Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted for Public Comment; Prohibited Transaction Exemptions 81-8, 96-62, 77-4, 98-54; Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program; Suspension of Benefits Regulation, 69130-69133 [2010-28306]
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69130
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 217 / Wednesday, November 10, 2010 / Notices
and Research, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210.
Comments may be submitted in writing
to the above address, via facsimile to
(202) 219–4745, or electronically to the
following Internet e-mail address:
ebsa.opr@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
I. Background
Section 609(a) of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,
as amended (ERISA), requires each
group health plan, as defined in ERISA
section 607(1), to provide benefits in
accordance with the applicable
requirements of any ‘‘qualified medical
child support order’’ (QMCSO). A
QMCSO is, generally, an order issued by
a state court or other competent state
authority that requires a group health
plan to provide group health coverage to
a child or children of an employee
eligible for coverage under the plan. In
accordance with Congressional
directives contained in the Child
Support Performance and Incentive Act
of 1998 (CSPIA), EBSA and the Federal
Office of Child Support Enforcement
(OCSE) in the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) cooperated in
the development of regulations to create
a National Medical Support Notice
(NMSN or Notice). The Notice
simplifies the issuance and processing
of qualified medical child support
orders issued by state child support
enforcement agencies, provides for
standardized communication between
state agencies, employers, and plan
administrators, and creates a uniform
and streamlined process for
enforcement of medical child support
obligations ordered by state child
support enforcement agencies. The
NMSN comprises two parts: Part A was
promulgated by HHS and pertains to
state child support enforcement
agencies and employers; Part B was
promulgated by the Department and
pertains to plan administrators pursuant
to ERISA. This solicitation of public
comment relates only to Part B of the
NMSN, which was promulgated by the
Department. In connection with
promulgation of Part B of the NMSN,
the Department submitted an ICR to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review, and OMB approved
the information collections contained in
Part B under OMB control number
1210–0113. OMB’s approval of this ICR
is scheduled to expire on October 31,
2012.
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II. Desired Focus of Comments
The Department is currently soliciting
comments on the information
collections contained in the National
Medical Support Notice—Part B. The
Department is particularly interested in
comments that:
• Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is 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 burden of the
proposed collection 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.
This notice requests comments on a
revision to the ICR included in Part B
of the NMSN. The Department is
planning to make conforming changes to
Part B of the NMSN reflecting changes
HHS plans to make to Part A of the
notice that were the subject of a 60-day
public comment notice published by
HHS in the Federal Register on June 28,
2010 (75 FR 36658). HHS has informed
the Department that it received
comments requesting HHS and the
Department to synchronize their OMB
approval dates (HHS’s approval expires
on March 31, 2011) and make the same
revisions to data elements on Parts A
and B of the NMSN. In response to these
comments, the Department and HHS
plan to make simultaneous submissions
to OMB revising Parts A and B of the
NMSN. A summary of the Department’s
ICR and its current burden estimates
follows:
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: National Medical Support
Notice—Part B.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210–0113.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; Business or other for-profit;
Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 432,995.
Responses: 10,754,484.
Frm 00085
Fmt 4703
Dated: November 3, 2010.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research,
Employee Benefits Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010–28305 Filed 11–9–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–29–P
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security
Administration
Proposed Extension of Information
Collection Request Submitted for
Public Comment; Prohibited
Transaction Exemptions 81–8, 96–62,
77–4, 98–54; Delinquent Filer Voluntary
Compliance Program; Suspension of
Benefits Regulation
Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
III. Current Actions
PO 00000
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
896,207.
Estimated Total Burden Cost
(Operating and Maintenance):
$5,807,421.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of the ICR; they will also
become a matter of public record.
Sfmt 4703
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 that
are 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 January
10, 2011.
ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby,
Department of Labor, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 217 / Wednesday, November 10, 2010 / Notices
DC 20210, (202) 693–8410, FAX (202)
693–4745 (these are not toll-free
numbers).
