Informational copies of 2023 Form 5500 series now available 

The Department of Labor (DOL), IRS, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. have released online informational copies of the Form 5500 series, along with related schedules and instructions for 2023 plan year filings. These forms reflect final regulations issued earlier this year that implement provisions of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 (Div. O of Pub. L. No. 116-94). Informational copies may not be used to submit filings; DOL will update its EFAST2 e-filing system with these forms at a future date.

Updates for 2023 filings. The release contains Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan, Form 5500-SF for small plans, and Form 5500-EZ for one-participant or foreign plans. Among other changes, the forms include:

• A new Schedule MEP for multiple-employer plans (MEPs), including pooled employer plans (PEPs)
• Updates for optional defined contribution (DC) group filing arrangements, including a new Schedule DCG
• Changes to the method of determining whether a DC plan needs an audit report from an independent qualified public accountant
• Additional categories of administrative expenses on Schedule H
• Compliance questions relating to retirement plan nondiscrimination testing and favorable opinion letters for preapproved plans

New electronic filing option for requesting extensions. Starting Jan. 1, 2024, filers will be able to use EFAST2 to electronically submit Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns. IRS will still accept paper filings of Form 5558 and Form 5500-EZ. The agency will separately release hard-copy versions of these forms at a later date.

More changes ahead. DOL’s regulatory agenda includes a broader 5500 modernization project, with a proposal currently targeted for release next March. That project is intended to make investment and other information on Form 5500 more data-mineable and may revise group health plan reporting. The project also might include aspects of a 2021 proposal that weren’t finalized, including revisions to asset schedules for Schedule H, Financial Information, and changes to reporting for multiple-employer welfare agreements (MEWAs) that file Form M-1.

• News release (DOL, Nov. 17, 2023)

• Form 5500 trilogy concludes with latest set of changes (March 13, 2023)