SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Current Actions

This notice requests public comment on the Department's request for extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of ICRs contained in the rules and prohibited transaction exemptions described below. This action is not related to any pending rulemakings and the Department is not proposing any changes to the existing ICRs at this time. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The following is a summary of the ICRs and the burden estimates:

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Registration Requirements to Serve as a Pooled Plan Provider to Pooled Employer Plans.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0164.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit institutions.

Respondents: 142.

Responses: 142.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 71.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.

Description: The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement ( printed page 53658) Enhancement Act of 2019 (the SECURE Act) was designed to improve retirement coverage as well as the ability of individuals to manage important retirement-related risks. Section 101 of the SECURE Act amends section 3(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to eliminate the commonality of interest requirement for establishing certain individual account plans, or “pooled employer plans,” that meet specific requirements. Among these requirements, plans must designate a “pooled plan provider” to serve as a named fiduciary and as the plan administrator. Further, section 101 of the SECURE Act requires pooled plan providers to register with the Department of Labor (the Department) and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) before beginning operations. The statute expressly provides a separate authorization for the Department to require additional information.

The Department received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0164. The current approval is scheduled to expire on January 30, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Suspension of Pension Benefits Pursuant to Regulations.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0048.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits.

Respondents: 46,207.

Responses: 209,287.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 156,082.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $9,225.

Description: Section 203(a)(3)(B) of ERISA governs the circumstances under which pension plans may suspend pension benefit payments to retirees who return to work or to participants who continue to work beyond normal retirement age. This section sets forth the circumstances and conditions under which such benefit payments may be suspended. In order for a plan to suspend benefits pursuant to the regulation, it must notify the affected retiree or participant during the first calendar month or payroll period in which the plan withholds payment, that benefits are suspended. The notice must include the specific reasons for such suspension, a general description of the plan provisions authorizing the suspension, a copy of the relevant plan provisions, and a statement indicating where the applicable regulations may be found, i.e.,29 CFR 2530.203-3. In addition, the suspension notification must inform the retiree or participant of the plan's procedure for affording a review of the suspension of benefits. Requests for such reviews may be considered in accordance with the claims procedure adopted by the plan pursuant to section 503 of the Act and applicable regulations.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0048. The current approval is scheduled to expire on February 28, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Section 408(a) Prohibited Transaction Provisions Exemption Application Procedure.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0060.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits.

Respondents: 21.

Responses: 3,592.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,718.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $144.

Description: ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) direct the Secretary to establish procedures to issue individual and class exemptions from the prohibited transaction rules of ERISA and the Code. The Department's Exemption Application Procedure regulation requires certain information to be provided in a written application for an exemption. All exemption applications must include, among other things: name, contact information and a detailed description of the exemption transaction and alternatives. Applications for individual exemptions must also include specific information about the plan or plans to which the exemption applies. The applicant must certify that the information supplied is accurate and complete.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0060. The current approval is scheduled to expire on February 28, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Employee Retirement Income Security Act Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1981-8, Investment of Plan Assets in Certain Types of Short-Term Investments.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0061.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit institutions.

Respondents: 123,698.

Responses: 618,490.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 154,623.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $23,676.

Description: PTE 81-8 permits the investment of plan assets that involve the purchase or other acquisition, holding, sale, exchange, or redemption by or on behalf of an employee benefits plan in certain types of short-term investments. PTE 81-8 covers five types of short-term investments: banker's acceptances, commercial paper, repurchase agreements, certificates of deposit, and bank securities. Without the exemption, certain aspects of these transactions might be prohibited by ERISA section 406. In order to grant an exemption under ERISA section 408 and Code section 4975(c)(2), the Department must determine that the exemption is: administratively feasible, in the interests of the plan and its participants and beneficiaries, and protective of the rights of participants and beneficiaries of such plan.

The exemption's conditions contain the following information collection requirements for repurchase agreements: (1) the repurchase agreements between the seller and the plan must be in writing; and (2) the seller of the repurchase agreements must agree to provide the plan with the most recent available audited statement of its financial condition as well as its most recent available unaudited statement at the time of the sale and as the statements are issued. The seller must also represent, either in the repurchase agreement or prior to each repurchase agreement transaction, that as of the time the transaction is negotiated, there has been no material adverse undisclosed change in the seller's financial condition since the date the last financial statement was furnished.

