Proposed Extension of Information Collection Requests Submitted for Public Comment, 75157-75159 [2016-26046]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 209 / Friday, October 28, 2016 / Notices
Deutsche Bank also seeks changes to
the notice requirement described in
Section I(g) of the proposed exemption.
Deutsche Bank seeks to add the
following bracketed language, such that
Section I(g) reads: ‘‘Within two (2)
months of the date of publication of this
notice of Extension in the Federal
Register, each DB QPAM will provide a
notice to such effect to each ERISAcovered plan or IRA for which a DB
QPAM provides asset management or
other discretionary fiduciary services [in
reliance on PTE 84–14], unless such
notice was previously provided
consistent with PTE 2015–15.’’ The
Department has revised the condition
accordingly.
Deutsche Bank requests an adjustment
to certain restrictions the proposed
exemption places on DSK. In this
regard, Deutsche Bank seeks to add the
following bracketed language, and to
delete the following italicized language,
such that Section I(m) reads: ‘‘DSK has
not, and will not, provide [discretionary
asset management services or other
discretionary] fiduciary or QPAM
services to ERISA-covered Plans or
IRAs, and will not otherwise exercise
discretionary control over plan assets.’’
The Department declines Deutsche
Bank’s request, but has revised the
condition to more clearly require that
this condition is intended to be met
prospectively, not retroactively.
Deutsche Bank also seeks clarification
that for purposes of the Extension, the
auditor, and not the QPAMs, must
provide the relevant workpapers to the
Department. The Department agrees
with that interpretation of the condition.
In its letter to the Department,
Deutsche Bank states that footnotes 38
and 42, which reference tax-related
crimes, are unrelated to Deutsche Bank’s
application and should be deleted.
Deutsche Bank also requests that the
Department note for the record that
‘‘Deutsche Bank identified Mr. Ripley
both as an employee of DBSI and a
subject of the Korean case on numerous
prior occasions, including as far back as
2011, as well as more recently.’’
After giving full consideration to the
entire record, the Department has
decided to grant the Extension. The
complete application file for the
Extension (Exemption Application No.
D–11879), including all supplemental
submissions received by the
Department, as well as the application
file for PTE 2015–15 (Exemption
Application No. D–11696), are available
for public inspection in the Public
Disclosure Room of the Employee
Benefits Security Administration, Room
N–1515, U.S. Department of Labor, 200
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:12 Oct 27, 2016
Jkt 241001
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20210.
For a more complete statement of the
facts and representations supporting the
Department’s decision to grant this
Extension, refer to the notice of
proposed extension, published on
October 12, 2016, at 81 FR 70577.
Mr.
Scott Ness of the Department, telephone
(202) 693–8561. (This is not a toll-free
number.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
General Information
The attention of interested persons is
directed to the following:
(1) The fact that a transaction is the
subject of an exemption under section
408(a) of the Act and/or section
4975(c)(2) of the Code does not relieve
a fiduciary or other party in interest or
disqualified person from certain other
provisions to which the exemption does
not apply and the general fiduciary
responsibility provisions of section 404
of the Act, which among other things
require a fiduciary to discharge his
duties respecting the plan solely in the
interest of the participants and
beneficiaries of the plan and in a
prudent fashion in accordance with
section 404(a)(1)(B) of the Act; nor does
it affect the requirement of section
401(a) of the Code that the plan must
operate for the exclusive benefit of the
employees of the employer maintaining
the plan and their beneficiaries;
(2) These exemptions are
supplemental to and not in derogation
of, any other provisions of the Act and/
or the Code, including statutory or
administrative exemptions and
transactional rules. Furthermore, the
fact that a transaction is subject to an
administrative or statutory exemption is
not dispositive of whether the
transaction is in fact a prohibited
transaction; and
(3) The availability of these
exemptions is subject to the express
condition that the material facts and
representations contained in the
application accurately describes all
material terms of the transaction which
is the subject of the exemption.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 24th day of
October, 2016.
Lyssa E. Hall,
Director of Exemption Determinations,
Employee Benefits Security Administration,
U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2016–26089 Filed 10–27–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–29–P
PO 00000
Frm 00132
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
75157
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
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
December 27, 2016.
ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby,
Department of Labor, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, 200
Constitution Avenue NW., Room
N–5718, Washington, DC 20210,
ebsa.opr@dol.gov, (202) 693–8410, FAX
(202) 693–4745 (these are not toll-free
numbers).
SUMMARY:
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 transaction
exemptions 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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
E:\FR\FM\28OCN1.SGM
28OCN1
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
75158
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 209 / Friday, October 28, 2016 / Notices
Title: Notice to Employees of
Coverage Options Under Fair Labor
Standards Act Section 18B.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210–0149.
Affected Public: Businesses or other
for-profits, Farms, Not-for-profit
institutions.
Respondents: 6,160,461.
Responses: 72,484,292.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
374,502.
Estimated Total Burden Cost
(Operating and Maintenance):
$12,229,992.
Description: Section 1512 of the
Affordable Care Act creates a new Fair
Labor Standards Act (FLSA) section 18B
requiring a notice to employees of
coverage options available through the
Health Insurance Marketplace. On May
8, 2013, the Department issued
Technical Release 2013–2, which
provided temporary guidance regarding
the notice requirement under FLSA
section 18B and announced the
availability of the Model Notice to
Employees of Coverage Options. This
ICR refers to the Model Notice, which
was approved by OMB under OMB
Control Number 1210–0149 and is
currently scheduled to expire on
January 31, 2017.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: Prohibited Transaction Class
Exemption (PTE) 92–6: Sale of
Individual Life Insurance or Annuity
Contracts By a Plan.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved information
collection.
OMB Number: 1210–0063.
Affected Public: Businesses or other
for-profits.
Respondents: 10,600.
Responses: 10,600.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,100.
Estimated Total Burden Cost
(Operating and Maintenance): $5,500.
Description: PTE 92–6 exempts from
the prohibited transaction restrictions of
ERISA the sale of individual life
insurance or annuity contracts by a plan
to participants, relatives of participants,
employers any of whose employees are
covered by the plan, other employee
benefit plans, owner-employees or
shareholder-employees. In the absence
of this exemption, certain aspects of
these transactions might be prohibited
by section 406 of ERISA.
Among other conditions, PTE 1992–6
requires that pension plans inform the
insured participant of a proposed sale of
a life insurance or annuity policy to the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:12 Oct 27, 2016
Jkt 241001
employer, a relative, another plan, an
owner-employee, or a shareholder
employee. This recordkeeping
requirement constitutes an information
collection within the meaning of the
PRA, which was approved by OMB
under OMB Control Number 1210–0063
and is currently scheduled to expire on
February 28, 2017.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: Loans to Plan Participants and
Beneficiaries Who Are Parties in Interest
With Respect to The Plan Regulation.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210–0076.
Affected Public: Businesses or other
for-profits, Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 2,500.
Responses: 2,500.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 0.
Estimated Total Burden Cost
(Operating and Maintenance): $946,000.
Description: ERISA prohibits a plan
fiduciary from causing the plan to
engage in a transaction if he knows or
should know that such transaction
constitutes direct or indirect loan or
extension of credit between the plan
and a party in interest. ERISA section
408(b)(1) exempts from this prohibition
loans from a plan to parties in interest
who are participants and beneficiaries
of the plan, provided that certain
requirements are satisfied. In final
regulations published in the Federal
Register on July 20, 1989, (54 FR
30520), the Department provided
additional guidance on section
408(b)(1)(C), which requires that loans
be made in accordance with specific
provisions in the plan. The ICR
contained within this rule was approved
by OMB under OMB Control Number
1210–0076, which is scheduled to
expire on February 28, 2017.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: PTE 85–68 to Permit Employee
Benefit Plans to Invest in Customer
Notes of Employers.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210–0094.
Affected Public: Not-for-profit
institutions, Businesses or other forprofits.
Respondents: 69.
Responses: 325.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1.
Estimated Total Burden Cost
(Operating and Maintenance): $0.
