[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55879-55880]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [http://www.gpo.gov/]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22352]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment
Request; Payment of Premiums
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
ACTION: Notice of request for OMB approval of revised collection of
information.
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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is modifying
the collection of information under its regulation on Payment of
Premiums (OMB control number 1212-0007; expires December 31, 2013) and
is requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve
the revised collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act
for three years. This notice informs the public of PBGC's request and
solicits public comment on the collection of information.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by October 11, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk
Officer for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, via electronic
mail at OIRA_DOCKET@omb.eop.gov or by fax to 202-395-6974.
Copies of the collection of information and comments may be
obtained without charge by writing to the Disclosure Division, Office
of General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street
NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026; visiting the Disclosure Division;
faxing a request to 202-326-4042; or calling 202-326-4040 during normal
business hours. (TTY/TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll-
free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4040.) The
premium payment regulation and the premium instructions (including
illustrative forms) for 2012 are available at http://www.pbgc.gov/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine B. Klion, Manager,
Regulatory and Policy Division, Legislative and Regulatory Department,
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: Section 4007 of Title IV of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires pension plans
covered under Title IV pension insurance programs to pay premiums to
PBGC. Pursuant to section 4007, PBGC has issued its regulation on
Payment of Premiums (29 CFR part 4007). Under Sec. 4007.3 of the
premium payment regulation, plan administrators are required to file
premium payments and information prescribed by PBGC. Premium
information must be filed electronically using ``My Plan Administration
Account'' (``My PAA'') through PBGC's Web site except to the extent
PBGC grants an exemption for good cause in appropriate circumstances,
in which case the information must be filed using an approved PBGC
form. The plan administrator of each pension plan covered by Title IV
of ERISA is required to submit one or more premium filings for each
premium payment year. Under Sec. 4007.10 of the premium payment
regulation, plan administrators are required to retain records about
premiums and information submitted in premium filings.
PBGC needs information from premium filings to identify the plans
for which premiums are paid, to verify whether the amounts paid are
correct, to help PBGC determine the magnitude of its exposure in the
event of plan termination, to help track the creation of new plans and
transfer of participants and plan assets and liabilities among plans,
and to keep PBGC's insured-plan inventory up to date. That information
and the retained records are also needed for audit purposes.
All plans covered by Title IV of ERISA pay a flat-rate per-
participant premium. An underfunded single-employer plan also pays a
variable-rate premium based on the value of the plan's unfunded vested
benefits.
Large-plan filers (i.e., plans that were required to pay premiums
for 500 or more participants for the prior plan year) are required to
pay PBGC's flat-rate premium early in the premium payment year. To
accommodate plans that find it impractical to do an accurate
participant count until later in the premium payment year, PBGC permits
filers to make an estimated flat-rate premium filing.
All plans are required to make a comprehensive premium filing.
Comprehensive filings are used to report flat- and (for single-employer
plans) variable-rate premiums, premium-related data, and information
about plan identity, status, and events. (For large plans, the
comprehensive filing reconciles an estimated flat-rate premium paid
earlier in the year.)
PBGC proposes to revise its premium filing procedures and
instructions for
[[Page 55880]]
the 2013 plan year. On May 8, 2012 (at 77 FR 27099), PBGC gave public
notice that it was submitting the revised procedures and instructions
to OMB for review. On July 6, 2012, the President signed into law the
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). MAP-21
includes provisions affecting PBGC premiums. PBGC has modified its
proposed premium filing procedures and instructions accordingly; this
notice informs the public of the modified OMB submission.
PBGC now intends to revise the 2013 filing procedures and
instructions to:
Provide for revoking a prior election to use the
Alternative Premium Funding Target (APFT) to determine unfunded vested
benefits (UVBs). (Under PBGC regulations, an election to use the APFT
is irrevocable for 5 years; 2008 was the first year that plans were
permitted to elect the APFT, so 2013 is the first year for which it is
necessary to collect this information.)
Require plan administrators to provide a breakdown of the
total premium funding target into the same categories of participants
used for reporting on Schedule SB to Form 5500, i.e., active
participants, terminated vested participants, and retirees and
beneficiaries receiving payment. PBGC uses the premium funding target
to estimate termination liability, e.g., for the annual contingency
list, and a breakdown will enable PBGC to make a much better estimate
than simply using only the total premium funding target.
Require plan administrators to report a contact name to
make it easier for PBGC to contact a plan. Filers also will have the
option of providing an additional plan contact.
Require plan administrators to report the plan effective
date for all plans rather than just new and newly covered plans. This
date helps PBGC trace plans that change Employer Identification Number
or Plan Number.
Require plan administrators to break down the premium
credit information in the comprehensive premium filing into two items
rather than aggregating the premium credit. This information will help
PBGC to manage the application of overpayments.
Add a data item for the MAP-21 variable-rate premium cap,
which is first effective for 2013.
Explain how MAP-21 affects premium computations.
Eliminate the following data items--
[cir] The plan sponsor's address.
[cir] The boxes to check if there has been a change in name for a
plan sponsor or a change in name or address for a plan administrator.
[cir] The payment method for paper filers.
Reorder and re-number some items on the illustrative form
that accompanies and is part of the instructions, and make other minor
changes.
The collection of information under the regulation has been
approved by OMB through December 31, 2013, under control number 1212-
0007. PBGC is requesting that OMB extend approval of this revised
collection of information for three years. 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.
PBGC estimates that it will receive 29,900 premium filings per year
from 24,600 plan administrators under this collection of information.
PBGC further estimates that the average annual burden of this
collection of information is 8,200 hours and $54,387,000.
Issued in Washington, DC, this 6th day of September, 2012.
John H. Hanley,
Director, Legislative and Regulatory Department, Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2012-22352 Filed 9-10-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-01-P