Employee Benefits Security Administration May 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document delays the effective and applicability dates of final rules under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and parallel provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, relating to the provision of investment advice to participants and beneficiaries in individual account plans, such as 401(k) plans, and beneficiaries of individual retirement accounts (and certain similar plans). These rules were published in the Federal Register on January 21, 2009, and were to have become effective and applicable on March 23, 2009, but were delayed until May 22, 2009, by a final rule published on March 20, 2009 (74 FR 11847). This document further delays the effective and applicability dates of these final rules from May 22, 2009, until November 18, 2009, to allow additional time for the Department to evaluate questions of law and policy concerning the rules.

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 reporting burden on the public and helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. Currently, the Employee Benefits Security Administration is soliciting comments on the revision of the information collection provisions of its final rule at 29 CFR Part 2590, Health Care Continuation Coverage to reflect the hour and cost burden associated with the COBRA notification requirements under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. A copy of the information collection request (ICR) may be

This document contains a notice of pendency before the Department of Labor (the Department) of a proposed amendment to PTE 90- 29 and PTE 2002-19, Underwriter Exemptions.\1\ The Underwriter Exemptions are individual exemptions that provide relief for the origination and operation of certain asset pool investment trusts and the acquisition, holding and disposition by employee benefit plans (Plans) of certain asset-backed pass-through certificates representing undivided interests in those investment trusts. The proposed amendment to PTE 90-29 and 2002-19, if granted, would provide a six month period to resolve certain affiliations, as a result of Bank of America Corporation's acquisition of Merrill Lynch, between Bank of America, N.A., the Trustee, and Merrill Lynch as members of the Restricted Group, as those terms are defined in the Underwriter Exemptions (the Proposed Amendment). The Proposed Amendment, if granted, would affect the participants and beneficiaries of the Plans participating in such transactions and the fiduciaries with respect to such Plans.

This document contains exemptions issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code).