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 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: Class Exemption for Investment
of Plan Assets in Certain Types of ShortTerm Investments.
Type of Review: Extension without
change of a currently approved
collection of information.
OMB Number: 1210–0061.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit; Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 50,000.
Responses: 250,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
41,700.
Estimated Total Burden Cost
(Operating and Maintenance): $102,500.
Description: Prohibited Transaction
Class Exemption 81–8 permits the
investment of plan assets that involve
the purchase or other acquisition,
holding, sale, exchange or redemption
by or on behalf of an employee benefit
plan in certain types of short-term
investments. These include investments
in banker’s acceptances, commercial
paper, repurchase agreements,
certificates of deposit, and bank
securities. Absent the exemption,
certain aspects of these transactions
might be prohibited by section 406 and
407(a) of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA).
In order to ensure that the exemption
is not abused, that the rights of
participants and beneficiaries are
protected, and that the conditions of the
exemption have been satisfied, the
Department has included in the
exemption two basic disclosure
requirements. Both affect only the
portion of the exemption dealing with
repurchase agreements. The first
requirement calls for the repurchase
agreements between the seller and the
plan to be in writing. The second
requirement obliges the seller of such
repurchase agreements to agree to
provide financial statements to the plan
at the time of the sale and as future
statements are issued. The seller must
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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also represent, either in the repurchase
agreement or prior to the negotiation of
each repurchase agreement transaction,
that there has been no material adverse
change in the seller’s financial
condition since the date that the most
recent financial statement was furnished
which has not been disclosed to the
plan fiduciary with whom the written
agreement is made.
Without the recording and disclosure
requirements included in this ICR,
participants and beneficiaries of a plan
would not be protected in their
investments, the Department would be
unable to monitor a plan’s activities for
compliance, and plans would be at a
disadvantage in assessing the value of
certain short-term investment activities.
The ICR is scheduled to expire on April
30, 2011.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: Prohibited Transaction Class
Exemption 96–62, Process for Expedited
Approval of Exemption for Prohibited
Transaction.
Type of Review: Extension without
change of a currently approved
collection of information.
OMB Number: 1210–0098.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit; Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 50.
Responses: 50.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 62.
Estimated Total Burden Cost
(Operating and Maintenance): $67,375.
Description: Section 408(a) of ERISA
provides that the Secretary of Labor may
grant exemptions from the prohibited
transaction provisions of sections 406
and 407(a) of ERISA, and directs the
Secretary to establish an exemption
procedure with respect to such
provisions. On July 31, 1996, the
Department published Prohibited
Transaction Exemption 96–62, which,
pursuant to the exemption procedure set
forth in 29 CFR 2570, subpart B, permits
a plan to seek approval on an
accelerated basis of otherwise
prohibited transactions. A class
exemption will only be granted on the
conditions that the plan demonstrate to
the Department that the transaction is
substantially similar to those described
in at least two prior individual
exemptions granted by the Department
and that it presents little, if any,
opportunity for abuse or risk of loss to
a plan’s participants and beneficiaries.
This ICR is intended to provide the
Department with sufficient information
to support a finding that the exemption
meets the statutory standards of section
408(a) of ERISA, and to provide affected
parties with the opportunity to
comment on the proposed transaction,
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69131
while at the same time reducing the
regulatory burden associated with
processing individual exemptions for
transactions prohibited under ERISA.
The ICR is scheduled to expire on April
30, 2011.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: Class Exemption 77–4 for
Certain Transactions Between
Investment Companies and Employee
Benefit Plans.
Type of Review: Extension without
change of a currently approved
collection of information.
OMB Number: 1210–0049.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit; Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 900.
Responses: 118,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
10,301.
Estimated Total Burden Cost
(Operating and Maintenance): $167,000.
