Proposed Extension of Information Collection Requests Submitted for Public Comment, 34696-34701 [2015-14837]

Download as PDF 34696 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 116 / Wednesday, June 17, 2015 / Notices international treaties, conventions, or protocols in effect on May 1, 1971. The DEA investigated the company’s maintenance of effective controls against diversion by inspecting and testing the company’s physical security systems, verifying the company’s compliance with state and local laws, and reviewing the company’s background and history. Therefore, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 952(a) and 958(a), and in accordance with 21 CFR 1301.34, the above-named company is granted registration as an importer of the basic classes of controlled substances: Controlled substance Schedule Methylphenidate (1724) ................ Fentanyl (9801) ............................ II II The company plans to import the listed controlled substances in finished dosage form (FDF) from foreign sources for analytical testing and clinical trials in which the foreign FDF will be compared to the company’s own domestically-manufactured FDF. This analysis is required to allow the company to export domesticallymanufactured FDF to foreign markets. Dated: June 11, 2015. Joseph T. Rannazzisi, Deputy Assistant Administrator. [FR Doc. 2015–14911 Filed 6–16–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4410–09–P DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employee Benefits Security Administration Proposed Extension of Information Collection Requests Submitted for Public Comment Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public’s reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department’s information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:47 Jun 16, 2015 Jkt 235001 comments on the proposed extension of the information collection requests (ICRs) contained in the documents described below. A copy of the ICRs may be obtained by contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. ICRs also are available at reginfo.gov (https://www.reginfo.gov/ public/do/PRAMain). DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the Addresses section on or before August 17, 2015. ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N– 5718, Washington, DC 20210, cosby.chris@dol.gov, (202) 693–8410, FAX (202) 693–4745 (these are not tollfree numbers). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice requests public comment on the Department’s request for extension of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) approval of ICRs contained in the rules and prohibited transactions described below. The Department is not proposing any changes to the existing ICRs at this time. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. A summary of the ICRs and the current burden estimates follows: Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor. Title: Settlement Agreements between a Plan and Party in Interest. Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information. OMB Number: 1210–0091. Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits. Respondents: 4. Responses: 1,080. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 30. Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $335. Description: Section 408(a) of ERISA and section 4975(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code) give the Secretary of Labor the authority to grant an exemption to a class or order of fiduciaries, disqualified persons, or transactions from all or part of the restrictions imposed by sections 406 and 407(a) of ERISA and from the taxes imposed by sections 4975(a) and (b) of the Code, by reason of section 4975(c)(1) of the Code. This information collection request (ICR) relates to two prohibited transaction class exemptions (PTEs) that the Department of Labor (the Department) has granted, both of which PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 involve settlement agreements. These two exemptions are described below: PTE 94–71. Granted on September 30, 1994, PTE 94–71 exempts from certain restrictions of ERISA and certain taxes imposed by the Code, a transaction or activity that is authorized, prior to the execution of the transaction or activity, by a settlement agreement resulting from an investigation of an employee benefit plan conducted by the Department. PTE 2003–39. Granted on December 31, 2005, PTE 03–39 exempts from certain restrictions of ERISA and certain taxes imposed by the Code, transactions arising out of the settlement of litigation that involve the release of claims against parties in interest in exchange for payment by or on behalf of the party in interest, provided that certain conditions are met. Because both exemptions involve settlement agreements, the Department has combined their information collection provisions into one ICR and has obtained OMB approval for their paperwork burden. The Department believes that the public and the Federal government are both best served by allowing the public to review and comment on similar exemption provisions in combination. The ICR is scheduled to expire on August 31, 2015. Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor. Title: Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program. Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information collection. OMB Number: 1210–0118. Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits. Respondents: 5,760. Responses: 119,761. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 25,920. Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $1,174,000. Description: This information collection arises from two related actions: the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (the VFC Program or the Program) and Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 2002–51 (the Exemption). The Department adopted the Program and the Exemption in order to encourage members of the public to voluntarily correct transactions that violate (or are suspected of violating) the fiduciary or prohibited transaction provisions of the ERISA. Both the Program and the Exemption incorporate information collection requirements in order to protect participants and beneficiaries E:\FR\FM\17JNN1.SGM 17JNN1 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 116 / Wednesday, June 17, 2015 / Notices and enable the Department to oversee the appropriate use of the Program and the Exemption. The ICR is scheduled to expire on August 31, 2015. Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor. Title: Termination of Abandoned Individual Account Plans. Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information, OMB Number: 1210–0127. Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits. Respondents: 39,330. Responses: 3,102,640. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 109,800. Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $1,088,000. Description: The abandoned plan initiative includes the following actions, which impose the following information collections: 1. Qualified Termination Administrator (QTA) Regulation: The QTA regulation creates an orderly and efficient process by which a financial institution that holds the assets of a plan that is deemed to have been abandoned may undertake to terminate the plan and distribute its assets to participants and beneficiaries holding accounts under the plan, with protections and approval of the Department under the standards of the regulation. The regulation requires the QTA to provide certain notices to the Department, to participants and beneficiaries, and to the plan sponsor (or service providers to the plan, if necessary), and to keep certain records pertaining to the termination. 2. Abandoned Plan Terminal Report Regulation: The terminal report regulation provides an alternative, simplified method for a QTA to satisfy the annual report requirement otherwise applicable to a terminating plan by filing a special simplified terminal report with the Department after terminating an abandoned plan and distributing the remaining assets in the individual account plans to participants and beneficiaries. 3. Terminated Plan Distribution Regulation: The terminated plan distribution regulation establishes a safe harbor method by which fiduciaries who are terminating individual account pension plans (whether abandoned or not) may select an investment vehicle to receive account balances distributed from the terminated plan when the participant has failed to provide investment instructions. The regulation requires the fiduciaries to provide VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:47 Jun 16, 2015 Jkt 235001 advance notice to participants and beneficiaries of how such distributions will be invested, if no other investment instructions are provided. 4. Abandoned Plan Class Exemption: The exemption permits a QTA that terminates an abandoned plan under the QTA regulation to receive payment for its services from the abandoned plan and to distribute the account balance of a participant who has failed to provide investment direction into an individual retirement account (IRA) maintained by the QTA or an affiliate. Without the exemption, financial institutions would be unable to receive payment for services rendered out of plan assets without violating ERISA’s prohibited transaction provisions and would therefore be highly unlikely to undertake the termination of abandoned plans. The exemption includes the condition that the QTA keep records of the distributions for a period of six years and make such records available on request to interested persons (including the Department and participants and beneficiaries). If a QTA wishes to be paid out of plan assets for services provided prior to becoming a QTA, the exemption requires that the QTA enter into a written agreement with a plan fiduciary or the plan sponsor prior to receiving payment and that a copy of the agreement be provided to the Department. 