Brief Case
Pension Resource

29 C.F.R. § 2520.104-46

Waiver of examination and report of an independent qualified public accountant for employee benefit plans with fewer than 100 participants.
CFR 1999 annual edition (revised as of 1999-07-01) · superseded Jul 1, 2000 · last amended by 54 FR 8629, Mar. 1, 1989
PrintCompare datesAsk AI about this sectionOfficial source ↗
Back to current
The earliest stored text of this section is effective Jul 1, 1997. Showing that version.
(a) General.
(1) Under the authority of section 103(a)(3)(A) of the Act, the Secretary may waive the requirements of section 103(a)(3)(A) in the case of a plan for which simplified annual reporting has been prescribed in accordance with section 104(a)(2) of the Act.
(2) Under the authority of section 104(a)(3) of the Act the Secretary may exempt any employee welfare benefit plan from certain annual reporting requirements.
(b) Application.
(1) The administrator of an employee pension plan for which simplified annual reporting has been prescribed in accordance with section 104(a)(2)(A) of the Act and § 2520.104-41 is not required to comply with the annual reporting requirements described in paragraph (c) of this section.
(2) The administrator of an employee welfare benefit plan that covers fewer than 100 participants at the beginning of the plan year is not required to comply with annual reporting requirements described in paragraph (c) of this section.
(c) Waiver. The administrator of a plan described in paragraph (b)(1) or (2) of this section is not required to:
(1) Engage an independent qualified public accountant to conduct an examination of the financial statements of the plan;
(2) Include within the annual report the financial statements and schedules prescribed in section 103(b) of the Act and §§ 2520.103-1, 2520.103-2, and 2520.103-10; and
(3) Include within the annual report a report of an independent qualified public accountant as prescribed in section 103(a)(3)(A) of the Act and § 2520.103-1.
(d) Limitations.
(1) The waiver described in this section does not affect the obligation of a plan described in paragraph (b)(1) or (2) of this section to file a Form 5500-C or, as appropriate, Form 5500-R and all schedules called for therein. See § 2520.104-41.
(2) This section does not apply to a plan which elects to file an Annual Return/Report Form 5500 pursuant to § 2520.103-1(d).
Source credit, amendments & notes

[43 FR 10151, Mar. 10, 1978, as amended at 43 FR 14010, Apr. 4, 1978; 45 FR 51447, Aug. 1, 1980; 54 FR 8629, Mar. 1, 1989]

29 C.F.R. § 2520.104-46 — Waiver of examination and report of an independent qualified public accountant for employee benefit plans with fewer than 100 participants. · CFR 1999 annual edition (revised as of 1999-07-01) · https://pensionresource.website/EAMain?content=EAMain.Law&id=cfr29-2520.104-46&asof=1993-02-01 · printed Oct 16, 2026
On this page
Implements
ERISA § 104 (29 U.S.C. § 1024) Filing with Secretary and furnishing information to participants and certain employers
Cited by (code & regs)
Guidance addressing this section

No documents are primarily about this section.

Also cited in 18 other documents
Department of Labor (EBSA)
Proposed Rules
  • 91 FR 9213Proposed Feb 25, 2026 — Requirement To Provide Paper Statements in Certain Cases-Amendments to Electronic Disclosure Safe Harbors Comments due Apr 27, 2026
  • 91 FR 4348Proposed Jan 30, 2026 — Improving Transparency Into Pharmacy Benefit Manager Fee Disclosure Comments due Mar 31, 2026
  • 86 FR 51488Proposed Sep 15, 2021 — Proposed Revision of Annual Information Return/Reports Comments due Nov 1, 2021
  • 86 FR 51284Proposed Sep 15, 2021 — Annual Reporting and Disclosure Comments due Nov 1, 2021 (b)(1)(i)(A)
  • 83 FR 53534Proposed Oct 23, 2018 — Definition of “Employer” Under Section 3(5) of ERISA-Association Retirement Plans and Other Multiple-Employer Plans Comments due Dec 24, 2018
  • 81 FR 47534Proposed Jul 21, 2016 — Proposed Revision of Annual Information Return/Reports Comments due Oct 4, 2016 (b)(1)(i)(A)(1)(b)(1)(i)(A)(2)(b)(2)
  • 81 FR 47496Proposed Jul 21, 2016 — Annual Reporting and Disclosure Comments due Oct 4, 2016
  • 76 FR 76222Proposed Dec 6, 2011 — Filings Required of Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements and Certain Other Related Entities Comments due Mar 5, 2012
  • 75 FR 70625Proposed Nov 18, 2010 — Annual Funding Notice for Defined Benefit Plans Comments due Jan 18, 2011 (b)(1)(i)(B)(1)
Final Rules
  • 89 FR 43636 May 17, 2024 — Abandoned Plan Regulations
  • 88 FR 11793 Feb 24, 2023 — Annual Reporting and Disclosure
  • 87 FR 54368 Sep 6, 2022 — Interpretive Bulletin Relating to the Independence of Employee Benefit Plan Accountants
  • 85 FR 31884 May 27, 2020 — Default Electronic Disclosure by Employee Pension Benefit Plans Under ERISA
  • 84 FR 37508 Jul 31, 2019 — Definition of “Employer” Under Section 3(5) of ERISA-Association Retirement Plans and Other Multiple-Employer Plans
  • 80 FR 5626 Feb 2, 2015 — Annual Funding Notice for Defined Benefit Plans (b)(1)(i)(B)
  • 78 FR 13781 Mar 1, 2013 — Filings Required of Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements and Certain Other Related Entities
IRS / Treasury
Proposed Rules
  • 88 FR 82796Proposed Nov 27, 2023 — Long-Term, Part-Time Employee Rules for Cash or Deferred Arrangements Under Section 401(k) Comments due Jan 26, 2024
Final Rules

No court rulings in the library cite this provision yet.

No private letter rulings in the library cite this provision yet.

Each row is a version of the text as published by the official source. Code dates are the edition/release point that first reflected the change; regulation dates are eCFR effective dates. The library checks the official sources automatically, so new versions appear here on their own; “run” opens the sync that recorded a version.

EffectiveThroughSourceAmended by
Jul 1, 1997Jun 30, 2000CFR 1999 annual edition (revised as of 1999-07-01) run 12754 FR 8629, Mar. 1, 1989View
Jul 1, 2000Jun 30, 2001CFR 2000 annual edition (revised as of 2000-07-01) run 12765 FR 21085, Apr. 19, 2000View · Redline (sign in)
Jul 1, 2001Jun 30, 2003CFR 2002 annual edition (revised as of 2002-07-01) run 12765 FR 62973, Oct. 19, 2000View · Redline (sign in)
Jul 1, 2003Jun 30, 2008CFR 2007 annual edition (revised as of 2007-07-01) run 12765 FR 62973, Oct. 19, 2000View · Redline (sign in)
Jul 1, 2008Jun 30, 2015CFR 2014 annual edition (revised as of 2014-07-01) run 12772 FR 64728, Nov. 16, 2007View · Redline (sign in)
Jul 1, 2015currenteCFR editorial change effective 2017-01-01 run 280 FR 5663, Feb. 2, 2015View · Redline (sign in)
Provision-level history (blame)