Form 8955-SSA, "Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants with Deferred Vested Benefits," is used by plan sponsors to notify the Social Security Administration, via a filing made with the IRS, of participants who have separated from service and who haven't yet elected to start receiving benefits from their qualified plan(s).
Although many plan sponsors have opted to use the IRS's filing information returns electronically (FIRE) site to file these returns, paper filings were also accepted in the past. The IRS has clarified in final regulations (T.D. 9695) that Form 8955-SSA must be filed electronically (for filers who have at least 250 returns with the IRS during a calendar year) for plan years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2014, but only for returns with a filing date on or after July 31, 2015 (not including extensions).
The 250-return threshold includes all returns — for example, Forms W-2, 1099-R — as well as income, employment and excise tax forms.
For plans with short 2014 plan years, these regulations apply only to filings with a filing deadline on or after July 31, 2015. For example, a qualified plan with a short 2014 plan year ending Sept. 30, 2014, would have a deadline of April 30, 2015, and so wouldn't be required to file electronically for that plan year. The next plan year would require electronic filing of Form 8955-SSA.
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