These requirements are designed as appropriate safeguards to ensure the protection of the plan assets involved in the transactions, which, in the absence of the class exemption, would not be permitted. They are necessary, as required under section 408(a) of ERISA, to ensure that respondents rely on the exemption only in the circumstances protective of plan participants and beneficiaries.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0061. The current approval is scheduled to expire on February 28, 2027.

( printed page 53659)

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Process for Expedited Approval of an Exemption for Prohibited Transaction, Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1996-62.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0098.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit institutions.

Respondents: 3.

Responses: 711.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 55.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $29.

Description: PTE 96-62 permits certain prospective transactions between plans and parties in interest where the transactions are specifically authorized by the Department and are subject to terms, conditions and representations which are substantially similar to previous exemptions within a specified timeframe. The exemption's conditions contain the following information collection requirements. A party applying for expedited processing must submit written documentation to the Department, in order for Department to make an informed determination whether to authorize the application. If tentative authorization is given, the party that will engage in the transaction must provide written notice to interested persons in a manner that is reasonably calculated to result in the receipt of such notice by interested persons, to ensure that participants and beneficiaries are informed of the application for an exemption and the date of the expiration of the comment period and have an opportunity to comment.

These requirements are designed as appropriate safeguards to ensure the protection of the plan assets involved in the transactions, which, in the absence of the class exemption, would not be permitted. They are necessary, as required under section 408(a) of ERISA, to ensure that respondents rely on the exemption only in the circumstances protective of plan participants and beneficiaries. The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0098. The current approval is scheduled to expire on February 28, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1998-54 Relating to Certain Employee Benefit Plan Foreign Exchange Transactions Executed Pursuant to Standing Instructions.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0111.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits.

Respondents: 35.

Responses: 420,000.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 4,200.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.

Description: PTE 98-54 permits employee benefit plans to engage in foreign exchange transactions with banks or broker-dealers which are trustees, custodians, fiduciaries, or other parties in interest with respect to such plans pursuant to a standing instruction. The exemption's conditions contain the following information collection requirements: (1) the bank or broker-dealer maintains at all times written policies and procedures regarding the handling of foreign exchange transactions for plans with respect to which the bank or broker-dealer is a trustee, custodian, fiduciary or other party in interest or disqualified person which assure that the person acting for the bank or broker-dealer knows that they are dealing with a plan, a partial copy of which prior to the execution of certain transactions is provided to the plan's independent fiduciary; (2) the covered transaction is performed under a written authorization executed in advance by the fiduciary of the plan whose assets are involved in the transaction, which plan fiduciary is independent of the bank or broker-dealer engaging in the covered transaction or any foreign affiliate thereof; (3) the bank or broker-dealer engaging in the covered transaction furnishes to the independent fiduciary a written confirmation statement with respect to each covered transaction not more than five business days after execution of the transactions with specified information regarding the transaction; and (4) recordkeeping requirements.

These requirements are designed as appropriate safeguards to ensure the protection of the plan assets involved in the transactions, which, in the absence of the class exemption, would not be permitted. They are necessary, as required under section 408(a) of ERISA, to ensure that respondents rely on the exemption only in the circumstances protective of plan participants and beneficiaries.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0111. The current approval is scheduled to expire on February 28, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0089.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit institutions.

Respondents: 10,638.

Responses: 10,638.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 5,319.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $9,393.

Description: Under Title I of ERISA, the administrator of each welfare plan and each pension plan, unless otherwise exempt, is required to file an annual report with the Secretary containing the information set forth in section 103 of ERISA. The statutory annual reporting requirements under Titles I and IV of ERISA, as well as the Internal Revenue Code (the Code), are satisfied generally by filing the appropriate annual return/report (the Form 5500).

On April 27, 1995, the Department implemented the Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (the DFVC Program) in an effort to encourage annual reporting compliance. Under the DFVC Program, administrators otherwise subject to the assessment of higher civil penalties are permitted to pay reduced civil penalties for voluntarily complying with the annual reporting requirements under Title I of ERISA.

The information collection requirement included in the DFVC Program is the requirement of providing data necessary to identify the plan along with the penalty payment. This data is the only means by which each penalty payment is associated with the relevant plan. With respect to most pension plans and welfare plans, the requirement is satisfied by sending, along with the penalty payment, a copy of the delinquent annual report (without attachments or schedules) which is filed with the Department at a different address under the EFAST system. In the event that the plan administrator files the delinquent annual report using a 1998 or prior plan year form, a paper copy of only the first page of the Form 5500 or Form 5500-C, as applicable, should be submitted along with the penalty payment.

