US Department of Labor, IRS, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. release information for 2025 annual benefits plan report/return filings

The Form 5500 series (Forms 5500, 5500‑SF, 5500‑EZ and related schedules) are the annual information returns that employee benefit plans file with the Department of Labor (DOL), IRS, and PBGC. They report basic plan details, financial condition, investments, and operations.

In general, the employer or plan administrator must file a Form 5500-series return each year for most private‑sector pension and welfare benefit plans that are subject to ERISA, including:

• Retirement plans such as 401(k) and traditional defined benefit pensions.
• Many health and welfare plans (medical, dental, life, disability) when they are large enough or hold assets in a trust.

Key filing patterns:

• Form 5500: typically used by larger plans (for example, plans with 100 or more participants, or plans of any size that hold assets in a trust).
• Form 5500‑SF: for eligible small plans with fewer than 100 participants that meet simplified conditions.
• Form 5500‑EZ: for one‑participant (owner‑only) and certain foreign plans, generally not subject to ERISA.

Certain plans are exempt (for example, governmental plans, most church plans, and some small unfunded or fully insured welfare plans with fewer than 100 participants). The detailed rules are in the official Form 5500 instructions.

EFAST2 (ERISA Filing Acceptance System 2) is the DOL’s electronic system for receiving and processing all Form 5500‑series filings. With very limited exceptions, Form 5500, 5500‑SF, and most 5500‑EZ filings must be submitted through EFAST2; paper forms sent to DOL are treated as not filed.

How filers use EFAST2 in practice:

• Register: The person signing and submitting the return registers on efast.dol.gov to obtain EFAST2 credentials.
• Prepare the filing: Either
  • Use EFAST2‑approved third‑party software; or
  • Use the DOL’s web‑based IFILE application on efast.dol.gov to complete the form and attach required schedules as PDFs.
• Sign electronically: The authorized signer applies an electronic signature within the software or IFILE.
• Submit and confirm: The filing is transmitted through EFAST2; the system returns an electronic acknowledgment showing whether it was accepted or rejected and listing any errors that must be corrected.

For one‑participant and foreign plans, Form 5500‑EZ can be filed electronically via EFAST2 or, in limited cases, on paper with the IRS.

Plan characteristic codes are checkboxes on Form 5500 that describe what type of plan is being reported. For 2025 the agencies added new codes so regulators can better identify certain higher‑risk or unusual plans.

New codes and their practical meaning:

• Code 1J, 1K, 1L (Form 5500 only): These identify multiemployer defined benefit pension plans that have been terminated for different reasons:

  • 1J: Terminated as a result of mass withdrawal (essentially all or substantially all contributing employers withdrew from the plan).
  • 1K: Terminated pursuant to a plan amendment (the trustees formally amended the plan to shut it down).
  • 1L: Terminated due to insolvency (the plan could not pay promised benefits when due under multiemployer insolvency rules). In practice, if a multiemployer pension fund has effectively ended for any of these reasons, its Form 5500 must include the matching code so DOL and PBGC can track these distressed terminations.

• Code 1G (Form 5500 and 5500‑SF): Used for defined benefit plans that use a variable annuity benefit formula. These are pensions where the benefit level is tied to investment performance through a variable annuity design. Checking 1G lets regulators and analysts distinguish these plans from traditional fixed‑benefit pensions.

The main reason for adding these codes is to improve data quality and oversight: PBGC and DOL can more easily identify terminated multiemployer plans and variable annuity plans, assess risks to participants and the insurance system, and tailor guidance or enforcement.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a federal agency that insures certain private‑sector defined benefit pension plans. If a PBGC‑insured pension plan fails and cannot pay promised benefits, PBGC steps in and pays benefits up to legal limits.

PBGC runs two insurance programs:

• Single‑employer program: Covers traditional defined benefit plans sponsored by one employer.
• Multiemployer program: Covers collectively bargained defined benefit plans to which multiple unrelated employers contribute (often union pension funds).

