Labor Department: Businesses Must E-File
Businesses with a pension plan but no Internet access may find themselves facing a $15,000 fine, according to a pension expert who is fighting a Department of Labor requirement that all pension and 401(k) forms be filed electronically.
The requirement stems from the Labor Department’s conversion to a paperless reporting system in January.
The law is designed to save the government money—but will force businesses that lack e-mail or are unfamiliar with the Internet to get online or face a $15,000 penalty, said Brett Goldstein, a pension administrator based in Plainview, N.Y.
“Small-business owners who don’t have e-mail, high-speed Internet connections and older business owners are going to have a hard time trying to comply with the DOL’s mandate that everyone use the Internet to electronically file their forms,” said Goldstein. He claims 20 percent to 28 percent of small businesses don’t use e-mail.
Because the Labor Department requires employers to protect the ID and password they are given to electronically file their forms, that information cannot be shared with actuaries and tax preparers who could otherwise file for employers, said Goldstein.
Goldstein, who is petitioning the Department of Labor to allow professionals to file Form 5500 on behalf of their clients, says the new e-file requirement will be burdensome to small-business owners and could even prevent them from offering a 401(k) plan or cause them terminate an existing plan. [April 2010 PET AGE]
 |