Description: Without the relief
provided by this exemption, an openend mutual fund would be unable to
sell shares to, or purchase shares from,
a plan when the fiduciary with respect
to the plan is also the investment
advisor for the mutual fund. As a result,
plans would be compelled to liquidate
their existing investments involving
such transactions and to amend their
plan documents to establish new
investment structures and policies.
In order to ensure that the exemption
is not abused and that the rights of
participants and beneficiaries are
protected, the Department has included
in the exemption three basic disclosure
requirements. The first requires at the
time of the purchase or sale of such
mutual fund shares that the plan’s
independent fiduciary receive a copy of
the current prospectus issued by the
open-end mutual fund and a full and
detailed written statement of the
investment advisory fees charged to or
paid by the plan and the open-end
mutual fund to the investment advisor.
The second requires that the
independent fiduciary approve in
writing such purchases and sales. The
third requires that the independent
fiduciary, once notified of changes in
the fees, re-approve in writing the
purchase and sale of mutual fund
shares. The ICR is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2011.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: PTE 98–54 Relating to Certain
Employee Benefit Plan Foreign
Exchange Transactions Executed
Pursuant to Standing Instructions.
Type of Review: Extension without
change of a currently approved
collection of information.
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emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
69132
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 217 / Wednesday, November 10, 2010 / Notices
OMB Number: 1210–0111.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit; Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 35.
Responses: 8,400.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 4,200.
Estimated Total Burden Cost
(Operating and Maintenance): $0.
Description: PTE 98–54 permits
certain foreign exchange transactions
between employee benefit plans and
certain banks, broker-dealers, and
domestic affiliates thereof, which are
parties in interest with respect to such
plans, pursuant to standing instructions.
In the absence of an exemption, foreign
exchange transactions pursuant to
standing instructions would be
prohibited under circumstances where
the bank or broker-dealer is a party in
interest or disqualified person with
respect to the plan under ERISA or the
Internal Revenue Code.
The class exemption has five basic
information collection requirements.
The first requires the bank or brokerdealer to maintain written policies and
procedures for handling foreign
exchange transactions for plans for
which it is a party in interest, which
policies and procedures ensure that the
party acting for the bank or brokerdealer knows it is dealing with a plan.
The second requires that the
transactions are performed in
accordance with a written authorization
executed in advance by an independent
fiduciary of the plan. The third requires
that the bank or broker-dealer provides
the authorizing fiduciary with a copy of
its written policies and procedures for
foreign exchange transactions involving
income item conversions and de
minimis purchase and sale transactions
prior to the execution of a transaction.
The fourth requires the bank or brokerdealer to furnish the authorizing
fiduciary a written confirmation
statement with respect to each covered
transaction within five days after
execution. The fifth requires that the
bank or broker-dealer maintains records
necessary for plan fiduciaries,
participants, the Department, and the
Internal Revenue Service, to determine
whether the conditions of the
exemption are being met for a period of
six years form the date of execution of
a transaction.
By requiring that records pertaining to
the exempted transaction be maintained
for six years, this ICR ensures that the
exemption is not abused, the rights of
the participants and beneficiaries are
protected, and that compliance with the
exemption’s conditions can be
confirmed. The exemption affects
participants and beneficiaries of the
plans that are involved in such
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18:25 Nov 09, 2010
Jkt 223001
transactions, as well as, certain banks,
broker-dealers, and domestic affiliates
thereof. The ICR currently is scheduled
to expire on April 30, 2011.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: Delinquent Filer Voluntary
Compliance Program.
Type of Review: Extension without
change of a currently approved
collection of information.
OMB Number: 1210–0089.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit; Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 15,000.
Responses: 15,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 750.
Estimated Total Burden Cost
(Operating and Maintenance): $608,250.
Description: The Secretary of Labor
has the authority, under section
502(c)(2) of ERISA, to assess civil
penalties of up to $1,000 a day against
plan administrators who fail or refuse to
file complete and timely annual reports
(Form 5500 Series Annual Return/
Reports) as required under section
101(b)(4) of ERISA-related regulations.
