miEdge Announces Technology Readiness to Incorporate DOL Proposed Form 5500 Changes to Include Employers With Under 100 Eligible Employees

    NEW BOSTON, NH, July 15, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- miEdge the premiere provider of Form 5500 health & welfare prospecting and data analytic solutions, announced today their technology readiness to incorporate the proposed Form 5500 changes for under 100 participants, effective for plan years 2019. The proposed changes would expand Form 5500 reporting requirements to include employers with under 100 participants for both fully funded and self-funded employee benefit health & welfare plans.

Mark Smith, Founder & CEO of miEdge comments, "The proposed changes to include every employer, regardless of size, will significantly advance our ability to provide data in the miEdge prospecting solutions. The proposed changes will add millions of employers that did not previously need to file and the greater the transparency, the more competitive the free market becomes. The proposed changes will ultimately benefit the employers themselves."

Summary level information on the proposed Form 5500 changes that would be effective for plan years 2019
There are other proposed changes regarding DFE's and some general amendment changes. This summary represents the most significant core changes and we will provide ongoing commentary as more information becomes available.

Proposed Change 1 - Revisions to Group Health Reporting including the addition of Schedule J
Under this proposed rule, ALL Welfare plans that provide group health plans are required to file a Form 5500 and attach Schedule J, in addition to any other schedules that would also apply. At this time Schedule J appears to focus on the Insurance Carriers, premiums and funding, Compliance with the ACA provisions, plus some additional focus on Self-Funded plans. One major component that appears to be omitted is a requirement for broker name and commission to be disclosed.

Proposed Change 2 - Changes to Schedule C
Under this proposed change, Group Health Benefits with fewer than 100 participants' that are funded with a trust must also file a Schedule C (currently the rule applies to over 100)
There is also a proposed revision to eliminate "Eligible Indirect Compensation" now ALL indirect compensation received by service providers would be required to report by all plans.

Proposed Change 3 - Removal of Schedule I and Changes to Schedule H
Under this proposed change, Schedule I would be eliminated. This applies to retirement small group plans currently. If the filer is not eligible to file a Form 5500 SF then they would be required to file a Form 5500 with Schedule H instead. One of the biggest changes to Schedule H is the proposed revisions to line 4i. Assets held for investment and assets disposed of during plan year. There are also some additional compliance questions being proposed.

Proposed Change 4 - Restoration of Schedule E (Applies to ESOP's Only)
Under this proposed rule change, ESOP's will be required to file Schedule E. This Schedule was removed as part of the revisions to Form 5500 series on 2009.

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