IRS News Release IR 99-92

WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration have granted extensions to pension and other employee benefit plans (Form 5500 filers) in the federal disaster areas due to Hurricane Floyd and Hurricane Irene. Plan administrators will have until November 30, 1999, to file required returns/reports.

The extension applies to employee benefit plans, banks and insurance companies located in the counties designated as federal disaster areas. It also applies to plan administrators located outside the disaster areas who are unable to obtain the information necessary for filing from service providers, banks or insurance companies whose operations are located in the disaster areas.

The agencies will not impose late filing penalties for pension and employee benefit plan returns/reports and related excise taxes due on or after September 15, 1999, if they meet the November 30th deadline.

To qualify for the extension, returns/reports must be labeled "Hurricane Floyd" or "Hurricane Irene," as appropriate, across the top margin of the first page. The return/report of an employee benefit plan not located within a designated disaster area must have an attachment identifying the plan's service provider affected by the disaster and the county in which the service provider is located.