Pursuant to 29 CFR 2560.502c–2 and
2570.60 et seq., EBSA has maintained a
program for the assessment of civil
penalties for noncompliance with the
annual reporting requirements. Under
this program, plan administrators filing
annual reports after the date on which
the report was required to be filed may
be assessed $50 per day for each day an
annual report is filed after the date on
which the annual report(s) was required
to be filed, without regard to any
extensions for filing.
Plan administrators who fail to file an
annual report may be assessed a penalty
of $300 per day, up to $30,000 per year,
until a complete annual report is filed.
Penalties are applicable to each annual
report required to be filed under Title I
of ERISA. The Department may, in its
discretion, waive all or part of a civil
penalty assessed under section 502(c)(2)
upon a showing by the administrator
that there was reasonable cause for the
failure to file a complete and timely
annual report.
The Department has determined that
the possible assessment of these civil
penalties may deter certain delinquent
filers from voluntarily complying with
the annual reporting requirements
under Title I of ERISA. In an effort to
encourage annual reporting compliance,
therefore, the Department implemented
the Delinquent Filer Voluntary
Compliance (DFVC) Program (the
Program) on April 27, 1995 (60 FR
20873). Under the Program,
administrators otherwise subject to the
assessment of higher civil penalties are
permitted to pay reduced civil penalties
PO 00000
Frm 00087
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
for voluntarily complying with the
annual reporting requirements under
Title I of ERISA.
This ICR covers the requirement of
providing data necessary to identify the
plan along with the penalty payment.
This data is the means by which each
penalty payment is associated with the
appropriate plan. With respect to most
pension plans and welfare plans, the
requirement is satisfied by sending a
photocopy of the delinquent Form 5500
annual report that has been filed, along
with the penalty payment.
Under current regulations,
apprenticeship and training plans may
be exempted from the reporting and
disclosure requirements of Part 1 of
Title I, and certain pension plans
maintained for highly compensated
employees, commonly called ‘‘top hat’’
plans, may comply with these reporting
and disclosure requirements by using an
alternate method by filing a one-time
identifying statement with the
Department. The DFVC Program
provides that apprenticeship and
training plans and top hat plans may, in
lieu of filing any past due annual
reports and paying otherwise applicable
civil penalties, complete and file
specific portions of a Form 5500, file the
identifying statements that were
required to be filed, and pay a one-time
penalty. The ICR currently is scheduled
to expire on May 31, 2011.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: Suspension of Pension Benefits
Regulation Pursuant to 29 CFR
2530.203–3.
Type of Review: Extension without
change of a currently approved
collection of information.
OMB Number: 1210–0048.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit; Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 47,614.
Responses: 233,181.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
162,274.
Estimated Total Burden Cost
(Operating and Maintenance): $107,263.
Description: Section 203(a)(3)(B) of
ERISA governs the circumstances under
which pension plans may suspend
pension benefit payments to retirees
that return to work or to participants
that continue to work beyond normal
retirement age. Furthermore, section
203(a)(3)(B) of ERISA authorizes the
Secretary to prescribe regulations
necessary to carry out the provisions of
this section.
In this regard, the Department issued
a regulation which describes the
circumstances and conditions under
which plans may suspend the pension
benefits of retirees that return to work,
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 217 / Wednesday, November 10, 2010 / Notices
or of participants that continue to work
beyond normal retirement age (29 CFR
2530.203–3). In order for a plan to
suspend benefits pursuant to the
regulation, it must notify affected
retirees or participants (by first class
mail or personal delivery) during the
first calendar month or payroll period in
which the plan withholds payment, that
benefits are suspended. This notice
must include the specific reasons for
such suspension, a general description
of the plan provisions authorizing the
suspension, a copy of the relevant plan
provisions, and a statement indicating
where the applicable regulations may be
found (i.e., 29 CFR 2530.203–3). In
addition, the suspension notification
must inform the retiree or participant of
the plan’s procedure for affording a
review of the suspension of benefits.
