Schedule A: what carriers owe you for the Form 5500

Where are your Schedule As?

5500s are due in little over a month and a half for calendar year plans.

If you file a Form 5500 for insured benefits, every carrier owes you a Schedule A. Medical, dental, vision, life, each insured line or combined policy its own schedule. You need the info to file.

Those Schedule As were due to you 120 days after your plan year ended. For a calendar year plan, that was April 30. The carrier’s deadline has already passed. If they aren’t in hand, you’re already behind the eight ball.

The filing is still your responsibility. If a carrier never sends info, that doesn’t move your deadline. You complete the Schedule A as best you can and note on the form that the carrier failed to provide it. The penalty clock runs on the plan administrator, which is you, not on the carrier that left you waiting.

So the real work this month happens before you open the 5500. Track down every Schedule A you’re owed. The ones that don’t show up are why filings go late.

If you’re not sure how many you should have, count your insured benefits policies, then count what you’ve received. Close the gap and prepare the filing.