Proposed Rule2022-24588
Actuarial Assumptions for Determining an Employer's Withdrawal Liability
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
November 10, 2022
Effective
October 14, 2022
Issuing agencies
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Abstract
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is extending the comment period for a proposed rule that would provide interest rate assumptions that may be used by a plan actuary in determining a withdrawing employer's liability under a multiemployer plan. PBGC published the proposed rule in the Federal Register on October 14, 2022, with a comment period that was scheduled to end on November 14, 2022. Since the proposed rule was published, PBGC has received a request from a group of interested parties for PBGC to extend the comment period to provide a total of at least 60 days from October 14, 2022, for them to submit comments on the proposal. In response to this request, PBGC is extending the comment period through December 13, 2022.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 217 (Thursday, November 10, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 217 (Thursday, November 10, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 67853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24588]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
29 CFR Part 4213
RIN 1212-AB54
Actuarial Assumptions for Determining an Employer's Withdrawal
Liability
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is extending
the comment period for a proposed rule that would provide interest rate
assumptions that may be used by a plan actuary in determining a
withdrawing employer's liability under a multiemployer plan. PBGC
published the proposed rule in the Federal Register on October 14,
2022, with a comment period that was scheduled to end on November 14,
2022. Since the proposed rule was published, PBGC has received a
request from a group of interested parties for PBGC to extend the
comment period to provide a total of at least 60 days from October 14,
2022, for them to submit comments on the proposal. In response to this
request, PBGC is extending the comment period through December 13,
2022.
DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published October 14,
2022, at 87 FR 62316, is extended. Comments must be received on or
before December 13, 2022, to be assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fb899e9cd5989496969e958f88bb8b999c98d59c948d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="225047450c414d4f4f474c565162524045410c454d54">[email protected]</span></a> with subject line ``4213
proposed rule.''
<bullet> Mail or Hand Delivery: Regulatory Affairs Division, Office
of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 445 12th
Street SW, Washington, DC 20024-2101.
Commenters are strongly encouraged to submit comments
electronically. PBGC expects to have limited personnel available to
process comments submitted on paper by mail or hand delivery. 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 the 4213 proposed
rule. All comments received will be posted without change to PBGC's
website, <a href="http://www.pbgc.gov">www.pbgc.gov</a>, including any personal information provided. Do
not submit comments that include any personally identifiable
information or confidential business information.
Copies of comments may also be obtained by writing to Disclosure
Division, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024-2101, or calling
202-326-4040 during normal business hours. If you are deaf or hard of
hearing or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access
telecommunications relay services.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Ginsberg
(<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2a4d434459484f584d04404542446a5a484d49044d455c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b7d0ded9c4d5d2c5d099ddd8dfd9f7c7d5d0d499d0d8c1">[email protected]</span></a>), Assistant General Counsel, Multiemployer Law
Division, Office of the General Counsel, at 202-229-3714, or Gregory
Katz (<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b0dbd1c4ca9ed7c2d5d7dfc2c9f0c0d2d7d39ed7dfc6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e48f85909eca839681838b969da494868387ca838b92">[email protected]</span></a>), Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division,
Office of the General Counsel, at 202-227-8918. If you are deaf or hard
of hearing or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access
telecommunications relay services.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's (PBGC) legal authority
to prescribe actuarial assumptions and methods for purposes of
determining an employer's withdrawal liability comes from section 4213
of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and
from section 4002(b)(3) of ERISA, which authorizes PBGC to issue
regulations to carry out the purposes of title IV of ERISA.
Section 4213(a)(2) of ERISA authorizes PBGC to set forth in its
regulations actuarial assumptions and methods that may be used by a
plan actuary for the purpose of determining an employer's withdrawal
liability as an alternative to the assumptions and methods used under
section 4213(a)(1).
On October 14, 2022, PBGC published a proposed rulemaking in the
Federal Register entitled Actuarial Assumptions for Determining an
Employer's Withdrawal Liability (the Proposed Rule).\1\ The rule was
proposed to make clear that use of settlement rates prescribed by PBGC
under section 4044 of ERISA, either as a standalone assumption or
combined with funding interest assumptions, represents a valid approach
to selecting an interest rate assumption to determine withdrawal
liability in all circumstances.
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\1\ 87 FR 62316
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The Proposed Rule contains a 30-day comment period, which was
scheduled to expire on November 14, 2022. Since the publication of the
Proposed Rule, PBGC received a comment from a group of interested
parties that expressed concern that the 30-day comment period does not
provide commenters with sufficient time to develop and submit comments.
The comment requests that PBGC extend the comment period to at least 60
days from the date of publication in the Federal Register. After
considering the extension request, PBGC has decided that it is
appropriate to extend the comment period for this Proposed Rule to a
total of 60 total days from the date of publication to provide
interested parties with additional time to participate in this
rulemaking process. The comment period, therefore, will close on
December 13, 2022.
Signed in Washington, DC.
Gordon Hartogensis,
Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2022-24588 Filed 11-9-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P
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