5. PTE 2004–16 (Automatic Rollover Exemption): Also included in this ICR are the notice and recordkeeping requirements contained in PTE 2004– 16, which permits a pension plan fiduciary that is a financial institution and is also the employer maintaining an individual account pension plan for its employees to establish, on behalf of its separated employees, an IRA at a financial institution that is either the employer or an affiliate, which IRA would receive mandatory distributions that the fiduciary ‘‘rolls over’’ from the plan when an employee terminates employment. Because all of these regulations and exemptions relate to terminating or abandoned plans and/or to distribution and rollover of distributed benefits for which no participant investment election has been made, the Department has combined the paperwork burden for all of these actions into one ICR. In the Department’s view, this combination allows the public to have a better understanding of the aggregate burden imposed on the public for these related regulatory actions. OMB approved the ICR under OMB control number 1210– 0127, which is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2015. PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 34697 Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor. Title: PTE 90–1; Insurance Company Pooled Separate Accounts. Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information. OMB Number: 1210–0083. Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits. Respondents: 64. Responses: 640. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 107. Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0. Description: PTE 90–1 provides an exemption from certain provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) relating to transactions involving insurance company pooled separate accounts in which employee benefit plans participate. Without the exemption, sections 406 and 407(a) of ERISA and section 4975(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code might prohibit a party in interest to a plan from furnishing goods or services to an insurance company pooled separate account in which the plan has an interest, or prohibit engaging in other transactions. Under the exemption, persons who are parties in interest to a plan that invests in a pooled separate account, such as a service provider, may engage in otherwise prohibited transactions with the separate account if the plan’s participation in the separate account does not exceed specified limits and other conditions are met. These other conditions include a requirement that the party in interest not be the insurance company, or an affiliate thereof, that holds the plan assets in its pooled separate account or other separate account. The terms of the transaction to which the exemption is applied must be at least as favorable to the pooled separate account as those that would be obtained in a separate arms-length transaction with an unrelated party, and the insurance company must maintain records of any transaction to which the exemption applies for a period of six years. This ICR covers this recordkeeping requirement. The Department previously submitted this information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in an ICR that was approved under the OMB Control Number 1210–0083. The current approval is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2015. Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor. Title: Definition of Plan Assets— Participant Contributions. E:\FR\FM\17JNN1.SGM 17JNN1 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 34698 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 116 / Wednesday, June 17, 2015 / Notices Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information. OMB Number: 1210–0100. Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits. Respondents: 1. Responses: 251. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 8. Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $1,088. Description: The regulation concerning plan assets and participant contributions provides guidance for fiduciaries, participants, and beneficiaries of employee benefit plans regarding how participant contributions to pension plans must be handled when they are either paid to the employer by the participant or directly withheld by the employer from the employee’s wages for transmission to the pension plan. In particular, the regulation sets standards for the timely delivery of such participant contributions, including an outside time limit for the employer’s holding of participant contributions. In addition, for those employers who may have difficulty meeting the regulation’s outside deadlines for transmitting participant contribution, the regulation (29 CFR 2510.3–102(d) provides the opportunity for the employer to obtain an extension of the time limit by providing participants and the Department with a notice that contains specified information. The ICR pertains to this notice requirement. The Department previously requested review of this information collection and obtained approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB control number 1210–0100. That approval is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2015. Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor. Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for Cross-Trades of Securities by Index and Model-Driven Funds (PTCE 2002–12). Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information. OMB Number: 1210–0115. Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits. Respondents: 60. Responses: 840. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 855. Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $528. Description: PTE 2002–12 exempts certain transactions that would be prohibited under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (the Act or ERISA) and the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Act VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:47 Jun 16, 2015 Jkt 235001 (FERSA), and provides relief from certain sanctions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). The exemption permits cross-trades of securities among Index and ModelDriven Funds (Funds) managed by managers (Managers), and among such Funds and certain large accounts (Large Accounts) that engage such Managers to carry out a specific portfolio restructuring program or to otherwise act as a ‘‘trading adviser’’ for such a program. By removing existing barriers to these types of transactions, the exemption increases the incidences of cross-trading, thereby lowering the transaction costs to plans in a number of ways from what they would be otherwise. In order for the Department to grant an exemption for a transaction or class of transactions that would otherwise be prohibited under ERISA, the statute requires the Department to make a finding that the exemption is administratively feasible, in the interest of the plan and its participants and beneficiaries, and protective of the rights of the participants and beneficiaries. To ensure that Managers have complied with the requirements of the exemption, the Department has included in the exemption certain recordkeeping and disclosure obligations that are designed to safeguard plan assets by periodically providing information to plan fiduciaries, who generally must be independent from the cross-trading program. Initially, where plans are not invested in Funds, Managers must furnish information to plan fiduciaries about the cross-trading program, provide a statement that the Manager will have a potentially conflicting division of loyalties, and obtain written authorization from a plan fiduciary for a plan to participate in a cross-trading program. For plans that are currently invested in Funds, the Manager must provide annual notices to update the plan fiduciary and provide the plan with an opportunity to withdraw from the program. For Large Accounts, prior to the cross-trade, the Manager must provide information about the crosstrading program and obtain written authorization from the fiduciary of a Large Account to engage in cross-trading in connection with a portfolio restructuring program. Following completion of the Large Account’s restructuring, information must be provided by the Manager about all cross-trades executed in connection with a portfolio-restructuring program. Finally, the exemption requires that Managers maintain for a period of 6 PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 years from the date of each cross-trade the records necessary to enable plan fiduciaries and certain other persons specified in the exemption (e.g., Department representatives or contributing employers), to determine whether the conditions of the exemption have been met. EBSA previously submitted the information collection provisions of PTE 2002–12 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review in connection with promulgation of the prohibited transaction exemption. OMB approved the information collection request (ICR) under OMB Control No. 1210–0115. The ICR approval is currently scheduled to expire on October 31, 2015. Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor. Title: Acquisition and Sale of Trust Real Estate Investment Trust Shares by Individual Account Plans Sponsored by Trust Real Estate Investment Trusts. Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information. OMB Number: 1210–0124. Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits. Respondents: 46. Responses: 96,600. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 4,838. Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $251,160. Description: PTE 2004–07 exempts from certain prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and from certain taxes imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code), the acquisition, holding, sale, and contribution in kind of publicly traded shares of beneficial interest in a real estate investment trust that is structured under State law as a business trust (Trust REIT), on behalf of and to individual account plans sponsored by the REIT or its affiliates, provided that certain conditions are met. The exemption allows individual account plans (Plans) established by Trust REITS to offer a beneficial interest in the Trust REIT in the form of Qualifying REIT Shares, as defined in the exemption, to participants in Plans sponsored by the REIT or its employer affiliates, to require that employer contributions be used to purchase such shares, and to permit ‘‘contributions in kind’’ of such shares to these Plans by employers. The exemption conditions relief on compliance with a number of information collection requirements. These information collections are to be provided or made available to plan E:\FR\FM\17JNN1.SGM 17JNN1 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 116 / Wednesday, June 17, 2015 / Notices participants and fiduciaries in order to inform them about investments in Qualifying REIT Shares and the conditions of the exemption permitting share transactions. Records sufficient to allow them to determine whether the exemption conditions are met must also be maintained, and made available to them upon request, for a period of six years. These records must also be made available on request to employers and employee organizations with employees and members covered by a Plan of the Trust REIT or one of its employer affiliates, and to authorized employees and representatives of the Department and the Internal Revenue Service. EBSA submitted an ICR for the information collections in PTE 2004–07 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in connection with proposal of the class exemption, which was published in the Federal Register on June 3, 2003 (68 FR 33185). OMB approved the ICR under OMB control number 1210–0124. The ICR approval is currently scheduled to expire on October 31, 2015. Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor. Title: Notice of Research Exception under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008. Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information. OMB Number: 1210–0136. Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits. Respondents: 3. Responses: 3. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1. Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $11. Description: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), Public Law 110–233, was enacted on May 21, 2008. Title I of GINA amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act), the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code), and the Social Security Act (SSA) to prohibit discrimination in health coverage based on genetic information. Sections 101 through 103 of Title I of GINA prevent employment-based group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and individual markets from discriminating based on genetic information, and from collecting such information. The interim final regulations, which are codified at 29 CFR 2590.702A, only interpret Sections 101 through 103 of Title I of GINA. While GINA does not mandate any specific benefits for health care services related to genetic tests, diseases, VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:47 Jun 16, 2015 Jkt 235001 conditions, or genetic services, GINA establishes rules that generally prohibit a group health plan and a health insurance issuer in the group market from: • Increasing the group premium or contribution amounts based on genetic information; • Requesting or requiring an individual or family member to undergo a genetic test; and • Requesting, requiring or purchasing genetic information prior to or in connection with enrollment, or at any time for underwriting purposes. GINA and the interim final regulations (29 CFR 2590.702A(c)(5)) provide a research exception to the limitations on requesting or requiring genetic testing that allow a group health plan or group health insurance issuer to request, but not require, a participant or beneficiary to undergo a genetic test if all of the following conditions of the research exception are satisfied: • The request must be made pursuant to research that complies with 45 CFR part 46 (or equivalent Federal regulations) and any applicable State or local law or regulations for the protection of human subjects in research. To comply with the informed consent requirements of 45 CFR 46.116(a)(8), a participant must receive a disclosure that participation in the research is voluntary, refusal to participate cannot involve any penalty or loss of benefits to which the participant is otherwise entitled, and the participant may discontinue participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits to which the participant is entitled (the Participant Disclosure). The interim final regulations provide that when the Participant Disclosure is received by participants seeking their informed consent, no additional disclosures are required for purposes of the GINA research exception. • The plan or issuer must make the request in writing and must clearly indicate to each participant or beneficiary (or in the case of a minor child, to the legal guardian of such beneficiary) to whom the request is made that compliance with the request is voluntary and noncompliance will have no effect on eligibility for benefits or premium or contribution amounts. • None of the genetic information collected or acquired as a result of the research may be used for underwriting purposes. • The plan or issuer must complete a copy of the ‘‘Notice of Research Exception under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act’’ (the Notice) and provide it to the PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 34699 address specified in its instructions. The Notice and instructions are available on the Department of Labor’s Web site (https://www.dol.gov/ebsa). The Participant Disclosure and the Notice are the information collection requests (ICRs) contained in the interim final rules. The Department previously requested review of this information collection and obtained approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB control number 1210–0136. The ICR is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2015. Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor. Title: Bank Collective Investment Funds; Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 91–38. Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information. OMB Number: 1210–0082. Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit institutions. Respondents: 4,200. Responses: 4,200. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 700. Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0. Description: PTE 91–38 provides an exemption from the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) for certain transactions between a bank collective investment fund and persons who are parties in interest with respect to an employee benefit plan. Without the exemption, sections 406 and 407(a) of ERISA and section 4975(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code may prohibit transactions between the collective investment fund (CIF) and a party in interest to one or more of the employee benefit plans participating in the collective investment fund. Under PTE 91–38, a collective investment fund generally may engage in transactions with parties in interest to a plan that invests in the fund as long as the plan’s total investment in the fund does not exceed a specified percentage of the total assets of the fund. The PTE also contains more limited or differently defined relief for funds holding more than the specified percentage, for multiemployer plans, and for transactions involving employer securities and employer real property. In order to ensure that the rights of participants and beneficiaries are protected, and that bank collective investment funds can demonstrate compliance with the terms of the exemption, the Department requires a bank to maintain records regarding the exempted transactions and make them available for inspection to specified E:\FR\FM\17JNN1.SGM 17JNN1 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 34700 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 116 / Wednesday, June 17, 2015 / Notices interested persons (including the Department and the Internal Revenue Service) on request for a period of six years. EBSA previously submitted the information collection provisions of PTE 91–38 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review in an ICR that was approved under the OMB Control No. 1210–0082. The current approval is scheduled to expire on November 30, 2015. Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor. Title: Foreign Currency Transactions; Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 94–20. Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information. OMB Number: 1210–0085. Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit institutions. Respondents: 271. Responses: 1,355. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 226. Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0, Description: PTE 94–20 permits the purchase and sale of foreign currencies between an employee benefit plan and a bank, broker-dealer, or an affiliate thereof, that is a trustee, custodian, fiduciary, or other party in interest with respect to the plan. The exemption is available provided that the transaction is directed (within the meaning of section IV(e) of the exemption) by a plan fiduciary that is independent of the bank, broker-dealer, or affiliate and all other conditions of the exemption are satisfied. Without this exemption, certain aspects of these transactions might be prohibited by section 406(a) of ERISA. To protect the interests of participants and beneficiaries of the employee benefit plan, the exemption requires that the party wishing to take advantage of the exemption (1) develop written policies and procedures applicable to trading in foreign currencies on behalf of an employee benefit plan; (2) provide a written confirmation with respect to each transaction in foreign currency to the independent plan fiduciary, disclosing specified information; and (3) maintain records pertaining to the transaction for a period of six years. This ICR relates to the foregoing disclosure and recordkeeping requirements.Show citation box EBSA previously submitted the information collection provisions of PTE 94–20 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review in connection with promulgation of the prohibited transaction exemption. OMB VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:47 Jun 16, 2015 Jkt 235001 approved the information collection request (ICR) under OMB Control No. 1210–0085. The ICR approval is currently scheduled to expire on November 30, 2015. Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor. Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 97–41; Collective Investment Funds Conversion Transactions. Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information, OMB Number: 1210–0104. Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits. Respondents: 50. Responses: 105. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,760. Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $356,000. Description: Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 97–41 provides an exemption from the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and from certain taxes imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The exemption permits employee benefit plans to purchase shares of one or more openend investment companies (funds) registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 by transferring inkind, to the investment company, assets of the plan that are part of a collective investment fund (CIF) maintained by a bank or plan advisor that is both a fiduciary of the plan and an investment advisor to the investment company offering the fund. The exemption requires that an independent fiduciary receive advance written notice of any covered transaction, as well as specific written information concerning the funds to be purchased. The independent fiduciary must also provide written advance approval of conversion transactions and receive written confirmation of each transaction, as well as additional ongoing disclosures as defined in PTE 97– 41. These disclosures are the basis for this ICR. EBSA previously submitted the information collection provisions of PTE 97–41 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review in connection with promulgation of the prohibited transaction exemption. OMB approved the information collection request (ICR) under OMB Control No. 1210–0104. The ICR approval is currently scheduled to expire on November 30, 2015. Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor. PO 00000 Frm 00095 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Title: Employee Retirement Income Security Act Summary Annual Report Requirement. Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information. OMB Number: 1210–0040. Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits. Respondents: 746,000. Responses: 169,000,000. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,300,000. Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $58,300,000. Description: Section 104(b)(3) of ERISA and the regulation published at 29 CFR 2520.104b–10 require, with certain exceptions, that administrators of employee benefit plans furnish annually to each participant and certain beneficiaries a summary annual report (SAR) meeting the requirements of the statute and regulation. The regulation prescribes the content and format of the SAR and the timing of its delivery. The SAR provides current information about the plan and assists those who receive it in understanding the plan’s current financial operation and condition. It also explains participants’ and beneficiaries’ rights to receive further information on these issues. EBSA previously submitted the information collection provisions in the regulation at 29 CFR 2520.104b–10 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review in an information collection request (ICR). OMB approved the ICR under OMB Control No. 1210– 0040. The ICR approval is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2015. Focus of Comments The Department is particularly interested in comments that: • Evaluate whether the collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; • Evaluate the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the collections of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; • Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and • Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., by permitting electronic submissions of responses. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or E:\FR\FM\17JNN1.SGM 17JNN1 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 116 / Wednesday, June 17, 2015 / Notices included in the ICRs for OMB approval of the extension of the information collection; they will also become a matter of public record. Dated: June 11, 2015. Joseph S. Piacentini, Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration. [FR Doc. 2015–14837 Filed 6–16–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4510–29–P DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employee Benefits Security Administration asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans; Nominations for Vacancies Section 512 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 88 Stat. 895, 29 U.S.C. 1142, provides for the establishment of an Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (the Council), which is to consist of 15 members to be appointed by the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) as follows: Three representatives of employee organizations (at least one of whom shall be a representative of an organization whose members are participants in a multiemployer plan); three representatives of employers (at least one of whom shall be a representative of employers maintaining or contributing to multiemployer plans); one representative each from the fields of insurance, corporate trust, actuarial counseling, investment counseling, investment management, and accounting; and three representatives from the general public (one of whom shall be a person representing those receiving benefits from a pension plan). No more than eight members of the Council shall be members of the same political party. Council members shall be persons qualified to appraise the programs instituted under ERISA. Appointments are for terms of three years. The prescribed duties of the Council are to advise the Secretary with respect to the carrying out of his or her functions under ERISA, and to submit to the Secretary, or his or her designee, recommendations with respect thereto. The Council will meet at least four times each year. The terms of five members of the Council expire at the end of this year. The groups or fields they represent are as follows: (1) Employee organizations; (2) employers; (3) investment counseling; (4) actuarial counseling; and (5) the general public. The Department VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:47 Jun 16, 2015 Jkt 235001 of Labor is committed to equal opportunity in the workplace and seeks a broad-based and diverse Council. Accordingly, notice is hereby given that any person or organization desiring to nominate one or more individuals for appointment to the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans to represent any of the groups or fields specified in the preceding paragraph may submit nominations to Larry Good, Council Executive Secretary, Frances Perkins Building, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Suite N– 5623, Washington, DC 20210, or as email attachments to good.larry@ dol.gov. Nominations (including supporting nominations) must be received on or before July 31, 2015. Please allow three weeks for regular mail delivery to the Department of Labor. If sending electronically, please use an attachment in rich text, Word, or pdf format. Nominations may be in the form of a letter, resolution or petition, signed by the person making the nomination or, in the case of a nomination by an organization, by an authorized representative of the organization. Nominations, including supporting letters, should: • State the person’s qualifications to serve on the Council. • State that the candidate will accept appointment to the Council if offered. • Include which of the five positions (representing groups or fields) the candidate is nominated to fill. • Include the nominee’s full name, work affiliation, mailing address, phone number, and email address. • Include the nominator’s full name, mailing address, phone number, and email address. • Include the nominator’s signature, whether sent by email or otherwise. Please do not include any information that you do not want publicly disclosed. In selecting Council members, the Secretary of Labor will consider individuals nominated in response to this Federal Register notice, as well as other qualified individuals. Nominees will be contacted to provide information on their political affiliation and their status as registered lobbyists. Anyone currently subject to federal registration requirements as a lobbyist is not eligible for appointment. Nominees should be aware of the time commitment for attending meetings and actively participating in the work of the Council. Historically, this has meant a commitment of 15–20 days per year. The Department of Labor has a process PO 00000 Frm 00096 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 34701 for vetting nominees under consideration for appointment. Phyllis C. Borzi, Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration. [FR Doc. 2015–14781 Filed 6–16–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4510–29–P DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Office of the Secretary Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; O*NET Data Collection Program ACTION: Notice. On June 30, 2015, the Department of Labor (DOL) will submit the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) revision titled, ‘‘O*NET Data Collection Program’’ to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Public comments on the ICR are invited. DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives on or before July 30, 2015. ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge from the RegInfo.gov Web site at https:// www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201504-1205-010 (this link will only become active on July 1, 2015) or by contacting Michel Smyth by telephone at 202–693–4129, TTY 202–693–8064, (these are not tollfree numbers) or sending an email to DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov. Submit comments about this request by mail or courier to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL–ETA, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: 202– 395–5806 (this is not a toll-free number); or by email: OIRA_ submission@omb.eop.gov. Commenters are encouraged, but not required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor-OASAM, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Attn: Departmental Information Compliance Management Program, Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\17JNN1.SGM 17JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 116 (Wednesday, June 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34696-34701]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14837]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Extension of Information Collection Requests Submitted 
for Public Comment

