What Is Form 5500?

Research. Education. Perspective.

Form 5500 is the annual return/report many employee benefit plans use to report plan-level information to the federal government under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, and the Internal Revenue Code.^[1][3]

For a retirement-plan participant, it is also something else:

a public research document.

The Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation jointly developed the Form 5500 Series as a common reporting framework.^[1][3]

For a 401(k), pension or other covered plan, a filing can reveal information such as:

• plan name and sponsor
• plan administrator
• plan type
• participant counts
• assets and liabilities
• employer and employee contributions
• benefits paid
• administrative expenses
• service providers
• insurance arrangements
• actuarial information for applicable pension plans
• whether an independent auditor report is attached when required

That makes Form 5500 useful to:

• regulators
• participants
• beneficiaries
• researchers
• employers
• advisers
• policymakers
• the public

But the form has limits.

A Form 5500 is not:

• a personal 401(k) statement
• a substitute for the Summary Plan Description
• proof that the government approved every part of the filing
• proof that every participant's account was administered correctly

The Department of Labor specifically warns that posting a filing in its search system does not constitute acceptance of the filing by DOL, IRS or PBGC.^[2]

The useful approach is therefore:

> Use Form 5500 to understand the plan and identify questions—not to infer more than the filing can establish.

Key Takeaways

• Form 5500 is an annual federal return/report used by many employee benefit plans.^[1][3]
• The Form 5500 Series is jointly administered within the reporting framework of DOL, IRS and PBGC.^[1]
• Form 5500 is both a compliance tool and a disclosure/research resource for participants, beneficiaries and the public.^[1]
• Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF filings are generally filed electronically through EFAST2.^[2][3]
• Many filings can be searched publicly through the Department of Labor's Form 5500 filing search.^[2]
• The ordinary due date is the last day of the seventh month after the end of the plan year.^[3][5]
• For a calendar-year plan, the ordinary deadline is generally July 31.^[3][5]
• A timely Form 5558 can generally provide a one-time extension of up to 2½ months.^[5][12]
• Form 5500-SF is a simplified filing for qualifying small employee benefit plans.^[3]
• Form 5500-EZ is the annual return for qualifying one-participant and certain foreign retirement plans.^[3][10]
• A qualifying one-participant plan generally does not need an annual Form 5500-EZ when combined one-participant plan assets are $250,000 or less at year-end, unless it is the final plan year.^[10][11]
• Since the 2023 plan year, the defined contribution small-plan counting methodology for simplified filing and audit relief generally focuses on participants with account balances rather than every person merely eligible to participate.^[8]
• A Form 5500 filing can include schedules covering financial information, service providers, retirement-plan information and pension actuarial data.
• A filing can be highly informative without proving that the plan is error-free or that the government has approved the filing.

Form 5500 in One Sentence

> ROIStreet Definition > > Form 5500 is the annual federal return/report through which many employee benefit plans disclose plan-level information about their structure, participants, finances and operations.

The key phrase is:

plan-level information

A participant's own account statement answers:

"What is happening in my account?"

Form 5500 more often answers:

"What does the plan look like as a whole?"

Why Does Form 5500 Exist?

ERISA created a federal framework intended to protect employee benefit-plan participants and beneficiaries.

Reporting and disclosure are part of that framework.

The Department of Labor describes the Form 5500 Series as an important:

• compliance tool
• research tool
• disclosure document
• data source for federal agencies and Congress.^[1]

The filing allows regulators and the public to see information that otherwise could remain inside the plan's administrative system.

Who Uses Form 5500 Information?

Department of Labor

DOL uses Form 5500 information in administering and enforcing ERISA.

Internal Revenue Service

IRS uses the filing framework for tax-qualified plan reporting and compliance.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

PBGC uses applicable reporting information for plans within its pension-insurance jurisdiction.

Participants and beneficiaries

Workers can use filings to understand the size, finances and administrative structure of their retirement plan.

Researchers and policymakers

Aggregated Form 5500 datasets are used to study the private employee-benefit system.^[1][2]

Is Form 5500 Public?

Many Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF filings are publicly searchable.

The Department of Labor operates an EFAST2 filing search that can display:

• Form 5500
• Form 5500-SF
• schedules
• public attachments

for filings received through the system.^[2]

The search covers modern EFAST2-era filings and provides multiple ways to locate plans.

What Is EFAST2?

