Form 5500 Schedule A Explained: Insurance Information
Schedule A of Form 5500 is where a benefit plan discloses every insurance contract it uses — the carrier, the premiums paid, who's covered, and, most usefully, the commissions and fees the carrier paid to agents and brokers. For health and welfare plans it's the closest public window into what the broker actually earns.
Last updated June 10, 2026
What is Schedule A of Form 5500?
Form 5500 Schedule A is the "Insurance Information" schedule. A plan must attach one Schedule A for each insurance contract through which benefits are provided or plan funds are held — group health, dental, vision, life, disability, stop-loss, and pension contracts like group annuities all count.
Because the filing is public, Schedule A is the place to see a plan's carriers, premiums, and broker compensation for free. You can read any filed Schedule A through a Form 5500 search.
Who files Schedule A
Any plan filing the full Form 5500 that provides benefits through an insurance company (or holds funds in insurance contracts) attaches Schedule A — both pension and welfare plans, large and small. Plans filing the short Form 5500-SF don't attach it, and fully self-funded plans with no insurance contracts have nothing to report.
The insurer is legally on the hook to help: ERISA §103(a)(2) requires the carrier to furnish the plan administrator the Schedule A information within 120 days after the plan year ends.
What's reported on Schedule A
- Part I — Contract information. The carrier's name and NAIC code, contract/policy number, the approximate number of persons covered, and the policy year.
- Part I — Broker compensation. The commissions and fees the carrier paid to agents, brokers, and other persons in connection with the contract — with each recipient's name and amount. This is the line benefits researchers care about most.
- Part II — Investment/annuity contracts. For pension plans funded through insurance contracts: premiums, contract value, and how the contract operates (allocated vs. unallocated).
- Part III — Welfare benefit contract information. For health & welfare contracts: premiums received, claims paid, retention charges, and whether the contract is experience-rated.
Why Schedule A matters for fee transparency
For insured health and welfare plans, Schedule A is often the only public disclosure of broker compensation. Comparing the commissions on your plan's Schedule A against premiums (and against peer plans of similar size) is a quick first check on whether the broker relationship is priced reasonably — the same way Schedule C is used to benchmark a retirement plan's provider fees.
One caveat: Schedule A reports what the carrier paid out in commissions and fees; compensation a consultant bills the employer directly won't appear here.
Look up any company's plan and see its insurance carriers and reported contract details, straight from the public filing.
Look up a plan's carriersSchedule A vs. Schedule C
| Schedule A | Schedule C | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | Insurance contracts (carriers, premiums, broker commissions) | Service providers paid $5,000+ (recordkeeper, advisor, auditor…) |
| Filed by | Any full-5500 filer with insurance contracts (large or small) | Large plans only (100+ participants) |
| Typical use | Health & welfare broker comp, carrier identification | Retirement-plan fee benchmarking |
Live rows from the public DOL data — open any plan to see its assets, participants, providers, and holdings.
Search Form 5500 filingsFrequently asked questions
The Insurance Information schedule. A plan attaches one for each insurance contract it uses, reporting the carrier, premiums, persons covered, and the commissions and fees the carrier paid to agents and brokers.
Any plan filing the full Form 5500 whose benefits are provided through an insurance company or whose funds are held in insurance contracts — pension and welfare plans alike. 5500-SF filers don't attach it.
Yes. Part I reports the commissions and fees the insurance carrier paid to agents, brokers, and other persons for the contract, including each recipient's name and amount.
Schedule A covers insurance contracts and carrier-paid broker compensation; Schedule C covers service providers paid $5,000 or more by large plans — recordkeepers, advisors, auditors — and their direct and indirect compensation.
Under ERISA §103(a)(2), the carrier must furnish the information the plan needs within 120 days after the end of the plan year.