The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) reporting and disclosure requirements, requires administrators and plan sponsors of pension and welfare plans to file an annual return, Form 5500, with the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) which contains information about a plan’s financial conditions, investments and operations. ERISA Section 3(3) defines […]
Through the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), DOL investigations are on the rise, conducting thousands of audits per year and the DOL is planning on hiring more enforcement officers. The EBSA’s oversight authority extends to not only retirement plans but also to other welfare benefit plans, such as those providing life […]
The ability to efficiently review the Form 5500, related schedules and IQPA (Independent Qualified Plan Auditor’s) Report has increased dramatically since the introduction of electronic filing in 2009 and EFAST2. With this increase in efficiency, the IRS and DOL have been more aggressive in using this information to identify plans for audits and investigations. In […]