Annual Reporting and Disclosure, 41392-41407 [06-6330]

Agencies

• Employee Benefits Security Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 140 (Friday, July 21, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 41392-41407]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-6330]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration

29 CFR Part 2520

RIN 1210-AB06


Annual Reporting and Disclosure

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This document contains proposed amendments to Department of 
Labor (Department) regulations relating to annual reporting and 
disclosure requirements under Part 1 of Subtitle B of Title I of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA or 
Act). The proposed amendments contained in this document are necessary 
to conform the annual reporting and disclosure regulations to proposed 
revisions to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit 
Plan forms and instructions. The proposed changes to the Form 5500 and 
implementing regulatory amendments are intended to facilitate the 
transition to an electronic filing system, separately proposed at 70 FR 
51542 (August 30, 2005), reduce and streamline annual reporting 
burdens, especially for small businesses, and update the annual 
reporting forms to reflect current issues and agency priorities. The 
regulatory amendments thus would, upon adoption, apply for the 
reporting year for which the electronic filing requirement is 
implemented. The proposed regulatory amendments will affect the 
financial and other information required to be reported and disclosed 
by employee benefit plans filing the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of 
Employee Benefit Plan under Part 1 of Subtitle B of Title I of ERISA.

DATES: Written comments must be received by the Department of Labor on 
or before September 19, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to the Office of Regulations 
and Interpretations, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), 
Room N-5669, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20210. Attn: Form 5500 Regulation Revisions (RIN 1210-
AB06). Comments also may be submitted electronically to e-ori@dol.gov 
or by using the Federal eRulingmaking Portal https://www.regulations.gov 
(follow instructions for submission of comments). EBSA will make all 
comments available to the public on its Web site at https://www.dol.gov/
ebsa. The comments also will be available for public inspection at the 
Public Disclosure Room, N-1513, EBSA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth A. Goodman or Michael Baird, 
Office of Regulations and Interpretations, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, (202) 693-8523 (not a toll-
free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Under Titles I and IV of ERISA, and the Internal Revenue Code 
(Code), as amended, pension and other employee benefit plans are 
generally required to file annual returns/reports concerning, among 
other things, the financial condition and operations of the plan. 
Filing the Form 5500 ``Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan,'' 
together with any required attachments and schedules (Form 5500 Annual 
Return/Report) generally satisfies these annual reporting requirements. 
The Form 5500 Annual Return/Report is the primary source of information 
concerning the operation, funding, assets, and investments of pension 
and other employee benefit plans. In addition to being an important 
disclosure document for plan participants and beneficiaries, the Form 
5500 Annual Return/Report is a compliance and research tool for the 
Department and a source of information and data for use by other 
federal agencies, Congress, and the private sector in assessing 
employee benefit, tax, and economic trends and policies.

[[Page 41393]]

B. Discussion of the Proposed Revisions to Part 2520

1. Section 2520.103-1

    The Department of Labor (Department) annual reporting regulations, 
including Sec.  2520.103-1, are promulgated under the provisions of 
ERISA that authorize the creation of limited exemptions and simplified 
reporting and disclosure for welfare plans under ERISA section 
104(a)(3), simplified annual reports under ERISA section 104(a)(2)(A) 
for pension plans that cover fewer than 100 participants, and 
alternative methods of compliance for all pension plans under ERISA 
section 110(a). Various changes are being proposed to the Form 5500 
Annual Return/Report and its instructions in a Notice of Proposed Form 
Revisions published today in the Federal Register. To accommodate those 
form and instruction changes, the regulatory amendments to 29 CFR 
2520.103-1 are being proposed to update the references to the annual 
report to reflect the new structure and components of the Form 5500 
Annual Return/Report.
    The following subsections outline major changes to the Form 5500. A 
more comprehensive discussion of the form and instructions changes is 
in the above-referenced Notice of Proposed Forms Revisions. Facsimiles 
of the proposed form revisions and proposed form instructions can be 
viewed on the EBSA's Web site at https://www.dol.gov/ebsa.\1\ To avoid 
unnecessary duplication, only a general summary of the form and 
instruction changes is included in this notice as background for the 
required cost/benefit and regulatory analysis discussions. For a 
comprehensive discussion of form and instruction changes, see the 
Notice of Proposed Forms Revisions published concurrently in today's 
Federal Register.
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    \1\ Paper copies of the proposed form revisions and proposed 
instructions may be obtained by telephoning 1-866-444-EBSA (3272) 
(this is a toll-free number).
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(a) Short Form 5500 (Eligible Small Plan Filers)
    A new two-page Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit 
Plan--the Form 5500-SF (Short Form 5500)--is being proposed in an 
effort to streamline the reporting requirements for certain small 
pension and welfare plans (generally, plans with fewer than 100 
participants) that have investment portfolios in which their assets are 
held by regulated financial institutions and the investments have a 
readily determinable fair market value as described in the proposed 
regulation at Sec.  2520.103-1(c)(2)(iii). A detailed description of 
the proposed Form 5500-SF and a facsimile of the form is in the Notice 
of Proposed Forms Revisions being published concurrently in today's 
Federal Register. Substantially all of the information required to be 
reported by employee benefit plans on the proposed Short Form 5500 
currently is included in that information required to be reported as 
part of the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report under the simplified 
reporting options presently available to small plans. The proposal 
would not eliminate the existing simplified reporting options for small 
plans but, rather, would add the Short Form 5500 as another simplified 
reporting option for eligible small plans.
    The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has advised the Department that, 
although there are no mandatory electronic filing requirements for the 
Form 5500 under the Code or the regulations issued thereunder, to ease 
the burdens on plans that are not subject to Title I of ERISA but that 
file the Form 5500-EZ to satisfy the annual reporting and filing 
obligations imposed by the Code, the IRS is proposing to permit certain 
Form 5500-EZ filers to satisfy the requirement to file the Form 5500-EZ 
with the IRS by filing the proposed Short Form 5500 electronically 
through the EFAST processing system. Therefore, under the IRS' 
proposal, certain Form 5500-EZ filers will be provided both electronic 
and paper filing options. The electronic option will allow 5500-EZ 
filers to complete and electronically file with EFAST selected 
information on the Short Form 5500. 5500-EZ filers will also be able to 
choose instead to file a Form 5500-EZ on paper with the IRS.\2\
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    \2\ Under the voluntary electronic filing option, 5500-EZ filers 
filing an amended return for a plan year must file the amended 
return electronically using the Form 5500-SF if they initially filed 
electronically for the plan year and must file with the IRS using 
the paper Form 5500-EZ if they filed for plan year with the IRS on a 
paper Form 5500-EZ.
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(b) Removal of Internal Revenue Service-Only Schedules From the Form 
5500 Annual Return/Report
    Under the proposal the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report will no 
longer include any of the schedules from the current Form 5500 Annual 
Return/Report that are required only for the IRS. This will effectuate 
the adoption of a wholly electronic filing requirement for the Form 
5500 Annual Return/Report given the current limitations on the IRS's 
authority to mandate electronic filing of certain tax returns. 
Accordingly, under the proposal, the following schedules will no longer 
be required to be filed as part of the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report: 
Schedule E (ESOP Annual Information), Schedule P (Annual Return of 
Fiduciary of Employee Benefit Trust), and Schedule SSA (Annual 
Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants With Deferred 
Vested Benefits). The IRS, however, has advised the Department that it 
intends that plan administrators, employers, and certain other entities 
that are subject to filing and reporting requirements under the Code 
will have to continue to satisfy any applicable requirements in 
accordance with IRS revenue procedures, regulations, publications, 
forms, and instructions. In that regard, the IRS has independently 
eliminated the Schedule P from the 2006 Form 5500 in anticipation of 
the transition to a wholly electronic filing environment. Further, as 
described elsewhere in this document, the Department is proposing to 
move to the Schedule R three questions on ESOP information formerly 
reported on the Schedule E, and the IRS has advised the Department that 
it does not anticipate requiring separate filings by ESOPs on the 
remaining questions from the Schedule E. The IRS is evaluating the 
information collected on Schedule SSA, and considering whether other 
existing information collections could be used in place of the Form 
5500 Annual Return/Report.
(c) Schedule A (Insurance Information)
    Schedule A must be attached to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report 
for an ERISA-covered plan if any pension or welfare benefits under the 
plan are provided by, or if the plan holds any investment contracts 
with, an insurance company or other similar organization. Although the 
proposal would retain most of the Schedule A data substantially 
unchanged, the Department is proposing to add a line item to give 
administrators a specific space on the Schedule A to report the failure 
by an insurance carrier to provide necessary information. Certain other 
technical changes are being proposed to the Schedule A form and 
instructions to improve Schedule A as a tool for disclosure of 
insurance fees and commissions.
(d) Schedule B (Actuarial Information)
    Schedule B is required for defined benefit pension plans subject to 
the minimum funding standards (see Code section 412 and Part 3 of Title 
I of ERISA). The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) proposes 
adding questions to the Schedule B designed to

