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Pension Resource

29 C.F.R. § 2520.104-44

Limited exemption and alternative method of compliance for annual reporting by unfunded plans and by certain insured plans.
eCFR editorial change effective 2017-01-01 · current · last amended by 72 FR 64728, Nov. 16, 2007
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(a) General.
(1) Under the authority of section 104(a)(3) of the Act, the Secretary of Labor may exempt an employee welfare benefit plan from any or all of the reporting and disclosure requirements of title I. An employee welfare benefit plan which meets the requirements of paragraph (b)(1) of this section is not required to comply with the annual reporting requirements described in paragraph (c) of this section.
(2) Under the authority of section 110 of the Act, an alternative method of compliance is prescribed for certain employee pension benefit plans subject to part 1, title I of the Act. An employee pension benefit plan which meets the requirements of paragraph (b)(2) or (b)(3) of this section is not required to comply with the annual reporting requirements described in paragraph (c) of this section.
(b) Application. This section applies only to:
(1) An employee welfare benefit plan under the terms of which benefits are to be paid—
(i) Solely from the general assets of the employer or employee organization maintaining the plan;
(ii) The benefits of which are provided exclusively through insurance contracts or policies issued by an insurance company or similar organization which is qualified to do business in any State or through a qualified health maintenance organization as defined in section 1310(d) of the Public Health Service Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 300e-9(d), the premiums for which are paid directly by the employer or employee organization from its general assets or partly from its general assets and partly from contributions by its employees or members, provided that any plan assets held by such an insurance company are held solely in the general account of such company or organization, contributions by participants are forwarded by the employer or employee organization within three months of receipt and, in the case of a plan that provides for the return of refunds to contributing participants, such refunds are returned to them within three months of receipt by the employer or employee organization, or
(iii) Partly in the manner specified in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section and partly in the manner specified in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section; and
(2) A pension benefit plan the benefits of which are provided exclusively through allocated insurance contracts or policies which are issued by, and pursuant to the specific terms of such contracts or policies benefit payments are fully guaranteed by an insurance company or similar organization which is qualified to do business in any State, and the premiums for which are paid directly by the employer or employee organization from its general assets or partly from its general assets and partly from contributions by its employees or members: Provided, That contributions by participants are forwarded by the employer or employee organization to the insurance company or organization within three months of receipt and, in the case of a plan that provides for the return of refunds to contributing participants, such refunds are returned to them within three months of receipt by the employer or employee organization.
(c) Contents. An employee benefit plan described in paragraph (b) of this section is exempt from complying with the following annual reporting requirements:
(1) Completing certain items of the annual report relating to financial information and transactions entered into by the plan as described in the instructions to the Form 5500 “Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan” and accompanying schedules;
(2) Engaging an independent qualified public accountant pursuant to section 103(a)(3)(A) of the Act and § 2520.103-1(b) to conduct an examination of the financial statements and schedules of the plan; and
(3) Including in the annual report a report of an independent qualified public accountant concerning the financial statements and schedules required to be a part of the annual report pursuant to section 103(b) of the Act and § 2520.103-1(b).
(d) Limitation. This section does not exempt any plan from filing an annual report form with the Secretary in accordance with section 104(a)(1) of the Act and § 2520.104a-5.
(e) Example. A welfare plan which is funded entirely with insurance contracts and which meets all the requirements of exemption under § 2520.104-20 except that it covers 100 or more participants at the beginning of the plan year is not exempt from the annual reporting requirements under § 2520.104-20, but is exempt from certain reporting requirements under § 2520.104-44. Under the latter section, such a welfare plan should file Form 5500, including Schedule A “Insurance Information.” However, the plan is not required to engage an independent qualified public accountant and need not complete certain items on form 5500.
Source credit, amendments & notes

[43 FR 10150, Mar. 10, 1978, as amended at 45 FR 51446, Aug. 1, 1980; 46 FR 5884, Jan. 21, 1981; 65 FR 21085, Apr. 19, 2000; 67 FR 777, Jan. 7, 2002; 72 FR 64728, Nov. 16, 2007]

29 C.F.R. § 2520.104-44 — Limited exemption and alternative method of compliance for annual reporting by unfunded plans and by certain insured plans. · eCFR editorial change effective 2017-01-01 · https://pensionresource.website/EAMain?content=EAMain.Law&id=cfr29-2520.104-44&asof=2017-02-03 · 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

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Also cited in 8 other documents
Department of Labor (EBSA)
Final Rules
  • 87 FR 54368 Sep 6, 2022 — Interpretive Bulletin Relating to the Independence of Employee Benefit Plan Accountants
  • 86 FR 73976 Dec 29, 2021 — Revision of Annual Information Return/Reports
  • 79 FR 66617 Nov 10, 2014 — Revisions to Annual Return/Report-Multiple-Employer Plans
  • 78 FR 13781 Mar 1, 2013 — Filings Required of Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements and Certain Other Related Entities
Proposed Rules
  • 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
  • 81 FR 47534Proposed Jul 21, 2016 — Proposed Revision of Annual Information Return/Reports Comments due Oct 4, 2016 (b)(1)(b)(2)
  • 76 FR 76222Proposed Dec 6, 2011 — Filings Required of Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements and Certain Other Related Entities Comments due Mar 5, 2012
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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 12746 FR 5884, Jan. 21, 1981View
Jul 1, 2000Jun 30, 2002CFR 2001 annual edition (revised as of 2001-07-01) run 12765 FR 21085, Apr. 19, 2000View · Redline (sign in)
Jul 1, 2002Jun 30, 2008CFR 2007 annual edition (revised as of 2007-07-01) run 12767 FR 777, Jan. 7, 2002View · Redline (sign in)
Jul 1, 2008currenteCFR editorial change effective 2017-01-01 run 272 FR 64728, Nov. 16, 2007View · Redline (sign in)
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