Certain pension plans for highly compensated employees, commonly called “top hat” plans, and apprenticeship plans may file a one-time statement in lieu of annual reports. With respect to such plans, information collection requirements of the DFVC ( printed page 53660) Program are satisfied by sending a completed first page of an annual report form along with the penalty payment. The one-time statements are required to be sent to a different address within the Department. The DFVC Program is designed to allow the processing of all penalty payments at a single location within the Department.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0089. The current approval is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Plan Asset Transactions Determined by Independent Qualified Professional Asset Managers under Prohibited Transaction Exemption 1984-14.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0128.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits.

Respondents: 10,855.

Responses: 15,786.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 13,490.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $1,250,753.

Description: Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-14 (49 FR 9494, March 13, 1984, as corrected at 50 FR 41430, October 10, 1985, and amended at 70 FR 49305 (August 23, 2005)) (PTE) 84-14) permits various parties who are related to employee benefit plans to engage in transactions involving plan assets if, among other conditions, the assets are managed by a “qualified professional asset manager” (QPAM). On July 6, 2010, the Department adopted a final amendment to PTE 84-14 (75 FR 38837) that added Part V to the exemption that permits a QPAM to manage an investment fund that contains the assets of its own plan or the plan of an affiliate of the QPAM. The exemption's conditions for information collection requirements that are conditions of Part V of the exemption include written policies and procedures and audit requirements for QPAM-sponsored plans. The written policies and procedures are to be used by an independent auditor who will conduct an annual exemption audit and determine the QPAM's compliance with the conditions of the exemption. An independent auditor will conduct an annual exemption audit and make a determination whether the QPAM is in compliance with the written policies and procedures and that the conditions of the exemption have been met. These information collections are designed to safeguard participants and beneficiaries in plans that are involved in transactions covered by the exemption. The exemption does

On April 4, 2024, the Department adopted an amendment to PTE 84-14 that, among other changes, added a requirement for QPAMs to submit a one-time notice to the Department acknowledging that the QPAM is relying on the exemption. This information requirement ensures that the Department is aware of those entities that rely on PTE 84-14. These requirements are designed as appropriate safeguards to ensure the protection of the plan assets involved in the transactions, which, in the absence of the class exemption, would not be permitted. They are necessary, as required under section 408(a) of ERISA, to ensure that respondents rely on the exemption only in the circumstances protective of plan participants and beneficiaries. The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0128. The current approval is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Request for Assistance from the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0146.

Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

Respondents: 14,991.

Responses: 14,991.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 7,496.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.

Description: EBSA maintains a program designed to provide education and technical assistance to participants and beneficiaries (as well as to employers, plan sponsors, and service providers) related to their health and retirement plan benefits. EBSA assists participants in understanding their rights, responsibilities, and benefits under employee benefit law and intervenes informally on their behalf with the plan sponsor in order to assist them in obtaining the health and retirement benefits to which they may have been inappropriately denied, which can avert the necessity for a formal investigation or a civil action. EBSA maintains a toll-free telephone number through which inquirers can reach Benefits Advisors in ten Regional Offices. EBSA also has an assistance form on its website. Contact with EBSA is entirely voluntary.

The collection of information is an intake form for assistance requests from the public. This information includes the plan type, broad categories of problem type, contact information for responsible parties, and a mechanism for the inquirer to attach relevant documents. Summary data from the existing intake form has also been used, in accordance with section 513 of ERISA, to respond to requests for information regarding employee benefit plans from members of Congress and governmental oversight entities, and to inform the policy formulation process.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0146. The current approval is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Alternative Method of Compliance for Certain Simplified Employee Pensions.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0034.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits.

Respondents: 35,660.

Responses: 67,930.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 21,227.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $2,066.

Description: Section 110 of ERISA relieves sponsors of certain Simplified Employee Pensions (SEPs) from ERISA's Title I reporting and disclosure requirements by prescribing an alternative method of compliance. These SEPs are, for purposes of this information collection, referred to as “non-model SEPs” because they exclude those SEPs which are created through use of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 5305-SEP, and those SEPs in which the employer influences the employees as to their choice of IRAs to which employer contributions will be made, and that also prohibit withdrawals by participants.

