SEC Announces Conditional Form 11-K Filing Relief

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released an order extending the filing periods of Form 11-K on a conditional basis due to the potential effects of the current COVID-19 global pandemic.

The SEC Order provides a 45-day extension to file certain disclosure reports that were originally due between March 1 and July 1, 2020. Public registrants must meet certain conditions to receive relief, including:

• The registrant is unable to meet the filing deadline due to impacts related to COVID-19.
• The registrant must provide a Form 8-K to the SEC if they are requesting relief due to the SEC’s order.
• The registrant is required to file any report, schedule or form no later than 45 days after the original due date.
• The registrant must disclose that they are utilizing the relief outlined by the SEC Order in any report, schedule or form filed and state the reasons why they were unable to submit the filing on a timely basis.

If you are considering utilizing the SEC’s Form 11-K filing relief and would like to request a filing extension, we recommend that you speak to the plan’s SEC counsel who would be able to guide you through the intricacies of filing a request with the SEC. For more information on this topic, please reach out to one of our professionals.

As the current COVID-19 situation unfolds, significant changes and measures may be implemented to provide relief across all industries. At the time of this article’s release, the Department of Labor (DOL) has not yet announced any relief measures related to filing Form 5500 and other regulatory items. Stay tuned as more developments are released.