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), 
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This 
helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection 
requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps 
the public understand the Department's information collection 
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The 
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments 
on the proposed extension of the information collection requests (ICRs) 
contained in the documents described below. A copy of the ICRs may be 
obtained by contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice. ICRs also are available at reginfo.gov (https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the 
Addresses section on or before August 17, 2015.

ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits 
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-5718, 
Washington, DC 20210, cosby.chris@dol.gov, (202) 693-8410, FAX (202) 
693-4745 (these are not toll-free numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice requests public comment on the 
Department's request for extension of the Office of Management and 
Budget's (OMB) approval of ICRs contained in the rules and prohibited 
transactions described below. The Department is not proposing any 
changes to the existing ICRs at this time. An agency may not conduct or 
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information 
collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. A summary of 
the ICRs and the current burden estimates follows:

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Settlement Agreements between a Plan and Party in Interest.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0091.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 4.
    Responses: 1,080.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 30.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $335.
    Description: Section 408(a) of ERISA and section 4975(c)(2) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code) give the Secretary of Labor 
the authority to grant an exemption to a class or order of fiduciaries, 
disqualified persons, or transactions from all or part of the 
restrictions imposed by sections 406 and 407(a) of ERISA and from the 
taxes imposed by sections 4975(a) and (b) of the Code, by reason of 
section 4975(c)(1) of the Code. This information collection request 
(ICR) relates to two prohibited transaction class exemptions (PTEs) 
that the Department of Labor (the Department) has granted, both of 
which involve settlement agreements. These two exemptions are described 
below:
    PTE 94-71. Granted on September 30, 1994, PTE 94-71 exempts from 
certain restrictions of ERISA and certain taxes imposed by the Code, a 
transaction or activity that is authorized, prior to the execution of 
the transaction or activity, by a settlement agreement resulting from 
an investigation of an employee benefit plan conducted by the 
Department.
    PTE 2003-39. Granted on December 31, 2005, PTE 03-39 exempts from 
certain restrictions of ERISA and certain taxes imposed by the Code, 
transactions arising out of the settlement of litigation that involve 
the release of claims against parties in interest in exchange for 
payment by or on behalf of the party in interest, provided that certain 
conditions are met.
    Because both exemptions involve settlement agreements, the 
Department has combined their information collection provisions into 
one ICR and has obtained OMB approval for their paperwork burden. The 
Department believes that the public and the Federal government are both 
best served by allowing the public to review and comment on similar 
exemption provisions in combination. The ICR is scheduled to expire on 
August 31, 2015.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    OMB Number: 1210-0118.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 5,760.
    Responses: 119,761.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 25,920.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 
$1,174,000.
    Description: This information collection arises from two related 
actions: the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (the VFC Program or 
the Program) and Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 2002-51 
(the Exemption). The Department adopted the Program and the Exemption 
in order to encourage members of the public to voluntarily correct 
transactions that violate (or are suspected of violating) the fiduciary 
or prohibited transaction provisions of the ERISA. Both the Program and 
the Exemption incorporate information collection requirements in order 
to protect participants and beneficiaries

