, there is no Form 5500 requirement in the first place. See Announcement 82-146.