80 FR 30736 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Disclosures by Insurers to General Account Policyholders

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 103 (May 29, 2015)

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Disclosures by Insurers to General Account Policyholders,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 103 (Friday, May 29, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30736-30737]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12955]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Disclosures by Insurers to General Account 
Policyholders

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee 
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information 
collection request (ICR) titled, ``Disclosures by Insurers to General 
Account Policyholders,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and approval for continued use, without change, in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives 
on or before June 29, 2015.

[[Page 30737]]


ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; 
including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency 
of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge 
from the RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201505-1210-003 (this link will only become active 
on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting 
Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are 
not toll-free numbers) or by email at [email protected].
    Submit comments about this request by mail or courier to the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-
EBSA, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: 202-395-5806 (this is not a toll-free 
number); or by email: [email protected]. Commenters are 
encouraged, but not required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments 
by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor-OASAM, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Attn: Departmental Information Compliance 
Management Program, Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210; or by email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-
4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email 
at [email protected].

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ICR seeks to extend PRA authority for 
the Disclosures by Insurers to General Account Policyholders 
information collection. Regulations 29 CFR 2550.401(c)-1 imposes 
specific requirements on insurers that are parties to transition 
policies, in order to ensure fiduciaries acting on behalf of plans have 
adequate information and understanding of how the transition policies 
work. Certain of these requirements constitute information collections 
subject to the PRA. Specifically, to the extent a transition policy 
first issued prior to January 1, 1999, to or for the benefit of an 
employee benefit plan is not a guaranteed benefit policy, the insurer 
must annually disclose to the plan fiduciary: (1) The methods by which 
income and expenses of the insurer's general account are allocated to 
the policy, the actual annual return to the plan, and other pertinent 
information; (2) the extent to which alternative arrangements supported 
by the assets of the insurer's separate accounts are available; (3) any 
rights under the policy to transfer funds to a separate account and the 
terms governing such right; and (4) the extent to which support by 
assets of the insurer's separate accounts might pose differing risks to 
the plan. Employee Retirement Income Security Act section 404(c) 
authorizes this information collection. See 29 U.S.C. 1104(c).
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays 
a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any 
other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that 
does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 
1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information collection 
under Control Number 1210-0114.
    OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) 
years without renewal, and the current approval for this collection is 
scheduled to expire on June 30, 2015. The DOL seeks to extend PRA 
authorization for this information collection for three (3) more years, 
without any change to existing requirements. The DOL notes that 
existing information collection requirements submitted to the OMB 
receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. For 
additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related 
notice published in the Federal Register on October 15, 2014 (79 FR 
61903).
    Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in 
the ADDRESSES section within thirty (30) days of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate 
consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1210-0114. 
The OMB 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., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    Agency: DOL-EBSA.
    Title of Collection: Disclosures by Insurers to General Account 
Policyholders.
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0114.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--Businesses or other for profits.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 397.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 32,000.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 135,000 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $12,000.

    Dated: May 22, 2015.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-12955 Filed 5-28-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-29-P