[[Page 34697]]

and enable the Department to oversee the appropriate use of the Program 
and the Exemption. The ICR is scheduled to expire on August 31, 2015.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Termination of Abandoned Individual Account Plans.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information,
    OMB Number: 1210-0127.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 39,330.
    Responses: 3,102,640.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 109,800.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 
$1,088,000.
    Description: The abandoned plan initiative includes the following 
actions, which impose the following information collections:
    1. Qualified Termination Administrator (QTA) Regulation: The QTA 
regulation creates an orderly and efficient process by which a 
financial institution that holds the assets of a plan that is deemed to 
have been abandoned may undertake to terminate the plan and distribute 
its assets to participants and beneficiaries holding accounts under the 
plan, with protections and approval of the Department under the 
standards of the regulation. The regulation requires the QTA to provide 
certain notices to the Department, to participants and beneficiaries, 
and to the plan sponsor (or service providers to the plan, if 
necessary), and to keep certain records pertaining to the termination.
    2. Abandoned Plan Terminal Report Regulation: The terminal report 
regulation provides an alternative, simplified method for a QTA to 
satisfy the annual report requirement otherwise applicable to a 
terminating plan by filing a special simplified terminal report with 
the Department after terminating an abandoned plan and distributing the 
remaining assets in the individual account plans to participants and 
beneficiaries.
    3. Terminated Plan Distribution Regulation: The terminated plan 
distribution regulation establishes a safe harbor method by which 
fiduciaries who are terminating individual account pension plans 
(whether abandoned or not) may select an investment vehicle to receive 
account balances distributed from the terminated plan when the 
participant has failed to provide investment instructions. The 
regulation requires the fiduciaries to provide advance notice to 
participants and beneficiaries of how such distributions will be 
invested, if no other investment instructions are provided.
    4. Abandoned Plan Class Exemption: The exemption permits a QTA that 
terminates an abandoned plan under the QTA regulation to receive 
payment for its services from the abandoned plan and to distribute the 
account balance of a participant who has failed to provide investment 
direction into an individual retirement account (IRA) maintained by the 
QTA or an affiliate. Without the exemption, financial institutions 
would be unable to receive payment for services rendered out of plan 
assets without violating ERISA's prohibited transaction provisions and 
would therefore be highly unlikely to undertake the termination of 
abandoned plans. The exemption includes the condition that the QTA keep 
records of the distributions for a period of six years and make such 
records available on request to interested persons (including the 
Department and participants and beneficiaries). If a QTA wishes to be 
paid out of plan assets for services provided prior to becoming a QTA, 
the exemption requires that the QTA enter into a written agreement with 
a plan fiduciary or the plan sponsor prior to receiving payment and 
that a copy of the agreement be provided to the Department.
    5. PTE 2004-16 (Automatic Rollover Exemption): Also included in 
this ICR are the notice and recordkeeping requirements contained in PTE 
2004-16, which permits a pension plan fiduciary that is a financial 
institution and is also the employer maintaining an individual account 
pension plan for its employees to establish, on behalf of its separated 
employees, an IRA at a financial institution that is either the 
employer or an affiliate, which IRA would receive mandatory 
distributions that the fiduciary ``rolls over'' from the plan when an 
employee terminates employment.
    Because all of these regulations and exemptions relate to 
terminating or abandoned plans and/or to distribution and rollover of 
distributed benefits for which no participant investment election has 
been made, the Department has combined the paperwork burden for all of 
these actions into one ICR. In the Department's view, this combination 
allows the public to have a better understanding of the aggregate 
burden imposed on the public for these related regulatory actions. OMB 
approved the ICR under OMB control number 1210-0127, which is scheduled 
to expire on September 30, 2015.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: PTE 90-1; Insurance Company Pooled Separate Accounts.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0083.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 64.
    Responses: 640.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 107.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
    Description: PTE 90-1 provides an exemption from certain provisions 
of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) relating 
to transactions involving insurance company pooled separate accounts in 
which employee benefit plans participate. Without the exemption, 
sections 406 and 407(a) of ERISA and section 4975(c)(1) of the Internal 
Revenue Code might prohibit a party in interest to a plan from 
furnishing goods or services to an insurance company pooled separate 
account in which the plan has an interest, or prohibit engaging in 
other transactions. Under the exemption, persons who are parties in 
interest to a plan that invests in a pooled separate account, such as a 
service provider, may engage in otherwise prohibited transactions with 
the separate account if the plan's participation in the separate 
account does not exceed specified limits and other conditions are met. 
These other conditions include a requirement that the party in interest 
not be the insurance company, or an affiliate thereof, that holds the 
plan assets in its pooled separate account or other separate account. 
The terms of the transaction to which the exemption is applied must be 
at least as favorable to the pooled separate account as those that 
would be obtained in a separate arms-length transaction with an 
unrelated party, and the insurance company must maintain records of any 
transaction to which the exemption applies for a period of six years. 
This ICR covers this recordkeeping requirement.
    The Department previously submitted this information collection to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in an ICR that was approved 
under the OMB Control Number 1210-0083. The current approval is 
scheduled to expire on October 31, 2015.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Definition of Plan Assets--Participant Contributions.

[[Page 34698]]

