My PAA offers three electronic filing options to meet the varying business requirements of premium filers. These options are detailed below. You may find it helpful to review the Comparison Chart of Premium Filing Optionsand the online Demos when determining the best option for your needs.
- Filing Option 1: Prepare Premium Filing via My PAA's Data Entry and Editing Screens
- Filing Option 2: Import Premium Filing(s) Created in Private-Sector Software into My PAA's Data Entry and Editing Screens
- Filing Option 3: Upload Premium Filing(s) Created with Private-Sector Software
Filing Option 1: Prepare Premium Filing via My PAA's Data Entry and Editing Screens
Use the My PAA data entry and editing screens to create and submit premium filings (for plan years 2014 and later). My PAA includes a step-by-step process for entering a plan's filing data. This process creates a filing that can be electronically edited, signed, paid, and submitted to PBGC. Note that each My PAA reviewer and certifier (filing team member) needs his/her own account and the plan must be in each person's account.
Features include:
- My PAA's data entry and editing screens are utilized for all filing tasks (no additional software or paper certifications are needed).
- All filing review, edits, and certifications occur within the application and filing statuses automatically update based on each team member's interaction.
- My PAA prepopulates some plan data on the screens and performs validations prior to submission to reduce filing errors.
- An automated email is sent to the applicable filing team members (based on your role) at each filing status transition and to all team members when a filing is successfully submitted. The filing receipt (illustrative form) and summary version may be viewed via the Plan Page and reflects the submission date, the reported filing data, and the My PAA Confirmation Number (Filing ID), which is reported on the related Form 5500 filing. The status of the submitted filing is also displayed (e.g., if the filing has been posted to the plan's account history or if there are/were any filing errors/warnings).
- The plan's account history may be reviewed online. Note that the account history will not be displayed if the plan has been trusteed by PBGC.
- Optionally, a plan administrator representative may sign for the plan administrator if the plan administrator certifies a paper copy of the filing for retention in plan records.
Tips for Using My PAA's Data Entry and Editing Screens
- The plan's filing coordinator should confirm that each person who will contribute to the plan's filing has a My PAA account, the plan in his/her account, and the appropriate “roles” (e.g., to authorize the premium payment and view the account history).
- When a filing is due, the filing coordinator should coordinate and confirm each person's role (for example, who will start the filing in My PAA, who will review the data for accuracy before submission, and who will submit the completed filing to PBGC).
- When preparing a filing, use the following buttons within the data entry screens of the filing:
o "Back" - Navigate to the previous page to update any data previously entered. Please allow updates to be made before moving on to ensure all required are populated.
o "Save and Continue" - Save all entered data from this page and proceed to subsequent page.
o "Return to Beginning of Filing" - Navigate back to the first page of the filing and edit any data moving forward.
o "Exit" - Data will not be saved from this page and you will be redirected to the Home Page.
Filing Option 2: Import Premium Filing(s) Created in Private-Sector Software into My PAA's Data Entry and Editing Screens
Use My PAA to "import" premium filings created with private-sector software that has been updated to meet PBGC's requirements (for plan years 2014 and later). The relevant imported filing information is transferred into My PAA's data entry and editing screens for editing, signing, payment, and submission to PBGC. Note that each My PAA reviewer and certifier (filing team member) needs his/her own account and the plan must be in each person's account. If you are unsure whether your software is updated to support this filing option, please verify the information on our Web site or contact your software vendor/developer.
Features include:
- My PAA's editing screens are used to complete and submit the imported software-prepared filing (no additional paper certifications are needed).
- All filing review, edits, and certifications occur within the application and filing statuses automatically update based on each team member's interaction.
- My PAA prepopulates some of the data on the screens (outside of values provided in the XML) and performs validations prior to submission to reduce filing errors.
- An automated email is sent to the applicable filing team members (based on your role) at each filing status transition and to all team members when a filing is successfully submitted. The filing receipt (illustrative form) and summary version may be viewed via the Plan Details Page and reflects the submission date, the reported filing data, and the My PAA Confirmation Number (Filing ID), which is reported on the related Form 5500 filing. The status of the submitted filing is also displayed (e.g., if the filing has been posted to the plan's account history or if there are/were any filing errors/warnings).