The ICR currently is scheduled to expire
on May 31, 2011.
III. Focus of Comments
emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
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
included in the ICRs for OMB approval
of the extension of the information
collection; they will also become a
matter of public record.
Dated: November 3, 2010.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research,
Employee Benefits Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010–28306 Filed 11–9–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–29–P
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18:25 Nov 09, 2010
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training
Administration
Notice of a Change in Status of an
Extended Benefit (EB) Period for
Alaska and Wisconsin
Employment and Training
Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
This notice announces a
change in benefit period eligibility
under the Extended Benefits program
for Alaska and Wisconsin.
The following changes have occurred
since the publication of the last notice
regarding the States’ EB status:
• The Total Unemployment Rate
(TUR) data for August 2010, released on
September 21, 2010, by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, brought the threemonth average seasonally adjusted
TURs in Alaska and Wisconsin below
the 8.0% threshold to remain ‘‘on’’ for a
High Unemployment Period (HUP) in
the Extended Benefits program. As a
result, Alaska and Wisconsin concluded
their HUP on October 16 and eligibility
for claimants has been reduced from a
maximum potential entitlement of 20
weeks to a maximum potential
entitlement of 13 weeks in the Extended
Benefits program.
The trigger notice covering state
eligibility for the Extended Benefit
program can be found at: https://ows.
doleta.gov/unemploy/claims_arch.asp.
A new trigger notice is posted at this
location each week.
SUMMARY:
Information for Claimants
The duration of benefits payable in
the EB Program, and the terms and
conditions on which they are payable,
are governed by the Federal-State
Extended Unemployment Compensation
Act of 1970, as amended, and the
operating instructions issued to the
states by the U.S. Department of Labor.
In the case of a state beginning an EB
period, the State Workforce Agency will
furnish a written notice of potential
entitlement to each individual who has
exhausted all rights to regular benefits
and is potentially eligible for EB (20
CFR 615.13(c)(1)).
Persons who believe they may be
entitled to EB, or who wish to inquire
about their rights under the program,
should contact their State Workforce
Agency.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Scott Gibbons, U.S. Department of
Labor, Employment and Training
Administration, Office of Workforce
Security, 200 Constitution Avenue,
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69133
NW., Frances Perkins Bldg. Room S–
4231, Washington, DC 20210, telephone
number (202) 693–3008 (this is not a
toll-free number) or by e-mail: gibbons.
scott@dol.gov.
Signed in Washington, DC, this 4th day of
November 2010.
Jane Oates,
Assistant Secretary, Employment and
Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010–28350 Filed 11–9–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–FW–P
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training
Administration
Announcement Regarding the Virgin
Islands Triggering ‘‘on’’ to Tier Three of
Emergency Unemployment
Compensation 2008 (EUC08)
Employment and Training
Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
Announcement regarding the
Virgin Islands triggering ‘‘on’’ to Tier
Three of Emergency Unemployment
Compensation 2008 (EUC08).
Public Law 111–205 extended
provisions in public law 111–92 which
amended prior laws to create a Third
and Fourth Tier of benefits within the
EUC08 program for qualified
unemployed workers claiming benefits
in high unemployment states. The
Department of Labor produces a trigger
notice indicating which states qualify
for EUC08 benefits within Tiers Three
and Four and provides the beginning
and ending dates of payable periods for
each qualifying state. The trigger notice
covering state eligibility for the EUC08
program can be found at: https://ows.
doleta.gov/unemploy/claims_arch.asp.
A new trigger notice is posted at this
location each week that the program is
in effect.
