If your organization offers a 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity plan to its employees, you may be required to comply with different filing and audit requirements.

Eliminated exemption creates new requirements
Recent Department of Labor regulations amendments eliminated an exemption granted to 403(b) plans from Form 5500 reporting, disclosure and audit requirements under Part 1 of Subtitle B of Title 1 of ERISA.  The removal of this exemption means that ERISA-covered 403(b) plans are now subject to the same Form 5500 reporting and audit requirements as 401(k) plans effective with their 2009 Form 5500 filings. 

If your plan is considered a “large” ERISA-covered plan (100 or more participants) you will be required to file audited financial statements beginning with your 2009 Form 5500 filing.  “Small” 403(b) plans (fewer than 100 participants) may be eligible to use abbreviated reporting forms without audited financial statements.

Help is available
Many 403(b) plans face significant challenges in meeting these requirements.  Decosimo can help.  Together we can establish plan accounting records and proper controls, identify all participant accounts to be included as plan assets, determine beginning account balances, obtain other financial information to be included in the plan’s financial statements and provide an unqualified opinion on the plan’s financial statements as an independent auditor.

To learn if your plan is affected, contact Marshall Harvey at 800.782.8382