Free Webcast: Getting Ready for the 2009 Form 5500 and Electronic Filing

The DOL announced a free February 19 webcast, Getting Ready for the 2009 Form 5500 and Electronic Filing:

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will host its first of a series of free webcasts on February 19 from noon to 2 p.m. EST to help employers and service providers prepare for changes in the requirements of the 2009 Form 5500 reports and a preview of the new electronic filing Web site.

This webcast will cover the new simplified annual reporting form for small plans with easy to value investments; expanded reporting by large plans of compensation received by plan service providers; realignment of the reporting rules for Internal Revenue Code section 403(b) pension plans subject to Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to make them on par with 401(k) plans; and annual reporting changes required by the Pension Protection Act or defined benefit pension plans and multiemployer plans.

The modernized version of the ERISA Filing Acceptance System – known as EFAST2 – will receive only electronic filing submissions, provide quick responses in the event there are errors in a filing and publicly disclose filed Form 5500 reports through the EFAST Web site. The seminars are part of EBSA's fiduciary education campaign to help workers and employers, especially small businesses, understand their rights and obligations under employee benefit laws.

Additional webcasts and educational material will be made available throughout the year.

News media are encouraged to cover this event.

Who: Employers, plan fiduciaries and providers of plan services
What: Webcast on Form 5500 and electronic filing
When: February 19, Noon to 2 p.m. EST
How: Online registration is first-come, first-served, by visiting www.dol.gov/ebsa and clicking the appropriate link under "Compliance Assistance Workshops, Seminars and Webcasts." For more information, wecontact Patricia Humphlett at 202.693.8660

Here is more information about the free webcast:

To help plan sponsors and plan service providers prepare for the changes to the Form 5500 and the electronic filing requirement that begin with the 2009 plan year filings, the Department of Labor will be providing webcasts and other educational outreach throughout the year. This first webcast will help you get started preparing for the changes and will include a preview of the new EFAST2 electronic filing website.

Among the changes to the Form 5500 are a new simplified annual reporting form for small plans with easy to value investments; expanded reporting by large plans of compensation received by plan service providers; realignment of the reporting rules for Internal Revenue Code section 403(b) pension plans subject to Title I of ERISA to make them on par with 401(k) plans; and annual reporting changes required by the Pension Protection Act (PPA) for defined benefit pension plans and multiemployer plans.

Along with the form changes, the ERISA Filing Acceptance System (EFAST) is being modernized. The new filing system, EFAST2, will receive only electronic filing submissions and will quickly indicate if there are errors in a filing. EFAST2 also will publicly disclose the filed Form 5500 reports through the EFAST website.