Overview
Every plan administrator must give participants a Summary Annual Report (SAR) each year, summarizing the plan's Form 5500. Stax.ai now builds these reports for you, straight from the 5500 or 5500-SF you've already filed in Stax.ai. You don't retype a single figure, and the report uses the Department of Labor's prescribed wording.
You create a Summary Annual Report by attaching the Generate Summary Annual Report automation to a task on the plan's project and running it. The finished report is a PDF on your firm's letterhead, ready to give to participants.
Key benefits
No retyping. Income, expenses, net assets, participant counts and plan details are read directly from the filing, so the numbers on the report match the numbers you filed.
Compliant wording, every time. Each report follows the DOL's prescribed format. Sections like the audit waiver or minimum funding standards appear only when the plan's filing calls for them, and the participant rights list shows only the items that apply to that plan.
Mistakes get caught, not published. Stax.ai checks the report's figures against the filing. If something doesn't add up, or a value is missing, the report is held and Stax.ai tells you exactly what needs attention.
Deadlines included. Each completed report tells you its furnishing deadline, and warns you if that date has already passed.
Before you start
The plan's Form 5500 or 5500-SF for the plan year should be filed in Stax.ai. Summary Annual Reports currently support the 2024 and 2025 form years.
Make sure your team's branding (logo) is set up. The report's letterhead uses your team's brand.
Have the plan administrator's name, address and phone ready, or know where they're stored on the client or a contact role so you can link them.
Step 1: Add the automation to a task
The automation finds the right filing using the plan and plan year, so you can add it to any project for the plan.
Open the project for the plan.
Click Add Task and give the task a name, such as "Summary Annual Report."
Click Attach Automation.
Choose Generate Summary Annual Report.
Step 2: Fill in the report details
The settings are grouped into three sections. Most firms only need the first one.
Report details
Plan year: the plan year to report on. Leave it blank to use last calendar year. You can link it to plan data.
Plan administrator name, address and phone: required. Link these to the client or to a contact role (such as Client › Name) so each plan picks up its own details instead of typing them in.
Benefits provided by: how the plan provides benefits. Defaults to "a trust established under the plan."
Statement request contact title and Waiver statement contact title: who participants contact for copies. Both default to "the plan administrator."
Charge per page: the per-page copying charge. Defaults to $0.25, which is also the legal maximum. A higher amount can't be saved.
Charge for the full annual report: what you charge for a copy of the full annual report.
OMB legend: the OMB control number text printed on the report.
Save the report to...: optional. Pick a project field to store the finished PDF in. We recommend setting this so the report is easy to find later.
If a required box is empty when you save, Stax.ai tells you which one and opens its section for you.
Audit waiver details
These are only needed for small plans that use the audit waiver. If the filing shows the plan used the waiver, enter the institutions that hold the plan's qualifying assets and the contact for requesting statements. If you leave these blank, Stax.ai asks for them when the automation runs.
Plan figures
Leave these blank for any plan whose 5500 is filed in Stax.ai. The figures are read from the filing. Fill them in only for a plan whose 5500 was filed somewhere else.
Step 3: Run the automation
Open the task and go to its Automation tab.
Click Run.
Read the result message on the task to see what happened (see below).
Reading the results
Every run ends with a clear message on the task:
Report generated. The message confirms the report was generated from the filing and shows the date to furnish it by. Open the PDF from the task message or from the project field you chose.
Already generated. Running the automation again for the same plan year doesn't create a second report. You'll see a message saying the report already exists.
No report owed. Some plans don't owe a Summary Annual Report, such as one-participant plans that file a Form 5500-EZ. The task finishes and tells you no report is owed.
Needs values. The task is flagged and lists the values Stax.ai still needs (see the next section).
Filing not ready. If the plan's filing hasn't been started or is being corrected, the task tells you to finish the filing and run it again.
When a report needs values
If Stax.ai is missing something it needs, the report is held as a draft and never saved where clients or colleagues can see it.
Open the flagged task. The message lists each missing value.
Click Enter values.
Fill in the missing values and click Save and run again. The automation runs again on its own.
Frequently asked questions
Which plans are supported?
Plans that file a Form 5500-SF or a long-form Form 5500 with Schedule H, for the 2024 and 2025 form years. One-participant plans filing a 5500-EZ don't owe a report, and Stax.ai tells you so.
Does Stax.ai send the report to participants?
Not yet. Stax.ai creates the finished PDF. Give it to participants the way you do today.
What's the deadline for giving participants the report?
Generally nine months after the plan year ends (September 30 for calendar-year plans), or two months after the extended 5500 due date if the plan filed a Form 5558 extension. The result message shows the date for each report, and warns you if it has passed.
Can I change the wording of the report?
No. The wording is prescribed by DOL regulations, so Stax.ai uses it exactly. The figures and sections come from the plan's filing.
What if I run it twice?
You still get one report for that plan year. Running it again never creates a duplicate.
Why can't I set a per-page charge above $0.25?
DOL rules cap the per-page copying charge at 25 cents. Stax.ai won't save a higher amount, so a report can never state a charge you aren't allowed to make.
Related articles
Government Filings Overview
Filing a Form 5500 with Government Filings in Stax.ai CX
Automations Overview