Federal Register Documents
[Federal Register: September 10, 1996 (Volume 61, Number 176)]
[Notices]
[Page 47774-47775]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Request for a Collection of Information Under the Paperwork
Reduction Act; Qualified Domestic Relations Order Submitted to the PBGC
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
ACTION: Notice of request for OMB approval.
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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has requested that
the Office of Management and Budget approve a new collection of
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The information
collection relates to model forms contained in a PBGC booklet providing
guidance on how to submit a proper qualified domestic relations order
to the PBGC.
DATES: The PBGC has requested that OMB approve this request by
September 10, 1996.
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. The request for approval will be available
for public inspection at the PBGC Communications and Public Affairs
Department, suite 240, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005,
between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James L. Beller, Attorney, Office of
the General Counsel, Suite 340, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC
20005, 202-326-4024 (202-326-4179 for TTY and TDD). (These are not
toll-free numbers.)
SUPPLEMENTARY 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.
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 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 qualified
[[Page 47775]]
domestic relations order (``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 156 hours and $132,000.
The PBGC solicits comments to: (i) Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will
have practical utility; (ii) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's
estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (iii)
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (iv) minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of responses.
The PBGC has requested that OMB approve this collection on an
emergency basis by September 10, 1996 so that model QDROs can be made
available to practitioners immediately. Early availability will greatly
assist practitioners in preparing proper QDROs for the PBGC, thereby
saving parties both time and expense.
Issued at Washington, DC, this 5th day of September 1996.
Martin Slate,
Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 96-23088 Filed 9-9-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P