    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0100.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 1.
    Responses: 251.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 8.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $1,088.
    Description: The regulation concerning plan assets and participant 
contributions provides guidance for fiduciaries, participants, and 
beneficiaries of employee benefit plans regarding how participant 
contributions to pension plans must be handled when they are either 
paid to the employer by the participant or directly withheld by the 
employer from the employee's wages for transmission to the pension 
plan. In particular, the regulation sets standards for the timely 
delivery of such participant contributions, including an outside time 
limit for the employer's holding of participant contributions. In 
addition, for those employers who may have difficulty meeting the 
regulation's outside deadlines for transmitting participant 
contribution, the regulation (29 CFR 2510.3-102(d) provides the 
opportunity for the employer to obtain an extension of the time limit 
by providing participants and the Department with a notice that 
contains specified information. The ICR pertains to this notice 
requirement. The Department previously requested review of this 
information collection and obtained approval from the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB control number 1210-0100. That 
approval is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2015.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for Cross-Trades of 
Securities by Index and Model-Driven Funds (PTCE 2002-12).
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0115.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 60.
    Responses: 840.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 855.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $528.
    Description: PTE 2002-12 exempts certain transactions that would be 
prohibited under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
(the Act or ERISA) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act 
(FERSA), and provides relief from certain sanctions of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). The exemption permits cross-trades of 
securities among Index and Model-Driven Funds (Funds) managed by 
managers (Managers), and among such Funds and certain large accounts 
(Large Accounts) that engage such Managers to carry out a specific 
portfolio restructuring program or to otherwise act as a ``trading 
adviser'' for such a program. By removing existing barriers to these 
types of transactions, the exemption increases the incidences of cross-
trading, thereby lowering the transaction costs to plans in a number of 
ways from what they would be otherwise.
    In order for the Department to grant an exemption for a transaction 
or class of transactions that would otherwise be prohibited under 
ERISA, the statute requires the Department to make a finding that the 
exemption is administratively feasible, in the interest of the plan and 
its participants and beneficiaries, and protective of the rights of the 
participants and beneficiaries. To ensure that Managers have complied 
with the requirements of the exemption, the Department has included in 
the exemption certain recordkeeping and disclosure obligations that are 
designed to safeguard plan assets by periodically providing information 
to plan fiduciaries, who generally must be independent from the cross-
trading program. Initially, where plans are not invested in Funds, 
Managers must furnish information to plan fiduciaries about the cross-
trading program, provide a statement that the Manager will have a 
potentially conflicting division of loyalties, and obtain written 
authorization from a plan fiduciary for a plan to participate in a 
cross-trading program. For plans that are currently invested in Funds, 
the Manager must provide annual notices to update the plan fiduciary 
and provide the plan with an opportunity to withdraw from the program. 
For Large Accounts, prior to the cross-trade, the Manager must provide 
information about the cross-trading program and obtain written 
authorization from the fiduciary of a Large Account to engage in cross-
trading in connection with a portfolio restructuring program. Following 
completion of the Large Account's restructuring, information must be 
provided by the Manager about all cross-trades executed in connection 
with a portfolio-restructuring program. Finally, the exemption requires 
that Managers maintain for a period of 6 years from the date of each 
cross-trade the records necessary to enable plan fiduciaries and 
certain other persons specified in the exemption (e.g., Department 
representatives or contributing employers), to determine whether the 
conditions of the exemption have been met.
    EBSA previously submitted the information collection provisions of 
PTE 2002-12 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review in 
connection with promulgation of the prohibited transaction exemption. 
OMB approved the information collection request (ICR) under OMB Control 
No. 1210-0115. The ICR approval is currently scheduled to expire on 
October 31, 2015.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Acquisition and Sale of Trust Real Estate Investment Trust 
Shares by Individual Account Plans Sponsored by Trust Real Estate 
Investment Trusts.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0124.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 46.
    Responses: 96,600.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 4,838.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $251,160.
    Description: PTE 2004-07 exempts from certain prohibited 
transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
of 1974 (ERISA) and from certain taxes imposed by the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 (the Code), the acquisition, holding, sale, and 
contribution in kind of publicly traded shares of beneficial interest 
in a real estate investment trust that is structured under State law as 
a business trust (Trust REIT), on behalf of and to individual account 
plans sponsored by the REIT or its affiliates, provided that certain 
conditions are met.
    The exemption allows individual account plans (Plans) established 
by Trust REITS to offer a beneficial interest in the Trust REIT in the 
form of Qualifying REIT Shares, as defined in the exemption, to 
participants in Plans sponsored by the REIT or its employer affiliates, 
to require that employer contributions be used to purchase such shares, 
and to permit ``contributions in kind'' of such shares to these Plans 
by employers.
    The exemption conditions relief on compliance with a number of 
information collection requirements. These information collections are 
to be provided or made available to plan

[[Page 34699]]

participants and fiduciaries in order to inform them about investments 
in Qualifying REIT Shares and the conditions of the exemption 
permitting share transactions. Records sufficient to allow them to 
determine whether the exemption conditions are met must also be 
maintained, and made available to them upon request, for a period of 
six years. These records must also be made available on request to 
employers and employee organizations with employees and members covered 
by a Plan of the Trust REIT or one of its employer affiliates, and to 
authorized employees and representatives of the Department and the 
Internal Revenue Service. EBSA submitted an ICR for the information 
collections in PTE 2004-07 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and clearance in connection with proposal of the class 
exemption, which was published in the Federal Register on June 3, 2003 
(68 FR 33185). OMB approved the ICR under OMB control number 1210-0124. 
The ICR approval is currently scheduled to expire on October 31, 2015.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Notice of Research Exception under the Genetic Information 
Nondiscrimination Act of 2008.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0136.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 3.
    Responses: 3.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $11.
    Description: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 
(GINA), Public Law 110-233, was enacted on May 21, 2008. Title I of 
GINA amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
(ERISA), the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act), the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 (Code), and the Social Security Act (SSA) to prohibit 
discrimination in health coverage based on genetic information. 
Sections 101 through 103 of Title I of GINA prevent employment-based 
group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and 
individual markets from discriminating based on genetic information, 
and from collecting such information. The interim final regulations, 
which are codified at 29 CFR 2590.702A, only interpret Sections 101 
through 103 of Title I of GINA.
    While GINA does not mandate any specific benefits for health care 
services related to genetic tests, diseases, conditions, or genetic 
services, GINA establishes rules that generally prohibit a group health 
plan and a health insurance issuer in the group market from:
     Increasing the group premium or contribution amounts based 
on genetic information;
     Requesting or requiring an individual or family member to 
undergo a genetic test; and
     Requesting, requiring or purchasing genetic information 
prior to or in connection with enrollment, or at any time for 
underwriting purposes.
    GINA and the interim final regulations (29 CFR 2590.702A(c)(5)) 
provide a research exception to the limitations on requesting or 
requiring genetic testing that allow a group health plan or group 
health insurance issuer to request, but not require, a participant or 
beneficiary to undergo a genetic test if all of the following 
conditions of the research exception are satisfied:
     The request must be made pursuant to research that 
complies with 45 CFR part 46 (or equivalent Federal regulations) and 
any applicable State or local law or regulations for the protection of 
human subjects in research. To comply with the informed consent 
requirements of 45 CFR 46.116(a)(8), a participant must receive a 
disclosure that participation in the research is voluntary, refusal to 
participate cannot involve any penalty or loss of benefits to which the 
participant is otherwise entitled, and the participant may discontinue 
participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits to which 
the participant is entitled (the Participant Disclosure). The interim 
final regulations provide that when the Participant Disclosure is 
received by participants seeking their informed consent, no additional 
disclosures are required for purposes of the GINA research exception.
     The plan or issuer must make the request in writing and 
must clearly indicate to each participant or beneficiary (or in the 
case of a minor child, to the legal guardian of such beneficiary) to 
whom the request is made that compliance with the request is voluntary 
and noncompliance will have no effect on eligibility for benefits or 
premium or contribution amounts.
     None of the genetic information collected or acquired as a 
result of the research may be used for underwriting purposes.
     The plan or issuer must complete a copy of the ``Notice of 
Research Exception under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination 
Act'' (the Notice) and provide it to the address specified in its 
instructions. The Notice and instructions are available on the 
Department of Labor's Web site (https://www.dol.gov/ebsa).
    The Participant Disclosure and the Notice are the information 
collection requests (ICRs) contained in the interim final rules. The 
Department previously requested review of this information collection 
and obtained approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
under OMB control number 1210-0136. The ICR is scheduled to expire on 
October 31, 2015.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Bank Collective Investment Funds; Prohibited Transaction 
Class Exemption 91-38.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0082.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Respondents: 4,200.
    Responses: 4,200.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 700.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
    Description: PTE 91-38 provides an exemption from the prohibited 
transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
of 1974 (ERISA) for certain transactions between a bank collective 
investment fund and persons who are parties in interest with respect to 
an employee benefit plan. Without the exemption, sections 406 and 
407(a) of ERISA and section 4975(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code may 
prohibit transactions between the collective investment fund (CIF) and 
a party in interest to one or more of the employee benefit plans 
participating in the collective investment fund. Under PTE 91-38, a 
collective investment fund generally may engage in transactions with 
parties in interest to a plan that invests in the fund as long as the 
plan's total investment in the fund does not exceed a specified 
percentage of the total assets of the fund. The PTE also contains more 
limited or differently defined relief for funds holding more than the 
specified percentage, for multiemployer plans, and for transactions 
involving employer securities and employer real property. In order to 
ensure that the rights of participants and beneficiaries are protected, 
and that bank collective investment funds can demonstrate compliance 
with the terms of the exemption, the Department requires a bank to 
maintain records regarding the exempted transactions and make them 
available for inspection to specified