This information collection requirement generally requires timely written disclosures by SEP sponsors to employees eligible to participate in non-model SEPs, including specific information concerning: participation requirements; allocation formulas for employer contributions; designated contact persons for further information; and, for employer recommended IRAs, specific terms of the IRAs such as rates of return and any restrictions on ( printed page 53661) withdrawals. Moreover, general information is required that provides a clear explanation of: the operation of the non-model SEP; participation requirements and any withdrawal restrictions; and the tax treatment of the SEP-related IRA. Furthermore, statements must be provided by SEP sponsors that inform participants of: any options regarding rollovers and contributions to other IRAs; descriptions of IRS disclosure requirements to participants and information regarding social security integration (if applicable); and timely notification of any amendments to the terms of the non-model SEP. The disclosures must also include a statement to the effect that IRAs other than those to which employer contributions will be made under the SEP may provide different rates of return and terms such as those concerning transfers of funds.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0034. The current approval is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Employee Retirement Income Security Act Prohibited Transaction Exemption 1986-128 For Securities Transactions Involving Employee Benefit Plans and Broker-Dealers.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0059.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit institutions.

Respondents: 326.

Responses: 4,150.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 177.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $3,300.

Description: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 86-128 permits a fiduciary's use of its authority to cause a plan (including an individual retirement account) or a pooled investment fund to pay a fee to the fiduciary for effecting or executing securities transactions as agent for the plan or fund. It also permits a fiduciary to act as an agent in an agency cross transaction for both the plan and one or more other parties to the transaction, and to receive reasonable compensation for effecting or executing the agency cross transaction from one or more of the other parties to the transaction.

The class exemption's conditions impose the following information collection requirements on fiduciaries of employee benefit plans that effect or execute securities transactions (“broker-dealers”) and the independent plan fiduciary authorizing the plan to engage in the transactions with the broker-dealer (“authorizing fiduciary”) under the conditions contained in the exemption: (1) The authorizing plan fiduciary must provide the broker-dealer with an advance written authorization for the transactions; (2) The broker-dealer must provide the authorizing fiduciary with a termination form, at least annually, explaining that the authorization is terminable at will, without penalty to the plan, and that failure to return the form will result in continued authorization for the broker-dealer to engage in securities transactions on behalf of the plan; (3) Within three months before an authorization is made, the broker-dealer must provide the authorizing fiduciary with information necessary to determine whether an authorization should be made, including a copy of the exemption, a form for termination, a description of the broker-dealer's brokerage placement practices, and any other reasonably available information regarding the matter that the authorizing fiduciary requests; (4) The broker-dealer must provide the authorizing fiduciary with either (a) a confirmation slip for each individual securities transaction within 10 days of the transaction containing the information described in Rule 10b-10(a)(1-7) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 17 CFR 240.10b-10 or (b) at least quarterly, a compilation of confirmation slips and disclosure of all security transaction-related charges; (5) The broker-dealer must provide the authorizing fiduciary with an annual summary of the confirmation slips and all security transaction-related charges, the brokerage placement practices (if changed), and a portfolio turnover ratio; and (6) A broker-dealer who is a discretionary plan trustee must provide the authorizing fiduciary with an annual report showing separately the commissions paid to affiliated brokers and non-affiliated brokers, on both a total dollar basis and a cents-per-share basis. In addition, for certain agency cross transactions, the disclosure before the authorization must include a statement that the person effecting or executing the transactions will have a potentially conflicting division of loyalties and responsibilities regarding the parties to the transaction, and the annual summary must include a statement identifying the total number of agency cross transactions and the total remuneration. However, the exemption includes certain exceptions for some transactions, including agency cross transactions that meet specified conditions, transactions in which the broker-dealer returns or credits to the plan all profits earned, and different authorization requirements for persons engaging in a covered transaction on behalf of certain pooled funds. These requirements are designed as appropriate safeguards to ensure the protection of the plan assets involved in the transactions, which, in the absence of the class exemption, would not be permitted. These safeguards rely on the prior authorization and monitoring of the broker-fiduciary's activities by a second plan fiduciary that is independent of the first. They are necessary, as required under section 408(a) of ERISA, to ensure that respondents rely on the exemption only in the circumstances protective of plan participants and beneficiaries.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0059. The current approval is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 75-1, Security Transactions with Broker-Dealers, Reporting Dealers, and Banks.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0092.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits.

Respondents: 3,944.

Responses: 3,944.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 15,776.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.

Description: Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 75-1 consists of five parts providing relief for securities transactions involving broker-dealers, reporting dealers and banks. Part I of PTE 75-1 provides relief for agency transactions and services, Part II for principal transactions, Part III for underwritings, Part IV for market-making, and Part V for extension of credit.

