Notice2023-14061
Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request; Missing Participants
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
July 3, 2023
Issuing agencies
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Abstract
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to request that the Office of Management and Budget extend approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of a collection of information under PBGC's regulation on Missing Participants. PBGC needs the information submitted by plans under this collection to search for missing participants and beneficiaries and pay their benefits. 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 88 Issue 126 (Monday, July 3, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 126 (Monday, July 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42758-42759]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14061]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review;
Comment Request; Missing Participants
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
ACTION: Notice of intent to request extension of OMB approval of an
information collection.
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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to
request that the Office of Management and Budget extend approval under
the Paperwork Reduction Act of a collection of information under PBGC's
regulation on Missing Participants. PBGC needs the information
submitted by plans under this collection to search for missing
participants and beneficiaries and pay their benefits. This notice
informs the public of PBGC's intent and solicits public comment on the
collection of information.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 1, 2023 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 instructions for submitting comments.
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2d5d4c5d485f5a425f46034e4240404843595e6d5d4f4a4e034a425b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1d6d7c6d786f6a726f76337e7270707873696e5d6d7f7a7e337a726b">[email protected]</span></a>. Refer to Missing
Participants and/or OMB Control No. 1212-0069 in the subject line.
<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. Commenters who submit comments on paper by mail should
allow sufficient time for mailed comments to be received before the
close of the comment period.
All submissions received must include the agency's name (Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or PBGC) and refer to Missing
Participants and/or OMB Control No. 1212-0069. All comments received
will be posted without change to PBGC's website, <a href="https://www.pbgc.gov">https://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 this information collection may be obtained by writing to
Disclosure Division (<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ed89849e8e81829e989f88ad9d8f8a8ec38a829b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="86e2eff5e5eae9f5f3f4e3c6f6e4e1e5a8e1e9f0">[email protected]</span></a>), Office of the General
Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 445 12th Street SW,
Washington, DC 20024-2101, or calling 202-229-4040 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: Stephanie Cibinic, Deputy Assistant
General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Office of the General Counsel,
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 445 12th Street SW, Washington,
DC 20024-2101; 202-229-6352; <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7d1e141f1413141e530e09180d151c1314183d0d1f1a1e531a120b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e0838982898e8983ce9394859088818e8985a090828783ce878f96">[email protected]</span></a>. 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: The process of closing out a terminated
pension plan or other retirement plan involves the disposition of plan
assets to satisfy the benefits of plan participants and beneficiaries.
One difficulty faced by plan administrators in closing out terminated
plans is how to provide for the benefits of missing persons. Section
4050 of ERISA and 29 CFR part 4050 establishes a program under which
the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) holds the retirement
benefits for missing participants and beneficiaries in terminated plans
and seeks to reunite those participants and beneficiaries with the
benefits being held for them. The program is applicable to certain
defined benefit (DB) pension plans covered by PBGC's single-employer or
multiemployer insurance programs, and to defined contribution (DC)
plans and small professional service DB plans not covered by PBGC's
insurance programs.
The Missing Participant Program (MPP) for each of the four types of
plans follows the same basic design. The most prominent difference
among them lies in the mandatory or voluntary nature of the program.
For plans covered by the title IV insurance programs, participation in
the MPP is mandatory. For plans not covered by the title IV insurance
programs, PBGC's regulation permits, but does not require, such plans
to participate in the MPP.
PBGC needs information from plans that participate in the MPP to
identify the plans and the missing participants and beneficiaries, to
search for missing participants and beneficiaries, to determine the
persons entitled to benefits that the plans transfer to PBGC and the
forms and amounts of benefits payable, and to refer claimants of
benefits being held elsewhere to the institutions holding the benefits.
PBGC intends to make the following modifications to the information
collection in this renewal:
<bullet> PBGC is proposing a requirement for plans that are filing
information about more than five missing individuals (participants or
beneficiaries) to provide that information in a spreadsheet file. PBGC
provides a user-friendly template that may be used for this purpose.
<bullet> PBGC is adding a question to the DB plan forms (MP-100,
300, and 400) asking if the plan has a default beneficiary provision,
and, if yes, requiring an attachment of it. (This question is already
on the DC plan form (MP-200)).
<bullet> PBGC is updating references on the DB plan forms and
instructions that relate to de minimis benefit amounts of $5,000 or
less to reflect the change under section 304 of the SECURE 2.0
[[Page 42759]]
Act increasing that amount to $7,000 as of January 1, 2024.\1\
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\1\ SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, Division T of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2023, Public Law 117-328 (Dec. 29, 2022).
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<bullet> PBGC is adding a box to the DC plan form for the person
certifying the form to check whether they are the plan's plan
administrator or the plan's qualified termination administrator.
Finally, PBGC intends to make other clarifying and editorial
changes to the forms and instructions.
PBGC estimates that it will receive over the next 3 years an annual
average of 345 filings from plans under this collection of information.
PBGC further estimates that the average annual burden of this
collection of information is 70 hours and $498,000. The actual hour
burden and cost burden per plan will vary depending on plan size and
other factors.
The existing collection of information was approved under OMB
control number 1212-0069 (expires January 31, 2024). PBGC intends to
request that OMB extend its approval of 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 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. 2023-14061 Filed 6-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P
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