[[Page 41394]]

obtain a ``look-through'' allocation of plan investments in certain 
pooled investment funds for certain very large defined benefit plans. 
Under the proposal, defined benefits plans with more than 1,000 
participants would be required to breakout the percentage of total plan 
assets held as ``stock,'' ``debt,'' ``real estate,'' and ``other.'' The 
underlying investments in master trusts, common or collective trusts, 
pooled separate accounts, and other pooled investment vehicles, would 
be required to be broken out and could not be treated merely as 
``other,'' regardless of how they are listed on Schedule H. For 
investments in ``debt,'' plans would be required to provide the 
``Macaulay duration'' and break out the percentages held as government 
debt, investment-grade corporate debt, and high-yield corporate debt.
(e) Schedule C (Service Provider Information)
    Schedule C must be attached to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report 
filed by large plan filers to report any person who rendered services 
to the plan that received directly or indirectly $5,000 or more in 
compensation from the plan during the plan year, and to report 
terminated accountants or actuaries. Consistent with recommendations of 
the ERISA Advisory Council Working Groups and the Government 
Accountability Office (GAO), EBSA has concluded that more information 
should be disclosed on the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report regarding 
plan fees and expenses. See ERISA Advisory Council Report of the 
Working Group on Plan Fees and Reporting on Form 5500 (November 10, 
2004) (available on the Internet at: https://www.dol.gov/ebsa/
publications) and the Government Accountability Office (See Private 
Pensions: Government Actions Could Improve the Timeliness and Content 
of Form 5500 Pension Information, GAO-05-491) (available on the 
Internet at: https://www.gao.gov). EBSA's proposal would continue to 
limit Schedule C reporting to large plan filers and would retain the 
$5,000 reporting threshold, but would revise the Schedule C and 
accompanying instructions to clarify the requirements regarding 
reporting of direct and indirect compensation (i.e., money or anything 
else of value) received during the plan year in connection with 
services rendered to the plan or the person's position with the plan. 
Also, a new section would be added requiring that the source and nature 
of compensation in excess of $1,000 received from parties other than 
the plan or the plan sponsor be disclosed for certain key service 
providers, including, among others, investment managers, consultants, 
brokers, and trustees, as well as all other fiduciaries.
(f) Schedule R (Retirement Plan Information)
    In light of the proposed removal of the Schedule E (ESOP Annual 
Information), certain questions from the Schedule E are being 
incorporated into the Schedule R in order to continue to collect 
certain information regarding ESOPs as part of the Form 5500 Annual 
Return/Report. In addition, multiemployer defined benefit pension plans 
would have to provide a list identifying each employer contributing an 
annual amount equal to or greater than five percent of all annual 
contributions to the plan (measured in dollars) and setting forth (1) 
the name of the contributing employer; (2) employer's employer 
identification number (EIN); (3) dollar amount contributed; (4) 
contribution rate; (5) whether the contribution base unit measure was 
hourly, weekly, unit of product, or other; and (6) expiration date for 
the collective bargaining agreement pursuant to which contributions are 
required to be made to the plan.
(g) Technical and Conforming Changes for Forms and Instructions
    Various other technical and conforming changes are being proposed 
as part of the restructuring of the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report. 
Several of the more significant changes include: (1) Revision of the 
instructions for the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report and development of 
instructions for the Short Form 5500 to reflect the new structure of 
the reports and electronic filing requirements; (2) addition of 
questions regarding compliance with the Department's blackout notice 
regulation in 29 CFR 2510.101-3; (3) addition of a compliance question 
on whether the plan failed to pay benefits when due under the plan; (4) 
expansion of the use of codes to report plan feature information on 
pension and welfare benefit plans; (5) elimination of the optional 
entry of the name and the EIN of the preparer; (6) requiring 
administrative expenses to be reported separately from other expenses 
on the Schedule I; (7) addition of a question on whether any minimum 
funding amount reported for a pension plan will be met by the funding 
deadline; and (8) adoption of a standard format for use in connection 
with an independent qualified public accountant (IQPA) rendering an 
opinion on the supplemental schedule information on Line 4a of Schedule 
H and I relating to delinquent participant contributions.