Description: Pursuant to section 408
of ERISA, the Department has authority
to grant an exemption from the
PO 00000
Frm 00133
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
prohibitions of sections 406 and 407(a)
if it can determine that the exemption
is administratively feasible, in the
interest of participants and
beneficiaries, and protective of the
rights of participants and beneficiaries
of the plan. PTE 85–68 describes the
conditions under which a plan is
permitted to acquire customer notes
accepted by an employer of employees
covered by the plan in the ordinary
course of the employer’s primary
business activity. The exemption covers
sales as well as contributions of
customer notes by an employer to its
plan. Specifically, the exemption
requires the employer to provide a
written guarantee to repurchase a note
which becomes more than 60 days
delinquent, such notes to be secured by
a perfected security interest in the
property financed by the note, and the
collateral to be insured. The exemption
requires records pertaining to the
transaction to be maintained for a
period of six years for the purpose of
ensuring that the transactions are
protective of the rights of participants
and beneficiaries. This recordkeeping
requirement constitutes an information
collection within the meaning of the
PRA, which was approved by OMB
under OMB Control Number 1210–0094
and is currently scheduled to expire on
February 28, 2017.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: Default Investment Alternatives
under Participant Directed Individual
Account Plans.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210–0132.
Affected Public: Not-for-profit
institutions, Businesses or other forprofits.
Respondents: 239,000.
Responses: 31,100,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
201,000.
Estimated Total Burden Cost
(Operating and Maintenance):
$10,800,000.
Description: Section 404(c) of ERISA
states that participants or beneficiaries
who can hold individual accounts
under their pension plans, and who can
exercise control over the assets in their
accounts ‘‘as determined in regulations
of the Secretary [of Labor]’’ will not be
treated as fiduciaries of the plan.
Moreover, no other plan fiduciary will
be liable for any loss, or by reason of
any breach, resulting from the
participants’ or beneficiaries exercise of
control over their individual account
assets.
E:\FR\FM\28OCN1.SGM
28OCN1
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 209 / Friday, October 28, 2016 / Notices
The Pension Protection Act (PPA),
Public Law 109–280, amended ERISA
section 404(c) by adding subparagraph
(c)(5)(A). The new subparagraph says
that a participant in an individual
account plan who fails to make
investment elections regarding his or
her account assets will nevertheless be
treated as having exercised control over
those assets so long as the plan provides
appropriate notice (as specified) and
invests the assets ‘‘in accordance with
regulations prescribed by the Secretary
[of Labor].’’ Section 404(c)(5)(A) further
requires the Department of Labor
(Department) to issue corresponding
final regulations within six months after
enactment of the PPA. The PPA was
signed into law on August 17, 2006.
The Department of Labor issued a
final regulation under ERISA section
404(c)(5)(A) offering guidance on the
types of investment vehicles that plans
may choose as their ‘‘qualified default
investment alternative’’(QDIA). The
regulation also outlines two information
collections. First, it implements the
statutory requirement that plans provide
annual notices to participants and
beneficiaries whose account assets
could be invested in a QDIA. Second,
the regulation requires plans to pass
certain pertinent materials they receive
relating to a QDIA to those participants
and beneficiaries with assets invested in
the QDIA as well to provide certain
information on request. The ICRs are
approved under OMB Control Number
1210–0132, which is scheduled to
expire on February 28, 2017.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: PTE 96–62, Process for
Expedited Approval of an Exemption for
Prohibited Transaction.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved information
collection.
OMB Number: 1210–0098.
Affected Public: Businesses or other
for-profits.
Respondents: 25.
Responses: 11,250.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 200.
Estimated Total Burden Cost
(Operating and Maintenance): $40,000.
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 PTE 96–62,
which, pursuant to the exemption
procedure set forth in 29 CFR 2570,
subpart B, permits a plan to seek
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:12 Oct 27, 2016
Jkt 241001
approval on an accelerated basis of
otherwise prohibited transactions. A
PTE 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 was approved by OMB under
OMB Control Number 1210–0098 and is
scheduled to expire on July 31, 2017.
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.
Phyllis C. Borzi,
Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor.
