[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4642-4647]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [http://www.gpo.gov/]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01337]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
29 CFR Parts 4041A, 4231, and 4281
RIN 1212-AB13
Multiemployer Plans; Valuation and Notice Requirements
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: PBGC is proposing to amend its multiemployer regulations to
make the provision of information to PBGC and plan participants more
efficient and effective and to reduce burden on plans and sponsors. The
amendments would reduce the number of actuarial valuations required for
certain small terminated but not insolvent plans, shorten the advance
notice filing requirements for mergers in situations that do not
involve a compliance determination, and remove certain insolvency
notice and update requirements. The amendments are a result of PBGC's
regulatory review under Executive Order 13563 (Improving Regulation and
Regulatory Review).
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 31, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Comments, identified by Regulation Identifier Number (RIN)
1212-AB13, 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: reg.comments@pbgc.gov.
Fax: 202-326-4224.
Mail or hand delivery: Regulatory Affairs Group, Office of
the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K
Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026.
All submissions must include the Regulation Identifier Number for this
rulemaking (RIN 1212-AB13). Comments received, including personal
information provided, will be posted to http://www.pbgc.gov/. Copies of
comments may also 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 202-326-4500 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-
4500.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine B. Klion
(klion.catherine@pbgc.gov), Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory
Affairs, or Daniel Liebman (liebman.daniel@pbgc.gov), Attorney, Office
of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K
Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026; 202-326-4024. (TTY/TDD users may
call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to
be connected to 202-326-4024.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Summary--Purpose of the Regulatory Action
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is proposing to
amend certain regulations governing its multiemployer program to make
the provision of information to PBGC and plan participants more
efficient and effective. This rule is needed to reduce burden on
multiemployer plans and sponsors and to facilitate potentially
beneficial plan merger transactions. The rule would reduce burden by
allowing certain small terminated but not insolvent plans to provide
valuations less frequently, easing reporting requirements for plan
sponsors contemplating a merger transaction, and streamlining and
removing certain notice requirements for insolvent plans.\1\ These
requirements impose administrative costs and reduce plan assets that
could otherwise be used to fund plan benefits.
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\1\ Under 29 CFR 4041A.2, ``insolvent'' means that a plan is
unable to pay benefits when due during the plan year.
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PBGC's legal authority for this regulatory action comes from
section 4002(b)(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974 (ERISA), which authorizes PBGC to issue regulations to carry out
the purposes of title IV of ERISA; section 4041A(f)(2), which gives
PBGC authority to prescribe reporting requirements for terminated
plans; section 4231(a), which gives PBGC authority to prescribe
regulations setting the requirements for one or more multiemployer
plans to merge; and section 4281(d), which directs PBGC to prescribe by
regulation the notice requirements to plan participants and
beneficiaries in the event of a benefit suspension.
Executive Summary--Major Provisions of the Regulatory Action
Annual Valuations
When a multiemployer plan terminates, the plan must perform an
annual valuation of the plan's assets and benefits. This proposed rule
would allow valuations for plans that were terminated by mass
withdrawal but are not insolvent and where the value of nonforfeitable
benefits is $25 million or
[[Page 4643]]
less to be performed every three years instead of annually as required
under the current regulations.
Filing Requirements for Mergers
Under the current regulations, a merger or a transfer of assets and
liabilities between multiemployer plans must satisfy certain
requirements, including a requirement that plan sponsors of all plans
involved in a merger or transfer must jointly file a notice with PBGC
120 days before the transaction. This proposed rule would shorten the
notice period to 45 days where no compliance determination is
requested.
Insolvency Notices and Updates
Terminated multiemployer plans that determine that they will be
insolvent for a plan year must provide a series of notices and updates
to notices to PBGC and participants and beneficiaries, including a
notice of insolvency. The proposed rule would eliminate the requirement
to provide annual updates to the notice of insolvency.
Background
PBGC administers two insurance programs for private-sector defined
benefit plans under title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974 (ERISA): A single-employer plan termination insurance
program and a multiemployer plan insolvency insurance program.
