Notice2024-15030
Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Public Comment
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 9, 2024
Issuing agencies
Labor DepartmentEmployee Benefits Security Administration
Abstract
The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments on the proposed extension of the information collection requests (ICRs) contained in the documents described below. A copy of the ICRs may be obtained by contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. ICRs also are available at reginfo.gov (http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56416-56422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15030]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Public
Comment
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Department of
Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with
the Paperwork Reduction Act, provides the general public and Federal
agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in
the desired format. The Employee Benefits Security Administration
(EBSA) is soliciting comments on the proposed extension of the
information collection requests (ICRs) contained in the documents
described below. A copy of the ICRs may be obtained by contacting the
office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. ICRs also are
available at <a href="http://reginfo.gov">reginfo.gov</a> (<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the
Addresses section on or before September 9, 2024.
ADDRESSES: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Office of Research and Analysis, Attention: PRA
Officer, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-5718, Washington, DC 20210,
or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d4b1b6a7b5fabba4a694b0bbb8fab3bba2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5b3e39283a75342b291b3f3437753c342d">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Current Actions
This notice requests public comment on the Department's request for
extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of
ICRs contained in the rules and prohibited transaction exemptions
described below. This action is not related to any pending rulemakings
and the Department is not proposing any changes to the existing ICRs at
this time. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not
required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a
valid OMB control number. A summary of the ICRs and the burden
estimates follows:
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Bank Collective Investment Funds, Prohibited Transaction
Class Exemption 1991-38.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0082.
Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits,
Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 9,332.
Responses: 9,332.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,555.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
Description: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 91-38
provides an exemption from the restrictions of sections 406(a),
406(b)(2) and 407(a) of ERISA and the taxes imposed by section 4975(a)
and (b) of the Code by reason of section 4975(c)(1)(A), (B), (C), or
(D) of the Code for certain transactions between a bank collective
investment fund in which an employee benefit plan has invested assets
and persons who are parties in interest to the employee benefit plan,
as long as the interest of the plan together with the interests of any
other plans maintained by the same employer or employee organization in
the collective investment fund does not exceed 10% of the total assets
in the collective investment fund. In addition, the bank managing the
common investment fund must not itself be a party in interest to the
participating plan, the terms of the transaction must be at least as
favorable to the collective investment fund as those available in an
arm's length transaction with an unrelated party, and the bank must
maintain records of the transactions for six years and make the records
available for inspection to specified interested persons (including the
Department and the Internal Revenue Service).
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0082. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: PTE 1990-1; Insurance Company Pooled Separate Accounts.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0083.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits.
Respondents: 108.
Responses: 1,080.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 108.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
Description: Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 90-1 provides
an exemption from the restrictions of ERISA section 406 and Code
section 4975, in part, for certain transactions between insurance
company pooled separate accounts and parties in interest to plans that
invest assets in the pooled separate accounts. PTE 90-1 provides an
exemption for certain transactions between a party in interest with
respect to a plan and an insurance company pooled separate account in
which the plan has an interest or any acquisition or holding by the
pooled separate account of employer securities or employer real
property, provided that the party in interest is not the insurance
company (or an affiliate of the insurance company) which holds the plan
assets in its pooled separate account or any other separate account of
the insurance company and that the amount of the
[[Page 56417]]
plan's investment in the separate account does not exceed certain
specified percentages (or that the separate account is a specialized
account with a policy of investing, and invests, substantially all of
its assets in certain specified short-term obligations).
PTE 90-1 also provides specific, additional relief for the
following types of transactions with a party in interest: (1)
furnishing goods to an insurance company pooled separate account, (2)
leasing of real property of the pooled separate account, (3)
transactions involving persons who are parties in interest to a plan
solely because they are service providers or provide nondiscretionary
services to the plan; (4) the insurance company's provision of any
services provided to an insurance company pooled separate account (in
which the plan has an interest) by the insurance company or its
affiliate in connection with the management of the real property
investments of the pooled separate account, and (5) furnishing of
services, facilities, and goods incidental to the services and
facilities by a place of public accommodations owned by the separate
account.
