Yes! You can use AI to fill out Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan

The year-end data package includes multiple files with similar names, such as 'plan_number.pas2' (cash basis) and 'plan_number._acr.pas2' (accrual basis). Users often mistakenly select the cash-basis file for compliance testing that requires accrual-basis data. This leads to incorrect testing results and potential compliance failures. To avoid this, always verify the file name and its basis (cash vs. accrual) against the specific requirements of your compliance test or report before importing or using the data.

When importing data into an administration system like Relius, each money source from the Empower file must be correctly mapped to its corresponding source in the plan's setup. A common error is mapping a 'Safe Harbor Match' to a generic 'Employer Match' source, or vice-versa. This mistake leads to incorrect contribution allocations, failed compliance tests (like ADP/ACP), and inaccurate vesting calculations. Double-check all source mappings in the Plan Defaults or during the import process to ensure 1-to-1 accuracy.

The data import process generates a crucial 'Errors and Warning' report that identifies issues like missing participants, unmapped sources, or unrecognized investment funds. Rushing the process and failing to review this report is a frequent mistake. This can lead to silent data corruption, incomplete records, and significant reconciliation problems later. Always stop and carefully review this report, cancel the import to fix the noted errors, and then re-import for a clean data transfer.

Empower makes the year-end WinZip file available via the PartnerLink portal for only 90 days. Plan sponsors and TPAs often forget this deadline and fail to download the files in time. The consequence is a delay in year-end processing, as a request must be submitted to re-generate the files. To prevent this, set a calendar reminder as soon as the notification email arrives and establish a standard procedure to download and archive these critical files immediately upon availability.

When configuring the administration software, every investment fund ID must perfectly match the fund ID provided by the vendor (Empower). Even a minor typo or using an internal ID instead of the vendor's ID will cause import failures for that specific fund. This results in incomplete financial data and requires tedious manual correction. To avoid this, use the vendor's file layout description to meticulously cross-reference and verify every fund ID during the initial plan setup or when adding new funds.

The Annual Plan Summary distinguishes between a 'Withdrawal Charge' (automated loan/distribution fees) and 'Fees' (e.g., overnight mailing charges). Users often get confused and misclassify or double-count these amounts when completing Form 5500 schedules. This can result in an inaccurate representation of plan expenses and attract regulatory scrutiny. Carefully consult the FAQ and report definitions to correctly categorize and report all fee types.

Setting up loan accounts in the administration software requires a specific configuration, linking a 'Loan source' to a 'Loan investment' within a 'Loan Account'. Mistakes in this setup, such as forgetting to create the link, cause the system to report a zero vested balance on the loan. This significantly impacts participant vested account balances and can lead to incorrect distribution or loan availability calculations. Follow the software's setup guide meticulously for loan accounts.

The Annual Plan Summary PDF contains separate sections for 'Contributions' (payroll deposits, loan repayments) and 'Additional Deposits' (rollovers, transfers, mergers). A common error is to combine totals from these sections improperly or pull from the wrong section when completing the Form 5500. This leads to incorrect reporting of total plan contributions for the year. Always use the 'CONTRIBUTIONS/DEPOSITS' section and verify the money source descriptions to ensure you are reporting the correct figures.

During the initial plan setup in the administration software, it is critical to assign the correct vesting schedule to each employer-related money source (e.g., Match, Profit Sharing). Forgetting this step is a frequent oversight that results in the system being unable to calculate participant vesting correctly. This can lead to incorrect benefit statements and paying out incorrect amounts upon termination. This setup should be part of a mandatory quality control checklist for every new plan.

When an import goes wrong, users may reverse the 'Allocated Link' transaction, assuming it undoes the entire process. However, the system does not reverse the beginning balance import, only the subsequent transaction data. This mistake leaves incorrect beginning balances in the system, which will corrupt all future financial activity and reporting. If beginning balances were imported incorrectly, they must be corrected manually or through a separate process after the transaction reversal.

The data package contains both modern file formats (e.g., .pas2) and legacy, pre-2012 formats (e.g., .pas). Users unfamiliar with the file structure may accidentally select the outdated '.pas' file for import into their modern administration system. This can cause import failures, data mapping errors, or other compatibility issues. Always confirm you are using the current '.pas2' file format for all processing to ensure data integrity. AI-powered tools like Instafill.ai can help by automatically recognizing and validating correct file formats before data is used to populate forms.