December 17, 2009
Previously published on December 10, 2009
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) requires employers that sponsor defined benefit pension plans to post information on the plan sponsor’s Intranet regarding Form 5500 filings for the defined benefit plan. This requirement does not apply to 401(k) plans or other defined contribution plans.
This new requirement applies to plan years beginning after December 31, 2007. As a result, it initially applies to the plan year of a defined benefit plan that begins during 2008. Because defined benefit plans that operate on a calendar year basis recently filed Form 5500 for the 2008 plan year, plan sponsors may need to take action to comply with this new requirement.
The U.S. Department of Labor has not published any guidance regarding this Intranet posting requirement. Therefore, there are many unresolved issues for plan sponsors.
The first issue is what information is required to be posted. It appears that the posting can be limited to basic plan identification information and actuarial information included in Form 5500. This is likely to be Parts I and II of Form 5500, plus Schedule SB (relating to actuarial information).
The second issue is when must the information be posted. In addition to the disclosure requirement imposed on plan sponsors, the PPA requires the U.S. Department of Labor to post Form 5500 information on the Internet within 90 days after the Form 5500 is filed. It is reasonable to assume that a plan sponsor would also be provided with 90 days after the filing of Form 5500 to post the applicable information on the plan sponsor’s Intranet.
Finally, if the plan sponsor does not maintain an Intranet to provide information to its employees, the posting requirement does not appear to apply. A plan sponsor is not required to establish an Intranet merely for purposes of satisfying this requirement.
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