A multiemployer plan is a collectively bargained pension
arrangement involving several employers that are not within the same
controlled group, usually in a common industry, such as construction,
trucking, textiles, or coal mining. By contrast, a single-employer plan
may be sponsored by either one employer (pursuant or not pursuant to a
collective bargaining agreement) or by several unrelated employers (but
not pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement).
ERISA section 4041A provides for two types of multiemployer plan
terminations: mass withdrawal and plan amendment. A mass withdrawal
termination occurs when all employers withdraw or cease to be obligated
to contribute to the plan. A plan amendment termination occurs when the
plan adopts an amendment that provides that participants will receive
no credit for service with any employer after a specified date, or an
amendment that makes it no longer a covered plan. Unlike terminated
single-employer plans, terminated multiemployer plans continue to pay
all vested benefits out of existing plan assets and withdrawal
liability payments. PBGC's guarantee of the benefits in a multiemployer
plan--payable as financial assistance to the plan--starts only if and
when the plan is unable to make payments at the statutorily guaranteed
level.
This proposed rule would reduce certain requirements for
multiemployer plans that are terminated by mass withdrawal and mergers
and transfers among multiemployer plans.
On January 18, 2011, the President issued Executive Order 13563
``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' to ensure that Federal
regulations seek more affordable, less intrusive means to achieve
policy goals, and that agencies give careful consideration to the
benefits and costs of those regulations. PBGC's Plan for Regulatory
Review,\2\ identifies several regulatory areas for review, including
the multiemployer regulations referred to above.
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\2\ See http://www.pbgc.gov/documents/plan-for-regulatory-review.pdf.
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This proposed rule would amend those regulations to reduce burden
on plans and sponsors. PBGC will continue to review its regulations
with a view to developing more ideas for improvement. Public comment on
these specific proposals will help PBGC determine whether its
regulatory review process is moving in the right direction.
Proposed Regulatory Changes
Annual Valuation Requirement
ERISA section 4281(b) provides that the value of nonforfeitable
benefits under a terminated plan to which section 4041A(d) applies, and
the value of the plan's assets shall be determined in writing as of the
end of the plan year during which section 4041A(d) becomes applicable,
and each plan year thereafter. Part 4041A of PBGC's regulations
establishes rules for notifying PBGC of the termination of a
multiemployer plan and rules for the administration of multiemployer
plans that have terminated by mass withdrawal. Subpart C prescribes
basic duties of plan sponsors of plans terminated by mass withdrawal,
including the annual valuation requirement at Sec. 4041A.24. Section
4281.11(a) states that the valuation dates for the annual valuation
required under section 4281(b) of ERISA shall be the last day of the
plan year in which the plan terminates and the last day of each plan
year thereafter. The details of the annual valuation requirement are
set forth in the remainder of Subpart B of Part 4281, Duties of Plan
Sponsor Following Mass Withdrawal.
The annual valuation requirement serves the statutory purpose of
allowing the terminated plan to determine whether it needs to eliminate
benefits that are not eligible for PBGC's guarantee. However, once the
plan has reached the point where it has eliminated all nonguaranteed
benefits, further valuations serve only to help PBGC estimate the
liabilities it will incur when the plan becomes insolvent. While
measuring PBGC's liabilities annually provides PBGC with information
needed to understand its potential exposure, the requirement to do so
results in the plan using scarce resources, at a potentially
significant cost, for a limited purpose.\3\ This may result in a faster
diminution of assets that could lead to a reduced ability to pay plan
benefits, a quicker insolvency, and an earlier elimination of any
nonforfeitable benefits that exceed PBGC's statutory guarantee.
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\3\ Once a plan terminates, professional and administrative
costs of paying plan benefits and continuing regulatory compliance
come out of plan assets without additional contributions being made
by the former employers as would be the case prior to termination.
Thus, with the exception of the potential inflow of some funds from
withdrawal liability recoveries, plan assets continue to decrease in
a wasting trust.
