A press release said the Signature-Ready Form 5500 Preparation Service is designed to help ERISA-governed 403(b) plan sponsors address their plan’s financial reporting obligations, and is designed to help clients improve efficiency, manage costs and support compliance with reporting obligations. The service provides plan administrators with personal support, step-by-step guidance and issue resolution, professional review, and reconciliation with the plan’s audited financial statements.

The optional service includes the preparation of Form 5500 and all applicable schedules, preparation of the Summary Annual Report (SAR), preparation of Form 8955-SSA, automatic filing extension through the completion and filing of Form 5558 (if necessary), and compliance with the electronic filing through EFAST2 mandated by the Department of Labor (DoL).

The service will utilize Deloitte’s processes and technologies to facilitate preparation of the Form 5500, and plan sponsors will have a dedicated, experienced contact to manage the process from start to finish, according to the announcement.

Recently announced research from the TIAA-CREF Institute shows that while nearly three-quarters of plan administrators believe they are fully compliant with the new 403(b) regulations, almost half of those surveyed acknowledged they have difficulty understanding those regulations. Form 5500 reporting requirements were chief among the plan administrators’ areas of concern, with only about half indicating they were familiar with the requirement (see “Fiduciary and Audit Requirements Still Hazy for 403(b) Sponsors“).