2. Section 2520.104-44

    Section 2520.104-44 and the current Form 5500 Annual Return/Report 
instructions provide for limited reporting for pension plans 
exclusively using a tax deferred annuity arrangement under Code section 
403(b)(1), custodial accounts for regulated investment company stock 
under Code section 403(b)(7), or a combination of both. Under the 
proposal, the exemption in Sec.  2520.104-44(b)(3) would be eliminated, 
with the result that Code section 403(b) pension plans subject to Title 
I would be treated the same as any other Title I pension plan for 
purposes of the annual reporting requirements under Title I of ERISA. 
With the growth in the size and number of Code section 403(b) 
arrangements, and the advent of Code section 401(k) plans, the Code 
403(b) arrangements have become more like Code section 401(k) plans. In 
this regard, the IRS has undertaken to update certain of its 
regulations. See 69 FR 67075, 67076 (November 16, 2004). For those 
section 403(b) plans that are subject to Title I of ERISA, the 
Department has detected violations in a high percentage of its 
investigations of Code section 403(b) plans. The predominant issue has 
been improper handling of employee contributions. The Department 
believes that these developments warrant amending the annual reporting 
requirements to put Code section 403(b) plans on par with other ERISA-
covered pension plans. Small Code section 403(b) plans generally would 
be 100 percent invested in eligible assets for purposes of filing the 
proposed Short Form 5500.

3. Section 2520.104-46

    In accordance with the Department's authority under section 
104(a)(2)(A) and 104(a)(3) of ERISA, the Department has adopted, at 29 
CFR 2520.104-41, simplified annual reporting requirements for pension 
and welfare benefit plans with fewer than 100 participants. In 
addition, the Department, at 29 CFR 2520.104-46, has prescribed for 
such small plans a waiver from the requirements of section 103(a)(3)(A) 
to engage an IQPA and to include the opinion of the accountant as part 
of the plan's annual report. The waiver of the IQPA requirements for 
pension plans was conditioned, among other requirements, on enhanced 
disclosure in the Summary Annual Report (SAR) provided to participants 
and beneficiaries. In that regard, the Department prepared a model 
notice

[[Page 41395]]

that plans could use to satisfy the enhanced SAR disclosure conditions. 
That model notice has been available at the EBSA's Web site at https://
www.dol.gov/ebsa. In order to provide plan administrators with 
additional access to the model notice and facilitate compliance with 
the audit waiver and Short Form 5500 eligibility conditions, the 
Department is proposing to add the model notice as an appendix to Sec.  
2520.104-46.

4. Section 2520.104b-10

    Section 104(b)(3) of ERISA provides in part that, each year, 
administrators must furnish to participants and beneficiaries receiving 
benefits under a plan materials that fairly summarize the plan's annual 
report. Section 2520.104b-10 sets forth the requirements for the SAR 
and prescribes formats for such reports. The amendments being proposed 
do not include any change to the SAR requirements. However, in order to 
facilitate compliance with the SAR requirement for Short Form 5500 
filers, the Department is updating its cross-reference guide to 
correspond to the line items of the SAR to the relevant line items on 
the Short Form 5500. The cross-reference guide, as before, would 
continue to be an appendix to Sec.  2520.104b-10.

C. Findings on the Revised Form 5500 Annual Return/Report (including 
Short Form 5500) as a Limited Exemption and Alternative Method of 
Compliance

