EBSA Press Release: Labor Department Makes Pension And Welfare Reports More Accessible [03/20/1996]

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The public will have quicker access to pension and welfare benefit information under a new system that goes into effect today at the U.S. Labor Department's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA).

The new system promises speedier delivery of lengthy annual reports. The reports contain accountant statements that are required to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service and PWBA. The public can view more readable full-page copies of reports on new computers in PWBA's public disclosure room, N5638, at the department's national headquarters, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W. The computers feature high resolution, 21-inch color monitors and Pentium processors. Printouts of these annual reports will be available for a small fee.

The need to improve the delivery system for the Form 5500 annual reports with attachments was necessary because the agency has found that the newly-installed optical imaging and retrieval system will enable PWBA to provide better and more cost-efficient services than the current microfiche operations.

The change does not involve Form 5500-C and -R annual reports, normally filed by plans with 100 or fewer participants, or Form 5500 annual reports filed without attachments. These reports will continue to be available via electronic facsimile.

Form 5500s with attachments are expected to be accessible through the new system. Until then, only facsimile copies of the data entered on the form (without attachments) will be available as these forms are filed. Copies are available through the PWBA Public Disclosure Facility, Room N5638, Frances Perkins Building at 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. 20210.