83 FR 42172 - Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request; Annual Reporting (Form 5500 Series)

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 161 (August 20, 2018)

The 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 its collection of information for Annual Reporting under OMB control number 1212-0057, which expires on March 31, 2021. This notice informs the public of PBGC's intent and solicits public comment on the collection of information.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 161 (Monday, August 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42172-42173]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17850]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; 
Comment Request; Annual Reporting (Form 5500 Series)

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of intent to request extension of OMB approval, with 
modifications.

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SUMMARY: The 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 its 
collection of information for Annual Reporting under OMB control number 
1212-0057, which expires on March 31, 2021. This notice informs the 
public of PBGC's intent and solicits public comment on the collection 
of information.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by October 19, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Refer to Annual 
Reporting (Form 5500 Series) in the subject line.
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Regulatory Affairs Division, Office 
of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K 
Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-4026.
    All submissions received must include the agency's name (Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or PBGC) and refer to the Annual 
Reporting (Form 5500 Series). All comments received will be posted 
without change to PBGC's website, www.pbgc.gov, including any personal 
information provided. Copies of the collection of information may be 
obtained by writing to Disclosure Division, Office of the General 
Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20005-4026, or calling 202-326-4040 during normal 
business hours. TTY users may call the Federal relay service toll-free 
at 800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4040.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Levin ([email protected]), 
Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of the General Counsel, 
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 
20005-4026, 202-326-4400, extension 3559. TTY users may call the 
Federal relay service toll-free at 800-877-8339 and ask to be connected 
to 202-326-4400, extension 3559.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Annual reporting to the Internal Revenue 
Service (IRS), the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), 
and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is required by law 
for most employee benefit plans. For example, section 4065 of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 requires annual 
reporting to PBGC for pension plans covered by title IV of ERISA. To 
accommodate these filing requirements, PBGC, IRS, and EBSA have jointly 
promulgated the Form 5500 Series, which includes the Form 5500 Annual 
Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan and the Form 5500-SF Short Form 
Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan.
    The collection of information has been approved by OMB under 
control number 1212-0057 through March 31, 2021. PBGC intends to 
request that OMB extend its approval, with modifications, for three 
years. 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 modifications to the 2019 Schedule R (Retirement 
Plan Information), Form 5500-SF, and Schedule SB (Single-Employer 
Defined Benefit Plan Actuarial Information), and their related 
instructions. These proposed modifications affect some, but not all, 
single-employer defined benefit plans covered by Title IV of ERISA. 
PBGC also is proposing minor modifications to the Form 5500 Series to 
improve the accuracy of reported information.
    PBGC is proposing to modify Schedule R to obtain information from 
single-employer plans related to unpaid minimum required contributions. 
Single-employer plans are required to report the amount of unpaid 
minimum required contributions on Schedule SB and, in most cases, 
report additional information about the unpaid (``missed'') 
contributions to PBGC on the applicable PBGC form (i.e., Form 10 or 
Form 200). In some cases, this PBGC reporting requirement is waived 
(e.g., if the contribution is made within 30 days of the due date). 
PBGC has found a significant number of plans that are required to file 
these PBGC form(s) do not. As part of its enforcement effort, PBGC 
regularly contacts plans that report unpaid contributions on Schedule 
SB if the applicable PBGC form is not received. With limited exception, 
PBGC cannot distinguish between plans that were required to report 
missed contributions and those that qualified for a regulatory waiver, 
and as a result, PBGC ends up contacting many plans for which reporting 
was waived. PBGC is proposing to modify Schedule R by requiring PBGC-
insured single-employer plans that report unpaid minimum required 
contributions on Schedule SB to check a box indicating whether PBGC 
reporting of the missed contributions was waived or required (and if 
required, whether such reporting requirement has been satisfied). PBGC 
is proposing this addition of information to enable PBGC to limit its 
contact to plans that were required, but failed to, report information 
about unpaid contributions to PBGC.
    Because many small PBGC-insured plans are not required to complete 
Schedule R (i.e., plans that file Form 5500-SF), PBGC also is proposing 
to add a similar question about missed contributions to Form 5500-SF.
    With regard to the Schedule SB form and instructions, PBGC is 
proposing to modify line 23 to eliminate three boxes representing 
mortality tables that are no longer applicable.
    PBGC estimates that it will receive approximately 23,900 Form 5500 
and

[[Page 42173]]

Form 5500-SF filings per year under this collection of information. 
PBGC further estimates that the total annual burden of this collection 
of information attributable to PBGC will be 1,200 hours and $1,531,000.
    PBGC is soliciting public comments to--
     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 methodologies 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.

    Issued in Washington, DC, by
Hilary Duke,
Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2018-17850 Filed 8-17-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7709-02-P