Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans; Interest Assumptions for Valuing Benefits, 54347-54348 [2024-14401]
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54347
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 126 / Monday, July 1, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY
CORPORATION
29 CFR Part 4044
Allocation of Assets in SingleEmployer Plans; Interest Assumptions
for Valuing Benefits
Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
This final rule amends the
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s
regulation on Allocation of Assets in
Single-Employer Plans to prescribe the
spreads component of the interest
assumption under the asset allocation
regulation for plans with valuation dates
of July 31–October 30, 2024. These
interest assumptions are used for
valuing benefits under terminating
single-employer plans and for other
purposes.
DATES: Effective July 31, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gregory Katz, Deputy Assistant General
Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Office of
the General Counsel, Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation, 445 12th Street
SW, Washington, DC 20024–2101, 202–
229–3829. If you are deaf or hard of
hearing or have a speech disability,
please dial 7–1–1 to access
telecommunications relay services.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PBGC’s
regulation on Allocation of Assets in
Single-Employer Plans (29 CFR part
4044) prescribes actuarial
assumptions—including an interest
assumption—for valuing benefits under
terminating single-employer plans
covered by title IV of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(ERISA). The interest assumption is also
posted on PBGC’s website
(www.pbgc.gov).
PBGC uses the interest assumption in
§ 4044.54 to determine the present value
of annuities in an involuntary or
distress termination of a singleemployer plan under the asset
allocation regulation. The assumptions
in part 4044 of PBGC’s regulations are
also used in other situations where it is
appropriate for liabilities to align with
private sector group annuity prices. For
example, PBGC’s regulations on Notice,
Collection, and Redetermination of
Withdrawal Liability (29 CFR part 4219)
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
SUMMARY:
and Duties of Plan Sponsor Following
Mass Withdrawal (29 CFR part 4281)
provide that these assumptions are used
to value liabilities for purposes of
determining withdrawn employers’
reallocation liability in the event of a
mass withdrawal from a multiemployer
plan. Multiemployer plans that receive
special financial assistance under the
regulation on Special Financial
Assistance by PBGC (29 CFR part 4262)
must, as a condition of receiving special
financial assistance, use the interest
assumption to determine withdrawal
liability for a prescribed period.
Additionally, plan sponsors are required
to use some, or all of these assumptions
for specified purposes (e.g., reporting
benefit liabilities in filings required
under PBGC’s regulation on Annual
Financial and Actuarial Information
Reporting (29 CFR part 4010) or
determining certain amounts to transfer
to PBGC’s Missing Participants Program
on behalf of a missing participant of a
terminating defined benefit plan under
PBGC’s regulation on Missing
Participants (29 CFR part 4050)) and
may use them for other purposes (e.g.,
to ensure that plan spinoffs comply with
section 414(l) of the Internal Revenue
Code (the Code)).
On June 6, 2024, PBGC issued a final
rule at 89 FR 48291 that changes the
structure of the interest assumption for
valuation dates on or after July 31, 2024,
from the select and ultimate approach to
a yield curve approach. As described in
the June 6 final rule, this ‘‘4044 yield
curve,’’ is based on a blend of two
publicly available bond yield curves
that is adjusted to the extent necessary
so that the resulting liabilities align with
group annuity prices. The adjustments
are referred to as ‘‘spreads.’’ PBGC
determines and publishes spreads
quarterly based on survey data on
pricing of private-sector group
annuities. As noted in the preamble to
the June 6 rule, PBGC will post the 4044
yield curve on its website at
www.pbgc.gov each month shortly after
its underlying data become available. In
addition, practitioners are able to
determine the 4044 yield curve as of the
end of any month using the publicly
available bond yield curves and the
spreads specified in the regulation.
This rule amends the regulation to
specify the spreads used to determine
the 4044 yield curve as of the last days
of July, August, and September of 2024,
(i.e., the ‘‘third quarter 2024 spreads’’).
Need for Immediate Guidance
PBGC has determined that notice of,
and public comment on, this rule are
impracticable, unnecessary, and
contrary to the public interest. PBGC
routinely updates the spreads
component of the interest assumption in
the asset allocation regulation so that
the 4044 yield curve may be determined
as soon as the underlying bond yield
curves become available. These
amendments are merely technical; they
ensure that use of PBGC’s interest
assumption continues to yield liabilities
in line with group annuity prices.
