December 2017
Pension Trends Newsletter
Adobe Acrobat Version | Pension Trends ArchiveSummary of Key Deadlines for Defined Benefit Plans
Independent Actuaries, Inc. specializes in design and administration of defined benefit pension plans. We take care of all the details, including calculating minimum and maximum contributions, designing amendments to control contribution amounts and preparation of all government filings.
As is the case with all issues affected by tax and labor law, defined benefit plans must comply with various deadlines. Below is a summary of key deadlines for the defined benefit plan of a typical small employer. This checklist is designed to aid CPA’s and plan sponsors in meeting plan operational deadlines.
| Event | Deadline | If Plan Year Ends December 31, 2018, Due Date is: |
| Submission of employee and plan financial data | Requested by IAI in 1st month of plan year, submit to IAI as soon after that as possible | As soon as possible after December 31, 2017
The sooner IAI receives the information, the sooner we can begin work on the plan. |
| Deposit of deductible contribution for prior fiscal year | Deadline, including extensions for filing business tax return* | 3/15/2018 for most corporations, 9/15/2018 with extension
Assumes plan year and fiscal year are the same. |
| Deposit of minimum required contribution | 8½ months after end of plan year* | 9/15/2019 |
| Quarterly contribution deposits
In some instances a requirement to make minimum contributions quarterly applies. |
Middle of 4th, 7th and 10th month of the plan year and middle of 1st month of next plan year* | 4/15/2018, 7/15/2018, 10/15/2018, 1/15/2019 |
| AFTAP Certification
Early Extended |
End of 3rd month after plan year begins End of 9th month after plan year begins |
3/31/2018 9/30/2018 |
| Form 5500 or 5500-EZ due
without extension with extension |
7 months after plan year ends 9½ months after plan year ends |
7/31/2019 10/15/2019 |
| Summary Annual Report to participants (not PBGC covered) | 60 days after Form 5500 due date | 09/30/2019, or 12/15/2019 if Form 5500 is extended |
| Annual Funding Notice to participants (PBGC covered) | 9½ months after plan year ends | 10/15/2019, or date 2018 Form 5500 is filed, if earlier |
| PBGC Comprehensive Premium Filing due
Professional corporations with less than 25 employees and businesses employing only the owner and spouse are exempt. |
9½ months after plan year begins or, for a new plan, 90 days after plan is adopted, if later | 10/15/2019 |
In addition to the above events that occur annually, the following events which also have reporting deadlines, may occur: minimum required distributions to participants, tax reporting to participants for required or voluntary distribution and tax reporting to the IRS for required or voluntary distributions to participants.
*Next business day is not available for plan contributions.
Looking for information on other topics? Visit our Pension Trends Archive to see a list of the most recent Pension Trends Newsletters.
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This article was adapted from our February 2001 Pension Trends Newsletter.
