Annual Documentation And Information Requirements
What documents will I need to submit year over year?
Plan Year-End Summary (Corporate Summary) – Completed via the online portal. This questionnaire format summary details the actions of the 401(k) Plan throughout the plan year and informs us of any additional information we need to obtain. This will become available following the end of your plan year.
Employee Census (Employee Summary) – Also completed via the online portal, or in Microsoft Excel format if you have greater than 10 employees (including yourself). This details all employee data throughout the plan year. Gross compensation, deferral amounts, hours worked, and status changes are just a few of the items tracked throughout the plan year.
You are considered an employee of your corporation. Even if you didn’t draw a salary or take compensation, you’re still required to track the amount of “sweat equity” or uncompensated hours worked during the plan year.
Balance Sheet & Income Statement (Profit & Loss Statement) – These two corporate statements will need to be provided for the period ending on the last day of your plan year. The documents will be used to create the statement of value that is reported on Form 5500.
What documents might need to be provided during the plan year?
Corporate Bank Account Statements – Was it your first year with Guidant Financial? We’ll require that you submit monthly copies of these bank account statements to help document the QES stock purchase. Was there an additional QES stock purchase during the plan year? If yes, please submit monthly corporate bank account statements.
401(k) Plan Bank Statements – Was it your first year with Guidant Financial or did you complete an additional QES stock purchase during the plan year? If yes we’ll require full monthly 401(k) Plan bank statements for the entire duration of the account being funded. The last statement provided should reflect a zero balance. The funds in this account are considered qualified so if you leave residual funds in this account, monthly statements will be continuously requested to back up your account.
Stock Transfer Ledger – The stock ledger must be submitted if it’s your first year with Guidant Financial or if you completed an additional stock purchase. Please note that any errors on the ledger may have to be corrected with the assistance of your outside counsel attorney, since it’s a legal document. Since the time necessary to correct a ledger can delay the filing process, it’s important to keep an accurate stock transfer ledger.
Investment Management Statements – Were there any participants in your 401(k) Plan or did you deposit qualified funds in an investment account held underneath your 401(k) Plan? Should “yes” be the answer to either of those questions, please submit monthly statements for each account spanning the course of the plan year.
How can I submit these documents, when can I submit them, and what are the benefits of submitting them early?
Learn about our client portal, the timeline of document submission, and our offered recordkeeping fee discounts here.