Sponsors (13)
The bill modernizes and clarifies Form 5500 filing (e-signatures, fixed deadline, and disaster-relief flexibility) to make filings more predictable and reduce paper friction, but accelerates timelines and imposes transition and implementation costs that could raise compliance burdens and penalty risk for plan sponsors—especially small employers.
Plan administrators and plan sponsors can use electronic signatures on Form 5500 and related returns and have a safe-harbor for good-faith electronic compliance during the agency transition, reducing paperwork, speeding submissions, and lowering short-term penalty risk.
Plan administrators and plan sponsors get a clarified, fixed filing deadline (15 days after the 9th calendar month), giving predictable timelines for plan-year filings and simplifying planning.
Plans and parties affected by federally declared disasters can receive deadline relief because the Secretary of Labor can set later deadlines under disaster-relief rules, protecting disaster-impacted plans from strict deadlines.
Plan sponsors, especially small businesses, may need to accelerate audits and records collection to meet the shortened/fixed deadline, increasing administrative and compliance costs.
Plans unprepared for the earlier or stricter filing schedule face greater risk of late filings and associated penalties.
Plans that rely on legacy, noncompliant signature processes will incur costs to adopt compliant electronic signature systems and change internal workflows.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Moves Form 5500 deadline to 15 days after the end of the 9th calendar month after plan-year close and permits electronic signatures on filings.
Official title: To amend the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to simplify the filing of Form 5500 for employee benefit plan administrators.
Introduced February 4, 2026 by Glenn Grothman · Last progress February 4, 2026
Changes deadlines and signature rules for annual employee benefit and retirement plan filings (Form 5500 and related returns). The bill shortens the statutory deadline to a single, fixed date tied to the 9th calendar month after a plan-year ends, allows electronic signatures for the filings, directs Treasury and Labor to update regulations, and becomes effective for plan years ending on or after enactment.