    Section 104(a)(2)(A) of the Act authorizes the Secretary of Labor 
(Secretary) to prescribe by regulation simplified reporting for pension 
plans that cover fewer than 100 participants. Section 104(a)(3) 
authorizes the Secretary to exempt any welfare plan from all or part of 
the reporting and disclosure requirements of Title I of ERISA or to 
provide simplified reporting and disclosure if the Secretary finds that 
such requirements are inappropriate as applied to such plans. Section 
110 permits the Secretary to prescribe for pension plans alternative 
methods of complying with any of the reporting and disclosure 
requirements if the Secretary finds that: (1) The use of the 
alternative method is consistent with the purposes of Title I of ERISA, 
provides adequate disclosure to plan participants and beneficiaries, 
and provides adequate reporting to the Secretary; (2) application of 
the statutory reporting and disclosure requirements would increase 
costs to the plan or impose unreasonable administrative burdens with 
respect to the operation of the plan; and (3) the application of the 
statutory reporting and disclosure requirements would be adverse to the 
interests of plan participants in the aggregate.
    For purposes of Title I of ERISA, the filing of a completed Form 
5500 Return/Report, including the filing of the proposed Short Form 
5500, in accordance with the instructions and related regulations, 
generally would constitute compliance with the limited exemption and 
alternative method of compliance in 29 CFR 2520.103-1(b). The findings 
required under ERISA sections 104(a)(3) and 110 relating to the use of 
the proposed revised Form 5500 Annual Return/Report, including the 
proposed Short Form 5500, as alternative methods of compliance, 
simplified report, and limited exemption from the reporting and 
disclosure requirements of part 1 of Title I of ERISA are set forth 
below.
    In proposing revisions to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report and 
the amendments in this proposed rulemaking, the Department has 
attempted to balance the needs of participants, beneficiaries, and of 
the Department to obtain information necessary to protect ERISA rights 
and interests with the needs of administrators to minimize costs 
attendant with the reporting of information to the federal government. 
The Department makes the following findings under sections 104(a)(3) 
and 110 of the Act with regard to the use of the revised Form 5500 
Annual Return/Report as a simplified report, alternative method of 
compliance, and limited exemption pursuant to 29 CFR 2520.103-1(b).
    The use of the proposed revised Form 5500 Annual Return/Report, 
including the proposed Short Form 5500, is consistent with the purposes 
of Title I of ERISA and provides adequate disclosure to participants 
and beneficiaries and adequate reporting to the Secretary. While the 
information that would be required to be reported on or in connection 
with the revised Form 5500 Annual Return/Report and the proposed Short 
Form 5500 deviates, as before, in some respects, from that delineated 
in section 103 of the Act, the information essential to ensuring 
adequate disclosure and reporting under Title I is required to be 
included on or as part of the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report, as 
proposed to be revised, and the proposed Short Form 5500.
    The use of Form 5500 Annual Return/Report, as revised, or the 
proposed Short Form 5500 will relieve plans subject to the annual 
reporting requirements from increased costs and unreasonable 
administrative burdens by providing a standardized format that 
facilitates reporting, eliminates duplicative reporting requirements, 
and simplifies the content of the annual report in general. The Form 
5500 Annual Return/Report, under the proposed revision, including the 
proposed Short Form, is intended to further reduce the administrative 
burdens and costs attributable to compliance with the annual reporting 
requirements.
    Taking into account the above, the Department has determined that 
application of the statutory annual reporting and disclosure 
requirements without the availability of the Form 5500 Annual Return/
Report, including the proposed Short Form 5500, would be adverse to the 
interests of participants in the aggregate. The proposed revised Form 
5500 Annual Return/Report provides for the reporting and disclosure of 
basic financial and other plan information described in section 103 of 
ERISA in a uniform, efficient, and understandable manner, thereby 
facilitating the disclosure of such information to plan participants 
and beneficiaries.
    Finally, the Department has determined under section 104(a)(3) of 
ERISA that a strict application of the statutory reporting 
requirements, without taking into account the proposed revisions to the 
Form 5500 Annual Return/Report and the proposed Short Form 5500, would 
be inappropriate in the context of welfare plans for the same reasons 
discussed above (i.e., the streamlined form reduces filing burdens 
without impairing enforcement, research, and policy needs, while at the 
same time providing adequate disclosure to participants and 
beneficiaries).

D. Regulatory Impact Analysis

Executive Order 12866 Statement

    Under Executive Order 12866, the Department must determine whether 
the regulatory action is ``significant'' and therefore subject to the 
requirements of the Executive Order and subject to review by the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB). Under section 3(f) of Executive Order 
12866, the order defines a ``significant regulatory action'' as an 
action that is likely to result in a rule (1) having an annual effect 
on the economy of $100 million or more, or adversely and materially 
affecting a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the 
environment, public health or safety, or State, local or tribal 
governments or communities (also referred to as ``economically 
significant''); (2) creating serious inconsistency or otherwise 
interfering

[[Page 41396]]

with an action taken or planned by another agency; (3) materially 
altering the budgetary impacts of entitlement grants, user fees, or 
loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or 
(4) raising novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, 
the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in the 
Executive Order.
    Pursuant to the terms of the Executive Order, it has been 
determined that this regulatory action will have an annual effect on 
the economy of more than $100 million. Therefore, this action is 
``economically significant'' and subject to OMB review under section 
3(f)(4) of Executive Order 12866. The Department accordingly has 
undertaken to assess the costs and benefits of this regulatory action 
in satisfaction of the applicable requirements of the Executive Order.
    In accordance with OMB Circular A-4 (available at https://
www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a004/a-4.pdf), Table 1 below depicts 
an accounting statement showing the net annual cost reduction 
associated with the provisions of this proposed rule. The Department 
believes that some employee benefit plans will see a decrease in costs 
and others might see an increase in costs due to this proposed rule. 
Further information about the amount of increase and decrease in costs 
for particular plan types is displayed in the cost section later on in 
this document. On aggregate, the Department estimates a cost reduction 
of up to $174 million in the first year.

    Table 1.--Accounting Statement: Estimated Cost Reduction From the
      Current Reporting Requirements to the Proposed 2008 Reporting
                              Requirements
                              [In millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Net cost
                          Category                            reduction
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annualized Monetized Benefit...............................         $174
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Need for Regulatory Action
    The annual reporting regulations for which amendments are being 
proposed provide specific limited exceptions, for certain types of 
welfare benefit plans, from the statutory reporting requirements; 
simplified reporting and disclosure requirements for other types of 
small plans; and an alternative method of compliance in general for all 
pension plans. In providing these special rules, the Department and the 
other Agencies intend to reduce the overall burden of the statutory 
reporting requirements without sacrificing the quality of the 
information collected.
    As described in the preamble to the Department's proposal to 
require electronic filing of the Form 5500 (70 FR 51542) (E-Filing 
Proposal), the Department is in the process of creating a fully 
electronic filing system to receive the annual reports filed by 
employee benefit plans. In addition, as noted above, the Department has 
received reports from the GAO and the ERISA Advisory Council that 
suggest the need for some substantive changes to the annual reporting 
forms and the reporting regulations. The Department, in coordination 
with the IRS, and the PBGC (Agencies), also conducted a thorough review 
of the content requirements for the Form 5500. The Agencies believe the 
proposed regulatory and form changes, in conjunction with adoption of 
the electronic filing system, will substantially reduce plan 
administrators' reporting compliance burdens and also enhance the 
utility and accessibility of reported information to the government, 
participants and beneficiaries, and others.
    The Form 5500 Annual Return/Report serves as the primary source of 
information concerning the operation, funding, assets, and investments 
of pension and other employee benefit plans. The Form 5500 Annual 
Return/Report is an important disclosure document for participants and 
beneficiaries, an enforcement and research tool for the Department, and 
a source of information and data for use by other federal agencies, 
Congress, and the private sector in assessing employee benefit, tax, 
and economic trends and policies. The Department in this proposal has 
attempted to balance the interests of participants, beneficiaries, and 
the Department in the protection of ERISA rights, as well as the 
public's interest in the availability of information on benefit plans, 
with plan administrators' and sponsors' interest in minimizing costs 
attendant with the reporting of information to the federal government. 
The Department believes that the proposed regulations' benefits justify 
the costs. The basis for this conclusion is explained below.
    As stated in this preamble, the Department has determined that the 
use of the revised Form 5500 Annual Return/Report, including the 
proposed new Short Form 5500, would relieve plans subject to the annual 
reporting requirements from increased costs and administrative burdens 
by providing a standardized format that facilitates reporting, 
eliminates duplicative reporting requirements, and simplifies the 
content of the annual report in general.
    Moreover, the Department believes that the revisions to the Form 
5500 Annual Return/Report implemented by these proposed regulations, as 
compared to the existing form and schedules, will both reduce the cost 
of reporting, on aggregate and for a large majority of affected plans, 
and enhance the protection of ERISA rights.

