Employee Benefits Compliance Checklist for Plan Sponsors
Employee benefits compliance is the set of recurring obligations ERISA, the DOL, and the IRS impose on the employer that sponsors a plan. Miss one and the penalties add up fast. This checklist walks through the annual duties for a typical retirement or health plan and points to where each one shows up on the public record.
Last updated June 13, 2026
Why employee benefits compliance matters
If your company sponsors a 401(k), pension, or group health plan covered by ERISA, you're a plan sponsor and usually the plan administrator — the party legally on the hook for reporting, disclosure, and fiduciary duties. The DOL and IRS enforce these rules with per-day penalties, and the centerpiece filing — the Form 5500 — is public, so gaps are visible. Use the checklist below as a starting point; your recordkeeper, TPA, and ERISA counsel handle the specifics.
The annual compliance checklist
- File Form 5500 (or 5500-SF/5500-EZ) for each plan — due the last day of the 7th month after plan year-end, with a 2½-month Form 5558 extension available.
- Attach an independent audit if the plan is large (generally 100+ participants) — see the employee benefit plan audit guide.
- Distribute the Summary Annual Report (SAR) to participants — generally within 9 months of plan year-end (or 2 months after an extended Form 5500).
- Provide the Summary Plan Description (SPD) to new participants within 90 days, and a Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) when the plan changes.
- Maintain an ERISA fidelity bond covering at least 10% of plan assets (minimum $1,000; maximum $500,000, or $1,000,000 if the plan holds employer securities).
- Deliver fee disclosures — 408(b)(2) from covered service providers to the plan, and 404a-5 participant fee disclosures annually for participant-directed plans.
- Run nondiscrimination and coverage testing for 401(k)s (ADP/ACP, top-heavy, coverage) and correct failures within the IRS windows.
- Send required participant notices — safe harbor, QDIA, automatic-enrollment, and any blackout notice — on their respective deadlines.
- Health plans: file ACA Forms 1094-C/1095-C, deliver the SBC, and meet other group-health reporting where applicable.
Every Form 5500 shows the plan's filing status, schedules, providers, and whether an auditor was named. Look up your company to see what's on the record.
Look up your plan's Form 5500Deadlines and penalties
The Form 5500 anchors most benefit-plan deadlines. For a calendar-year plan it's due July 31, extended to October 15 with Form 5558. A late or missing Form 5500 carries a DOL penalty exceeding $2,600 per day (the figure is adjusted for inflation annually) and a separate IRS penalty — but the DOL's Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVCP) caps the penalty steeply for sponsors who file before they're caught. Map your exact dates with the Form 5500 deadline calculator.
Every 2026 Form 5500 deadline — calendar-year and fiscal-year due dates, the Form 5558 extension cutoff, and the October 15 extended deadline — as a calendar file (.ics) with reminders, plus a printable one-page PDF.
One email, the full-year calendar, no spam. We use it only to send the calendar and occasional Form 5500 deadline reminders.
See how large plans report on Form 5500
Live filings from large employee benefit plans — the ones with the full compliance load. Open any plan to see its schedules, providers, and whether an auditor was named.
| Plan / sponsor | Assets | Participants |
|---|---|---|
| WALMART INC. WALMART 401(K) PLAN · AR | $50.8B | 1,670,732 |
| WALMART INC. WALMART INC. ASSOCIATES' HEALTH AND WELFARE PLAN · AR | $902.6M | 1,650,312 |
| TRUSTEES OF INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD TEAMSTERS VOLUNTARY EMPLOYEE BEN INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS VOLUNTARY EMPLOYEE BENEFITS TRUST · DC | $24.0M | 1,251,183 |
| AMAZON.COM SERVICES, LLC AMAZON 401(K) PLAN · WA | $34.6B | 1,207,759 |
| AMAZON.COM SERVICES, LLC GROUP HEALTH & WELFARE PLAN · WA | — | 1,194,891 |
| WAL-MART ASSOCIATES, INC. WAL-MART NON-EXEMPT SEVERANCE PAY PLAN · AR | — | 783,999 |
| PAYCHEX RETIREMENT LLC PAYCHEX POOLED EMPLOYER 401(K) PLAN · NY | $1.8B | 621,703 |
| ADP TOTALSOURCE, INC. ADP TOTALSOURCE, INC. HEALTH AND WELFARE PLAN · FL | $63.1M | 530,781 |
| FEDEX CORPORATION FEDEX CORPORATION VOLUNTARY INSURANCE PLAN · TN | — | 515,982 |
| GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES HEALTH ASSOCIATION, INC. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES HEALTH ASSOCIATION, INC. VOLUNTARY WELFARE BENEFIT PLAN · MO | $2.9M | 493,410 |
Frequently asked questions
It's the set of recurring obligations ERISA, the DOL, and the IRS place on an employer that sponsors a benefit plan — annual Form 5500 reporting, participant disclosures (SAR, SPD), a fidelity bond, fee disclosures, nondiscrimination testing, and required notices.
Filing Form 5500 (with an audit if the plan is large), distributing the Summary Annual Report and SPD, maintaining an ERISA fidelity bond, delivering 408(b)(2) and 404a-5 fee disclosures, running nondiscrimination testing, sending required notices, and ACA reporting for health plans.
A late or missing Form 5500 triggers a DOL penalty of more than $2,600 per day (indexed annually) plus a separate IRS penalty. The DOL's Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVCP) sharply caps the penalty if you file before the DOL contacts you.
The plan sponsor — usually the employer — which is typically also the plan administrator. The administrator is legally responsible for filings and disclosures, though recordkeepers, third-party administrators, and ERISA counsel handle much of the work.
Yes. Small plans still file Form 5500-SF (or 5500-EZ for owner-only plans), provide participant disclosures, and maintain a fidelity bond — they're just usually exempt from the independent audit.