[FR Doc. 2016–26046 Filed 10–27–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–29–P
PO 00000
Frm 00134
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
75159
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training
Administration
Workforce Information Advisory
Council (WIAC)
Employment and Training
Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
AGENCY:
Pursuant to Section 308 of the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act of 2014 (WIOA) (Pub. L. 113–128),
which amends section 15 of the WagnerPeyser Act of 1933 (29 U.S.C. 491–2),
notice is hereby given that the WIAC
meet on November 16 and 17, 2016. The
meeting will take place at the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS) Janet Norwood
Training and Conference Center in
Washington, DC. The WIAC was
established in accordance with
provisions of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA), as amended (5
U.S.C. App.) and will act in accordance
with the applicable provisions of FACA
and its implementing regulation at 41
CFR 102–3. The meeting will be open to
the public.
DATES: The meeting will take place on
Wednesday, November 16 and
Thursday, November 17, 2016 from 9:00
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Public statements and
requests for special accommodations or
to address the Advisory Council must be
received by November 9, 2016.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
the BLS Janet Norwood Training and
Conference Center, Rooms 9 and 10, in
the Postal Square Building at 2
Massachusetts Ave. NE., Washington,
DC 20212.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steven Rietzke, Chief, Division of
National Programs, Tools, and
Technical Assistance, Employment and
Training Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, Room C–4510, 200
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC
20210; Telephone: 202–693–3912. Mr.
Rietzke is the Designated Federal Officer
for the WIAC.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: The WIAC is an
important component of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act. The
WIAC is a Federal Advisory Committee
of workforce and labor market
information experts representing a
broad range of national, State, and local
data and information users and
producers. The purpose of the WIAC is
to provide recommendations to the
Secretary of Labor, working jointly
through the Assistant Secretary for
Employment and Training and the
Commissioner of Labor Statistics, to
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\28OCN1.SGM
28OCN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 209 (Friday, October 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75157-75159]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26046]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 December 27, 2016.
ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-5718,
Washington, DC 20210, ebsa.opr@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
transaction exemptions 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.
[[Page 75158]]
Title: Notice to Employees of Coverage Options Under Fair Labor
Standards Act Section 18B.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0149.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits, Farms, Not-for-
profit institutions.
Respondents: 6,160,461.
Responses: 72,484,292.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 374,502.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance):
$12,229,992.
Description: Section 1512 of the Affordable Care Act creates a new
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) section 18B requiring a notice to
employees of coverage options available through the Health Insurance
Marketplace. On May 8, 2013, the Department issued Technical Release
2013-2, which provided temporary guidance regarding the notice
requirement under FLSA section 18B and announced the availability of
the Model Notice to Employees of Coverage Options. This ICR refers to
the Model Notice, which was approved by OMB under OMB Control Number
1210-0149 and is currently scheduled to expire on January 31, 2017.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 92-6: Sale of
Individual Life Insurance or Annuity Contracts By a Plan.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information
collection.
OMB Number: 1210-0063.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Respondents: 10,600.
Responses: 10,600.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,100.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $5,500.
Description: PTE 92-6 exempts from the prohibited transaction
restrictions of ERISA the sale of individual life insurance or annuity
contracts by a plan to participants, relatives of participants,
employers any of whose employees are covered by the plan, other
employee benefit plans, owner-employees or shareholder-employees. In
the absence of this exemption, certain aspects of these transactions
might be prohibited by section 406 of ERISA.
Among other conditions, PTE 1992-6 requires that pension plans
inform the insured participant of a proposed sale of a life insurance
or annuity policy to the employer, a relative, another plan, an owner-
employee, or a shareholder employee. This recordkeeping requirement
constitutes an information collection within the meaning of the PRA,
which was approved by OMB under OMB Control Number 1210-0063 and is
currently scheduled to expire on February 28, 2017.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Loans to Plan Participants and Beneficiaries Who Are Parties
in Interest With Respect to The Plan Regulation.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0076.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit
institutions.
Respondents: 2,500.
Responses: 2,500.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 0.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $946,000.