Regulatory Alternatives

    Executive Order 12866 directs Federal Agencies promulgating 
regulations to evaluate regulatory alternatives. The Department has 
concluded that, in connection with its proposal to move to a wholly 
electronic filing environment for employee benefit plan annual reports, 
form revisions and implementing regulatory changes should be made to 
facilitate the transition to an electronic filing system, reduce and 
streamline annual reporting burdens, especially for small businesses, 
and update the annual reporting forms to reflect current issues and 
agency priorities.
    In developing the forms revisions and implementing regulatory 
changes, the Department was informed by recommendations made by GAO and 
the ERISA Advisory Council and conducted a thorough-going review of the 
current regulations and the scope of information collected, which 
included consideration of alternative methods of reaching its goals. 
The Department's consideration included, for example, different 
approaches to eligibility for the Short Form 5500, (see discussion in 
preamble to the Notice of Proposed Forms Revisions under the heading 
``Short Form 5500 as New Simplified Report for Certain Small Plans''), 
different approaches to reporting for welfare plans (see id. under the 
heading ``F. Other Welfare Plan Issues''), and different approaches to 
improving the reporting of direct and indirect compensation paid to 
service providers (see id. under the heading ``Schedule C: Compensation 
received by plan service providers''). Similarly, the Notice of 
Proposed Forms Revision discusses the assessments on how to balance the 
need for information to help the PBGC evaluate the financial solvency 
of multiemployer plans and the potential burden on administrators of 
multiemployer plans (see id. under the heading ``Schedule R: 
Contributors to Multiemployer Pension Plans''). Inasmuch as the 
regulatory amendments contained in this Notice are intended to 
implement the forms revisions contained in the Notice of Proposed

[[Page 41397]]

Forms Revisions, the discussions in the Notice of Proposed Forms 
Revisions are directly relevant to the Department's analysis under 
Executive Order 12866 and should be read as part of the Department's 
compliance with the requirements of the Executive Order. The Department 
therefore incorporates those discussions by this reference.
    The public is invited to comment specifically on the decision 
points for the several categories of proposed revisions, and on the 
adequacy of the models, assumptions, and data developed in order to 
evaluate regulatory burden. In considering these alternatives, the 
Department weighted the objective of reduced regulatory burden against 
the need for adequate reporting and disclosure to insure the protection 
of plan participants, quantifying impacts where possible. For example:
     Establishment of a Short Form 5500 for certain small 
plans: In considering criteria of eligibility for filing the Short Form 
5500 the Department evaluated both less stringent and more stringent 
criteria. If, for example, the Department had relied solely on the 
conditions for a waiver of the audit requirements for small plans, the 
Department believes that as many as 95 percent of small plans (612,000 
plans) would meet the Short Form 5500 requirements. Because of concern 
about the need to limit eligibility to small plans with easy to value 
investment portfolios, however, the Department added the requirements 
of small plans that invest in secure assets that are held or issued by 
regulated financial institutions and that have a fair market value that 
is easily determined. In so doing, the Department estimates that 
approximately 90 percent of small plans (571,000 plans) that formerly 
were able to file under the simplified requirements would qualify as 
eligible to file the Short Form 5500. An additional 9,000 small Code 
section 403(b) plans would also qualify.
     Addition of certain asset allocation and duration 
information to Schedule B: Schedule B is filed by defined benefit 
pension plans subject to the minimum funding standards. As noted below, 
this revision will increase reporting costs for affected plans. The 
Agencies, however, believe that these costs are justified by the need 
to better monitor plan funding. In developing this proposed revision, 
the PBGC considered the approach that could balance the need for better 
monitoring of plan funding and the increased burden that would be 
incurred to provide additional information on the breakdown of assets 
and duration of debt instruments held by defined benefit plans. While 
the PBGC initially considered the application of the additional 
requirements to all large defined benefit plans (15,000 plans), it 
subsequently determined that additional information for the largest 
plans, i.e., those with more than 1,000 participants (5,000 plans), on 
the level and types of assets in the plan and the sensitivity of these 
assets to changes in market conditions would suffice for the desired 
improvement in the monitoring of plan funding.