In addition to other specified conditions, the insurance company
intending to rely on the general exemption or any of the specific
exemptions must maintain records of the transactions to which the
exemption applies for a period of six years from the date of the
transaction and make the records available on request to specified
interested persons (including plan fiduciaries, participant and
beneficiaries, contributing employers, the Department, and the Internal
Revenue Service).
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0083. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Foreign Currency Transactions, Prohibited Transaction Class
Exemption 1994-20.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0085.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits,
Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 242.
Responses: 1,210.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 202.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
Description: Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) PTE 94-20
provides an exemption for banks, broker-dealers, and their affiliates
that are parties in interest to a plan to engage in foreign currency
transactions with the plan, provided the transaction is directed by a
plan fiduciary that is independent of the bank, broker-dealer, and any
affiliate thereof and that certain other conditions are satisfied. To
protect the interests of participants and beneficiaries of the employee
benefit plan, the exemption requires, among other things, that a bank,
broker-dealer, and any affiliate wishing to rely on the exemption (1)
maintain written policies and procedures applicable to trading in
foreign currencies with an employee benefit plan; (2) provide a written
confirmation statement of each foreign currency transaction to the
independent plan fiduciary directing the transaction for the plan; and
(3) maintain records of the transactions for a period of six years from
the date of the transaction and make them available upon request to
specified interested persons, including plan fiduciaries, participants
and beneficiaries, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0085. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Definition of Plan Assets--Participant Contributions.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0100.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits.
Respondents: 251.
Responses: 251.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 8.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $1,685.
Description: The Department's regulation at 29 CFR 2510.3-102
states that monies that a participant pays to, or has withheld by, an
employer for contribution to an employee benefit plan become ``plan
assets'' for purposes of Title I of ERISA and the related prohibited
transaction provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) as of
the earliest date on which such monies can be reasonably segregated
from the employer's general assets.
The regulation also establishes specific maximum time limits for
contributions becoming plan assets that apply to employee pension
benefit plans (with a special rule for SIMPLE IRA plans) and employee
welfare benefit plans. The regulation sets a maximum time limit of 15
business days following the end of the month in which the participant
contribution amounts are received or withheld by the employer. The
regulation includes a procedure through which an employer receiving or
withholding participant contributions for an employee pension benefit
plan may obtain a 10-business-day extension of the 15-day maximum time
period for contributions received or withheld in a single month if
certain requirements, including information collection requirements,
are met.
The regulation requires, among other things, that the employer
provide written notice to plan participants within five business days
after the end of the extension period and the employer's transfer of
the contributions to the plan, for which the employer elected to take
the extension that month. The notice must explain why the employer
could not transfer the participant contributions within the maximum
time period, state that the participant contributions in question have
in fact been transmitted to the plan, and provide the date on which
this was done. The employer must also provide a copy of the participant
notice to the Secretary, along with a certification that the notice was
distributed to participants and that the other requirements under the
extension procedure were met, within five business days after the end
of the extension period.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0100. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Collective Investment Funds Conversion Transactions,
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1997-41.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0104.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits,
Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 50.
Responses: 105.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,760.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $585,299.
Description: Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 97-41 permits
an employee benefit plan to purchase shares of a registered open-end
investment company (mutual fund) in exchange for plan assets
transferred in-kind from a collective investment fund (CIF) maintained
by a bank or plan
[[Page 56418]]
adviser, even though the bank or plan adviser, or an affiliate thereof,
is the investment adviser for the mutual fund and also serves as a
fiduciary for the plan, provided that the purchase and transfer is in
connection with a complete withdrawal of the plan's investment in the
CIF and certain other conditions are met.
