The Department of the Treasury requires financial institutions to collect information about a company's beneficial owners and control person when opening certain financial accounts, including a 401(k) plan. This is a legal obligation and a standard requirement across the financial industry
Who you'll need to identify
Beneficial owners
A beneficial owner is an individual (a natural person) who owns 25% or more of your company, either directly or indirectly through one or more other entities.
More information on how to report beneficial owners can be found in FinCEN's FAQ guide here.
Control persons
A control person is an individual with significant responsibility to manage or direct the company, such as a:
CEO
CFO
COO
President
Vice president
Treasurer
Managing member
General partner
Every company must designate at least one control person during the original onboarding of the plan. The control person can also be a beneficial owner.
What we'll collect for each person
For each beneficial owners and control person, you'll be required to provide us with the following:
Full legal name
Date of birth
Residential address
Social Security Number (SSN) or Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)
Country of citizenship
Email address and phone number
Percentage of ownership (for beneficial owners only)
Title (for control persons only)
Politically Exposed Person (PEP) status
If your company has owners who are other entities
If another entity owns 25% or more of your company, we'll also collect information about that entity. This lets us follow the ownership chain to the individuals who ultimately meet the 25% threshold.
Exemptions
Some companies are exempt from these requirements, typically those already subject to significant regulatory oversight, such as publicly traded companies, registered investment companies, and banks. Sole proprietorships are also exempt under the rules.