Accordingly, PBGC finds that the public
interest is best served by issuing this
rule expeditiously, without an
opportunity for notice and comment,
and that good cause exists for making
the assumptions set forth in this
amendment effective less than 30 days
after publication.
PBGC has determined that this action
is not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’
under the criteria set forth in Executive
Order 12866.
Because no general notice of proposed
rulemaking is required for this
amendment, the Regulatory Flexibility
Act of 1980 does not apply. See 5 U.S.C.
601(2).
List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 4044
Employee benefit plans, Pension
insurance, Pensions.
In consideration of the foregoing,
PBGC amends 29 CFR part 4044 as
follows:
PART 4044—ALLOCATION OF
ASSETS IN SINGLE-EMPLOYER
PLANS
1. The authority citation for part 4044
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1301(a), 1302(b)(3),
1341, 1344, 1362.
2. In § 4044.54, revise table 1 to
paragraph (e) to read as follows:
■
§ 4044.54
*
Interest assumptions.
*
*
*
*
(e) * * *
Table 1 to Paragraph (e)—Spreads
THIRD QUARTER 2024 SPREADS
Spread
(percent)
Maturity point
0.5
1.0
1.5
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:19 Jun 28, 2024
0.38
0.38
0.37
Jkt 262001
Spread
(percent)
Maturity point
PO 00000
10.5
11.0
11.5
Frm 00017
Fmt 4700
0.36
0.36
0.36
Sfmt 4700
Spread
(percent)
Maturity point
E:\FR\FM\01JYR1.SGM
20.5
21.0
21.5
01JYR1
0.33
0.33
0.33
54348
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 126 / Monday, July 1, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
THIRD QUARTER 2024 SPREADS—Continued
Spread
(percent)
Maturity point
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
7.5
8.0
8.5
9.0
9.5
10.0
Spread
(percent)
Maturity point
0.37
0.37
0.37
0.37
0.37
0.37
0.37
0.37
0.37
0.37
0.37
0.37
0.37
0.37
0.37
0.36
0.36
12.0
12.5
13.0
13.5
14.0
14.5
15.0
15.5
16.0
16.5
17.0
17.5
18.0
18.5
19.0
19.5
20.0
0.36
0.36
0.36
0.35
0.35
0.35
0.35
0.35
0.35
0.34
0.34
0.34
0.34
0.34
0.34
0.34
0.34
Issued in Washington, DC.
Hilary Duke,
Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory
Affairs, Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation.
www.regulations.gov, type USCG–2024–
0493 in the search box and click
‘‘Search.’’ Next, in the Document Type
column, select ‘‘Supporting & Related
Material.’’
[FR Doc. 2024–14401 Filed 6–28–24; 8:45 am]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
If
you have questions on this rule, call or
email Petty Officer Shannon CurtazMilian, U.S. Coast Guard Sector San
Francisco, at 415–399–7440,
SFWaterways@uscg.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
BILLING CODE 7709–02–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Coast Guard
I. Table of Abbreviations
33 CFR Part 165
[Docket Number USCG–2024–0493]
RIN 1625–AA00
Safety Zone; Redwood City Fourth of
July Fireworks, Redwood Creek,
Redwood City, CA
Coast Guard, DHS.
Temporary final rule.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Coast Guard is
establishing a temporary safety zone on
the navigable waters of the Redwood
Creek in Redwood City, CA in support
of a fireworks display on July 4, 2024.
The safety zone is necessary to protect
personnel, vessels, and the marine
environment from potential hazards
created by pyrotechnics. Unauthorized
persons or vessels are prohibited from
entering into, transiting through, or
remaining in the safety zone without the
permission of the Captain of the Port
San Francisco or a designated
representative.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
SUMMARY:
This rule is effective from 9 a.m.
until 10:20 p.m. on July 4, 2024.
ADDRESSES: To view documents
mentioned in this preamble as being
available in the docket, go to https://
DATES:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:19 Jun 28, 2024
Jkt 262001
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
DHS Department of Homeland Security
FR Federal Register
NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking
§ Section
U.S.C. United States Code
II. Background Information and
Regulatory History
The Coast Guard is issuing this
temporary rule without prior notice and
opportunity to comment pursuant to
authority under section 4(a) of the
Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5
U.S.C. 553(b)). This provision
authorizes an agency to issue a rule
without prior notice and opportunity to
comment when the agency for good
cause finds that those procedures are
‘‘impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary
to the public interest.’’ Under 5 U.S.C.
