82 FR 45912 - Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request; Termination of Single-Employer Plans, Missing Participants

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 189 (October 2, 2017)

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (``PBGC'') intends to request that the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') extend approval (with modifications), under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, of a collection of information in its regulations on Termination of Single-Employer Plans and Missing Participants, and implementing forms and instructions. This notice informs the public of PBGC's intent and solicits public comment on the collection of information.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 189 (Monday, October 2, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45912-45913]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20927]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; 
Comment Request; Termination of Single-Employer Plans, Missing 
Participants

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of intent to request extension of OMB approval.

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SUMMARY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (``PBGC'') intends to 
request that the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') extend 
approval (with modifications), under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, of a collection of information in its regulations on Termination 
of Single-Employer Plans and Missing Participants, and implementing 
forms and instructions. This notice informs the public of PBGC's intent 
and solicits public comment on the collection of information.

DATES: Comments should be submitted by December 1, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the Web site instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Office of General Counsel, Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-
4026.
    PBGC will make all comments available on its Web site at 
www.pbgc.gov.
    Copies of the collection of information may be obtained without 
charge by writing to the Disclosure Division of the Office of the 
General Counsel of PBGC at the above address or by visiting that office 
or calling 202-326-4040 during normal business hours. (TTY and TDD 
users may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 
and ask to be connected to 202-326-4040.) The regulations and forms and 
instructions relating to this collection of information are available 
on PBGC's Web site at www.pbgc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo Amato Burns 
([email protected]), Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of the 
General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street 
NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, 202 326-4400, ext. 3072, or Daniel S. 
Liebman ([email protected]), Acting Assistant General Counsel, 
same address and phone number, ext. 6510. TTY and TDD users may call 
the Federal relay service toll-free at 800-877-8339 and ask to be 
connected to 202-326-4400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 4041 of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, a single-employer 
pension plan may terminate voluntarily only if it satisfies the 
requirements for either a standard or a distress termination. Pursuant 
to ERISA section 4041(b), for standard terminations, and section 
4041(c), for distress terminations, and PBGC's termination regulation 
(29 CFR part 4041), a plan administrator wishing to terminate a plan is 
required to submit specified information to PBGC in support of the 
proposed termination and to provide specified information regarding the 
proposed termination to third parties (participants, beneficiaries, 
alternate payees, and employee organizations). In the case of a plan 
with participants or beneficiaries who cannot be located when their 
benefits are to be distributed, the plan administrator is subject to 
the requirements of ERISA section 4050 and PBGC's regulation on missing 
participants (29 CFR part 4050). These regulations may be found on 
PBGC's Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov/res/laws-and-regulations/code-of-federal-regulations.html.
    The collection of information under these regulations and the 
implementing forms and instructions has been approved by OMB under 
control number 1212-0036 (expires November 30, 2017). PBGC is 
requesting that OMB extend its approval for three years, with 
modifications. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is 
not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it 
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    PBGC is proposing to provide that the plan administrator of a plan 
terminating in a standard termination, or a distress termination that 
closes out in the private sector, may submit termination forms 
electronically (scanned and emailed or faxed), rather than by mail or

[[Page 45913]]

personal delivery only. PBGC is proposing this new submission provision 
to increase the ease of submission for plan administrators.
    In addition, PBGC is proposing to include an opportunity for plan 
sponsors to contact PBGC for a pre-filing consultation to discuss the 
filing process and ensure the filing of a distress termination is 
appropriate given the sponsor's specific circumstances. This 
consultation will assist PBGC and the plan sponsor in exploring whether 
a waiver of one or more filing obligations is appropriate, identifying 
potential issues preventing a distress termination of a particular 
plan, and may indicate that commencement of an agency-initiated 
termination of the pension plan is warranted. This consultation will be 
voluntary and will result in little or no added burden on the plan 
sponsor.
    PBGC estimates that 1,276 plan administrators will be subject to 
the collection of information requirements in PBGC's regulations on 
termination and missing participants and implementing forms and 
instructions each year, and that the total annual burden of complying 
with these requirements will be 1,560 hours and $1,350,400.
    PBGC is soliciting public comments to--
     Evaluate whether the 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 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 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.

    Issued in Washington, DC, by
Stephanie Cibinic,
Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2017-20927 Filed 9-29-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7709-02-P