Employee Benefits Update

Pension Protection Act Requires Intranet Disclosure of Pension Plan Form 5500 Actuarial Information

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) requires the plan sponsor of a defined benefit plan (or the plan administrator) to post the plan’s Form 5500 actuarial information (Schedule SB or MB, as applicable) on the sponsor’s intranet website for its employees (Intranet Posting), beginning with the plan’s 2008 Form 5500. This requirement is reflected in the instructions for the 2008 Form 5500. Plan sponsors that do not maintain intranets for their employees are not subject to this PPA requirement.

The PPA provides that the Intranet Posting be in accordance with regulations issued by the Department of Labor (DOL). To date, no regulations have been issued. As a result, there are a number of unanswered questions surrounding this new requirement, such as:

• How soon after the filing of the Form 5500 must the Intranet Posting be made?
• What counts as an “intranet”?
• Are there any notice requirements?
  
• Can the plan sponsor post the actuarial information with other Form 5500 information (excluding protected employee data) on the Intranet website or must the actuarial information be posted separately from the other Form 5500 information?

Pending further guidance from the DOL, posting the required actuarial information on the date the Form 5500 is filed is a conservative course. Posting in a manner that allows easy access without having to review other Form 5500 information is advisable. Plan sponsors might also consider advising employees of the posting. In order to be ready to post the information, prior to the filing date a plan sponsor will likely need to discuss the Intranet Posting requirement with the plan record keeper and/or trustee, to the extent they are involved in preparing the Form 5500 and will provide the required information, and with those who maintain the intranet website.

Please contact any member of our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Section for counsel, assistance and suggestions regarding compliance with the PPA’s new Intranet Posting requirements.

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