News Archive

Fillable PDF; created Mar. 12, 2026.  MORE >>

Rev. Dec. 2026. "You can electronically file Form 8868 to request up to a 6-month extension of time to file any of the forms listed below[.]"  MORE >>

"This alert highlights key filing, notice, contribution, and reporting obligations commonly applicable during the April-June timeframe, including ERISA plan filings, health plan reporting, and HSA-related actions."  MORE >>

"The IRS Employee Plans has digitalized Form 15315 to allow you to electronically report the actuarial certification of a multiemployer defined benefit plan's funding status. No additional attachments or letters should be submitted with your Form 15315 submission."  MORE >>

"In most cases, a small plan can claim a waiver of the audit requirement, but it depends on: the type of assets the plan holds, including the owners’ participant accounts; whether a regulated financial institution has custody of the plan’s assets; whether the full value of any non-qualifying plan assets is 100% covered by a fidelity bond; and whether additional disclosures about the assets and the fidelity bond are distributed to participants in the Summary Annual Report."  MORE >>

"The [DOL] and [PBGC] still have not published inflation-adjusted civil monetary penalties for employee benefit plans for 2026.... [T]he 2026 penalties are supposed to be calculated by multiplying the 2025 penalty amounts by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) from October 2024 through October 2025. However, due to the government shutdown, the [BLS] never released CPI-U figures for October 2025. This has left the agencies without a multiplier to apply to their 2025 penalties."  MORE >>

"This 2026 calendar outlines key ERISA deadlines for calendar-year-end [defined contribution] and defined benefit plans, including required filings, participant notices, funding obligations and operational tasks. All dates reflect statutory deadlines and IRS and DOL weekend rules."  MORE >>

"If you have an employee benefit plan for which an annual report should have been filed, but which was not, the DOL DFVC Program provides an improved way to find relief from both DOL and IRS penalties. It is simple to use! It does not require a prescription. The medicine almost tastes good. It sounds almost too good to be true."  MORE >>

"[T]he Form 5500 Simplification Act [HR 7362] ... would amend ERISA to change the deadline to nine and one-half months following the end of the plan year (October 15th for calendar year plans), thus forgoing the requirement to file an extension for the later date. The bill would also modernize filing requirements to permit such return or report and any additional information required, to be signed through electronic means."  MORE >>

"Starting with plan years that begin in 2026, all premium payments must be made electronically, either through pay.gov or by electronic funds transfer (EFT) such as ACH or Fedwire.... If you choose to mail your [Form 5558] please note that postmarks may not accurately reflect the date the U.S. Postal Service accepts your mail.... Four new codes were added [to Form 5500] for DB plans[.]"  MORE >>

10 pages. "Form 5500-EZ is used by one-participant plans and foreign plans that are not subject to the requirements of section 104(a) of [ERISA]." [Also available: 2025 IRS Form 5500-EZ (fillable PDF)]  MORE >>

"[I]ndividuals and businesses in the State of Louisiana affected by severe winter ice storms that began on Jan. 22, 2026 ... now have until March 31, 2026, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments."  MORE >>

Summarizes recent guidance relating to retirement plans (Notice 2026-13 and Notice 2026-09) as well as the updated user fees provided in Rev. Proc. 2026-4.  MORE >>

"In this article [the authors] explain why postmarks matter to retirement plans, clarifications in the final rule, and what plan administrative changes may be needed to ensure mail is timely postmarked, and [they] list the operational items plan sponsors and their advisors may need to review and potentially adjust going forward."  MORE >>

"HR 7362, the Form 5500 Filing Simplification Act ... would extend the deadline for filing the form by almost three months.... This effectively would mean that the deadline for calendar-year plans to file the Form 5500 would be Oct. 15, not the current July 31."  MORE >>

"[I]ndividuals and businesses in the State of Montana affected by severe storms and flooding that began on Dec. 10, 2025 ... now have until May 1, 2026, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.... [I]ndividuals and households that reside or have a business in the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Lincoln, and Sanders counties qualify for tax relief."  MORE >>

"The penalty for failing to file a Form M-1 is almost as severe as the penalty for failing to file a Form 5500, at a rate of $1,992 per day in penalty fees.... MEWAs and Entities Claiming Exception required to file Form M-1 are now eligible to correct late filings under [DFVCP].... For self-insured plans, many states also have filing and approval requirements as well as requirements to keep a reserve with the state's Department of Insurance."  MORE >>

"In FY 2025, EBSA closed 878 civil investigations. Of those, 556 investigations (63 percent) produced monetary results for plans or other corrective action, for a total of $714.4 million recovered.... In FY 2025, [EBSA] obtained 297 non-monetary civil corrections, including: [1] removing 15 fiduciaries, [2] barring 24 individuals from serving as fiduciaries, [3] appointing 18 fiduciaries, [4] improving missing participant procedures for 49 plans, and [5] implementing 61 global corrections across multiple ERISA-covered health plans."  MORE >>

"The Paperwork Burden Reduction Act gives employers new flexibility in how they distribute Forms 1095-B and 1095-C. Instead of sending forms to everyone, employers can use an alternative furnishing method, providing the forms only upon request -- as long as IRS requirements are met."  MORE >>

"Comments are invited on: [1] Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; [2] the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of information; [3] ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; [4] ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and [5] estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.... There is no change to the previously approved information collection."  MORE >>

"The DFVCP was introduced in 1995 in an effort to allow plan administrators to correct delinquent Form 5500 filings for a significantly lower cost than if the DOL discovered the non-compliance first.... The new rules expand the types of entities that can use the DFVCP beyond just employer plans filing the Form 5500. The DFVCP can now also be used by multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs) and Entities Claiming Exception (ECEs)."  MORE >>

"Employers should review their mail-dependent processes now and consider: [1] building additional lead time into mailing schedules for deadline-sensitive documents, [2] requesting manual postmarks at retail locations for time-critical mailings, or [3] transitioning to electronic delivery where legally permissible."  MORE >>

"Requirement to report ... Electronic delivery requirements ... Format of statement/return ... Unique account numbers ... Electronic submission of IRS returns ... Submission through FIRE ... Submission through IRIS ... Internal Revenue Code penalties for non-compliance ... Disqualifying disposition of ISO shares ... Disposition of ESPP stock."  MORE >>

"This is welcome news because in the past, there was no procedure or relief for MEWAs to file a late Form M-1 under a voluntary compliance program. However, it is not uncommon for a health plan to be (or become) an 'inadvertent MEWA,' either because the various employers involved were related but not in the same controlled group or because of a change in their controlled group status, e.g. in an M&A transaction."  MORE >>

This 50 page guide is organized by plan type, regardless of agency: [1] All plans; [2] Health and welfare plans; [3] All retirement plans; [4] DB retirement plans; [5] DC retirement plans.  MORE >>