A plan is PBGC‑covered if it is a qualified, private‑sector defined benefit pension plan that is not in an exempt category. Plans that are generally not PBGC‑covered include:

• Governmental plans (state, local, or federal).
• Most church plans that have not elected PBGC coverage.
• Defined contribution plans (such as 401(k) or profit‑sharing plans).
• Certain small professional‑service employer defined benefit plans (for example, some plans of professional practices with no more than 25 active participants).

PBGC‑covered plans must pay PBGC premiums; in return, their participants have PBGC insurance protection if the plan terminates without enough assets.

A multiemployer defined benefit plan is a pension fund jointly sponsored by more than one unrelated employer and usually a union, under collective bargaining agreements.

When the article refers to such a plan being terminated as a result of mass withdrawal, plan amendment, or insolvency, it is describing three real‑world ways these funds can effectively shut down:

• Mass withdrawal: All or substantially all employers that contribute to the plan cease their contributions or withdraw their obligations. Under ERISA and PBGC rules, this is treated as a mass withdrawal and typically leads to plan termination; remaining employers face large withdrawal liabilities, and PBGC’s multiemployer program may become involved.
• Plan amendment termination: The plan’s trustees adopt a formal amendment that ends the plan (for example, stopping all future benefit accruals and starting to distribute or allocate remaining assets). The plan is legally terminated by the decision of its governing body.
• Insolvency: The plan can no longer pay benefits when due and, based on projections, does not have enough assets and contributions to cover benefits for the plan year. Under multiemployer rules, an insolvent plan may cut benefits to PBGC guarantee levels and rely on PBGC financial assistance, and that insolvency can lead to or accompany termination.

In everyday terms, all three phrases describe a multiemployer pension fund that has effectively failed and is being wound down, either because most employers left, the trustees voted to shut it off, or the money simply ran out.

The agencies did not give a specific calendar date for when the official 2025 electronic forms will be available in EFAST2. The news release only tells plan administrators to monitor efast.dol.gov and to wait until the official electronic versions are posted there before filing.

For Form 5500‑EZ on paper, the announcement is more precise: the IRS will release paper copies of the 2025 Form 5500‑EZ and its instructions on the IRS website sometime after January 1, 2026. No exact day in 2026 was specified.

Using informational copies instead of the official electronic forms:

• Informational or advance copies of the 2025 Form 5500 series are for reference only. The DOL release explicitly warns that plan administrators should not use informational copies to file.
• Form 5500‑series returns must be filed electronically through EFAST2 (or, for certain filers, on paper with the IRS for Form 5500‑EZ). If a filer submits an unofficial copy or does not use the required electronic process, the agencies can treat the plan as having failed to file at all, exposing it to late‑ or non‑filing penalties.

Penalties for late or incorrect filings:

• DOL civil penalties: Under ERISA section 502(c)(2), DOL can assess a civil penalty for failing to file a complete and accurate Form 5500. For 2025, the inflation‑adjusted maximum penalty for failing to file a required Form 5500 is reported as increasing from 2,670 to 2,739 dollars per day that the filing is late, per plan year (though DOL often collects less, especially if the plan corrects under the DFVCP program).
• IRS penalties: Separately, the IRS can assess penalties for failure to file or for late filing of Form 5500‑series returns. After the SECURE Act, the IRS penalty for failing to file Form 5500 or 5500‑EZ can be up to 250 dollars per day, capped at 150,000 dollars per return, for returns required after December 31, 2019.
• Incomplete or incorrect filings: A materially incomplete or erroneous Form 5500 can be treated as not filed, potentially triggering the same penalties until a complete, corrected return is submitted.

Relief programs:

• DOL’s Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVCP) allows plan administrators that voluntarily correct late or missing Form 5500s to pay much lower DOL penalties.
• For late Form 5500‑EZ filings for one‑participant plans, the IRS offers a specific penalty relief program if the plan files under the required procedures.
• The IRS generally waives its Form 5500 and 5500‑SF late‑filing penalties when the filer has satisfied the DOL’s DFVCP requirements.

Because the dollar amounts are large, filing through the official EFAST2 system with the correct year’s forms and promptly correcting any errors is critical.