Based on data published October 8,
2010 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
the following trigger change has
occurred for the Virgin Islands’ EUC08
program:
• The seasonally-adjusted total
unemployment rate for the 3-month
period ending September 2010 for the
Virgin Islands rose to 6.2 percent,
causing the Virgin Islands to begin a
payable period in the third tier of EUC
effective October 24, 2010. Eligibility for
claimants in the Virgin Islands will be
increased from a maximum potential
entitlement of 34 weeks to a maximum
potential entitlement of 47 weeks in the
EUC program.
SUMMARY:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 217 (Wednesday, November 10, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69130-69133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-28306]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted
for Public Comment; Prohibited Transaction Exemptions 81-8, 96-62, 77-
4, 98-54; Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program; Suspension of
Benefits Regulation
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 that are 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 January 10, 2011.
ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
[[Page 69131]]
DC 20210, (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 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: Class Exemption for Investment of Plan Assets in Certain
Types of Short-Term Investments.
Type of Review: Extension without change of a currently approved
collection of information.
OMB Number: 1210-0061.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit
institutions.
Respondents: 50,000.
Responses: 250,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 41,700.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $102,500.
Description: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 81-8 permits
the investment of plan assets that involve the purchase or other
acquisition, holding, sale, exchange or redemption by or on behalf of
an employee benefit plan in certain types of short-term investments.
These include investments in banker's acceptances, commercial paper,
repurchase agreements, certificates of deposit, and bank securities.
Absent the exemption, certain aspects of these transactions might be
prohibited by section 406 and 407(a) of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA).
In order to ensure that the exemption is not abused, that the
rights of participants and beneficiaries are protected, and that the
conditions of the exemption have been satisfied, the Department has
included in the exemption two basic disclosure requirements. Both
affect only the portion of the exemption dealing with repurchase
agreements. The first requirement calls for the repurchase agreements
between the seller and the plan to be in writing. The second
requirement obliges the seller of such repurchase agreements to agree
to provide financial statements to the plan at the time of the sale and
as future statements are issued. The seller must also represent, either
in the repurchase agreement or prior to the negotiation of each
repurchase agreement transaction, that there has been no material
adverse change in the seller's financial condition since the date that
the most recent financial statement was furnished which has not been
disclosed to the plan fiduciary with whom the written agreement is
made.
Without the recording and disclosure requirements included in this
ICR, participants and beneficiaries of a plan would not be protected in
their investments, the Department would be unable to monitor a plan's
activities for compliance, and plans would be at a disadvantage in
assessing the value of certain short-term investment activities. The
ICR is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2011.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 96-62, Process for
Expedited Approval of Exemption for Prohibited Transaction.
Type of Review: Extension without change of a currently approved
collection of information.
OMB Number: 1210-0098.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit
institutions.
Respondents: 50.
Responses: 50.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 62.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $67,375.
Description: Section 408(a) of ERISA provides that the Secretary of
Labor may grant exemptions from the prohibited transaction provisions
of sections 406 and 407(a) of ERISA, and directs the Secretary to
establish an exemption procedure with respect to such provisions. On
July 31, 1996, the Department published Prohibited Transaction
Exemption 96-62, which, pursuant to the exemption procedure set forth
in 29 CFR 2570, subpart B, permits a plan to seek approval on an
accelerated basis of otherwise prohibited transactions. A class
exemption will only be granted on the conditions that the plan
demonstrate to the Department that the transaction is substantially
similar to those described in at least two prior individual exemptions
granted by the Department and that it presents little, if any,
opportunity for abuse or risk of loss to a plan's participants and
beneficiaries. This ICR is intended to provide the Department with
sufficient information to support a finding that the exemption meets
the statutory standards of section 408(a) of ERISA, and to provide
affected parties with the opportunity to comment on the proposed
transaction, while at the same time reducing the regulatory burden
associated with processing individual exemptions for transactions
prohibited under ERISA. The ICR is scheduled to expire on April 30,
2011.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Class Exemption 77-4 for Certain Transactions Between
Investment Companies and Employee Benefit Plans.
Type of Review: Extension without change of a currently approved
collection of information.
