As a plan sponsor, you are responsible for ensuring that your plan’s Form 5500’s annual filing is on time. Even if your third-party administrator or someone else files the Form 5500 on your behalf, you are ultimately responsible for ensuring that your Form 5500 is filed timely. If your plan requires an audit, make sure that you attach a copy of the audited financial statements to your Form 5500 to ensure your filling is complete.
If your plan year end is December 31st, then the deadline to file is July 31st. If you are unable to file by this date, you can file for an extension for up to two and a half months by filing a Form 5558. This will extend the filing period to October 15th. If your plan is not a calendar year-end, see below to see when your Form 5500 is due.
| Plan-Year End | Filing Deadline | Extension Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 1/31 | 8/31 | 11/15 |
| 2/28 | 9/30 | 12/15 |
| 3/31 | 10/31 | 1/15 |
| 4/30 | 11/30 | 2/15 |
| 5/30 | 12/31 | 3/15 |
| 6/30 | 1/31 | 4/15 |
| 7/31 | 2/28 | 5/15 |
| 8/31 | 3/31 | 6/15 |
| 9/30 | 4/30 | 7/15 |
| 10/31 | 5/31 | 8/15 |
| 11/30 | 6/30 | 9/15 |
Filing a Form 5500 is an important requirement for employers offering employee benefit plans. By understanding and adhering to the deadlines, you can avoid penalties and ensure compliance with regulatory guidelines. For more information on Employee Benefit Plan Form 5500 filing services, please contact a member of the Employee Benefit Plan team.
For more information on this topic, please contact a member of our team.
This comment is among the most common findings cited in ERISA audits each year. While meeting minutes are often viewed simply as a record of plan changes or updates, their importance goes far beyond documentation. Properly maintained meeting minutes provide clear evidence that a plan sponsor is fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities by reviewing key plan…
Artificial intelligence is transforming the healthcare claims ecosystem. Providers are using AI-driven tools to accelerate billing, automate coding, and optimize revenue-cycle management. Simultaneously, third-party administrators (TPAs) and insurance carriers are integrating AI into claims adjudication and operations to manage increasing claim volumes. For plan sponsors, the issue is less about the use of AI itself…
Effective internal controls are not one-size-fits-all. They must be tailored to the specific risks faced by an organization. For employee benefit plans (EBPs) and labor organizations, this means aligning control activities with operational, financial and compliance risks that are unique to their environments. A structured framework, such as the COSO model, which is an internal…
