Now is the time that plan sponsors who are on extension to file their Form 5500 should be receiving them via email from their third party administrator (TPA).
While plan sponsors just immediately file them to get it off their plate before the October 15th deadline, they would be wise to take a look before they do.
First off, anyone filing the Form 5500 is doing it under penalties of perjury and the last time I checked that was still a crime. A plan sponsor who didn’t review their Form 5500 maybe committing perjury because of something that was wrong on the Form 5500. One should never make any claim under penalties of perjury unless they reviewed such claims.
In addition, major omissions on the Form 5500 are just a recipe for a plan audit. Claiming an insufficient ERISA bond amount on the Form 5500 could get the red flag treatment from the Internal Revenue Service and/or Department of the Labor for a targeted plan audit.
I learned at an early age that you should read what you sign. The same should go for a plan sponsor who is e-filing their Form 5500.
