Intranet posting of 5500 Information

To satisfy the requirement to post 5500 information to the plan sponsor intranet, does that require the actual Form 5500 AND the SAR to be posted, just the 5500, or just the SAR?

Thanks very much.

I think only the SAR needs to be posted.  After all, the SAR does state that the participant can get a copy of the full annual report or any part thereof on request.  The "full annual report", I think, is the full Form 5500 itself.

The 5500 instructions, at least for DB plans, seem to indicate that the full form including Schedule SB or MB and attachments must be posted. 

I was assuming that meant the full 5500 for DC plans would need to be posted as well?

what is funny about the whole thing is that the 5500 is available for public viewing by anyone at the DOL website. you would think someday the rules would catch up with this. I can't imagine there is anyone out there who so desperately wants to see the full 5500 AND doesn't have access to a computer in some way, shape or form. but then apparently I have very little imagination, so my thoughts don't count for much.

If a plan sponsor or plan administrator for its intranet website records data on which document was downloaded or viewed and which user's credentials were used to do so, consider whether a defendant might use that data to support an argument for the shorter statute of limitations under ERISA section 413(2) [ 29 U.S.C.1112(2)].

And even if an intranet posting would gain no such defense, a plan's administrator might consider that posting more information than the Pension Protection Act of 2006 requires might be consistent with a fiduciary's duty of communication.

Tom Poje, I guess you had considerably more imagination than did the 109th U.S. Congress, and have much more imagination than does the 115th Congress.

Gilmore, the Pension Protection Act of 2006's section 504 refers to "dentification and basic plan information and actuarial information included in the annual report"; an individual-account or defined-contribution plan's annual report might not include any actuarial information.

I apologize for the unintended italicization, which BenefitsLink software added, perhaps because I opened a quotation with brackets around the lower-cased letter i.

Thank you for the responses. 

This is from the 5500-SF instructions:

"Annual returns/reports filed under Title I of ERISA
must be made available by plan administrators to plan
participants and beneficiaries and by the DOL to the
public pursuant to ERISA sections 104 and 106. Pursuant
to Section 504 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006
(PPA), this availability for defined benefit pension plans
must include the posting of identification and basic plan
information and actuarial information (Form 5500-SF,
Schedule SB or MB, and all of the Schedule SB or MB
attachments) on any plan sponsor intranet website (or
website maintained by the plan administrator on behalf of
the plan sponsor) that is used for the purpose of
communicating with employees and not the public.
Section 504 also requires DOL to display such information
on DOL’s website within 90 days after the filing of the
plan’s annual return/report."

Is the requirement to post to the intranet satisfied as CHC believes, with a summary document, or must the full 5500 be posted?

 Thanks.

While I don't here give legal advice, I would post at least the Form 5500, its Schedule SB or MB, and the attachments to that Schedule.  I would not rely on a summary annual report's explanation about how to get further information.

And once a plan's administrator is posting to a website any portion of its annual report, why not post the whole annual report?

Thank you Peter.  Understood this not legal advice. 

We have always suggested to our clients to post both the 5500 and the SAR and have never had any push back.

We have a new client (takeover), for which we just provided the 2017 SAR with our usual instructions.  The client responded saying they have never in the past been instructed to post anything to their intranet, so I wanted just a bit of confirmation that we were not out of line with our instructions.

Thanks for the follow up response.

I have a side question.  Assume there are 2 different firms helping the client - the actuary responsible for the SB only and another firm responsible for the rest of the 5500.  Which firm do you think has the ultimate responsibility to inform the client of their company intranet posting requirement?  Said another way, if your client got in trouble by the DOL for not posting the information, which firm could be culpable?

I guess it would depend on who communicates with the client.  We use an outside actuary for our DB clients who almost never communicates with the client.  Everything goes through us, so I would think it would be on us, and not the actuary, to inform the client.  However, if I were the actuary, I would probably make it a practice to remind the TPA about the posting requirement when I send over the actuarial forms to the TPA.

I did a bit more research and found in the EOB, Ch 13A, Sec III, Pt B, 1.f.1, in which Sal describes regulations that require the DOL to issue regulations regarding the specifics of what needs to be posted, and what is considered an "intranet" site.  In Sal's opinion, since regulations have not been issued, it is "presumed that no posting requirement applies until regulations are issued and become effective."

It would be great if the 5500 instructions made that clearer.

My take on this is a bit different.  I think you have to "provide" the SAR and then, upon request, provide the full report.  Posting the full report on the sponsor's intranet site is considered to be providing it. 

In other words, I think you have to make some kind of active effort to push out the SAR, but then it is ok to say "oh and if you want to see the full report it is on our intranet" (in the Your Rights to Additional Information section).  I do not think it is enough to passively post either without pushing the SAR out, electronically or otherwise.