553(b)(B), the Coast Guard finds that
good cause exists for not publishing a
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM)
with respect to this rule because it is
impracticable. The Coast Guard did not
receive final details for this event with
sufficient time to issue a proposed rule.
It is impracticable to go through the full
notice and comment rule making
process because the Coast Guard must
establish this safety zone by July 4,
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
Spread
(percent)
Maturity point
22.0
22.5
23.0
23.5
24.0
24.5
25.0
25.5
26.0
26.5
27.0
27.5
28.0
28.5
29.0
29.5
30.0
0.33
0.33
0.33
0.33
0.33
0.33
0.33
0.33
0.33
0.32
0.32
0.32
0.32
0.32
0.32
0.32
0.32
2024, and lacks sufficient time to
provide a reasonable comment period
and to consider those comments before
issuing the rule.
Under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the Coast
Guard finds that good cause exists for
making this rule effective less than 30
days after publication in the Federal
Register. Delaying the effective date of
this rule would be contrary to public
interest because action is necessary to
protect personnel, vessels, and the
marine environment from the potential
safety hazards associated with the
fireworks display on Redwood Creek in
Redwood City, CA on July 4, 2024.
III. Legal Authority and Need for Rule
The Coast Guard is issuing this rule
under authority 46 U.S.C. 70034. The
Captain of the Port San Francisco has
determined that potential hazards
associated with the Redwood City
Fourth of July Fireworks on July 4,
2024, will be a safety concern for
anyone within a 100-foot radius of the
fireworks vessel during loading and
staging, and anyone within a 850-foot
radius of the fireworks vessel starting 30
minutes before the fireworks display is
scheduled to commence and ending 30
minutes after the conclusion of the
fireworks display. For this reason, this
temporary safety zone is needed to
protect personnel, vessels, and the
marine environment in the navigable
waters around the fireworks vessel and
during the fireworks display.
IV. Discussion of the Rule
This rule establishes a temporary
safety zone from 9 a.m. on July 4, 2024,
until 10:20 p.m. on July 4, 2024, during
the loading, staging, and transit of the
fireworks vessel in San Francisco Bay
from Pier 68 to Redwood Creek,
E:\FR\FM\01JYR1.SGM
01JYR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 126 (Monday, July 1, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54347-54348]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14401]
[[Page 54347]]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
29 CFR Part 4044
Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans; Interest
Assumptions for Valuing Benefits
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This final rule amends the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation's regulation on Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer
Plans to prescribe the spreads component of the interest assumption
under the asset allocation regulation for plans with valuation dates of
July 31-October 30, 2024. These interest assumptions are used for
valuing benefits under terminating single-employer plans and for other
purposes.
DATES: Effective July 31, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Katz, Deputy Assistant General
Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Office of the General Counsel, Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024-
2101, 202-229-3829. If you are deaf or hard of hearing or have a speech
disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay
services.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PBGC's regulation on Allocation of Assets in
Single-Employer Plans (29 CFR part 4044) prescribes actuarial
assumptions--including an interest assumption--for valuing benefits
under terminating single-employer plans covered by title IV of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The interest
assumption is also posted on PBGC's website (www.pbgc.gov).
PBGC uses the interest assumption in Sec. 4044.54 to determine the
present value of annuities in an involuntary or distress termination of
a single-employer plan under the asset allocation regulation. The
assumptions in part 4044 of PBGC's regulations are also used in other
situations where it is appropriate for liabilities to align with
private sector group annuity prices. For example, PBGC's regulations on
Notice, Collection, and Redetermination of Withdrawal Liability (29 CFR
part 4219) and Duties of Plan Sponsor Following Mass Withdrawal (29 CFR
part 4281) provide that these assumptions are used to value liabilities
for purposes of determining withdrawn employers' reallocation liability
in the event of a mass withdrawal from a multiemployer plan.
