Schedule C FAQ Guidance from the DOL

Schedule C FAQ Guidance from the DOL	1/14/2010

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The Department of Labor (DOL) has posted an FAQ to "supplement FAQs published in July 2008, and to provide further guidance in response to additional questions from plans and service providers on the requirements for reporting service provider fees and other compensation on the Schedule C of the 2009 Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan". The FAQ addresses indirect compensation related to ERISA plans. The following questions and many more are addressed in the FAQ: Are all free business meals and entertainment received by persons who have business relationships with ERISA plans indirect compensation to the recipient for the purposes of Schedule C? Can mutual fund 12b-1 fees, sub-transfer agent fees, and shareholder servicing fees received by a retirement plan recordkeeper be classified as eligible indirect compensation for the purposes of the Schedule C alternative reporting option, regardless of whether such fees were received from a mutual fund agent or directly from a mutual fund? The July 2008 guidance in FAQ 40 provides limited transition relief where a service provider makes reasonable, good faith efforts to develop systems to track information regarding its reportable indirect compensation in a timely fashion but, despite such efforts, is unable to collect the necessary information for the 2009 plan year reports. Will the DOL reject the Form 5500 or impose penalties if the Schedule C does not include information that was not provided to the plan administrator or the plan's Form 5500 preparer by a service provider that gives the plan administrator the statement described in Q40? Please contact us with questions about the 2009 Schedule C for your plan's Form 5500.

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