EFAST2 is the ERISA Filing Acceptance System used for electronic Form 5500-series administration.

Plans filing Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF generally file electronically through EFAST2.^[3]

The system also supports:

• filing preparation
• filing submission
• filing search
• public access
• data retrieval

The acronym is administrative.

For a participant, the practical takeaway is simple:

EFAST2 is where many public Form 5500 filings can be found.

How Do You Search for a 401(k) Form 5500?

A participant can search using information such as:

• plan name
• employer or sponsor name
• employer identification number
• plan number
• location
• filing year

The Department of Labor's expanded search also supports filters involving:

• plan type
• participant count
• asset value
• employer plan type
• business code
• filing year
• geography.^[2]

Use the Exact Plan Name When Possible

Large employers can maintain multiple benefit plans.

For example, the company name may appear in filings for:

• 401(k)
• pension
• welfare plan
• retiree medical plan
• other employee benefit arrangements

Do not assume every filing associated with an employer is the retirement plan you want.

Confirm:

• plan name
• plan number
• plan type
• plan year

before analyzing the data.

What Is a Plan Number?

Employee benefit plans typically have an employer-assigned plan number.

The plan number can help distinguish one employer plan from another.

A participant may see identifiers such as:

EIN + plan number

used in plan records and federal filings.

These identifiers can be especially useful when an employer sponsors multiple plans with similar names.

When Is Form 5500 Due?

The ordinary federal deadline is generally:

the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends.^[3][5]

For a calendar-year plan ending December 31:

July 31

is the ordinary filing date.

This means a filing for a completed plan year appears months after the plan year closes.

Calendar-Year Example

Assume:

• plan year ends: December 31, 2025
• no extension

Ordinary filing deadline:

July 31, 2026

A participant looking in early 2026 should therefore not assume the 2025 filing is already available.

The most recent public filing can lag the current date.

Form 5558 Extension

A plan administrator can use Form 5558 to request a one-time extension for specified employee-plan filings.^[5][12]

For Form 5500-series filings, the extension can generally be:

up to 2½ months

after the normal deadline.^[12]

A calendar-year plan with a July 31 normal due date can therefore have an extended deadline in mid-October when the extension applies.

Filing Date vs. Plan Year

This distinction prevents a common mistake.

Suppose a Form 5500 is filed in:

2026

but the filing is for:

plan year 2025

That does not make it a "2026 plan year" report.

Always identify:

• plan-year beginning date
• plan-year ending date

before comparing filings.

What Does the Main Form 5500 Show?

The main form can report basic plan-level information such as:

• plan name
• sponsor
• sponsor address
• plan administrator
• participant counts
• plan characteristics
• funding and benefit arrangement codes
• schedules attached
• compliance-related information

The exact questions can change as the form is revised.

The schedules provide much of the deeper detail.

Form 5500 Is a Package, Not Just One Page

A complete filing can include:

• main Form 5500
• one or more schedules
• auditor report
• financial statements
• attachments
• actuarial materials

This means a participant should not stop after the first page.

The most useful information can be in an attachment.

Common Form 5500 Schedules

Not every filing contains every schedule.

The plan type determines what is relevant.

Schedule H

For many retirement-plan researchers, Schedule H is one of the most useful attachments.

It can provide financial information involving items such as:

• beginning and ending assets
• liabilities
• contributions
• benefits
• investment income
• administrative expenses
• transfers
• financial transactions

Large-plan filers generally use Schedule H, subject to the detailed rules.^[9]

Schedule I

Schedule I is a financial-information schedule used by qualifying small-plan filers.

It provides a more simplified financial reporting structure than Schedule H.

The distinction between Schedule H and Schedule I should not be reduced to:

good plan vs. bad plan

or:

professional plan vs. amateur plan

It is primarily a reporting-category distinction.

What Is a "Small Plan"?

Historically, participants often heard a rough rule:

fewer than 100 participants = small plan

That remains a useful general concept.

But the counting details matter.

For defined contribution plans, the participant-count methodology changed beginning with the 2023 plan year.^[8]

The Defined Contribution Participant-Count Change

The Department of Labor changed the methodology used for determining the 100-participant threshold for certain small-plan simplified reporting alternatives, including conditional audit relief.^[8]

For defined contribution plans, the calculation generally focuses on:

participants with account balances

rather than counting every employee merely eligible to participate but who has no account balance.^[8]

This can materially affect whether a 401(k) is treated as small or large for these reporting purposes.

