[Federal Register: May 22, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 98)]

[Notices]               

[Page 24050]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr22my09-96]                         



=======================================================================

-----------------------------------------------------------------------



PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION



 

Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; 

Comment Request; Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Submitted to PBGC



AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.



ACTION: Notice of intent to request extension of OMB approval of 

information collection.



-----------------------------------------------------------------------



SUMMARY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (``PBGC'') intends to 

request that the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') extend 

approval, under the Paperwork Reduction Act, of the collection of 

information in PBGC's booklet, Qualified Domestic Relations Orders & 

PBGC (OMB control number 1212-0054; expires August 31, 2009). The 

booklet provides guidance on how to submit a qualified domestic 

relations order (a ``QDRO'') to PBGC. This notice informs the public of 

PBGC's intent and solicits public comment on the collection of 

information.



DATES: Comments must be submitted by July 21, 2009.



ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 

Follow the Web site instructions for submitting comments.

     E-mail: paperwork.comments@pbgc.gov.

     Fax: 202-326-4224.

     Mail or Hand Delivery: Legislative and Regulatory 

Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20005-4026.

    PBGC will make all comments available on its Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov.

    Copies of the collections of information may be obtained without 

charge by writing to the Disclosure Division of the Office of the 

General Counsel of PBGC at the above address or by visiting that office 

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 current QDRO booklet is 

available on PBGC's Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov.



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo Amato Burns, Attorney, Legislative 

and Regulatory Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, 202-326-4024. (For TTY/TDD 

users, call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and 

ask to be connected to 202-326-4024.)



SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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, 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 domestic relations order.

    When PBGC is trustee of a plan, it reviews submitted domestic 

relations orders to determine whether the order is qualified before 

paying benefits to an alternate payee. The requirements for submitting 

a domestic relations order and the contents of such orders are 

established by statute. The models and the guidance provided by PBGC 

assist parties by making it easier for them to comply with ERISA's QDRO 

requirements in plans trusteed by PBGC; they do not create any 

additional requirements and result in a reduction of the statutory 

burden.

    OMB has approved the collection of information in PBGC's booklet, 

Qualified Domestic Relations Orders & PBGC under control number 1212-

0054 through August 31, 2009. PBGC intends to request that OMB extend 

its approval for another 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 895 domestic relations orders 

each year from prospective alternate payees and participants. PBGC 

further estimates that the total average annual burden of this 

collection of information will be 2085 hours and $496,302.

    PBGC is soliciting public comments to--

     Evaluate whether the proposed collections of information 

are necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 

burden of the proposed collections of information, including the 

validity of the methodologies and assumptions used;

     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and

     Minimize the burden of the collections 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.



    Issued in Washington, DC, this 19th day of May 2009.

John H. Hanley,

Director, Legislative and Regulatory Department, Pension Benefit 

Guaranty Corporation.

[FR Doc. E9-12021 Filed 5-21-09; 8:45 am]



BILLING CODE 7709-01-P