Retirement Plan Disclosure Deadlines Loom Amid Filing Confusion

Employers and benefit plan administrators are facing a mountain of annual federal reporting requirements this summer with shorter deadlines, heftier fines, and new audit standards—all complicated by the waning Covid-19 pandemic.

The complex web of employer-sponsored benefit disclosures known as the Form 5500 Series is due Aug. 2 for calendar-year plans, and the U.S. Labor Department and Internal Revenue Service aren’t offering the same limited pandemic-related extensions they granted late filers last year.

New filing procedures and delayed auditing rules that take effect this year are likely to cause headaches for employers and plan administrators recovering after the pandemic. But ...