Notice2021-21762
Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request; Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Submitted to PBGC
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
October 6, 2021
Issuing agencies
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Abstract
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to request that the Office of Management and Budget extend its approval (with modifications), under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, of the information collection related to PBGC's booklet, Qualified Domestic Relations Orders & PBGC. This notice informs the public of PBGC's intent and solicits public comment on the collection of information.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 191 (Wednesday, October 6, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 6, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55638-55639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21762]
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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, with
modifications.
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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to
request that the Office of Management and Budget extend its approval
(with modifications), under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, of the
information collection related to PBGC's booklet, Qualified Domestic
Relations Orders & 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 December 6, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#047465746176736b766f2a676b6969616a707744746663672a636b72"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5e2e3f2e3b2c29312c35703d3133333b302a2d1e2e3c393d70393128">[email protected]</span></a>. Refer to OMB control
number 1212-0054 in the subject line.
<bullet> Mail or Hand Delivery: Regulatory Affairs Division, Office
of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K
Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-4026.
Commenters are strongly encouraged to submit public comments
electronically. PBGC expects to have limited personnel available to
process public comments that are submitted on paper through mail. Until
further notice, any comments submitted on paper will be considered to
the extent practicable.
All submissions received must include the agency's name (Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or PBGC) and refer to OMB control number
1212-0054. All comments received will be posted without change to
PBGC's website, <a href="http://www.pbgc.gov">http://www.pbgc.gov</a>, including any personal information
provided. Commenters should not include any information for which
disclosure is restricted by statute, such as trade secrets and
commercial or financial information (``confidential business
information''). Submission of confidential business information without
a request for protected treatment constitutes a waiver of any claims of
confidentiality.
Copies of the collection of information may be obtained by writing
to Disclosure Division, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-4026, or
calling 202-229-4040 during normal business hours. TTY users may call
the Federal relay service toll-free at 800-877-8339 and ask to be
connected to 202-229-4040.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Levin (<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8be7eefde2e5a5e0eaf9eee5cbfbe9ece8a5ece4fd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b4d8d1c2ddda9adfd5c6d1daf4c4d6d3d79ad3dbc2">[email protected]</span></a>),
Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of the General Counsel,
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC
20005-4026, 202-229-3559. (TTY and TDD users may call the Federal relay
service toll-free at 800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-229-
3559.)
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
(QDRO).
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.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the
collection of information in PBGC's booklet, Qualified Domestic
Relations Orders & PBGC, under control number 1212-0054 through
February 28, 2022. PBGC intends to request that OMB extend approval of
the collection of information with modifications 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 is proposing modifications to the booklet including: Removing
language concerning age 70\1/2\ for required minimum distributions
because the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act
of 2019 (SECURE Act) changed the age for required minimum distributions
in section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code, clarifying that PBGC
will delay commencement of benefits to a participant upon receipt of
written notice of a pending domestic relations order (DRO), and
increasing the amount of time parties have to contact PBGC to extend a
hold after submission of a DRO or a non-DRO written notice of a
[[Page 55639]]
pending DRO. PBGC is also making other editorial changes to the QDRO
booklet.
PBGC estimates that it will receive approximately 428 DROs each
year. PBGC further estimates that the total average annual burden of
this collection of information will be approximately 321 hours and
$299,600.
PBGC is soliciting public comments to--
<bullet> 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;
<bullet> evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodologies and assumptions used;
<bullet> enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
<bullet> 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.
Issued in Washington, DC.
Stephanie Cibinic,
Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2021-21762 Filed 10-5-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P
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