[Federal Register: February 21, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 35)]
[Notices]
[Page 8057-8058]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21fe97-122]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Submitted to the PBGC

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has requested that the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') extend the approval for a collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The information collection relates to model forms contained in a PBGC booklet (``Divorce Orders & PBGC'') providing guidance on how to submit a proper qualified domestic relations order to the PBGC. The effect of this notice is to advise the public of, and to solicit public comment to OMB on, the extension of approval of this collection of information.

DATE: All comments must be submitted to OMB by March 24, 1997.

ADDRESSES: All written comments should be addressed to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 725 17th Street, NW., Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503. A copy of the request for approval may be obtained by writing to the PBGC Communications and Public Affairs Department, suite 240, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005, or by visiting that office between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Copies of the booklet, ``Divorce Orders & PBGC,'' may be obtained by calling PBGC's Customer Service Center at 1-800-400-PBGC or writing to the PBGC QDRO Coordinator, P.O. Box 19153, Washington, DC 20036-0153. The booklet also is available from the PBGC Homepage on the World Wide Web, at http://www.pbgc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James L. Beller, Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, Suite 340, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005, 202-326-4020, ext. 3865 (202-326-4179 for TTY and TDD). (These are not toll-free numbers.)

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) establishes policies and procedures for controlling the paperwork burdens imposed by Federal agencies on the public. The Act vests the OMB with regulatory responsibility over these burdens, and OMB has promulgated rules on the clearance of collections of information by Federal agencies.
On September 10, 1996, the PBGC published a notice (61 FR 47774) of its request for approval, on an emergency basis, of a new collection of information relating to guidance on the submission of qualified domestic relations orders (``QDROs'') to the PBGC. OMB approved the collection of information with an expiration date of March 31, 1997. On November 25, 1996, the PBGC published a notice (61 FR 59917) informing the public of its intention to seek a three-year extension of the approval of this collection of information and soliciting comments. No comments were received.
The PBGC is a federal agency that insures the benefits of nearly 42 million working men and women in about 55,000 private-sector defined benefit pension plans. A defined benefit pension plan that does not have enough
[[Page 8058]]
money to pay benefits may be terminated if the employer responsible for the plan faces severe financial difficulty, such as bankruptcy, and is unable to maintain the plan. In such an event, the PBGC becomes trustee of the plan and pays benefits, subject to legal limits, to plan participants and beneficiaries.
The benefits of a pension plan participant generally may not be assigned or alienated. Title I of ERISA provides an exception for domestic relations orders that relate to child support, alimony payments, or marital property rights of an alternate payee (a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a plan participant). The exception applies only if the domestic relations order meets specific legal requirements that make it a QDRO. The PBGC reviews submitted domestic relations orders to determine whether the order is qualified before paying benefits to an alternate payee.
The PBGC receives many inquiries on the requirements for QDROs. Many domestic relations orders, both in draft and final form, do not meet the applicable requirements. The PBGC works with practitioners on a case-by-case basis to ensure that their orders are amended to meet applicable requirements. This process is time-consuming for practitioners and for the PBGC.
To simplify the process, the PBGC has included model QDROs and accompanying guidance in a booklet, ``Divorce Orders & PBGC,'' that attorneys and other professionals who are preparing QDROs for plans trusteed by the PBGC may submit to the PBGC after receiving court approval. These models and the guidance are intended to assist parties by making it easier to comply with ERISA's QDRO requirements in plans trusteed by the PBGC.
The requirements for submitting a QDRO are established by statute. The model QDROs and accompanying guidance do not create any additional requirements and will result in a reduction of the statutory burden. The PBGC estimates that it will receive 333 QDROs each year from prospective alternate payees; that the average burden of preparing a QDRO with the assistance of the guidance and model QDROs in PBGC's booklet will be \1/4\ hour of the alternate payee's time and $400 in professional fees if the alternate payee hires an attorney or other professional to prepare the QDRO, or 10 hours of the alternate payee's time if the alternate payee prepares the QDRO without hiring an attorney or other professional; and that the total annual burden will be 113 hours and $132,000.

Issued at Washington, DC., this 14th day of February 1997.
Martin Slate,
Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 97-4306 Filed 2-20-97; 8:45 am]
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