[[Page 34700]]

interested persons (including the Department and the Internal Revenue 
Service) on request for a period of six years.
    EBSA previously submitted the information collection provisions of 
PTE 91-38 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review in an 
ICR that was approved under the OMB Control No. 1210-0082. The current 
approval is scheduled to expire on November 30, 2015.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Foreign Currency Transactions; Prohibited Transaction Class 
Exemption 94-20.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0085.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Respondents: 271.
    Responses: 1,355.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 226.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0,
    Description: PTE 94-20 permits the purchase and sale of foreign 
currencies between an employee benefit plan and a bank, broker-dealer, 
or an affiliate thereof, that is a trustee, custodian, fiduciary, or 
other party in interest with respect to the plan. The exemption is 
available provided that the transaction is directed (within the meaning 
of section IV(e) of the exemption) by a plan fiduciary that is 
independent of the bank, broker-dealer, or affiliate and all other 
conditions of the exemption are satisfied. Without this exemption, 
certain aspects of these transactions might be prohibited by section 
406(a) of ERISA. To protect the interests of participants and 
beneficiaries of the employee benefit plan, the exemption requires that 
the party wishing to take advantage of the exemption (1) develop 
written policies and procedures applicable to trading in foreign 
currencies on behalf of an employee benefit plan; (2) provide a written 
confirmation with respect to each transaction in foreign currency to 
the independent plan fiduciary, disclosing specified information; and 
(3) maintain records pertaining to the transaction for a period of six 
years. This ICR relates to the foregoing disclosure and recordkeeping 
requirements.Show citation box
    EBSA previously submitted the information collection provisions of 
PTE 94-20 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review in 
connection with promulgation of the prohibited transaction exemption. 
OMB approved the information collection request (ICR) under OMB Control 
No. 1210-0085. The ICR approval is currently scheduled to expire on 
November 30, 2015.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 97-41; Collective 
Investment Funds Conversion Transactions.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information,
    OMB Number: 1210-0104.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 50.
    Responses: 105.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,760.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $356,000.
    Description: Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 97-41 provides 
an exemption from the prohibited transaction provisions of the 
Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and from 
certain taxes imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The 
exemption permits employee benefit plans to purchase shares of one or 
more open-end investment companies (funds) registered under the 
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 by transferring in-kind, to the 
investment company, assets of the plan that are part of a collective 
investment fund (CIF) maintained by a bank or plan advisor that is both 
a fiduciary of the plan and an investment advisor to the investment 
company offering the fund.
    The exemption requires that an independent fiduciary receive 
advance written notice of any covered transaction, as well as specific 
written information concerning the funds to be purchased. The 
independent fiduciary must also provide written advance approval of 
conversion transactions and receive written confirmation of each 
transaction, as well as additional on-going disclosures as defined in 
PTE 97-41. These disclosures are the basis for this ICR.
    EBSA previously submitted the information collection provisions of 
PTE 97-41 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review in 
connection with promulgation of the prohibited transaction exemption. 
OMB approved the information collection request (ICR) under OMB Control 
No. 1210-0104. The ICR approval is currently scheduled to expire on 
November 30, 2015.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Employee Retirement Income Security Act Summary Annual 
Report Requirement.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0040.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 746,000.
    Responses: 169,000,000.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,300,000.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 
$58,300,000.
    Description: Section 104(b)(3) of ERISA and the regulation 
published at 29 CFR 2520.104b-10 require, with certain exceptions, that 
administrators of employee benefit plans furnish annually to each 
participant and certain beneficiaries a summary annual report (SAR) 
meeting the requirements of the statute and regulation. The regulation 
prescribes the content and format of the SAR and the timing of its 
delivery. The SAR provides current information about the plan and 
assists those who receive it in understanding the plan's current 
financial operation and condition. It also explains participants' and 
beneficiaries' rights to receive further information on these issues.
    EBSA previously submitted the information collection provisions in 
the regulation at 29 CFR 2520.104b-10 to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review in an information collection request (ICR). OMB 
approved the ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0040. The ICR approval is 
scheduled to expire on December 31, 2015.

Focus of Comments

    The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
     Evaluate whether the collections of information are 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
collections of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., by 
permitting electronic submissions of responses.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or

[[Page 34701]]

included in the ICRs for OMB approval of the extension of the 
information collection; they will also become a matter of public 
record.

    Dated: June 11, 2015.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-14837 Filed 6-16-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-29-P
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