EBSA Press Release: Labor Department, Internal Revenue Service Extend Filing time for Annual Reports Due To Severe Weather In Midwest And South [03/12/1997]

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

For more information call: 202-219-8921

The U.S. Department of Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and the Internal Revenue Service today announced an extension for filing employee benefit plan annual returns/reports due to the severe weather and flooding in the Midwest and southern United States.

The extension applies to counties in the Midwest and South designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as federal disaster areas. Those who qualify for an exception include employee benefit plans in those counties as well as banks, insurance companies and certain investment entities in the disaster areas that file reports directly with the Labor Department.

The extension also applies in cases where administrators of plans located outside the disaster areas are unable to obtain the information necessary for filing from service providers, banks or insurance companies whose operations are located in the disaster areas.

The following rules apply in the case of pension and other employee benefit plan return/reports (Forms 5500 Series) required to be filed on or after Feb. 28, 1997.

The agencies will consider filers affected by the disaster as having reasonable cause for late filing, and will therefore not impose any late filing penalties if the relevant returns/reports are filed by April 30, 1997. 

To qualify for the extension, returns/reports must be marked in red, bold print "Midwest/South Severe Weather 97" on the top center of the first page. The return/report of an employee benefit plan not located within a designated disaster area must include an attachment identifying the plan's service provider affected by the severe weather or floods and the county in which the service provider is located.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.