81 FR 10280 - Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public Comment; on the Road to Retirement Surveys

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 39 (February 29, 2016)

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 information collection request (ICR) 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 (http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain).

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 39 (Monday, February 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10280-10281]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04315]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public 
Comment; on the Road to Retirement Surveys

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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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 information collection request (ICR) 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 (http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the 
Addresses section on or before April 29, 2016.

ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits 
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., N-5718, 
Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693-8410, FAX (202) 219-4745 (these are not 
toll-free numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice requests public comment on the 
Department's proposed collection of information regarding a household 
survey that will investigate retirement planning and decision-making. A 
summary of the ICR and the current burden estimates follows:
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.

[[Page 10281]]

    Title: On the Road to Retirement Surveys.
    Type of Review: New collection of information.
    OMB Number: 1210-NEW.
    Respondents: (Annual) 4,963.
    Year when Pretesting and Pre-survey occur: 10,390.
    Year 1 of Survey: 4,500.
    Year 2 of Survey: 4,075.
    Number of Annual Responses: 19,607.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 10,319 hours.
    Total Annualized Capital/Startup Costs: $0.
    Total Annual Costs: $0.
    Description: The Department is planning to undertake a long-term 
research study to develop a panel that will track U. S. households over 
several years in order to collect data and answer important research 
questions on how retirement planning strategies and decisions evolve 
over time. Relatively little is known about how people make planning 
and financial decisions before and during retirement. A major hurdle to 
retirement research is the lack of data on how people make these 
decisions related to retirement. Gaining insight into Americans' 
decision-making processes and experiences will provide policy-makers 
and the research community with valuable information that can be used 
to guide future policy and research.
    This investigation will explore a set of research questions on 
retirement savings, investment, and drawdown behavior by conducting a 
study that tracks retirees and future retirees over an extended period. 
Household reports of such items as retirement account contributions and 
investment allocations will be combined with survey responses on 
planning methods and strategies and on financial advice received to 
perform a cross-sectional analysis, conditional on other respondent 
attributes. Multiple waves of data drawn from various surveys will be 
utilized to analyze how retirement planning strategies, decisions, and 
outcomes evolve over time.
    Prior to administering the surveys, the data collection instruments 
will be pretested via cognitive interviews, pilot surveys, and 
debriefing of respondents to the pilot surveys.

I. 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.

Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-04315 Filed 2-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-29-P