Why the Counting Change Matters

Assume:

• 140 employees are eligible for a 401(k)
• 82 participants actually have account balances

Under the current defined contribution methodology, the plan can potentially fall on the small-plan side of the participant-count test, subject to the full filing rules and transition provisions.

That is different from automatically counting all 140 eligible employees.

The 80–120 Participant Rule

Form 5500 rules also contain an 80–120 participant rule that can allow a plan in this transition band to use the same small- or large-plan filing category it used in the prior year, subject to the applicable conditions.^[9]

This reduces filing-category whiplash when participant counts fluctuate around 100.

A participant researching a filing should therefore avoid assuming that:

101 = automatically large plan this year

without checking the applicable transition rule.

Does a Large Retirement Plan Need an Audit?

Many large ERISA plans must include an audit by an:

independent qualified public accountant, or IQPA,

with the annual report.

The Department of Labor describes a general large-plan audit framework for plans meeting the applicable participant threshold.

For defined contribution plans, the post-2023 participant-count methodology affects this analysis.^[8]

Exceptions and special structures can apply.

What Does the Auditor Report Do?

The plan auditor evaluates plan financial statements and related information under applicable professional and ERISA requirements.

The audit is not a guarantee that:

• no operational error exists
• no participant record is wrong
• every fiduciary decision was optimal
• every investment performed well

It is a financial-statement audit performed under the relevant scope and standards.

Why Participants Might Read the Audit Report

An attached auditor report can help identify:

• whether an audit was performed
• the auditor
• the opinion expressed
• financial statements covered
• accounting framework
• supplementary information
• potential qualifications or other report language

Participants should read the actual report rather than treating the mere presence of an audit as a universal quality badge.

Schedule C and Service Providers

Schedule C can disclose information about specified service providers and compensation arrangements when the filing requirements apply.

Potential service providers can include:

• recordkeepers
• administrators
• consultants
• investment-related providers
• accountants
• other service firms

This can help a participant understand the ecosystem behind the plan.

Fees on Form 5500

Form 5500 financial information can show plan-level administrative expenses.

Examples can include categories related to:

• professional fees
• administrative services
• recordkeeping
• accounting
• legal services
• investment-related plan expenses

But participant-level fee analysis can require other disclosures.

Form 5500 is not necessarily the best source for determining the exact fee charged to a particular participant's account.

Do Not Compare Fees Without Context

Suppose:

Plan A

• assets: $100 million
• administrative expenses: $500,000

Plan B

• assets: $1 billion
• administrative expenses: $2 million

Plan B has a larger absolute expense number.

That does not automatically mean it is more expensive.

Useful comparisons can involve:

• assets
• participants
• services
• investment structures
• expense categories
• who pays the cost

Absolute dollars alone can mislead.

Administrative Expense Ratio Example

A rough research calculation can be:

plan administrative expenses ÷ average plan assets

If:

• administrative expenses = $600,000
• approximate average assets = $300 million

then:

$600,000 ÷ $300,000,000 = 0.20%

or about:

20 basis points

This is only a screening metric.

It is not a complete participant-fee calculation.

Why Beginning and Ending Assets Do Not Equal Investment Return

Suppose plan assets rise from:

$500 million

to:

$560 million

That does not mean the investments earned:

12%

during the year.

Plan assets can change because of:

• employee contributions
• employer contributions
• rollovers in
• investment gains or losses
• benefit payments
• rollovers out
• fees
• transfers
• plan mergers

The correct return calculation requires more than beginning and ending asset values.

Contributions Can Reveal Plan Scale

A filing can show plan-level contributions.

For a 401(k), those can reflect combinations of:

• employee elective deferrals
• employer matching contributions
• employer nonelective contributions
• rollover activity where reported separately under the applicable schedules

Again, plan totals are not personal account amounts.

Benefits Paid

Form 5500 financial schedules can report benefits paid during the plan year.

That can include distributions associated with:

• retirement
• job separation
• rollovers
• deaths
• other plan-permitted distributions

A high benefit-payment year does not automatically signal distress.

It can reflect:

• participant demographics
• layoffs
• acquisitions
• plan termination
• ordinary retirements
• large rollover activity

Context matters.

Schedule R

Schedule R provides retirement-plan-specific information.

Depending on the plan and filing year, it can contain information involving:

• distributions
• funding
• plan characteristics
• tax-compliance items
• other retirement-specific reporting

The form has evolved over time.

