Are Retirement Plan Sponsors Still Required to File Form 8955-SSA?

“Haven’t heard much about Form 8955-SSA lately. Are retirement plan sponsors still required to file it?”

Charles Filips, Kimberly Boberg, David Levine and David Powell, with Groom Law Group, and Michael A. Webb, senior financial adviser at CAPTRUST, answer:

Though the Experts haven’t heard much about the form lately, either (the last Ask the Experts question about it was back in 2017), indeed it is still required to be filed.

For those who may not be aware of Form 8955-SSA, it is a required annual filing with the Internal Revenue Service for those who are required to file a Form 5500 with the Department of Labor. It is used to report participants who separated from service with a deferred vested benefit but did not receive a full distribution.

The IRS shares the information reported on the form with the Social Security Administration, which in turn notifies such individuals at retirement age of any potential retirement benefits under plans of prior employers that they might have forgotten. However, plan sponsors often neglect to modify the form for subsequent distributions, which often results in notification to participants of benefits that don’t actually exist anymore, having been previously distributed.

Despite this, the form remains an annual filing requirement. Form 8955-SSA must be filed with the IRS by the same deadline as Form 5500 (July 31, 2022, for 2021 calendar year plans) unless extended in a manner similar to Form 5500.

NOTE: This feature is to provide general information only, does not constitute legal advice and cannot be used or substituted for legal or tax advice.

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