OMB Number: 1210-0049.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit
institutions.
Respondents: 900.
Responses: 118,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 10,301.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $167,000.
Description: Without the relief provided by this exemption, an
open-end mutual fund would be unable to sell shares to, or purchase
shares from, a plan when the fiduciary with respect to the plan is also
the investment advisor for the mutual fund. As a result, plans would be
compelled to liquidate their existing investments involving such
transactions and to amend their plan documents to establish new
investment structures and policies.
In order to ensure that the exemption is not abused and that the
rights of participants and beneficiaries are protected, the Department
has included in the exemption three basic disclosure requirements. The
first requires at the time of the purchase or sale of such mutual fund
shares that the plan's independent fiduciary receive a copy of the
current prospectus issued by the open-end mutual fund and a full and
detailed written statement of the investment advisory fees charged to
or paid by the plan and the open-end mutual fund to the investment
advisor. The second requires that the independent fiduciary approve in
writing such purchases and sales. The third requires that the
independent fiduciary, once notified of changes in the fees, re-approve
in writing the purchase and sale of mutual fund shares. The ICR is
scheduled to expire on April 30, 2011.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: PTE 98-54 Relating to Certain Employee Benefit Plan Foreign
Exchange Transactions Executed Pursuant to Standing Instructions.
Type of Review: Extension without change of a currently approved
collection of information.
[[Page 69132]]
OMB Number: 1210-0111.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit
institutions.
Respondents: 35.
Responses: 8,400.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 4,200.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
Description: PTE 98-54 permits certain foreign exchange
transactions between employee benefit plans and certain banks, broker-
dealers, and domestic affiliates thereof, which are parties in interest
with respect to such plans, pursuant to standing instructions. In the
absence of an exemption, foreign exchange transactions pursuant to
standing instructions would be prohibited under circumstances where the
bank or broker-dealer is a party in interest or disqualified person
with respect to the plan under ERISA or the Internal Revenue Code.
The class exemption has five basic information collection
requirements. The first requires the bank or broker-dealer to maintain
written policies and procedures for handling foreign exchange
transactions for plans for which it is a party in interest, which
policies and procedures ensure that the party acting for the bank or
broker-dealer knows it is dealing with a plan. The second requires that
the transactions are performed in accordance with a written
authorization executed in advance by an independent fiduciary of the
plan. The third requires that the bank or broker-dealer provides the
authorizing fiduciary with a copy of its written policies and
procedures for foreign exchange transactions involving income item
conversions and de minimis purchase and sale transactions prior to the
execution of a transaction. The fourth requires the bank or broker-
dealer to furnish the authorizing fiduciary a written confirmation
statement with respect to each covered transaction within five days
after execution. The fifth requires that the bank or broker-dealer
maintains records necessary for plan fiduciaries, participants, the
Department, and the Internal Revenue Service, to determine whether the
conditions of the exemption are being met for a period of six years
form the date of execution of a transaction.
By requiring that records pertaining to the exempted transaction be
maintained for six years, this ICR ensures that the exemption is not
abused, the rights of the participants and beneficiaries are protected,
and that compliance with the exemption's conditions can be confirmed.
The exemption affects participants and beneficiaries of the plans that
are involved in such transactions, as well as, certain banks, broker-
dealers, and domestic affiliates thereof. The ICR currently is
scheduled to expire on April 30, 2011.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program.
Type of Review: Extension without change of a currently approved
collection of information.
OMB Number: 1210-0089.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit
institutions.
Respondents: 15,000.
Responses: 15,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 750.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $608,250.