Multiemployer plans that receive special financial assistance under the
regulation on Special Financial Assistance by PBGC (29 CFR part 4262)
must, as a condition of receiving special financial assistance, use the
interest assumption to determine withdrawal liability for a prescribed
period. Additionally, plan sponsors are required to use some, or all of
these assumptions for specified purposes (e.g., reporting benefit
liabilities in filings required under PBGC's regulation on Annual
Financial and Actuarial Information Reporting (29 CFR part 4010) or
determining certain amounts to transfer to PBGC's Missing Participants
Program on behalf of a missing participant of a terminating defined
benefit plan under PBGC's regulation on Missing Participants (29 CFR
part 4050)) and may use them for other purposes (e.g., to ensure that
plan spinoffs comply with section 414(l) of the Internal Revenue Code
(the Code)).
On June 6, 2024, PBGC issued a final rule at 89 FR 48291 that
changes the structure of the interest assumption for valuation dates on
or after July 31, 2024, from the select and ultimate approach to a
yield curve approach. As described in the June 6 final rule, this
``4044 yield curve,'' is based on a blend of two publicly available
bond yield curves that is adjusted to the extent necessary so that the
resulting liabilities align with group annuity prices. The adjustments
are referred to as ``spreads.'' PBGC determines and publishes spreads
quarterly based on survey data on pricing of private-sector group
annuities. As noted in the preamble to the June 6 rule, PBGC will post
the 4044 yield curve on its website at www.pbgc.gov each month shortly
after its underlying data become available. In addition, practitioners
are able to determine the 4044 yield curve as of the end of any month
using the publicly available bond yield curves and the spreads
specified in the regulation.
This rule amends the regulation to specify the spreads used to
determine the 4044 yield curve as of the last days of July, August, and
September of 2024, (i.e., the ``third quarter 2024 spreads'').
Need for Immediate Guidance
PBGC has determined that notice of, and public comment on, this
rule are impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to the public
interest. PBGC routinely updates the spreads component of the interest
assumption in the asset allocation regulation so that the 4044 yield
curve may be determined as soon as the underlying bond yield curves
become available. These amendments are merely technical; they ensure
that use of PBGC's interest assumption continues to yield liabilities
in line with group annuity prices. Accordingly, PBGC finds that the
public interest is best served by issuing this rule expeditiously,
without an opportunity for notice and comment, and that good cause
exists for making the assumptions set forth in this amendment effective
less than 30 days after publication.
PBGC has determined that this action is not a ``significant
regulatory action'' under the criteria set forth in Executive Order
12866.
Because no general notice of proposed rulemaking is required for
this amendment, the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 does not apply.
See 5 U.S.C. 601(2).
List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 4044
Employee benefit plans, Pension insurance, Pensions.
In consideration of the foregoing, PBGC amends 29 CFR part 4044 as
follows:
PART 4044--ALLOCATION OF ASSETS IN SINGLE-EMPLOYER PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 4044 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1301(a), 1302(b)(3), 1341, 1344, 1362.
0
2. In Sec. 4044.54, revise table 1 to paragraph (e) to read as
follows:
Sec. 4044.54 Interest assumptions.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
Table 1 to Paragraph (e)--Spreads
Third Quarter 2024 Spreads
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maturity point Spread (percent) Maturity point Spread (percent) Maturity point Spread (percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.5 0.38 10.5 0.36 20.5 0.33
1.0 0.38 11.0 0.36 21.0 0.33
1.5 0.37 11.5 0.36 21.5 0.33
[[Page 54348]]
2.0 0.37 12.0 0.36 22.0 0.33
2.5 0.37 12.5 0.36 22.5 0.33
3.0 0.37 13.0 0.36 23.0 0.33
3.5 0.37 13.5 0.35 23.5 0.33
4.0 0.37 14.0 0.35 24.0 0.33
4.5 0.37 14.5 0.35 24.5 0.33
5.0 0.37 15.0 0.35 25.0 0.33
5.5 0.37 15.5 0.35 25.5 0.33
6.0 0.37 16.0 0.35 26.0 0.33
6.5 0.37 16.5 0.34 26.5 0.32
7.0 0.37 17.0 0.34 27.0 0.32
7.5 0.37 17.5 0.34 27.5 0.32
8.0 0.37 18.0 0.34 28.0 0.32
8.5 0.37 18.5 0.34 28.5 0.32
9.0 0.37 19.0 0.34 29.0 0.32
9.5 0.36 19.5 0.34 29.5 0.32
10.0 0.36 20.0 0.34 30.0 0.32
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issued in Washington, DC.
Hilary Duke,
Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2024-14401 Filed 6-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P