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PBGC is proposing to amend Sec. 4041A.24 to ensure that PBGC has
reasonably reliable data to measure its liabilities without
significantly depleting plan assets. Terminated plans that are not
insolvent and where the value of nonforfeitable benefits is $25 million
or less (as of the valuation date of the most recent required
valuation), would be required to perform the next valuation in
accordance with Subpart B of Part 4281 three years later instead of the
following year as under the current regulation. To comply with the
statutory requirement that there be a written determination of the
value of nonforfeitable benefits each year, such plans may use the most
recently performed valuation for the next two plan years.
All other plans would continue to be required to perform valuations
in accordance with Subpart B of Part 4281 annually.\4\ Plans could move
in and out of the three-year or annual valuation cycle, as applicable,
as the value of nonforfeitable benefits changes. Thus, a plan that had
been performing new valuations every three years would be required to
perform valuations annually if the next valuation indicates that the
value of nonforfeitable benefits exceeds
[[Page 4644]]
$25 million. Similarly, a plan that has been performing the valuation
annually would only have to do the next valuation in accordance with
Subpart B of Part 4281 in three years if the most recent valuation
shows the value of nonforfeitable benefits to be $25 million or less.
This amendment would target the plans that expose PBGC to larger
liability, while reducing burden on plans that present smaller
exposure.
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\4\ There are two other exceptions to the requirement that a
valuation be performed each plan year that are preserved from the
current regulation. No valuation is required for a plan year (1) for
which the plan receives financial assistance from PBGC under section
4261 of ERISA, or (2) in which the plan is closed out in accordance
with subpart D of Part 4041A.
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PBGC believes that this change appropriately balances PBGC's need
to fairly measure its exposure with minimizing the cost to plans and
potentially to participants.
Advance Notice of Multiemployer Mergers
ERISA section 4231 sets forth the statutory requirements for
mergers of two or more multiemployer plans and transfers of plan assets
or benefit liabilities among two or more multiemployer plans, including
a requirement that a plan must give 120 days' advance notice of a
merger or transfer to PBGC. Part 4231 of PBGC regulations implements
this statutory requirement.
29 CFR 4231.8 provides that plan sponsors of all plans involved in
a merger or transfer, or their duly authorized representatives, must
jointly file a notice with PBGC 120 days in advance of the transaction.
The notice must include information about the plans, the plan sponsors,
the transaction, the proposed effective date, a copy of each provision
stating that no participant's or beneficiary's accrued benefit will be
lower immediately after the effective date of the transaction than the
benefit immediately before that date, and various actuarial and plan
asset and benefit valuation information.
The purpose of the notice provision is to confirm that plan
sponsors have met the four criteria listed in section 4231(b) for a
statutory transaction.\5\ Plan sponsors may request a determination
from PBGC that a merger or transfer that may otherwise be prohibited by
sections 406(a) or (b)(2) of ERISA satisfies the requirements of ERISA
section 4231.\6\ Under Sec. 4231.8(f), PBGC may waive the statutory
notice requirement.\7\
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\5\ The four criteria under section 4231(b) are:
(1) The 120-day notice requirement is met.
(2) No accrued benefits will be lower immediately after the
transaction's effective date than immediately before that date.
(3) Benefits are not reasonably expected to be subject to
suspension under ERISA section 4245.
(4) The applicable actuarial valuation of assets and liabilities
of each affected plan has been performed.
\6\ See Sec. 4231.3(b). Plan sponsors requesting a compliance
determination must submit the information required by Sec. 4231.9
in addition to the information required by Sec. 4231.8.
\7\ In 1998, PBGC amended its regulations to expand the
applicability of the waiver of this notice under Sec. 4231.8(f).