Benefits and Costs

    Benefits--These regulations and the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report 
and Short Form 5500 that the regulations implement will provide a 
standardized, streamlined alternative means of compliance with 
applicable statutory reporting requirements. In so doing, they will 
both ease plan administrators' compliance with reporting requirements 
and greatly enhance the utility and accessibility of information 
reported to the government, participants and beneficiaries, and others. 
In particular, the regulations and forms, together with the 
Department's planned program for assisting filers in the preparation 
and electronic submission of filings, will give plan administrators 
clear guidance and a supportive, routine mechanism for satisfying their 
reporting obligations. They also will make it possible to efficiently 
capture and assemble the information into an electronic data system. 
The data can then be processed and analyzed in the service of many 
beneficial activities. These include monitoring compliance with ERISA's 
reporting and other requirements, targeting, and carrying out prompt 
and effective enforcement actions; informing participants and 
beneficiaries of the characteristics, operations, and financial status 
of their benefit plans; producing statistics on the employee benefit 
system and monitoring trends therein and informing the public; and 
assembling information and conducting research that advances knowledge 
and fosters the formulation of sound public policies toward employee 
benefits. The Department believes that the benefits of the proposed 
regulations justify the costs.
    The Department further believes that the revisions to the existing 
reporting requirements contained in the proposed regulations will both 
reduce aggregate reporting costs and enhance protection of ERISA 
rights. The former anticipated effect is quantified in the discussion 
of costs below. With respect to the latter, the Department developed 
each of the revisions contained in the proposed regulations either to 
enhance protections, or to reduce costs in ways that do not compromise 
protections. The revisions are considered separately below.
    Removal of the IRS-only schedules: As explained in the Notice of 
Proposed Forms Revisions published simultaneously with these proposed 
regulations, this change is intended partly to facilitate a change to 
mandatory electronic filing--a change which is expected to yield 
substantial benefits. As also explained therein, to the extent that 
some Title I information may have been collected in these schedules, 
these proposed regulations provide for the ongoing collection of that 
information in other parts of the Annual Return/Report. In addition, it 
is the Department's understanding that some of the IRS-only information 
that will no longer be collected as part of the annual return/report 
may be collected in the future via other Treasury or IRS vehicles. The 
Department expects this revision to preserve protections of ERISA 
rights, while reducing Form 5500 Return/Report filing reporting costs 
as estimated below. From a broader societal perspective, the reduction 
in reporting costs may be less than what has been assumed here if IRS 
elects to collect some of this information through other channels.
    Establishment of a Short Form 5500 for certain small plans: The 
Short Form 5500 is being developed with the specific intent of reducing 
reporting costs (as estimated below) while continuing to collect 
sufficient information to preserve ERISA protections, satisfying the 
enforcement, research, and regulatory needs of the Department and the 
other Agencies, and the disclosure needs of participants and 
beneficiaries. The Agencies determined that less information is needed 
in the case of small plans that invest in secure assets that are held 
or issued by regulated financial institutions and that have a fair 
market value that is easily determined. The Agencies believe that the 
eligibility conditions for Short Form 5500 filers, including the 
requirements relating to security and valuation of the plan's 
investments, ensure that the Short Form 5500 will provide adequate 
disclosure to the participants and beneficiaries in the plan and 
adequate annual reporting to the Agencies. The Notice of Proposed Forms 
Revisions published simultaneously with these proposed regulations 
details the content of the Short Form 5500 and elaborates on its 
adequacy for its intended purpose. Small plans that are not eligible to 
file the Short Form 5500 would continue to be able to file

[[Page 41398]]

simplified reports as under the current system.
    Elimination of the special reporting rules for Code section 403(b) 
plans: As noted below, this revision is expected to increase reporting 
costs for affected plans. However, the Department believes these added 
costs are justified by the need to enhance ERISA protections in 
connection with these plans the Department believes that developments 
with respect to Code section 403(b) plans, described above in 
connection with the proposed amendment to 2520.104-44, warrant amending 
the annual reporting requirements to put Code section 403(b) plans on 
par with other ERISA-covered pension plans. Small Code section 403(b) 
plans generally would be 100 percent invested in eligible assets for 
purposes of filing the proposed Short Form 5500. This would result in 
only a modest increase in the annual reporting burden on small Code 
section 403(b) plan filers.
    Addition of certain asset allocation and duration information to 
Schedule B: As noted below, this revision will increase reporting costs 
for affected plans. The Agencies, however, believe that these costs are 
justified by the need to better monitor plan funding. The PBGC has 
found that it needs more information on the breakdown of assets and 
duration of debt instruments held by defined benefit plans. A plan's 
funded status is highly dependent on the level and types of assets in 
the plan and the sensitivity of these assets to changes in market 
conditions. Thus, the additional information required by this revision 
will improve the PBGC's ability to estimate the impact of economic 
changes on the financial status of the plans it insures, and by 
extension, on the future financial status of the PBGC. Much of the 
information newly required by this revision is typically in the 
immediate possession of the committee or authority that oversees the 
investments of plans sponsored by privately held companies, and 
generally is already required to be provided to the United States 
Securities and Exchange Commission by public company sponsors of 
defined benefit plans.
    Adding Multiemployer Plan Contributing Employer Information: The 
Form 5500 Annual Return/Report currently does not require plans to 
state the number or identities of employers participating in a 
multiemployer plan. Multiemployer plans are, however, currently 
required to keep a list of participating employers on file and to make 
such information available to participants on request. Accordingly, 
requiring multiemployer plans to provide the number of participating 
employers will not create any new recordkeeping requirements. This 
information will be useful to various governmental and private firms 
that use the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report data for policy and 
research purposes. The Form 5500 Annual Return/Report also currently 
lacks information that shows a multiemployer plan's basis for employer 
contributions. This information is particularly important with respect 
to multiemployer defined benefit pension plans, as this information is 
needed by the PBGC in order for it to assess the financial risk posed 
to the plan by the financial collapse or withdrawal of one or more 
contributing employers. Over the past several years, the financial 
condition of many multiemployer plans has been deteriorating. The PBGC 
believes it is prudent to begin monitoring those companies that are 
major contributors to the multiemployer plans. To do so, the PBGC must 
be able to identify these companies. Because multiemployer plans are 
most at risk when a major contributing sponsor encounters financial 
difficulties, this proposed revision would require identification only 
of major contributors.
    Other Improvements and Clarifications of Existing Form 5500 
Reporting Requirements: Some of the revisions that come under this 
heading are technical clarifications or conforming changes to more 
substantive proposed revisions. These entail no material benefits or 
costs. Other revisions make small adjustments to the instructions or 
reporting requirements to reflect changing market or compliance trends. 
Some of these entail small increases in reporting costs that are 
justified by the need to stay current. These include, for example, the 
addition of feature codes to identify plans with certain default 
features, compliance questions directed at the provision of blackout 
notices, and fuller instruction on the reporting of certain indirect 
plan expenses. Others, such as the elimination of the requirement for 
self-insured health benefit plans to separately report certain payments 
to individual health care providers, may reduce reporting costs without 
compromising protections. These revisions and their respective intents 
are detailed in the Notice of Proposed Forms Revisions published 
simultaneously with these proposed regulations.

