(a) This section prescribes an exemption from and alternative method
of compliance with the annual reporting requirements of part 1 of title
I of ERISA for employee benefit plans whose assets are invested in
certain entities described in paragraph (c). A plan utilizing this
method of reporting shall include as part of its annual report the
current value of its investment or units of participation in the entity
in the manner prescribed by the Return/Report Form and the instructions
thereto. The plan is not required to include in its annual report any
information regarding the underlying assets or individual transactions
of the entity, provided the information described in paragraph (b)
regarding the entity is reported directly to the Department on behalf of
the plan administrator on or before the filing due date for the entity
in accordance with the instructions to the Form 5500 Annual Return/
Report. The information described in paragraph (b), however, shall be
considered as part of the annual report for purposes of the requirements
of section 104(a)(1) of the Act and Sec. Sec. 2520.104a-5 and
2520.104a-6.
(b) The following information must be filed regarding the entity
described in paragraph (c) of this section:
(1) A Form 5500 ``Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan''
and any statements or schedules required to be attached to the form for
such entity, completed in accordance with the instructions for the form,
including Schedule A (Insurance Information), Schedule C (Service
Provider Information), Schedule D (DFE/Participating Plan Information),
Schedule G (Financial Transaction Schedules), Schedule H (Financial
Information), and the schedules described in Sec. 2520.103-10(b)(1) and
(b)(2). See the instructions for this form. The information reported
shall be for the fiscal year of such entity ending with or within the
plan year for which the annual report of the plan is made.
(2) A report of an independent qualified public accountant regarding
the financial statements and schedules described in paragraph (b)(1) of
this section which meets the requirements of Sec. 2520.103-1(b)(5).
(c) This method of reporting is available to any employee benefit
plan which has invested in an entity the assets of which are deemed to
include plan assets under Sec. 2510.3-101, provided the entity holds
the assets of two or more plans which are not members of a ``related
group'' of employee benefit plans as that term is defined in paragraph
(e) of this section. The method of reporting is not available for
investments in an insurance company pooled
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separate account or a common or collective trust maintained by a bank,
trust company, or similar institution.
(d) The examination and report of an independent qualified public
accountant required by Sec. 2520.103-1 for a plan utilizing the method
of reporting described in this section need not extend to any
information concerning an entity which is reported directly to the
Department under paragraph (b) of this section.
(e) A ``related group'' of employee benefit plans consists of every
group of two or more employee benefit plans--
(1) Each of which receives 10 percent or more of its aggregate
contributions from the same employer or from members of the same
controlled group of corporations (as determined under section 1563(a) of
the Internal Revenue Code, without regard to section 1563(a)(4)
thereof); or
(2) Each of which is either maintained by, or maintained pursuant to
a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by, the same employee
organization or affiliated employee organizations. For purposes of this
paragraph, an ``affiliate'' of an employee organization means any person
controlling, controlled by, or under common control with such
organization, and includes any organization chartered by the same parent
body, or governed by the same constitution and bylaws, or having the
relation of parent and subordinate.
(f) Electronic filing. See Sec. 2520.104a-2 and the instructions
for the Form 5500 ``Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan'' for
electronic filing requirements. The entity described in paragraph (c)
of this section must maintain an original copy, with all required
signatures, as part of its records.
[51 FR 41287, Nov. 13, 1986, as amended at 65 FR 21083, Apr. 19, 2000] 
