Disaster Relief

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) protects more than 683,000 private retirement plans, 2.5 million health plans, and similar numbers of other welfare benefit plans. To assist and provide relief to employers/plan sponsors and their employees/plan participants affected by national disasters, EBSA has taken the following actions:

Form 5500 Filing Extension Information

• Form 5500 Filing Extension Information - Grants additional time for filing Form 5500 and Form 5500-EZ annual return/reports for employee benefit plans affected by disaster.

Help For Hurricane Victims

• Find Updated Contact Information for Your Retirement or Health Plan • News Release - Due to the disaster, many employers and their employees have lost communication with each other. Sponsors of employer provided retirement and health benefit plans that were located in the disaster area are encouraged to provide us with their new contact information. We will post the updated information on this site enabling employees/plan participants who lived or worked in the disaster area to find updated contact information for their employer or plan administrator. If you are the sponsor of a plan and want to provide corrected contact information for this site, or if you are a participant who cannot reach your plan administrator and have questions about your benefits, contact one of our Benefits Advisors for assistance toll-free at 1.866.444.EBSA (3272).

• Access to 401(k) Loans and Withdrawals • Guidance - Provides guidance for employers and plan officials to help victims of Hurricane Katrina obtain distributions and loans through 401(k) and similar employer-sponsored plans.

• COBRA, HIPAA and Health Claim Extensions • News Release • FR Notice - Extends a number of deadlines related to health plan coverage, giving workers and employers affected by Hurricane Katrina additional time to make critical decisions regarding health coverage.

If you have questions about any of the above guidance or information, contact one of our Benefits Advisors toll-free at 1.866.444.EBSA (3272) or contact us electronically.