ERISA Benefits Law Desk ReferenceERISA Benefits Tech, LLC

Part 4 · Chapter 1

Reporting, Disclosure, and Recordkeeping

Law stated as of October 3, 2026 · Reporting, Disclosure, Recordkeeping, and Claims

Scope and status

This regime is unusually figure- and form-driven: indexed §502(c) penalties, Form 5500/8955-SSA/5330 mechanics, and electronic-delivery safe harbors change frequently. Verify every indexed dollar amount, deadline, form version, and safe-harbor condition against current primary authority before relying on them.

Citations are to primary authority (ERISA section and parallel U.S. Code; Code section; DOL/IRS/PBGC regulation; agency guidance). Dollar amounts tagged indexed — verify are inflation-adjusted annually; the figures stated are the most recent confirmed values (2025 adjustment levels; DOL cancelled the 2026 adjustment, 91 Fed. Reg. 31358 (May 27, 2026), so the 2025 amounts remain in force) and must be reconfirmed.

This chapter covers the reporting (government-facing filings), disclosure (participant-facing notices and documents), and recordkeeping obligations for qualified retirement plans. Welfare-plan-specific reporting (welfare Form 5500, Form M-1 detail, gag-clause and RxDC) is summarized only at the boundary — route deep welfare issues to Part 13 (COBRA, HIPAA, and Welfare Benefits). Distribution notices (§402(f), 1099-R, withholding) belong to Part 6 (Distributions, Loans, Rollovers, and RMDs). Claims and appeals (the §503 notice mechanics) are covered in the companion ERISA §503 Claims, Appeals, and Judicial Review.

Sections

Part A is shown in full. The other sections are listed by title; their text is available to subscribers.

Part A — Scope, Actors, and Threshold Definitions

A1.Who the duties run to

Part 4, ch. 1, § A1

ERISA Title I imposes the reporting and disclosure duties on the plan administrator, and the §6058/§6057 return duties on the plan administrator/employer; these are non-delegable as a matter of legal responsibility even when a recordkeeper or TPA performs the work. Statute: ERISA §§101–105, 107, 109; Code §§6057, 6058, 6059. The "administrator" is the person named in the plan document, or the sponsor if none is named. Statute: ERISA §3(16).

A2.Which plans are covered — and the key exclusions

Part 4, ch. 1, § A2

The reporting and disclosure rules reach every ERISA employee benefit plan (pension and welfare). Statute: ERISA §3(1)–(3), §4(a). Excluded from Title I (and thus from most of this regime) are: governmental plans; non-electing church plans; plans maintained solely to comply with workers'-comp/unemployment/disability law; plans for nonresident aliens maintained outside the U.S.; unfunded excess-benefit plans; plans without common-law employees (owner-only plans, which file Form 5500-EZ); and ERISA-exempt 403(b) arrangements. Two other groups remain Title I plans with reduced reporting: SEPs and SIMPLE IRA plans, which use substitute disclosures instead of the Form 5500 (ERISA §101(h); 29 C.F.R. 2520.104-48/-49); and top-hat plans, which satisfy the Part 1 reporting/disclosure obligations by a one-time alternative-compliance statement filed with DOL but remain subject to Part 5, including the §503 claims procedures. Statute: ERISA §4(b); Final reg: 29 C.F.R. 2520.104-23 (top-hat), 2520.104-48/-49, 2510.3-3.

A3.Plan-type and size classifications that drive the rules

Part 4, ch. 1, § A3

Three classifications govern which forms and disclosures apply: (1) pension vs. welfare Statute: ERISA §3(1)–(2); (2) defined contribution / individual-account vs. defined benefit Statute: ERISA §3(34)–(35); and (3) large vs. small plan, which determines the Form 5500 version, schedules, and the independent-audit requirement. The large/small line is generally 100 participants, subject to the 80–120 rule (a plan may keep its prior-year status while 80–120). Final reg: 29 C.F.R. 2520.103-1. Recent change beginning with the 2023 plan year the participant count for the audit/large-plan determination for defined contribution plans is based on participants with account balances (not all eligible employees) — confirm the current counting method and audit-waiver thresholds. Final reg/agency guidance — verify; 2023 Form 5500 instructions.

Part B — Reporting (Government-Facing Filings)

  1. B1Form 5500 / 5500-SF — the annual reportSubscribers
  2. B2The independent-audit requirementSubscribers
  3. B3Form 5500-EZ — one-participant and foreign plansSubscribers
  4. B4Form 8955-SSA — separated participants with deferred vested benefitsSubscribers
  5. B5Form 5558 — extension of timeSubscribers
  6. B6Form 5330 — excise-tax returnSubscribers
  7. B7Form 5310-A — notice of merger, consolidation, spinoff, or asset transferSubscribers
  8. B8Form 1099-R and related distribution reporting (cross-reference)Subscribers
  9. B9Form M-1 (welfare MEWAs — cross-reference)Subscribers
  10. B10PBGC filings — premiums and reportable events (DB plans)Subscribers

Part C — Document Disclosures to Participants

  1. C1Summary Plan Description (SPD)Subscribers
  2. C2Summary of Material Modification (SMM)Subscribers
  3. C3Summary Annual Report (SAR)Subscribers
  4. C4Annual Funding Notice (AFN) — defined benefit plansSubscribers
  5. C5Periodic pension benefit statementSubscribers
  6. C6Lifetime income illustrationSubscribers

Part D — Event- and Feature-Driven Notices

  1. D1Section 204(h) notice — significant benefit reductionSubscribers
  2. D2Blackout-period noticeSubscribers
  3. D3Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) noticeSubscribers
  4. D4Safe-harbor 401(k), QACA, EACA, and automatic-contribution noticesSubscribers
  5. D5Diversification / right-to-divest notice (employer securities)Subscribers
  6. D6Funding-based benefit limitation (§436) notice — DB plansSubscribers
  7. D7Suspension-of-benefits noticeSubscribers
  8. D8Domestic relations order / QDRO noticeSubscribers
  9. D9Other situational notices (catalog — verify each before use)Subscribers
  10. D10Unenrolled-participant annual reminder (SECURE 2.0)Subscribers

Part E — Participant Fee and Service-Provider Disclosure

  1. E1Section 404a-5 — participant-level fee disclosureSubscribers
  2. E2Section 408(b)(2) — service-provider (covered-service-provider) disclosureSubscribers

Part F — On-Request and On-Demand Disclosure

  1. F1The §104(b)(4) document-on-request duty and its penaltySubscribers

Part G — Manner of Delivery (Electronic and Paper)

  1. G1The two DOL electronic-disclosure safe harborsSubscribers
  2. G2IRS electronic-delivery rules for notices and electionsSubscribers
  3. G3SECURE 2.0 paper-statement overlay (interaction)Subscribers
  4. G4Proposed group health plan e-disclosure safe harbor (new — proposed only)Subscribers

Part H — Recordkeeping

  1. H1Section 209 — benefit records sufficient to determine benefitsSubscribers
  2. H2Section 107 — six-year retention of filing-support recordsSubscribers
  3. H3Electronic recordkeepingSubscribers

Part I — Penalties and Correction

  1. I1The civil-penalty architectureSubscribers
  2. I2DFVC — late or unfiled Form 5500Subscribers
  3. I3IRS reasonable cause and EZ reliefSubscribers
  4. I4Top-hat and Form M-1 special reliefSubscribers

The first Part of each chapter is open to everyone. The remaining sections, with their authority and practice points, are available to subscribers and to clients of ERISA Benefits Law Group, PLLC whose engagement includes access.

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