Winter 2010
The Standard gets ready to file your clients’ electronic 2009 Form 5500s
As you may know, the IRS has changed how Form 5500s are to be filed for plan years commencing on or after January 1, 2009. Electronic filing of all 5500s is now mandatory.
What do your clients need to do?
With The Standard’s new service offering, we will submit your clients’ completed 5500s on their behalf.
How does it work?
- Plan sponsor reviews the plan’s completed Form 5500
When we have finished preparing the plan’s Form 5500, we will email a link to the sponsor for review. This link will lead to a web page where your client will be able to review the draft Form 5500 and coordinate its review with any other parties, such as the plan’s accountant. We will also be available to go through the draft form review and the online submission process with the plan sponsor.
This review page will have a link on it that will take the sponsor directly to the Department of Labor (DOL) site where he or she will need to register and obtain credentials.
- Register and obtain credentials from the DOL site
Once at the DOL site, your client will need to register to get login credentials and a user identification and PIN. These credentials will serve as the sponsor’s electronic signature and approval for the plan’s Form 5500.
The sponsor will also need to select his or her functional role. For us to file on your client’s behalf, he or she will need to select “filing signer” as this role. A filing signer can sign Form 5500/5500-SF filings. Signers must ensure that the filing information is correct before it is submitted. The signer’s signature also indicates that, to the best of the signer's knowledge and belief, the filing is true, correct and complete. Signers can include plan administrators, employers/plan sponsors and direct filing entities.
Once your client has credentials, user identification, PIN and functional role, he or she will need to go back to the initial Form 5500 review page. Your client’s newly acquired credential information will automatically and securely populate into this site.
- Approve the Form 5500
Once your client has credentials and has decided the Form 5500 is ready, he or she can approve it, and we’ll do the rest. The Standard will send a reminder in advance about the approval.
If your clients have questions
The DOL help desk, which has been set up for questions about electronic filing and their website (called EFAST), can be reached at 866.GO.EFAST (866.463.3278). Plan sponsors can also visit the DOL website at www.efast.DOL.gov.
Because this is a new process, we recommend that your clients set their annual audit date early to provide enough time to adequately prepare for the filing.