Prior to that amendment, the requirement for 120 days' notice could
be waived only if PBGC was satisfied that failure to complete the
transaction in a shorter time would harm participants or
beneficiaries. However, at the time PBGC was typically completing
its reviews in 60 to 90 days, and there was usually no reason to
wait the full 120 days. Thus, the regulation was amended to also
permit a merger or transfer to be consummated if PBGC determined
that the transaction complied with ERISA section 4231, or PBGC
completed its review of the transaction. See 63 FR 24421 (May 4,
1998).
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However, PBGC now believes that the interests of PBGC and plan
participants involved in such transactions are adequately protected by
other parts of ERISA, particularly Title I, and there is little benefit
to having such a long period to merely confirm that the notice
requirements have been met.
Thus, to reduce burden, PBGC is proposing to shorten the advance
notice period to 45 days for transactions that do not involve a
compliance determination under Sec. 4231.9. PBGC's experience has been
that many merger requests are received by PBGC with less than 120 days'
notice and ask for a waiver of the notice requirement so that the
merger can proceed as of the end of the plan year. The change to 45
days would avoid the need for a waiver and still allow PBGC enough time
to review these later filed requests. PBGC believes the change to 45
days would strike the appropriate balance to better accommodate work
flows and end of year rushes for both plan sponsors and PBGC staff. The
current reporting requirements would remain in effect where a
compliance determination is requested, as well as for transactions
involving a transfer of plan assets or benefit liabilities, because
those transactions may require a substantive investigation by PBGC that
may well require more than 45 days to complete.\8\
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\8\ Transfers take more time for PBGC to analyze than mergers,
primarily because of the need to perform a rigorous solvency test
that is not needed for merger transactions. Because assets are
leaving a plan, PBGC analyzes a transfer to make sure there are
adequate assets available to fund the remaining benefit obligations
and the receiving plan can adequately fund its obligations. In a
merger, the assets and liabilities are combined and therefore the
same types of concerns are not present.
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Annual Notice Updates Following Mass Withdrawal
When a multiemployer plan terminates by mass withdrawal under ERISA
section 4041A(a)(2), the plan's assets and benefits are required to be
valued annually and plan benefits may have to be reduced or suspended
to the extent provided in ERISA section 4281(c) or (d). A terminated
multiemployer plan that determines that it will be insolvent for a plan
year must provide a series of notices and updates to notices to PBGC
and participants and beneficiaries under part 4281 of PBGC's
regulations.
Once the plan projects that it can only pay benefits at the PBGC
guarantee level, ERISA section 4281.43(b) requires the plan to issue a
notice of insolvency and annual updates to PBGC and plan participants
and beneficiaries. Subpart D of Part 4281 of PBGC's regulations sets
forth the notice requirements for a terminated plan when plan assets
are sufficient to pay PBGC guaranteed benefits, but not sufficient to
pay at the promised plan level. In such situations, the plan sponsor
must determine what benefits the assets will cover, and suspend
benefits above that amount. At all times, however, the plan has a
``floor'' benefit set at the PBGC guarantee level (i.e., benefits
cannot be suspended to an amount that would pay less than the
guarantee).\9\
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\9\ The floor benefit is set for each participant at the
participant's retirement.
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At the time this regulation was first issued, PBGC anticipated that
a plan's insolvency would be short in duration and that it could
financially recover. However, PBGC's experience has been that once a
multiemployer plan becomes insolvent, it will remain so. Thus, once a
plan has made the initial notices, there is little need to require
similar subsequent notices. After reviewing the regulation, PBGC now
believes that eliminating such annual updates would not pose any
increase in the risk of loss to PBGC or to plan participants.
These notice requirements can be detrimental to plan participants
because the costs of compliance may deplete assets that otherwise would
be available to pay plan benefits. PBGC's experience is that the rules
for annual updates to a notice of insolvency can be confusing to
practitioners. While the incremental cost to the plan is small, PBGC
believes that the professional time spent understanding the rules and
other costs in the actual compliance would be better spent on
benefits.\10\
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\10\ See footnote 2.
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Consequently, for these reasons PBGC is proposing to eliminate the
annual updates to the notice of insolvency.\11\
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\11\ PBGC is also making a minor change to the insolvency
notice's content by deleting an outdated reference to IRS Key
District offices.