The exemption's conditions contain the information collection requirement for plans to maintain, for a period of six years from the date of each transaction, information sufficient to demonstrate that the conditions of the exemption have been met. These requirements are designed as appropriate safeguards to ensure the protection of the plan assets involved in the transactions, which, in the absence of the class exemption, ( printed page 53662) would not be permitted. They are necessary, as required under section 408(a) of ERISA, to ensure that respondents rely on the exemption only in the circumstances protective of plan participants and beneficiaries.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0092. The current approval is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Abandoned Individual Account Plan Termination.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0127.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits.

Respondents: 28,434.

Responses: 1,162,551.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 56,196.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $53,258.

Description: This information collection concerns the three regulations and an exemption related to terminating or abandoned plans and/or to distribution and rollover of distributed benefits for which no participant benefit distribution election has been made. The abandoned plan initiative includes the following actions, which impose the following information collections:

(1) The Termination of Abandoned Individual Accounts regulation (QTA Regulation) (29 CR 2578.1) creates an orderly and efficient process by which a financial institution that holds the assets of a plan that is deemed to have been abandoned may undertake to terminate the plan and distribute its assets to participants and beneficiaries holding accounts under the plan, with limited liability under Title I of ERISA. The regulation requires the qualified termination administrator (QTA) to provide certain notices to the Department, to participants and beneficiaries, and to the plan sponsor (or service providers to the plan, if necessary), and to keep certain records pertaining to the termination.

(2) The Special Terminal Report for Abandoned Plans regulation (29 CFR 2520.103-11) provides an alternative, simplified method for a QTA to satisfy the annual report requirement otherwise applicable to a terminating plan by filing a special simplified terminal report with the Department after terminating an abandoned plan and distributing its accounts to participants and beneficiaries.

(3) The Safe Harbor for Distributions from a Terminated Individual Account Plan regulation (29 CFR 2550.404a-3) establishes a safe harbor method by which fiduciaries who are terminating individual account pension plans (whether abandoned or not) may select a vehicle to receive account balances distributed from the terminated plan when the participant has failed to provide distribution instructions, and the selection of an investment for such account. The regulation requires the fiduciaries to provide advance notice to participants and beneficiaries of how such account balances will be distributed, if no other instructions are provided.

(4) The Abandoned Plan Class Exemption (PTE 2006-06) permits a QTA that terminates an abandoned plan under the QTA regulation to engage in certain transactions with itself as part of the process of terminating abandoned plans and/or the distribution and rollover of distributed benefits. The exemption's conditions contain the following information collection requirements that the QTA keep records of the distributions for a period of six years and make such records available on request to interested persons (including the Department and participants and beneficiaries). If a QTA wishes to be paid out of plan assets for services provided prior to becoming a QTA, the exemption requires the QTA represent under the penalty of perjury that such services were actually performed and, unless the services were performed pursuant to the QTA regulation, to provide to the Department a copy of the executed contract between the QTA and a plan fiduciary or the plan sponsor that authorized the services.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0127. The current approval is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Investment Advice to Participants and Beneficiaries.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0134.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits.

Respondents: 8,938.

Responses: 24,698,107.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,867,800.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $247,377,814.

Description: Under ERISA, providing “investment advice” is a fiduciary act. A fiduciary who advises participants about plan investment opportunities that pay the adviser fees or commissions may be subject to liability under ERISA's prohibited transaction rules. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-280) amended ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to include a statutory exemption for providing investment advice to participants and beneficiaries in self-directed defined contribution individual account ERISA-covered plans (Plans) and beneficiaries of individual retirement accounts, individual retirement annuities, Archer MSAs, health savings accounts and Coverdell education savings accounts (collectively IRAs) described in the Code. The statutory exemption provides relief from the prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA, and the parallel provisions of the Code. The information collections that are conditions of the implementing regulation include, third-party disclosures, recordkeeping, and audit requirements. With one exception, the regulation does not require any reporting or filing with the Federal government, but the designated records must be made available upon request. The exception is the requirement that the fiduciary adviser is required under certain circumstances to forward the audit report which is also a required disclosure under the regulation to the Department.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0134. The current approval is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Insurance and Annuity Contracts and Mutual Fund Principal Underwriters (PTE 1984-24).

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0158.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit institutions.

Respondents: 89,818.

Responses: 1,498,615.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,093,403.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $191,759.