- The plan's account history may be reviewed online. Note that the account history will not be displayed if the plan has been trusteed by PBGC.
- Optionally, a plan administrator representative may sign for the plan administrator if the plan administrator certifies a paper copy of the filing for retention in plan records.
Tips for Importing Premium Filing(s) Created in Private-Sector Software into My PAA's Data Entry and Editing Screens
- Verify that your private-sector software is compatible with PBGC's XML file requirements (verify information on PBGC's Web site or check with your software vendor) and that you are using the latest updated version of the software.
- The plan’s filing coordinator should confirm that each person who will contribute to the plan's filing has a My PAA account, the plan in his/her account, and the appropriate “roles” (e.g., to authorize the premium payment and certify as PA).
- When a filing is due, the filing coordinator should coordinate and confirm each person's role (for example, who will import the filing into the My PAA editing screens, who will review the data for accuracy before submission, and who will submit the completed filing to PBGC).
- When preparing a filing, use the following buttons within the data entry screens of the filing:
o "Back" - Navigate to the previous page, but the data will be read only (see Edit Previous Data below).
o "Save and Continue" - Save all entered data from this page and proceed to subsequent page.
o "Edit Previous Data" - Navigate back to the first page of the filing and edit any data moving forward.
o "Exit" - Data will not be saved from this page and you will be redirected to the Home Page.
Filing Option 3: Upload Premium Filing(s) Created with Private-Sector Software
Use My PAA to upload premium filings created with private-sector software that has been updated to meet PBGC's requirements (for plan years 2014 and later). Filers may "upload" premium filings created with private-sector software if the computer file that contains the filings meets PBGC's XML file standards. Before uploaded filings are submitted to the PBGC, we will validate the filing and show you a list of filing warnings/errors if any exist. The XML node containing the filing error(s) will also be shown in the same table. Note that you will not have the option to submit the filing as-is if filing errors are found in the XML. If the warning(s) are not corrected, the filing may not successfully post and you should expect to receive a “Notice of Filing Errors” letter from the PBGC within the next 7 days.
If you have any questions about any of the filing errors listed, please send an email to premiums@pbgc.gov or call us at 1-800-736-2444 (locally at 202-229-4242) to speak with a Premium Customer Service Representative.
Note that only the person who uploads the file needs an account, the plan and the Upload Preparer role for the plan. If you are unsure whether your software is updated to support this filing option, please verify the information on our Web site or contact your software vendor/developer.
Features include:
- Only one person (the one who will do the uploading) needs to have a My PAA account, but the plan now has to be in their account.
- Filing certifications are filed with the plan's records (rather than mailed to PBGC). In addition, information about each certifier (e.g., name and date) is reported in the certification section of each uploaded filing (within the XML) and reflected on each filing's receipt.
- Confirmation receipt shows the uploader the date that PBGC received the file containing the premium filing.
- An automated email is sent to all filing team members when a filing is successfully submitted. The filing receipt (illustrative form) and summary version may be viewed via the Plan Details Page and reflects the submission date, the reported filing data, and the My PAA Confirmation Number (Filing ID), which is reported on the related Form 5500 filing.
- The status of the submitted filing is also displayed (e.g., if the filing has been posted to the plan's account history or if there are/were any filing errors/warnings).
- The plan's account history may be reviewed via My PAA. Note that the account history will not be displayed if the plan has been trusteed by PBGC.
Tips for Uploading Premium Filing(s) Created with Private-Sector Software
- Verify that your private-sector software is compatible with PBGC's XML file requirements (verify information on PBGC's Web site or check with your software vendor) and that you are using the latest updated version of the software.
- Determine who will create the premium filing with private-sector software and confirm that the filing is complete and accurate prior to submission, because changes cannot be made once the filing is uploaded to PBGC.
- Determine who will upload the file into My PAA and verify that the uploader has an account, the plan and the Upload Preparer role for the plan.
- Determine how filing certifications will be made (the plan administrator (PA) must always certify while the enrolled actuary (EA) must certify for certain types of filings).
- Identify the plan administrator and actuary who have certified the filing by reporting the requested information in the certification section of each uploaded filing (e.g., name and contact information within the XML filing data).