Costs

    Although the costs to plans of satisfying their annual reporting 
obligations will be lower under these proposed regulations than they 
would be under existing regulations, they will still be substantial.\3\ 
As shown in Table 2 below, the aggregate cost of such reporting under 
the existing regulations is estimated to be $1,062 million annually, 
shared across the 833,000 filers subject to the filing requirement. The 
Department estimates that the proposed regulations, however, impose an 
annual cost burden on the 833,000 filers of only $888 million.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ The Department believes, however, that the annual cost 
burden on filers would be higher still in the absence of the 
existing regulations, because the filers would then be required to 
comply with the statutory filing requirements without the benefit of 
any regulatory exceptions, simplified reporting, or alternative 
methods of compliance.
    \4\ More detail about the cost estimates can be found in the 
section ``Assumptions, Methodology, and Uncertainty''.

      Table 2.--Summary of Costs: Current Requirements vs. Proposed
                              Requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Total burden
                                            Total costs     hours  (in
                                           (in millions)     millions)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Reporting Requirements..........          $1,062           13.51
Change due to Revisions for 2008........             174            2.26
Proposed Reporting Requirement, 2008....             888          11.25
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Number of affected plans: 833,000.


[[Page 41399]]

    Because these proposed regulations make substantial revisions to 
the existing reporting requirements, they will entail some one-time 
transition costs. The Department examined such transition costs in 
connection with the last major revision to the Form 5500 Annual Return/
Report, which revised the Annual Return/Report for plan years beginning 
in 1999. See 65 FR 5026 (Feb. 2, 2000). Based on information provided 
by plan service providers and Form 5500 Annual Return/Report software 
developers at that time, the Department concluded that such costs are 
generally loaded into the prices paid by plans for affected services 
and products, spread both across plans and across the expected life of 
the service and product changes. The Department's estimates provided 
here are therefore intended to reflect such spreading and loading of 
these transition costs. That is, the gradual defrayal of the transition 
costs is included in the annual cost estimates here.
    In addition to estimating the total impact of the proposed 
revisions on aggregate costs, the Department has broken down the change 
in cost by individual revisions. This apportioning of costs to 
individual revisions could be potentially done in several ways, as some 
types of plans are affected by more than one revision and therefore 
sequencing of the changes becomes important for the calculations. For 
example, large and small Code section 403(b) plans are affected by the 
elimination of the special reporting rules, but small Code section 
403(b) plans are affected also by the introduction of the Short Form 
5500. For the purpose of quantifying the impact of the individual law 
changes, the Department carried out the calculations in the following 
way:
    1. Removal of the IRS-only schedules: Under the proposed 
regulations some of the information formerly collected in these 
schedules will be collected by the Department elsewhere in the Form 
5500 Annual Return/Report filing. On net, however, this revision will 
substantially reduce the amount of information collected. Relative to 
the current filing requirement, this revision will reduce the total 
annual burden hours for 740,000 affected filers by 1.2 million hours. 
Applying an hourly labor rate of $84 for service providers and $59 for 
plan sponsors, the Department estimates that this will lower the 
aggregate annual reporting cost by an estimated $90 million.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ A discussion on the appropriateness of the labor rates used 
in the calculations as well as on other assumptions can be found in 
the Technical Appendix.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Establishment of a Short Form 5500 for certain small plans: A 
large majority of small plans, or 580,000 of the 640,000 total small 
plan filers, are estimated to be eligible to use the Short Form 5500, 
thereby saving an estimated $154 million (1.9 million hours) annually. 
This estimate includes about 9,000 small Code section 403(b) plans that 
under the proposed rule would be subjected to increased filing 
requirements.
    3. Addition of certain asset allocation and duration information to 
Schedule B: The provision of this information, and its certification by 
an actuary, will entail estimated additional annual costs of $1.5 
million (19,000 hours) for 5,000 affected defined benefit pension plans 
with more than 1,000 participants.
    4. Revision of Schedule C (Service Provider Information): This 
revision intends to clarify the reporting requirements and improve the 
information plan officials receive regarding amounts being received by 
plan service providers. This is anticipated to add an estimated $3 
million (41,000 hours) for 79,000 affected plans to annual reporting 
costs.
    5. Addition of requirements for certain multi-employer plans to 
report certain information about contributing employers: This is 
anticipated to add an estimated $300,000 (3,500 hours) to annual 
reporting costs for 10,000 multiemployer plans.
    6. Adoption of various technical revisions and other miscellaneous 
revisions to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report to improve and clarify 
existing reporting requirements: Together these are estimated to add an 
estimated $12 million (154,000 hours) to annual reporting costs and 
affect approximately 250,000 plans.
    7. Elimination of the special reporting rules for Code section 
403(b) plans: Approximately eighteen thousand Code section 403(b) plans 
are subject to the annual reporting requirements. It is anticipated 
that all 9,000 small Code section 403(b) plans will be eligible to use 
the new Short Form and will be eligible for waiver of the audit 
requirement. The impact of the proposed changes on the small Code 
section 403(b) plans is quantified above. Nine thousand large Code 
section 403(b) plans will be newly subject to the audit requirement and 
required to file a Form 5500 Annual Return/Report similar to those 
filed by similar Code section 401(k) plans. This revision will increase 
annual reporting costs for large Code section 403(b) plans by an 
estimated $54 million (or 690,000 hours).
    A summary of the changes in costs and burden hours that were 
allocated to the groups of proposed changes as outlined above, as well 
as the number of affected employee benefit plans, can be found in Table 
3 below.

      Table 3.--Summary of Proposed Changes to the Reporting Requirements: Cost, Burden, and Affected Plans
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Change in costs     Change in       Number of
                       Revisions for 2008                          (in millions)   burden hours   affected plans
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IRS-only Schedules, Short Form and small.......................           -$90.1      -1,226,000         739,000
Code Section 403(b) plans......................................           -154.3      -1,938,000         580,000
Schedule B.....................................................              1.5          19,000           5,000
Schedule C.....................................................              3.2          41,000          79,000
Multi-employer plans...........................................              0.3           3,500          10,000
Technical and Miscellaneous Revisions..........................             11.9         154,000         253,000
Large Code Section 403(b) plans................................             53.9         689,000           9,000
                                                                ------------------------------------------------
    Total......................................................           -173.6      (2,258.30)        833,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: The displayed numbers might not sum up to the totals due to rounding.


