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Under titles I and IV of ERISA, and the
Internal Revenue Code, pension and other employee benefit
plans are required to file annual returns/reports concerning the
financial condition and operations of the plan. These
requirements are generally satisfied by filing the Form 5500 Series.
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EFAST is designed to
accept only approved machine print and hand print forms. The
system may not properly process forms such as photocopies or
non-standard forms that do not meet the
Government's specifications. Use of these forms could result in
filings being rejected.
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Under the computerized ERISA Filing
Acceptance System, filers choose between machine
print and hand print computer
scannable forms to file the Forms 5500 and 5500-EZ. Machine
print forms are completed using computer software from EFAST
approved vendors and can be filed electronically or by mail
(including certain private delivery services). Hand
print forms may be completed by hand, typewriter or by using
computer software from EFAST approved vendors. See EFAST
Software and Approved Software Vendors for updates regarding
software.
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If filers are completing the Form 5500 or
5500-EZ by hand or typewriter, they must use the official
government produced hand print forms because the EFAST system
uses optical character recognition technology to scan the data
entries on the specially designed forms that enable the
computer to read the entries on the forms.
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The hand print forms, schedules and instructions are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by
calling: 1.800.TAX.FORM (1.800.829.3676).
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The hand print forms can be filed only on
paper by mail or approved private delivery services.
They cannot be filed electronically. The
machine print forms may be printed out and filed on paper by
mail or approved private delivery service, or transmitted
on-line via modem, or transferred to floppy disks, tapes, or
CD-ROMs and filed via mail or approved private delivery
service. Electronic filers submitting their Form 5500 and
5500-EZ via modem must file using approved EFAST transmitters
(authorized transmitters of forms via modem or file transfer
protocol). For more information, see EFAST
A - User's Guide for Electronic/Magnetic Media Filing
of Forms 5500/5500-EZ.
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Informational copies of the hand print
forms and the machine print forms are available at Forms
and Publications. These copies are for viewing purposes
only and are not acceptable for filing.
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EBSA launched this dedicated Web site to
provide filers with up to date information about filing
requirements, electronic filing options, software
availability, frequently asked questions and answers, and
information about upcoming seminars and other outreach
activities and events. In addition to publications, a general
fact sheet, Frequently Asked Questions section, information copies of the Form
5500s and the instructions are contained on this site.
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The toll-free EFAST Help Line telephone number,
1.866.463.3278 provides a variety
of assistance to plan filers. This Toll-Free service is
available to individuals who need
assistance:
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In responding to correspondence
received from EBSA about EFAST processing of their Form
5500 or 5500-EZ filing
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With general questions about EFAST
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With questions and/or need help
completing the Form 5500 or Form 5500-EZ
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In confirming EFAST's receipt of forms
you submitted
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Callers may also utilize the toll-free
EFAST Help Line telephone number to access the Internal Revenue Service and the Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
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EFAST Help Line, 1.866.463.3278
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