Late Participant Contributions to Your Employee Benefit Plan? EBSA is Coming for You!

Contributions to employee benefit plans that are withheld from employee pay must be remitted to the plan as soon as administratively feasible.  Generally, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) believes that “contributions (other than union dues) withheld from an employee’s wages or paid to the employer by a participant must be sent to the plan on the earliest date these contributions can reasonably be separated from the employer’s general assets…In no event may these contributions be forwarded later than the 15th business day following the month of the withholding.”  However, the DOL expects that most employers can forward the contributions long before the maximum time period, and will look at past contribution history and employer practices to determine the appropriate period of time for contribution remittance.

The Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) was created by the DOL to allow for plan officials to correct certain employee benefit plan fiduciary violations, including delinquent participant contributions.  If a plan sponsor follows the applicable steps as required by the VFCP, no self-reported transactions will result in further enforcement action by the DOL.

Even after following the steps as required by the VFCP, plan sponsors must report the delinquent contributions on Schedule H of the applicable plan year Form 5500 filing.  With the Form 5500 filing, the plan sponsor must indicate whether the delinquent contributions were:

  • Not corrected
  • Corrected outside of the VFCP
  • Pending correction in the VFCP
  • Fully corrected under the VFCP and Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2002-51

As a best practice, we have always advised clients with identified delinquent contributions to make the appropriate corrective action, following all required steps under the VFCP.  However, this practice is proving to be even more prudent as it appears that beginning in 2018 the Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) of the DOL began sending form letters to plan sponsors who indicated on their 5500 filings that late contributions were corrected outside of the VFCP.  The letters threatened “possible alternative enforcement measures” if the plan sponsor did not complete a VFCP application within 60 days of receiving the letter.   While organizations such as the American Retirement Association have filed formal comments opposing the EBSA’s recent actions, it is still advisable to make all appropriate corrections through the VFCP to avoid additional potential fines and penalties. 

If you think you’ve made delinquent contributions to your benefit plan, or have any plan compliance issues or concerns, please feel free to reach out to our benefit plan experts at Schneider Downs

You’ve heard our thoughts… We’d like to hear yours

The Schneider Downs Our Thoughts On blog exists to create a dialogue on issues that are important to organizations and individuals. While we enjoy sharing our ideas and insights, we’re especially interested in what you may have to say. If you have a question or a comment about this article – or any article from the Our Thoughts On blog – we hope you’ll share it with us. After all, a dialogue is an exchange of ideas, and we’d like to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].

Material discussed is meant for informational purposes only, and it is not to be construed as investment, tax, or legal advice. Please note that individual situations can vary. Therefore, this information should be relied upon when coordinated with individual professional advice.

© 2023 Schneider Downs. All rights-reserved. All content on this site is property of Schneider Downs unless otherwise noted and should not be used without written permission.

our thoughts on
2024 Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Retirement Plans and IRAs
ERISA BY Justin Mudryk
Employee Benefit Plans Can Do More Than Satisfy Regulatory Requirements
How Safe Are Your 401(k) Assets?
SECURE 2.0 Act – Section 334. Long-term Care Contracts Purchased with Retirement Plan Distributions
SECURE 2.0 Act – Section 348.Cash Balance
SECURE 2.0 Act – Section 312. Employer May Rely On Employee Certifying That Deemed Hardship Distribution Conditions Are Met
Register to receive our weekly newsletter with our most recent columns and insights.
Have a question? Ask us!

We’d love to hear from you. Drop us a note, and we’ll respond to you as quickly as possible.

Ask us
contact us
Pittsburgh

This site uses cookies to ensure that we give you the best user experience. Cookies assist in navigation, analyzing traffic and in our marketing efforts as described in our Privacy Policy.

×