[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 140 (Monday, July 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43942-43943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [http://www.gpo.gov/]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17519]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment
Request; Data To Study Multiemployer Plan Guaranty Program
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
ACTION: Notice of request for OMB approval.
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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is requesting
that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve, under the
Paperwork Reduction Act, a voluntary collection of information to
assist PBGC in modeling potential outcomes of pension plans insured
under its multiemployer program. This notice informs the public of the
PBGC's request and solicits public comment on the collection of
information.
DATES: Comments should be submitted by August 21, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Comments 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.
Copies of the request (including the collection of information) may
be obtained without charge by writing to the Disclosure Division of the
Office of the General Counsel of PBGC at Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026 or by
visiting the Disclosure Division or calling 202-326-4040 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 202-326-4040.)
The Disclosure Division will email, fax, or mail the requested
information to you, as you request. The request will also be posted on
PBGC's Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov/res/laws-and-regulations/information-collections-under-omb-review.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Liebman Attorney, Regulatory
Affairs Group, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026,
liebman.daniel@pbgc.gov or 202-326-4400, ext. 6510. (For TTY and TDD,
call 800-877-8339 and request connection to 202-326-4000, ext. 6779.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Pub. L.
109-280) (PPA) requires the actuary of a multiemployer plan in effect
on July 16, 2006 to certify the plan's status within certain zones
established under PPA to the plan's trustees and the Secretary of the
Treasury within 90 days after the beginning of each plan year. The
certification must state whether or not the plan meets any of the tests
to be in critical status or endangered status and for a plan already in
critical or endangered status, whether the plan is progressing as
scheduled toward the applicable statutory target for improved funding.
Plans in endangered and critical status are restricted with respect to
the types of actions they may take and the types of amendments they may
adopt, as well as required to follow special rules during the adoption
period of collective bargaining agreements.
PBGC is researching the effects of potential changes to its
multiemployer program. PBGC's objective is to quantify the effect of
potential policy proposals on multiemployer plans that are or could
enter critical status with respect to projected dates of insolvency,
amount of financial assistance that PBGC would be required to provide,
and the benefit changes plan participants would experience. To assist
in this research, PBGC is requesting that OMB approve an information
collection request of multiemployer pension plans, their actuarial
service providers, and their stakeholders, including unions and
relevant professional and trade organizations.
PBGC would request the following types of information (which are
routinely provided to plan actuaries):
The most recent actuarial valuation report.
The most recent cash flow projections that the plan
actuary developed in connection with the plan's rehabilitation plan
annual update and a summary of the actuarial assumptions utilized in
the projections.
Participant census data, including accrued benefit, date
of birth, date credited service began (for both active and inactive
participants, if available), gender, form of payment and other data for
participants in pay status, and any plan specific data needed to
replicate actuarial valuation results.
PBGC believes the data requested would be readily available and
there would be no need to assemble new information. PBGC would not ask
for any personally identifiable information (such as name, address,
social security number, etc.) in the participant census data.
This information collection would be voluntary on the part of
respondents and any information provided in response to this request
would not be used for any PBGC enforcement activities. Instead, such
information will be used only for research into policy alternatives and
would be subject to PBGC's standard confidentiality agreement. The
names of the plans submitting data in support of PBGC's research would
not appear in any report distributed outside of PBGC.
PBGC is requesting that OMB approve this 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 between 40 to 50 plans would respond to this
collection of information. PBGC further estimates that the average
burden of this collection of information would be four hours and $1,280
per plan, with an average total burden of 180 hours and $57,600.
[[Page 43943]]
Issued in Washington, DC, this 17th day of July 2013.
Judith Starr,
General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2013-17519 Filed 7-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P