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Applicability
The amendment to Sec. 4041A.24 that would change the annual
valuation requirement for terminated but not insolvent plans where the
value of nonforfeitable benefits is $25 million or
[[Page 4645]]
less would be applicable to the first post-termination valuation after
the effective date of the final rule.
The amendment to Sec. 4231.8 that would change the notification
requirements for a proposed merger would be applicable to mergers
planned to be consummated on or after the 45th day after the effective
date of the final rule.
The amendment to Sec. 4281.43 that would eliminate the annual
update notices to PBGC and participants and beneficiaries would be
applicable as of the effective date of the final rule.
PBGC invites comments on whether a longer applicability period
would better effectuate the purposes of these amendments.
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
PBGC has determined, in consultation with the Office of Management
and Budget, that this rule is not a ``significant regulatory action''
under Executive Order 12866.
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess all
costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public
health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). Executive
Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and
benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting
flexibility. This rule is associated with retrospective review and
analysis in PBGC's Plan for Regulatory Review issued in accordance with
Executive Order 13563.
Under Section 3(f)(1) of Executive Order 12866, a regulatory action
is economically significant if ``it is likely to result in a rule that
may . . . [h]ave an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or
more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public
health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or
communities.'' PBGC has determined that this proposed rule does not
cross the $100 million threshold for economic significance and is not
otherwise economically significant.
As explained below, PBGC estimates that aggregate annual savings
from the combined regulatory changes would be about $460,000.
Annual Valuation Requirement
PBGC has estimated the value of this proposed rule on the annual
valuation requirement for plans terminated by mass withdrawal. As of
the end of its 2012 fiscal year, PBGC's total estimated liability for
nonforfeitable benefits of the 61 mass withdrawal-terminated plans that
were not insolvent was $1.7 billion. Of that total, there were 23 plans
in the over $25 million category; such plans constituted nearly 80
percent of such liabilities in all 61 terminated plans, thus preserving
a high degree of exactitude for PBGC's measurement of its financial
contingencies. At the same time, each year that the 38 plans where the
value of nonforfeitable benefits was $25 million or less would not have
to do an annual valuation, there would be an annual aggregate savings
of approximately $399,000 (assuming an annual valuation cost of $10,500
per plan) to these plans. These savings would grow as the terminated
plan universe grows.
Advance Notice of Multiemployer Mergers
PBGC believes that reducing the required notice period in advance
of a proposed merger transaction from 120 days to 45 days prior to the
effectiveness of the merger would result in a small decrease in
administrative burden on plan sponsors. By reducing the notice period,
PBGC expects that there will be less interaction between plan sponsors,
their representatives, and PBGC staff to address timing and approval
issues. PBGC estimates that 18 plans submit advance notice of a merger
in a given year. PBGC further estimates that an affected plan would
save about one-quarter hour of professional time, at $350 per hour, and
one-quarter hour managerial time, at $115 per hour, resulting in an
aggregate annual savings of $2,093, as a result of the reduced length
of the notice period.
Annual Notice Updates Following Mass Withdrawal
PBGC estimates that the annual aggregate cost of conducting the
annual insolvency update is $61,425. This estimate is based on an
estimated 54 plans required to issue the update annually at 12.5 hours
of combined professional, clerical, and managerial time at an average
rate of $91 per hour. Eliminating the annual update would save plan
sponsors approximately $1,138 each per year and $61,425 in the
aggregate.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act imposes certain requirements with
respect to rules that are subject to the notice and comment
requirements of section 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act and
that are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. Unless an agency determines that a proposed
rule is not likely to have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities, section 603 of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act requires that the agency present an initial regulatory
flexibility analysis at the time of the publication of the proposed
rule describing the impact of the rule on small entities and seeking
public comment on such impact. Small entities include small businesses,
organizations and governmental jurisdictions.
For purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act requirements with
respect to this proposed rule, PBGC considers a small entity to be a
plan with fewer than 100 participants. This is the same criterion PBGC
uses in other aspects of its regulations involving small plans, and is
consistent with certain requirements in Title I of ERISA and the
Internal Revenue Code, as well as the definition of a small entity that
the Department of Labor (DOL) has used for purposes of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act. Using this proposed definition, less than one percent
of the 26,100 of plans covered by Title IV of ERISA in 2011 were small
multiemployer plans.\12\
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\12\ Although PBGC does not have data on multiemployer plans
with fewer than 100 participants, approximately 165 multiemployer
plans have 250 participants or fewer. See http://www.pbgc.gov/Documents/pension-insurance-data-tables-2010.pdf.
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Further, PBGC is not aware of a multiemployer plan that was
established and covered by ERISA that was not initially a large plan.
Generally it is only after a plan terminates and employers withdraw
from the plan that a plan might reduce in size to fewer than 100
participants. Thus, PBGC believes that assessing the impact of the
proposal on small plans is an appropriate substitute for evaluating the
effect on small entities. The definition of small entity considered
appropriate for this purpose differs, however, from a definition of
small business based on size standards promulgated by the Small
Business Administration (13 CFR 121.201) pursuant to the Small Business
Act. PBGC therefore requests comments on the appropriateness of the
size standard used in evaluating the impact on small entities of the
proposed amendments to the reportable events regulation.
On the basis of its proposed definition of small entity, PBGC
certifies under section 605(b) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) that the amendments in this rule would not
[[Page 4646]]
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. Based on data for the 2012 fiscal year, PBGC estimates that
61 plans, very few of which would be considered a small plan, would be
required to do the valuation requirement (19 would be required to
perform the valuation annually while 42 would do so every three years).
Seventeen plans, very few of which would be considered a small plan,
would be required to submit a notice of proposed merger. Fifty-four
plans, very few of which would be considered a small plan, would be
relieved of the burden to issue an annual insolvency update.
Accordingly, as provided in section 605 of the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), sections 603 and 604 would not apply. PBGC
invites public comment on this burden estimate.
Paperwork Reduction Act
PBGC is submitting the information requirements under this proposed
rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and
approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act. 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.
The collection of information in Part 4231 is approved under
control number 1212-0022 (expires March 31, 2014). PBGC estimates that
there will be 21 respondents each year and that the total annual burden
of the collection of information will be about 5 hours and $6,900.
The collection of information in Part 4281 is approved under
control number 1212-0032 (expires May 31, 2014). PBGC estimates that
there will be 378 respondents each year and that the total annual
burden of the collection of information will be about 6,160 hours and
$43,050.
The collection of information in Part 4041A is not affected by this
proposed rule.
Copies of PBGC's requests are posted at http://www.pbgc.gov/res/laws-and-regulations/information-collections-under-omb-review.html and
may also be obtained free of charge by contacting the Disclosure
Division of the Office of the General Counsel of PBGC, 1200 K Street
NW., Washington, DC 20005, 202-326-4040. PBGC is proposing the
following changes to these information requirements:
PBGC proposes to change the requirement to provide advance
notice to PBGC of a proposed merger from 120 days prior to the
effective date of the merger to 45 days.
PBGC proposes to eliminate the requirement to provide
annual insolvency updates to PBGC and participants.
Comments on the paperwork provisions under this proposed rule
should be sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, via electronic mail at OIRA_DOCKET@omb.eop.gov or by fax to (202) 395-6974. Although comments may
be submitted through March 31, 2014, the Office of Management and
Budget requests that comments be received on or before February 28,
2014 to ensure their consideration. Comments may address (among other
things)--
Whether each proposed collection of information is needed
for the proper performance of PBGC's functions and will have practical
utility;
The accuracy of PBGC's estimate of the burden of each
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
Enhancement of the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
Minimizing the burden of each 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.