When comparing years, make sure the questions and line definitions are comparable.

Defined Benefit Pension Schedules

Traditional pensions can require actuarial schedules.

Schedule SB

Used for applicable single-employer defined benefit plan actuarial information.

Schedule MB

Used for applicable multiemployer defined benefit and certain money purchase plan actuarial information.

These schedules can contain technical information involving:

• liabilities
• assets
• funding targets
• actuarial assumptions
• contributions
• funding status

Pension analysis should not be reduced to a single funded-percentage number.

INV-031 explains pension structure more broadly.

Form 5500-SF

Form 5500-SF is the Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan.

Qualifying small plans can use the shorter form if they satisfy the applicable eligibility conditions.^[3]

The conditions involve more than participant count.

For example, eligibility can depend on:

• plan size
• audit-waiver eligibility
• investment characteristics
• employer securities
• plan type

Do not assume every small plan automatically qualifies for Form 5500-SF.

Form 5500-EZ

Form 5500-EZ is different.

It is used for qualifying:

• one-participant retirement plans
• certain foreign plans

that are not filing the ordinary ERISA Title I annual report in the same manner.^[3][10]

This is especially relevant to Solo 401(k) plans.

One-Participant Plan Example

Assume:

• business owner is the only participant
• no common-law employee participates
• year-end plan assets = $220,000
• this is not the final plan year

Under the general Form 5500-EZ threshold rule, a qualifying one-participant plan with combined one-participant plan assets of:

$250,000 or less

at year-end generally does not have to file Form 5500-EZ for that year.^[10][11]

The final plan year is different.

Final One-Participant Plan Filing

A final Form 5500-EZ generally is required when the one-participant plan terminates and the final filing conditions apply, regardless of the ordinary $250,000 annual exemption.^[10][11]

Business owners should not assume:

"My balance is below $250,000, so I never file."

The final-year rule matters.

Form 5500 vs. Form 5500-SF vs. Form 5500-EZ

The correct form depends on the plan.

Form 5500 vs. Summary Plan Description

INV-068 explains the Summary Plan Description, or SPD.

The distinction is fundamental.

SPD

Explains:

How does the plan work?

Form 5500

Reports:

What did the plan look like during this plan year?

The SPD is participant-facing plan-rule disclosure.

Form 5500 is annual plan-level reporting and disclosure.

Form 5500 vs. Summary Annual Report

The Summary Annual Report, or SAR, is generally a narrative summary of financial information from the Form 5500 for plans subject to the SAR requirement.^[6][7]

It is intended for participants and beneficiaries.

A participant should not confuse:

summary of annual report

with:

the annual report itself

The full Form 5500 can contain much more detail.

When Is the Summary Annual Report Due?

Department of Labor guidance states that the SAR generally must be furnished within:

9 months after the end of the plan year

or:

2 months after the Form 5500 filing deadline

when an approved extension applies.^[6][7]

Certain defined benefit pension plans providing an annual funding notice are not required to provide the SAR under the ordinary rule.^[6]

Form 5500 vs. Individual Benefit Statement

A participant's individual benefit statement is personal.

It can show:

• account balance
• vested amount
• investments
• contributions
• participant-level fees

Form 5500 is aggregate plan reporting.

Do not search Form 5500 expecting to find:

"Bob's 401(k) balance = $128,412."

Participant account balances are not publicly disclosed that way.

A Four-Document Framework

Each document serves a different purpose.

Can You Request the Full Annual Report?

Department of Labor guidance states that participants can request plan documents including the latest annual report under applicable ERISA rules.^[6]

The plan administrator must provide specified documents within the applicable document-request framework.

INV-068 explains document-request rights in more detail.

What Can a Participant Learn From Three Years of Filings?

A single Form 5500 is a snapshot.

Multiple years can reveal trends.

For example:

This might suggest:

• plan participation is growing
• assets are increasing
• contribution flows are increasing
• benefit payments are also rising

But it still does not isolate:

• investment performance
• participant outcomes
• fee competitiveness
• fiduciary quality

More analysis is required.

A Useful Form 5500 Research Checklist

1. Confirm the plan

Check:

• sponsor
• plan name
• EIN
• plan number

2. Confirm the plan year

Do not confuse filing year with plan year.

3. Check plan type

401(k)?

Pension?

403(b)?

Multiple-employer plan?