Description: The Secretary of Labor has the authority, under
section 502(c)(2) of ERISA, to assess civil penalties of up to $1,000 a
day against plan administrators who fail or refuse to file complete and
timely annual reports (Form 5500 Series Annual Return/Reports) as
required under section 101(b)(4) of ERISA-related regulations. Pursuant
to 29 CFR 2560.502c-2 and 2570.60 et seq., EBSA has maintained a
program for the assessment of civil penalties for noncompliance with
the annual reporting requirements. Under this program, plan
administrators filing annual reports after the date on which the report
was required to be filed may be assessed $50 per day for each day an
annual report is filed after the date on which the annual report(s) was
required to be filed, without regard to any extensions for filing.
Plan administrators who fail to file an annual report may be
assessed a penalty of $300 per day, up to $30,000 per year, until a
complete annual report is filed. Penalties are applicable to each
annual report required to be filed under Title I of ERISA. The
Department may, in its discretion, waive all or part of a civil penalty
assessed under section 502(c)(2) upon a showing by the administrator
that there was reasonable cause for the failure to file a complete and
timely annual report.
The Department has determined that the possible assessment of these
civil penalties may deter certain delinquent filers from voluntarily
complying with the annual reporting requirements under Title I of
ERISA. In an effort to encourage annual reporting compliance,
therefore, the Department implemented the Delinquent Filer Voluntary
Compliance (DFVC) Program (the Program) on April 27, 1995 (60 FR
20873). Under the Program, administrators otherwise subject to the
assessment of higher civil penalties are permitted to pay reduced civil
penalties for voluntarily complying with the annual reporting
requirements under Title I of ERISA.
This ICR covers the requirement of providing data necessary to
identify the plan along with the penalty payment. This data is the
means by which each penalty payment is associated with the appropriate
plan. With respect to most pension plans and welfare plans, the
requirement is satisfied by sending a photocopy of the delinquent Form
5500 annual report that has been filed, along with the penalty payment.
Under current regulations, apprenticeship and training plans may be
exempted from the reporting and disclosure requirements of Part 1 of
Title I, and certain pension plans maintained for highly compensated
employees, commonly called ``top hat'' plans, may comply with these
reporting and disclosure requirements by using an alternate method by
filing a one-time identifying statement with the Department. The DFVC
Program provides that apprenticeship and training plans and top hat
plans may, in lieu of filing any past due annual reports and paying
otherwise applicable civil penalties, complete and file specific
portions of a Form 5500, file the identifying statements that were
required to be filed, and pay a one-time penalty. The ICR currently is
scheduled to expire on May 31, 2011.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Suspension of Pension Benefits Regulation Pursuant to 29 CFR
2530.203-3.
Type of Review: Extension without change of a currently approved
collection of information.
OMB Number: 1210-0048.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit
institutions.
Respondents: 47,614.
Responses: 233,181.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 162,274.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $107,263.
Description: Section 203(a)(3)(B) of ERISA governs the
circumstances under which pension plans may suspend pension benefit
payments to retirees that return to work or to participants that
continue to work beyond normal retirement age. Furthermore, section
203(a)(3)(B) of ERISA authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations
necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
In this regard, the Department issued a regulation which describes
the circumstances and conditions under which plans may suspend the
pension benefits of retirees that return to work,
[[Page 69133]]
or of participants that continue to work beyond normal retirement age
(29 CFR 2530.203-3). In order for a plan to suspend benefits pursuant
to the regulation, it must notify affected retirees or participants (by
first class mail or personal delivery) during the first calendar month
or payroll period in which the plan withholds payment, that benefits
are suspended. This notice must include the specific reasons for such
suspension, a general description of the plan provisions authorizing
the suspension, a copy of the relevant plan provisions, and a statement
indicating where the applicable regulations may be found (i.e., 29 CFR
2530.203-3). In addition, the suspension notification must inform the
retiree or participant of the plan's procedure for affording a review
of the suspension of benefits. The ICR currently is scheduled to expire
on May 31, 2011.
III. 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 included in the ICRs for OMB approval of the extension of the
information collection; they will also become a matter of public
record.
Dated: November 3, 2010.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-28306 Filed 11-9-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P