List of Subjects
29 CFR Part 4041A
Pensions, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
29 CFR Part 4231
Pensions, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
29 CFR Part 4281
Pensions, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
For the reasons given above, PBGC proposes to amend 29 CFR Parts
4041A, 4231, and 4281 as follows:
PART 4041A--TERMINATION OF MULTIEMPLOYER PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 4041A continues to read as follows:
Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1302(b)(3), 1341a, 1441.
0
2. Amend Sec. 4041A.24 by:
0
a. Revising the section heading,
0
b. Revising paragraph (a),
0
c. Amending the first sentence of paragraph (b) by removing the word
``annual''.
The revisions read as follows:
Sec. 4041A.24 Plan valuations and monitoring.
(a) Annual valuation. The plan sponsor shall determine or cause to
be determined in writing the value of nonforfeitable benefits under the
plan and the value of the plan's assets, in accordance with part 4281,
subpart B. This valuation shall be done not later than 150 days after
the end of the plan year in which the plan terminates and each plan
year thereafter except as provided in this paragraph. A plan year for
which a valuation is performed is called a valuation year.
(1) If the value of nonforfeitable benefits for the plan is $25
million or less as determined for a valuation year, the plan sponsor
may use the valuation for the next two plan years and, subject to
paragraphs (a)(2) and (3) of this section, perform a new valuation
pursuant to this paragraph for the third plan year after the previous
valuation year.
(2) No valuation is required for a plan year for which the plan
receives financial assistance from PBGC under section 4261 of ERISA.
(3) No valuation is required for the plan year in which the plan is
closed out in accordance with subpart D of this part.
* * * * *
PART 4231--MERGERS AND TRANSFERS BETWEEN MULTIEMPLOYER PLANS
0
3. The authority citation for part 4231 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1302(b)(3), 1411.
0
4. Amend Sec. 4231.8 by:
0
a. Revising the first sentence of paragraph (a)(1).
0
b. Amending paragraph (f)(1) by removing the words ``120 days after
filing the notice'' and adding in their place the words ``the
applicable notice period set forth in paragraph (a) of this section''.
The revisions read as follows:
Sec. 4231.8 Notice of merger or transfer.
(a)(1) When to file. Except as provided in paragraph (f) of this
section, a notice of a proposed merger or transfer must be filed not
less than 120 days, or not less than 45 days in the case of a merger
for which a compliance determination under Sec. 4231.9 is not
requested, before the effective date of the transaction. * * *
* * * * *
[[Page 4647]]
PART 4281--DUTIES OF PLAN SPONSOR FOLLOWING MASS WITHDRAWAL
0
5. The authority citation for part 4281 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1302(b)(3), 1341(a), 1399(c)(1)(D), and
1441.
Sec. 4281.43 [Amended]
0
6. Amend Sec. 4281.43 by:
0
a. Revising the section to read ``Notices of Insolvency.''.
0
b. Removing paragraphs (b), (d), and (f); redesignating paragraph (c)
as paragraph (b); and redesignating paragraph (e) as paragraph (c).
Sec. 4281.44 [Amended]
0
7. Amend Sec. 4281.44 by:
0
a. Revising the section heading to read ``Contents of notices of
insolvency.''.
0
b. Amending paragraph (a) by removing paragraph (a)(4) and
redesignating paragraphs (a)(5) through (a)(13) as paragraphs (a)(4)
through (a)(12), respectively.
0
c. Removing paragraphs (c) and (d).
Sec. 4281.46 [Amended]
0
8. In Sec. 4281.46, paragraph (a) is amended by removing the words
``Sec. 4281.44(a)(1) through (a)(5) and (a)(7) through (a)(11)'' and
adding in their place the words ``Sec. 4281.44(a)(1) through (a)(4)
and (a)(6) through (a)(10)''.
Sec. 4281.47 [Amended]
0
9. In Sec. 4281.47, paragraph (c) is amended by removing the word
``(a)(5)'' and adding in its place the word ``(a)(4)''.
Issued in Washington, DC, this 16th day of January, 2014.
Joshua Gotbaum,
Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2014-01337 Filed 1-28-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P