4. Review participant counts

Look for:

• total participants
• active participants
• participants with balances where reported

5. Review assets

Compare:

• beginning assets
• ending assets
• liabilities

6. Review cash flows

Inspect:

• contributions
• benefits
• transfers
• income

7. Review expenses

Identify major administrative categories.

8. Review schedules

Do not stop at the main form.

9. Check the auditor report if applicable

Read the report language.

10. Compare multiple years

One year can be unusual.

11. Cross-check the SPD

Use the SPD for plan rules.

12. Ask a focused question

Turn the data into a specific inquiry rather than a broad accusation.

Example: Plan Assets Fell 18%

Suppose ending assets decline by:

18%

from one filing to the next.

Possible explanations include:

• market losses
• large distributions
• participant departures
• plan transfer
• plan merger
• benefit payments
• asset reclassification
• combination of factors

The decline alone does not prove poor investment management.

Review:

• contributions
• benefits
• transfers
• investment income
• notes and attachments

before drawing a conclusion.

Example: Administrative Expenses Jump

Assume:

• prior year administrative expenses: $400,000
• current year: $900,000

Questions to ask:

• Did participant count rise?
• Did plan merge?
• Did service provider change?
• Is there a one-time legal or consulting cost?
• Did reporting categories change?
• Did the employer previously pay some expenses directly?

The Form 5500 can reveal the jump.

It may not fully explain the cause.

Example: Participant Count Falls

A falling participant count can result from:

• layoffs
• corporate sale
• plan merger
• account cash-outs
• rollover activity
• workforce changes

It is a signal for further research, not an automatic red flag.

Is a Late Form 5500 a Red Flag?

A late filing can matter because required filings are subject to federal deadlines and potential penalties.

But a participant should distinguish:

• ordinary extension
• amended filing
• delinquent filing
• filing correction
• system timing

before concluding the plan failed to comply.

Form 5558 can legitimately extend the deadline.^[12]

What Is the Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program?

The Department of Labor maintains a Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program, or DFVCP, that can allow qualifying plan administrators to voluntarily correct certain late Form 5500 filings with reduced civil penalties under the program.

The existence of a corrected late filing does not by itself tell a participant why the filing was late.

A filing-history review can provide context.

Does a Form 5500 Mean the Government Approved the Plan?

No.

The Department of Labor's filing search specifically states that posting the information:

does not constitute acceptance of the filing

by DOL, PBGC or IRS.^[2]

This is one of the most important interpretive rules.

A publicly available filing means:

a filing was submitted and displayed

not:

the government certified every fact and approved every operation.

Can Form 5500 Reveal Fraud?

It can reveal information that deserves further questions.

For example:

• unusual transactions
• unexplained expense changes
• missing expected filing components
• inconsistent participant counts
• service-provider relationships

But Form 5500 is not a fraud-detection verdict.

A suspicious pattern requires:

• more records
• context
• potentially formal inquiry
• possibly regulatory or professional review

Do not label conduct fraudulent from a single filing line.

Can Form 5500 Tell You Whether a 401(k) Is "Good"?

Not by itself.

A participant evaluating a plan can consider:

• employer match
• vesting
• investment menu
• fund costs
• administrative fees
• stable-value options
• advice services
• withdrawal flexibility
• loan policy
• participant communications
• plan governance
• employer contributions

Form 5500 can inform some of those questions.

It does not provide a one-number plan score.

Common Form 5500 Mistakes

Treating it like a personal statement

It reports plan-level data.

Ignoring the plan year

A filing date and reporting period are different.

Looking only at the first page

Important information is often in schedules and attachments.

Assuming public filing equals government approval

It does not.

Comparing absolute fees across different-size plans

Scale matters.

Treating asset growth as investment return

Contributions and distributions change assets too.

Ignoring plan-type differences

A pension filing and 401(k) filing require different analysis.

Assuming every small plan uses Form 5500-SF

Eligibility has additional conditions.

Assuming every Solo 401(k) files ordinary Form 5500

One-participant plans generally use Form 5500-EZ when a filing is required.

Using old participant-count assumptions

Defined contribution small-plan counting changed beginning with the 2023 plan year.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Form 5500?

Form 5500 is the annual return/report many employee benefit plans use to report plan-level information under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code.^[1][3]

Who administers Form 5500?

The Form 5500 Series was jointly developed by the Department of Labor, IRS and PBGC.^[1][3]

Is Form 5500 public?