Description: ERISA prohibits a plan fiduciary from causing the plan
to engage in a transaction if he knows or should know that such
transaction constitutes direct or indirect loan or extension of credit
between the plan and a party in interest. ERISA section 408(b)(1)
exempts from this prohibition loans from a plan to parties in interest
who are participants and beneficiaries of the plan, provided that
certain requirements are satisfied. In final regulations published in
the Federal Register on July 20, 1989, (54 FR 30520), the Department
provided additional guidance on section 408(b)(1)(C), which requires
that loans be made in accordance with specific provisions in the plan.
The ICR contained within this rule was approved by OMB under OMB
Control Number 1210-0076, which is scheduled to expire on February 28,
2017.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: PTE 85-68 to Permit Employee Benefit Plans to Invest in
Customer Notes of Employers.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0094.
Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions, Businesses or other
for-profits.
Respondents: 69.
Responses: 325.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
Description: Pursuant to section 408 of ERISA, the Department has
authority to grant an exemption from the prohibitions of sections 406
and 407(a) if it can determine that the exemption is administratively
feasible, in the interest of participants and beneficiaries, and
protective of the rights of participants and beneficiaries of the plan.
PTE 85-68 describes the conditions under which a plan is permitted to
acquire customer notes accepted by an employer of employees covered by
the plan in the ordinary course of the employer's primary business
activity. The exemption covers sales as well as contributions of
customer notes by an employer to its plan. Specifically, the exemption
requires the employer to provide a written guarantee to repurchase a
note which becomes more than 60 days delinquent, such notes to be
secured by a perfected security interest in the property financed by
the note, and the collateral to be insured. The exemption requires
records pertaining to the transaction to be maintained for a period of
six years for the purpose of ensuring that the transactions are
protective of the rights of participants and beneficiaries. This
recordkeeping requirement constitutes an information collection within
the meaning of the PRA, which was approved by OMB under OMB Control
Number 1210-0094 and is currently scheduled to expire on February 28,
2017.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Default Investment Alternatives under Participant Directed
Individual Account Plans.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0132.
Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions, Businesses or other
for-profits.
Respondents: 239,000.
Responses: 31,100,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 201,000.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance):
$10,800,000.
Description: Section 404(c) of ERISA states that participants or
beneficiaries who can hold individual accounts under their pension
plans, and who can exercise control over the assets in their accounts
``as determined in regulations of the Secretary [of Labor]'' will not
be treated as fiduciaries of the plan. Moreover, no other plan
fiduciary will be liable for any loss, or by reason of any breach,
resulting from the participants' or beneficiaries exercise of control
over their individual account assets.
[[Page 75159]]
The Pension Protection Act (PPA), Public Law 109-280, amended ERISA
section 404(c) by adding subparagraph (c)(5)(A). The new subparagraph
says that a participant in an individual account plan who fails to make
investment elections regarding his or her account assets will
nevertheless be treated as having exercised control over those assets
so long as the plan provides appropriate notice (as specified) and
invests the assets ``in accordance with regulations prescribed by the
Secretary [of Labor].'' Section 404(c)(5)(A) further requires the
Department of Labor (Department) to issue corresponding final
regulations within six months after enactment of the PPA. The PPA was
signed into law on August 17, 2006.
The Department of Labor issued a final regulation under ERISA
section 404(c)(5)(A) offering guidance on the types of investment
vehicles that plans may choose as their ``qualified default investment
alternative''(QDIA). The regulation also outlines two information
collections. First, it implements the statutory requirement that plans
provide annual notices to participants and beneficiaries whose account
assets could be invested in a QDIA. Second, the regulation requires
plans to pass certain pertinent materials they receive relating to a
QDIA to those participants and beneficiaries with assets invested in
the QDIA as well to provide certain information on request. The ICRs
are approved under OMB Control Number 1210-0132, which is scheduled to
expire on February 28, 2017.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: PTE 96-62, Process for Expedited Approval of an Exemption
for Prohibited Transaction.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information
collection.
OMB Number: 1210-0098.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Respondents: 25.
Responses: 11,250.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 200.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $40,000.
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 PTE 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 PTE 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 was approved by OMB under
OMB Control Number 1210-0098 and is scheduled to expire on July 31,
2017.
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.
Phyllis C. Borzi,
Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2016-26046 Filed 10-27-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P
