I am trying to figure out which participants I need to report on the SSA form. The instructions say to report a participant if they separate from service covered by the plan in a plan year, and the participant is entitled to a deferred vested benefit under the plan.

Do I report even the ones that only have $50.00 in vested benefits, or does "entitled to a deferred vested benefit" mean only those who have a vested benefit over $5,000 and have the right to defer until a later date.

It says that a separated participant must be reported no later than on the Schedule SSA filed for the plan year following the plan year in which separation occurred (or earlier). So does this mean that on the 12/31 2002 5500 (calendar plan), I need to report all participants who terminated in 2001 that have not been paid out as of the date the 2002 5500 is due?

Any guidance would be appreciatd.

Thanks

My understanding is that you would list all participants with any unpaid account balance.

I agree with your final paragraph (even though you posed it as a question).

Don't forget to include on the SSA previously reported participants that have been paid out and are entitled to no future benefits.

Does anyone out there limit which ones they report and which ones they don't. What I mean is, some participants have account balances of $20.00 and under. Do you report those as well? Seems like a nightmare.

No.
That's the way it is.

If you'd rather not list them, encourage your clients to allow for automatic cashout's under $5,000 and then pay out those participants prior to the filing deadline.