Form 5500 Filing PIN
Rev. 05/27/10; E-mail Alert 2010-8

On May 13, 2010, EBSA announced a new e-signature option that is designed to simplify the e-filing process, especially for small businesses that use service providers to complete and file their annual reports. Under the new e-signature option, service providers that manage the filing process for plans can get their own signing credentials and submit the electronic Form 5500 or 5500-SF for the plan. Regarding this new option:

• The service provider must confirm that it has specific written authorization from the plan administrator to submit the plan’s electronic filing.
• The administrator must manually sign a paper copy of the completed filing, and the service provider must attach a PDF copy of the manually signed Form 5500 or 5500-SF as an attachment to the electronic filing submitted to EFAST2.
• The plan administrator must be informed by the service provider that, by electing to use this option, the image of the plan administrator’s manual signature will be included with the rest of the annual return/report posted by the Labor Department on the Internet for public disclosure.
• The service provider must communicate to the plan administrator any inquiries received from EFAST2, DOL, IRS or the PBGC regarding the filing.

The additional e-signature option is available in the government-sponsored IFILE application as of May 13, 2010. Filers using EFAST2 approved software to complete and file the Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF should contact their software vendors for information regarding availability of this new e-signature option as part of their software.

So bottom line, although this will help in many cases; the sharing of the employer PIN is still not permitted, rather the provider who is filing the Form 5500 will be able to obtain a PIN for filing.

To further be considered by the employer before he or she embarks on this new process is the fact that the employer's signature will be publicly displayed on the Form 5500 on the internet. In this age of identity theft, it is fascinating that the DOL has created an optional procedure which requires an employer to display his or her signature on a public web site.