Department of Labor February 15, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH) will meet March 1, 2007, in Washington, DC.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements contained in its Formaldehyde Standard (29 CFR 1910.1048). The Standard protects employees from the adverse health effects that may result from occupational exposure to Formaldehyde, including an itchy, runny, and stuffy nose; a dry or sore throat; eye irritation; headache; and cancer of the lung, buccal cavity, and pharynx.

This document contains a notice of pendency before the Department of Labor (the Department) of a proposed amendment to PTE 2006-06, a prohibited transaction class exemption issued under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Among other things, PTE 2006-06 permits a ``qualified termination administrator'' (QTA) of an individual account plan that has been abandoned by its sponsoring employer to select itself to provide services to the plan in connection with the plan's termination, and to pay itself fees for those services. This amendment is being proposed in connection with the Department's amendment of regulations relating to the Termination of Abandoned Individual Account Plans at 29 CFR 2578.1, and the Safe Harbor for Distributions from Terminated Individual Account Plans at 29 CFR 2550.404a-3, which are being published simultaneously in this issue of the Federal Register. The Department's proposed amendment to PTE 2006-06 reflects changes, enacted as part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, Pub. L. No. 109-280, to the Internal Revenue Code and would require, as a condition of relief under the class exemption, that benefits for a missing, designated nonspouse beneficiary be directly rolled over into an inherited individual retirement plan that fully complies with Code requirements. If adopted, the proposed amendment would affect plans, participants and beneficiaries of such plans and certain persons engaging in such transactions.

This document contains an interim final rule amending regulations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) that provide guidance and a fiduciary safe harbor for the distribution of benefits on behalf of participants or beneficiaries in terminated and abandoned individual account plans. The Department is amending these regulations to reflect changes enacted as part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, Public Law 109-280, to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code), under which a distribution of a deceased plan participant's benefit from an eligible retirement plan may be directly transferred to an individual retirement plan established on behalf of the designated nonspouse beneficiary of such participant. Specifically, the amended regulations require as a condition of relief under the fiduciary safe harbor that benefits for a missing, designated nonspouse beneficiary be directly rolled over to an individual retirement plan that fully complies with Code requirements. This interim final rule will affect fiduciaries, plan service providers, and participants and beneficiaries of individual account pension plans.