Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Defined Benefit Plan Annual Funding Notice
The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and ...
The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.
DATES:
The OMB will consider all written comments that the agency receives on or before September 18, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.
In 2012, Congress enacted the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). The law provides funding interest rate stabilization for single employer defined benefit (DB) plans, effective for plan years beginning on and after January 1, 2012. MAP-21 set a floor (or ceiling) for the interest rates that single employer defined benefit plan administrators generally are required to use to calculate contributions. Under the rules, the generally required interest rates are limited to rates that are within a specified range, or corridor, above or below a 25-year average for the rates.
The Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA), Public Law 113-
( printed page 53657)
235 (2014), added new disclosure requirements to section 101(f)(2)(B) of ERISA relating to the new multiemployer funding classification of “critical and declining status.” A plan is in critical and declining status if it is in critical status and is projected to become insolvent with 15 years (or within 20 years if a special rule applies). MPRA requires the annual funding notice of critical and declining status plans to include the projected date of insolvency; a clear statement that such insolvency may result in benefit reductions; and a statement describing whether the plan sponsor has taken legally permitted actions to prevent insolvency. These requirements were added to the final regulation and the multiemployer plan model notice to reflect the MPRA amendments to ERISA section 101(f) and are included in the hour burden to complete that notice.
MPRA requires the annual funding notice of critical and declining status plans to include the projected date of insolvency; a clear statement that such insolvency may result in benefit reductions; and a statement describing whether the plan sponsor has taken legally permitted actions to prevent insolvency. These requirements were added to the final regulation and the multiemployer plan model notice to reflect the MPRA amendments to ERISA section 101(f).
On February 2, 2015, the Department published final rules implementing ERISA section 101(f). As required by statute, the final rule requires the plan administrator of a defined benefit pension plan that is subject to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's Insurance Program to furnish a funding notice annually to participants, beneficiaries, labor organizations representing such participants or beneficiaries, employers obligated to make contributions to a multiemployer plan, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Large plans must furnish the notice by the 120th day following the end of the plan year to which the notice relates. A small plan may furnish a funding notice on or before the due date, with extensions, of the plan's Form 5500 Annual Return/Report filed with the Department. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the
Federal Register
on February 18, 2026 (91 FR 7528).
Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
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 the OMB approves it 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 OMB Control Number.
See5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.
Agency:
DOL-EBSA.
Title of Collection:
Defined Benefit Plan Annual Funding Notice.
OMB Control Number:
1210-0126.
Affected Public:
Private sector.
Total Estimated Number of Respondents:
30,451.
Total Estimated Number of Responses:
49,816,936.
Total Estimated Annual Time Burden:
96,489 hours.
Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden:
$5,458,724.
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain
5 CFR 1320.5(a)
44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D)