(a) General. Under the authority of section 104(a)(3) of the Act, the administrator of an employee welfare benefit plan which meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section is not required to file an annual report with the Secretary of Labor as required by section 104(a)(1) of the Act.

(b) Application. (1) This exemption applies only to a welfare plan for a plan year in which (i) such plan meets the requirements of § 2520.104-21, except the requirement that the plan cover fewer than 100 participants at the beginning of the plan year, and

(ii) An annual report containing the items set forth in § 2520.103-2 has been filed with the Secretary of Labor in accordance with § 2520.104a-6 by the trust or other entity which is the holder of the group insurance contracts by which plan benefits are provided.

(2) For purposes of this section, the terms “group insurance arrangement” or “trust or other entity” shall be used in place of the terms “plan” and “plan administrator,” as applicable, in §§ 2520.103-3, 2520.103-4, 2520.103-6, 2520.103-8, 2520.103-9 and 2520.103-10.

(c) Limitation. This provision does not exempt the administrator of an employee benefit plan which meets the requirements of paragraph (b) from furnishing a copy of a summary annual report to participants and beneficiaries of the plan, as required by section 104(b)(3) of the Act.

[43 FR 10150, Mar. 10, 1978, as amended at 65 FR 21084, Apr. 19, 2000; 67 FR 777, Jan. 7, 2002]