[[Page 41400]]

    The proposed regulation otherwise generally does not alter 
reporting costs. Plans currently exempt from annual reporting 
requirements (such as certain small unfunded or fully insured welfare 
plans and certain Simplified Employer Pensions) will remain exempt. 
Also, except for Code section 403(b) plans, plans eligible for limited 
reporting options (such as certain IRA-based pension plans) will 
continue to be eligible for that annual reporting relief. The revisions 
continue the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report structure that is familiar 
to individual and corporate taxpayers--a simple two-page main form with 
basic information necessary to identify the plan for which the report 
is filed, along with a checklist of the schedules being filed that are 
applicable to the filer's plan type. The structure is designed to aid 
filers by allowing them to assemble and file a return customized to 
their plan.

Assumptions, Methodology, and Uncertainty

    The cost and burden associated with the annual reporting 
requirement for any given plan will vary according to a variety of 
factors, including the plan's characteristics, practices, and 
operations, which in turn determine what information must be provided. 
A small, single-employer defined contribution pension plan filing a new 
Short Form 5500 generally will incur far lower costs than a large, 
multiemployer defined benefit pension plan that holds multiple 
insurance contracts, engages in numerous reportable transactions, and 
pays large fees to a number of service providers. Therefore, in 
arriving at its aggregate cost estimates, the Department separately 
considered the cost to different types of plans of providing different 
types of information. The basis for the Department's estimates is 
elaborated below.
    Assumptions Underlying this Analysis--The Department's analysis of 
the costs and benefits of these proposed amendments assumes that all 
benefits and costs will be realized in the first year of the reporting 
cycle to which the amendments apply and within each year thereafter. 
This assumption is based on the nature of the statutory reporting 
provisions, which require that each plan complete a filing within a 
yearly period. The Department has used a ``status quo'' baseline for 
this analysis, assuming that the world absent the regulations will 
resemble the present.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ Further detail can be found in the Technical Appendix.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Methodology--The underlying cost data was developed by Mathematica 
Policy Research, Inc. (MPR), and has been used by the Agencies in 
various burden estimates related to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report 
during recent years. See, 65 FR 21068, 21077-78 (April 19, 2000); 
Borden, William S., ``Estimates of the Burden for Filing Form 5500: The 
Change in Burden from the 1997 to the 1999 Forms,'' Mathematica Policy 
Research, submitted to U.S. Dept. of Labor May 25, 1999.\7\ It is 
grounded in surveys of filers and their service providers, which 
measured the unit cost burden of providing various types of 
information. Aggregate estimates were produced by interacting these 
unit cost measures with historical counts of Form 5500 Annual Return/
Report filers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ The Mathematica report can be accessed at the Department's 
Web site at https://www.dol.gov/ebsa.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A new burden estimating model, based on the Form 5500 Burden Model 
that MPR most recently used for estimating burdens in October 2004, was 
assembled by Actuarial Research Corporation (ARC). ARC assembled a 
simplified model, drawing on implied burdens associated with subsets of 
filer groups represented in the MPR model. The model used the level of 
detail consistent with reflecting burden differences associated with 
the various proposed forms revisions. In the following, the ARC model 
is described in broad terms. Further details about the model are 
explained in the Technical Appendix that can be accessed at the 
Department's Web site at https://www.dol.gov/ebsa.
    To estimate aggregate burdens, the types of plans that have similar 
reporting requirements were grouped together. Thus, calculations were 
prepared for different subsets of types of plans as appropriate based 
on the specifics of the revisions to the reporting requirements. Table 
4 below shows the particular types of plans considered, the number of 
plans affected by the proposed revisions, as well as the aggregate 
costs under current and proposed requirements. As can be seen from the 
Total line in Table 4, aggregate cost under current and proposed 
regulations add up to $1,062 million and $888 million, respectively. 
The universe of filers was divided into three basic plan types: Defined 
benefit pension plans, defined contribution pension plans, and welfare 
plans, and each of these major plan types was further subdivided into 
multiemployer and single-employer plans. Defined contribution Code 
section 403(b) plans were treated separately from other defined 
contribution plans. Since the filing requirements differ substantially 
for small and large plans, the plan types were also divided by plan 
size. For large plans (100 or more participants), the defined benefit 
plans were further divided between very large (1000 or more 
participants) and other large plans (at least 100 participants, but 
less than 1000 participants). For each of these sets of respondents, 
burden hours per respondent were estimated for the Form 5500 Annual 
Return/Report itself and for up to eight schedules.

              Table 4.--Number of Affected Filers and Cost Under Current vs. Proposed Requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Aggregate cost  Aggregate cost
                                                                      Number       under current  under proposed
                          Type of plan                               affected      requirements    requirements
                                                                                   (in millions)   (in millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5500 Large Plans (> = 100 participants)--189,000:
    DB, ME, 100-1,000 participants..............................             800           7.6             7.2
    DB, ME, > 1,000 participants................................           1,100          13.3            13.2
    DB, SE, 100-1,000 participants..............................           8,900          80.2            74.2
    DB, SE, > 1,000 participants................................           4,200          38.8            39.2
    DC, ME, non-403(b)..........................................           2,300          14.4            13.7
    DC, ME, 403(b)..............................................             400           0.016           2.4
    DC, SE, non-403(b)..........................................          70,000         437.1           401.3
    DC, SE, 403(b)..............................................           8,600           0.350          51.9
    Welfare, ME.................................................           5,700          14.3            14.8
    Welfare, SE.................................................          86,600         124.3           127.9

[[Page 41401]]

 
5500 Small Short Form Eligible--580,000:
    DB..........................................................          30,800          30.3            21.2
    DC, non-403(b)..............................................         533,000         263.9            87.8
    DC, 403(b)..................................................           8,800           0.36            1.4
    Welfare.....................................................           7,000           3.4             1.2
5500 Small Short Form Ineligible--64,000:
    DB..........................................................           4,000           3.8             3.7
    DC, non-403(b)..............................................          60,200          29.3            26.9
    DC, 403(b)..................................................  ..............  ..............  ..............
    Welfare.....................................................             100           0.079           0.080
                                                                 ----------------------------------------------