Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit …

1 Department of the Treasury Department of Labor Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Internal Revenue Service Employee Benefits Security Administration 21 Instructions for Form 5500-SF Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan Code section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

2 ERISA refers to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Changes to Note Multiple-Employer Plans. The instructions have been revised to implement an amendment to ERISA section 103(g) in the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act). Multiple-employer defined contribution pension plans now are required to report aggregate account balance information by employer on the existing Form 5500-SF attachment for reporting participating employer information. Other multiple-employer pension plans continue to report the information for participating employers as before on an attachment that lists each participating employer in the plan during the plan year, identified by (#1) name and (#2) employer identification number (EIN), and (#3) includes a good faith estimate of each employer s percentage of the total contributions (including employer and participant contributions) made by all participating employers during the year.

3 Pooled employer plans. The instructions have been revised to provide that pooled employer plans are not eligible to file the Form 5500-SF. Retroactively adopted plan permitted by SECURE Act section 201. New Checkbox D is added to Part I for a plan sponsor who adopted the plan in the 2021 plan year and treated the plan as being adopted and effective for the 2020 plan year pursuant to SECURE Act section 201. For defined Benefit plans in this category, the 2021 instructions provide information about how to report data regarding 2020 funding requirements ( , Schedule SB data).

4 Administrative Penalties. The instructions have been updated to reflect an increase in the maximum civil penalty amount assessable under Employee Retirement Income Security Act section 502(c)(2), as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. Table of Contents Page EFAST2 Processing System .. 1 How To Get Assistance .. 1 General Instructions .. 2 Pension and Welfare Plans Required To File Annual Return/Report .. 2 Plans Exempt from Filing .. 3 Who May File .. 4 What To File.

5 4 When To File .. 4 Extension of Time To File .. 4 Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance (DFVC) Program .. 5 Change in Plan Year .. 5 Penalties .. 5 How To File Electronic Filing Requirement .. 6 Signature and Date .. 7 Specific Line-by-Line Instructions .. 7 Part I Annual Report Identification Information .. 7 Part II Basic Plan Information .. 9 Part III Financial 12 Part IV Plan 14 Part V Compliance Questions .. 14 Part VI Pension Funding Compliance .. 17 Part VII Plan Terminations and Transfers of Assets 18 Paperwork Reduction Act Notice.

6 20 List of Plan Characteristics Codes .. 21 Codes for Principal Business Activity .. 23 ERISA Compliance Quick Checklist .. 26 Index .. 27 EFAST2 Processing System Under the computerized ERISA Filing Acceptance System (EFAST2), you must electronically file your 2021 Form 5500-SF, Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan. You may file your 2021 Form 5500-SF online using EFAST2 s web-based filing system or you may file through an EFAST2-approved vendor. You cannot file a paper Form 5500-SF by mail or other delivery service. For more information, see the instructions for How To File Electronic Filing Requirement on page 6 and the EFAST2 website at How To Get Assistance If you need help completing this form, or have other questions, call the EFAST2 Help Desk at 1-866-GO-EFAST (1-866-463-3278) (toll free) or access the EFAST2 or IRS websites.

7 The EFAST2 Help Desk is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, Eastern Time. You can access the EFAST2 website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at to: File the Form 5500-SF or 5500 and any needed schedules or attachments. Check on the status of a filing you submitted. View filings posted by EFAST2. Register for electronic credentials to sign or submit filings. View forms and related instructions. Get information regarding EFAST2, including approved software vendors. See answers to frequently asked questions about the Form 5500-SF, the Form 5500 and its schedules, and EFAST2.

8 Access the main Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and DOL websites for news, regulations, and publications. You can access the IRS website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at to: -2- General Instructions to Form 5500-SF View forms, instructions, and publications. See answers to frequently asked tax questions. Search publications online by topic or keyword. Send comments or request help by e-mail. Sign up to receive local and national tax news by e-mail. You can order other IRS forms and publications at You can order EBSA publications by calling 1-866-444-EBSA (3272).

9 General Instructions The Form 5500-SF, Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan, is a simplified Annual reporting form for use by certain Small pension and welfare Benefit plans. To be eligible to use the Form 5500-SF, the plan must: Be a Small plan ( , generally have fewer than 100 participants at the beginning of the plan year), Meet the conditions for being exempt from the requirement that the plan s books and records be audited by an independent qualified public accountant (IQPA), Have 100% of its assets invested in certain secure investments with a readily determinable fair value, Hold no employer securities, Not be a multiemployer plan, Not be required to file a Form M-1, Report for Multiple-Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs)

10 And Certain Entities Claiming Exception (ECEs) for the plan year, and Not be a pooled employer plan. See ERISA section 3(43). Plans required to file an Annual Return/Report that are not eligible to file the Form 5500-SF, must file a Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan, with all required schedules and attachments (Form 5500), or Form 5500-EZ, Annual Return of A One-Participant (Owners/Partners and Their Spouses) Retirement Plan or A Foreign Plan. To reduce the possibility of correspondence and penalties, we remind filers that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of Labor (DOL), and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) have consolidated their Annual Return/Report forms to minimize the filing burden for Employee Benefit plans.