Description: PTE 84-24, as amended, provides an exemption for the receipt, directly or indirectly, by an insurance agent or broker or a pension consultant of a sales commission from an insurance company in connection with the purchase, with plan or IRA assets, of an insurance or annuity contract. Relief is ( printed page 53663) also provided for the receipt of a sales commission by a principal underwriter for an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 in connection with the purchase, with plan or IRA assets, of securities issued by the investment company.

The exemption's conditions contain the following information collection requirements that in order to receive commissions in conjunction with the purchase of an insurance or annuity contract or of securities issued by the investment company, the insurance agent or broker, pension consultant, or principal underwriter must obtain written authorization from the authorizing fiduciary. Prior to obtaining the written authorization, the insurance agent or broker, pension consultant, or principal underwriter must provide the authorizing fiduciary with sufficient materials and disclosures for the authorizing fiduciary to evaluate the appropriateness of the investment. Finally, the insurance agent or broker, pension consultant, or principal underwriter must maintain sufficient records to demonstrate that the conditions of the exemption have been met.

In order to ensure that the rights of the participants and beneficiaries are protected, and that the exemption's conditions are being complied with, the Department often requires minimal information collection pertaining to the affected transactions. These requirements are designed as appropriate safeguards to ensure the protection of the plan assets involved in the transactions, which, in the absence of the class exemption, would not be permitted. They are necessary, as required under section 408(a) of ERISA, to ensure that respondents rely on the exemption only in the circumstances protective of plan participants and beneficiaries.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0158. The current approval is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees Prohibited Transaction Exemption.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0163.

Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

Respondents: 18,632.

Responses: 114,609,171.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,599,221.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $18,359,543.

Description: PTE 2020-02 permits investment advice fiduciaries (registered investment advisers, broker-dealers, banks, and insurance companies) to receive compensation and engage in principal transactions that would otherwise violate the prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA and the Code.

The exemption's conditions contain the following information collection requirements: (1) make disclosures to inform retirement investors of their fiduciary status, services offered, and material conflicts of interest; (2) establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures designed to ensure that they and their investment professionals comply with the Impartial Conduct Standards; (3) document the specific reasons that a rollover recommendation is in the best interest of the retirement investor and provide the documentation to the retirement investor; (4) conduct an annual retrospective review that is reasonably designed to prevent violations of the Impartial Conduct Standards and the institution's own policies and procedures and provide a written report that is certified by a senior executive officer; and (5) maintain records so that parties relying on an exemption can demonstrate, and the Department can verify, compliance with the conditions of the exemption. Investment advice fiduciaries may choose to self-correct certain violations if, among other things, the financial institution notifies the Department of Labor and the person(s) responsible for conducting the retrospective review.

These requirements are designed as appropriate safeguards to ensure the protection of the plan assets involved in the transactions, which, in the absence of the class exemption, would not be permitted. They are necessary, as required under section 408(a) of ERISA, to ensure that respondents rely on the exemption only in the circumstances protective of plan participants and beneficiaries.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0163. The current approval is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2027.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Furnishing Documents to the Secretary of Labor on Request Under Employee Retirement Income Security Act Section 104(a)(6).

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0112.

Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit institutions.

Respondents: 1,181.

Responses: 1,181.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 53.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $826.

Description: Prior to the enactment of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (Pub. L. 105-34, August 5, 1997) (TRA `97), section 104(a) of the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) required administrators of employee benefit plans automatically to file the plan's summary plan description (SPD) and any summaries of material modification (SMMs) with the Secretary of the Department of Labor (the Department). TRA `97 eliminated the requirement that these documents be filed automatically with the Department, but added ERISA section 104(a)(6), requiring a plan administrator to furnish documents related to an employee benefit plan to the Department upon request. The requirement that administrators furnish the Department requested plan documents other than SPDs and SMMs was part of section 104(a) prior to enactment of TRA '97; that requirement was moved by TRA '97 to section 104(a)(6) and consolidated with the new furnishing requirement pertaining to SPDs and SMMs.

Pursuant to the regulation, the Department requests documents under section 104(a)(6) when a participant or beneficiary has previously requested the documents directly from the plan administrator and the administrator has failed or refused to provide them. The Department therefore uses the requested information to respond to participants' requests to the Department for documents that the participants were unable to obtain from their plan administrators.

The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0112. The current approval is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2027.

II. 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 ( printed page 53664) 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 ICR for OMB approval of the information collection; they will also become a matter of public record.

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

91 FR 53657