Many Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF filings and attachments are publicly searchable through the Department of Labor's EFAST2 filing search.^[2]

When is Form 5500 due?

Generally the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends.^[3][5]

When is Form 5500 due for a calendar-year plan?

Ordinarily July 31 of the following year.^[3][5]

Can the deadline be extended?

A timely Form 5558 can generally provide a one-time extension of up to 2½ months.^[12]

Does every 401(k) file Form 5500?

Most conventional ERISA-covered 401(k) plans have an annual Form 5500-series filing requirement, but the correct form and exemptions depend on the plan.^[4][5]

What is Form 5500-SF?

It is a shorter annual return/report available to qualifying small employee benefit plans.^[3]

What is Form 5500-EZ?

It is an annual return used by qualifying one-participant and certain foreign retirement plans.^[3][10]

Does a Solo 401(k) have to file Form 5500-EZ every year?

Not necessarily. A qualifying one-participant plan generally does not have to file for a year when combined one-participant plan assets are $250,000 or less at year-end, unless it is the final plan year.^[10][11]

Does Form 5500 show my individual 401(k) balance?

No. It reports plan-level information rather than publicly listing individual participant account balances.

What does Schedule H show?

Schedule H is the principal financial-information schedule for large-plan filers and certain entities, reporting plan-level financial information under the form's requirements.^[9]

What is Schedule C?

Schedule C reports specified service-provider and compensation information when applicable.

Does a Form 5500 filing mean the government approved the plan?

No. DOL expressly states that posting a filing does not constitute acceptance by DOL, IRS or PBGC.^[2]

Is Form 5500 the same as the SPD?

No. The SPD explains how the plan operates. Form 5500 reports annual plan-level information.

What is the Summary Annual Report?

The SAR is a participant-facing narrative summary of Form 5500 financial information for plans subject to the requirement.^[6][7]

Can I use Form 5500 to compare 401(k) fees?

It can help identify plan-level administrative expenses and certain service-provider information, but it does not replace participant-level fee disclosures or a complete fee analysis.

The Bottom Line

Form 5500 is one of the most useful public documents in the employer-retirement system.

It can help a participant understand:

• who sponsors the plan
• who administers it
• how many participants it covers
• how large it is
• how contributions and benefits flow
• what administrative expenses are reported
• which service providers appear
• whether financial or actuarial schedules are attached
• whether an auditor report is included when applicable

But its value depends on reading it correctly.

The strongest framework is:

Identify → Verify → Compare → Contextualize

Identify

Make sure it is the correct plan.

Verify

Confirm the plan year and filing type.

Compare

Review schedules and multiple years.

Contextualize

Use the SPD, participant disclosures and account records to understand what the annual data actually means.

Form 5500 should therefore be treated as:

a window into the plan

not:

a complete verdict on the plan.

That distinction turns a technical government filing into a useful retirement-research tool.

Sources & References

1. U.S. Department of Labor: Form 5500 Series
2. U.S. Department of Labor: Forms and Filing Instructions / Filing Search
3. IRS: Form 5500 Corner
4. IRS: Operating a 401(k) Plan
5. IRS: 401(k) Resource Guide — Plan Sponsors — Filing Requirements
6. U.S. Department of Labor: Reporting and Disclosure Guide for Employee Benefit Plans
7. U.S. Department of Labor: What You Should Know About Your Retirement Plan
8. U.S. Department of Labor: Changes for the 2023 Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF
9. U.S. Department of Labor: EFAST2 Form 5500 Filing Tips
10. IRS: About Form 5500-EZ
11. IRS: Filing Notices for Forms 5500, 5500-SF, 5500-EZ or 5558
12. IRS: Form 5558 Reminders

Educational Disclaimer

ROIStreet publishes educational content intended to help readers understand retirement-plan reporting and public disclosure. Nothing in this article is personalized legal, tax, accounting, investment or financial advice, or a determination that a particular employee benefit plan is compliant, noncompliant, well managed or poorly managed. Form 5500 filing requirements and interpretations depend on plan type, participant counts, plan year, ERISA status, filing history, schedules, amendments and other facts.

The ROIStreet Reader Promise

We strive to explain before we evaluate, present evidence before opinions, discuss risks alongside potential benefits, distinguish facts from analysis, and correct material errors transparently.

Our purpose is to help readers better understand investing—not to tell them what to do.