§ 4010.5 Information year.

(a) Determinations based on information year. An information year is used under this part to determine which persons are filers (§ 4010.4), what information a filer must submit (§§ 4010.6–4010.9), whether a plan is an exempt plan (§ 4010.8(c)), and the due date for submitting the information (§ 4010.10(a)).

(b) General. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, a person's information year is the fiscal year of the person. A filer is not required to change its fiscal year or the plan year of a plan, to report financial information for any accounting period other than an existing fiscal year, or to report actuarial information for any plan year other than an existing plan year.

(c) Controlled group members with different fiscal years. If members of a controlled group (disregarding any exempt entity) report financial information on the basis of different fiscal years, the information year is the calendar year. (If any two members of the controlled group report financial information on the basis of different fiscal years, the determination of whether an entity is an exempt entity is based on a calendar year information year for purposes of this paragraph (c) and § 4010.4(c).)

(d) Examples. The following examples illustrate the rule in paragraph (c) of this section.

(1) Example 1. Companies A and B are the only members of the same controlled group, and both are contributing sponsors to nonexempt plans. Company A has a July 1 fiscal year, and Company B has an October 1 fiscal year. The information year is the calendar year. Company A's financial information with respect to its fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, and Company B's financial information with respect to its fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, must be submitted to the PBGC following the end of the 2009 calendar year information year.

(2) Example 2. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that Company B is not a contributing sponsor of a plan and would be an exempt entity using the calendar year as the information year. Because Company B is an exempt entity based on a calendar year information year, it is excluded when determining the information year. Thus, the information year is the July 1 fiscal year. Note that Company B is an exempt entity even if it would not be exempt based on the July information year.

(3) Example 3. The facts are the same as in Example 2 except that Company B would not be an exempt entity using the calendar year information year but would be exempt based on an information year that is the July 1 fiscal year. Since Company B is not exempt based on a calendar year information year, it may not be excluded when determining the information year. Therefore, the information year is the calendar year and Company B is not an exempt entity.

(e) Special rules for certain plan years. If a plan maintained by the members of the contributing sponsor's controlled group has two plan years that end in the information year or has no plan year that ends in the information year, the last plan year ending on or immediately before the end of information year is deemed to be the plan year ending within the information year.

[61 FR 34022, July 1, 1996, as amended at 70 FR 11544, Mar. 9, 2005; 74 FR 11031, Mar. 16, 2009]