Among other conditions, the exemption requires the bank or plan
adviser to provide an independent fiduciary of the plan with advance
written notice of the proposed transfer and full written disclosure of
information concerning the mutual fund, including the current
prospectus; disclosure of the fees to be charged to, or paid by the
plan and funds to the bank or plan adviser, including the nature and
extent of any differential between the rates of the fees; the reasons
why the bank or plan adviser considers the in-kind transfers
appropriate for the plan; and a statement of whether there are any
limitations applicable to the bank or plan adviser with respect to
which plan assets may be invested in shares of the mutual fund and, if
so, the nature of such limitations; and the identity of securities that
will have to be valued for the transfer. The independent fiduciary must
give prior written approval of the transfer (and written approval of
any electronic transmission of subsequent confirmations from the bank
or plan adviser, if the independent fiduciary elects to receive such
statements in that form); and the bank or adviser must send written (or
electronic, if approved) confirmation of the transfer. Subsequent to a
transfer, the bank or plan adviser must provide the independent
fiduciary of the plan with updated prospectuses at least annually for
mutual funds in which the plan remains invested; the bank or plan
adviser must also provide, upon the independent fiduciary's request, a
report or statement of all fees paid by the mutual fund to the bank or
plan adviser, which may be in the form of the most recent financial
report.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0104. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for Cross-Trades of
Securities by Index and Model-Driven Funds (PTCE 2002-12).
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0115.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits.
Respondents: 60.
Responses: 840.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 855.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $1,290.
Description: Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2002-12 permits
private-sector pension plans and the Federal Thrift Savings Plan to buy
and sell securities between certain types of investment funds that
participate in passive or model-driven ``cross-trading'' programs
pursuant to objective criteria specified in the exemption. The
exemption extends only to crossing-trading conducted according to
index- or model-driven programs that meet the specific requirements of
the exemption, which generally seeks to create objective criteria
sufficient to confine or eliminate the manager's discretion to affect
the identity or amount of securities to be cross-traded and the timing
of cross-trades. The exemption also covers cross-trades among such
funds and certain large accounts that engage managers to carry out a
specific portfolio restructuring program in order to convert the large
account into a fund, or to otherwise act as a ``trading adviser'' for
such a restructuring program.
The information collection requirements that are conditions for
reliance on the class exemption include third-party disclosures and
recordkeeping. The exemption does not require any reporting or filing
with the Federal government, but the designated records must be made
available to specified parties, including the Department and the IRS,
upon request.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0115. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Acquisition and Sale of Trust Real Estate Investment Trust
Shares by Individual Account Plans Sponsored by Trust Real Estate
Investment Trusts.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0124.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits.
Respondents: 67.
Responses: 140,700.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 7,046.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $465,717.
Description: Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2004-07 permits an
individual account pension plan sponsored by a real estate investment
trust (REIT) within the meaning of Code section 856 that is organized
as a trust under applicable law (Trust REIT), or by its affiliates, to
purchase, hold and sell publicly traded shares of beneficial interest
in the Trust REIT at the direction of the participant or an independent
fiduciary. The relief also covers contributions in kind of REIT shares.
Such purchases, holdings, and sales would otherwise be prohibited under
ERISA section 406 and Code section 4975.
The class exemption requires, among other conditions, that the
Trust REIT (or its agent) provide the person who has authority to
direct acquisition or sale of REIT shares with the most recent
prospectus, quarterly report, and annual report concerning the Trust
REIT prior to or immediately after an initial investment in the Trust
REIT. The person with such authority may be, under the terms of the
plan, either an independent fiduciary or a participant exercising
investment rights pertaining to his or her individual account under the
plan. Updated versions of the reports must be provided to the directing
person as published. The exemption further requires the plan to
maintain records concerning investments in a Trust REIT for a period of
six years and make them available to interested persons including the
Department, Internal Revenue Service, fiduciary or authorized
representative of the plan, and participants and beneficiaries. The
exemption requires confidentiality procedures, which must be designed
to protect against the possibility that an employer may exert undue
influence on participants regarding share-related transactions, and the
participants and beneficiaries of the plan must be provided with a
statement describing the confidentiality procedures in place and the
fiduciary responsible for monitoring these procedures.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0124. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 Research
Exception Notice.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0136.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits,
Not-for-profit institutions. Respondents: 48.
[[Page 56419]]
Responses: 48.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 12.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $185.
Description: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
(GINA), Public Law 110-233, was enacted on May 21, 2008. Title I of
GINA amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(ERISA), the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act), the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 (the Code), and the Social Security Act (SSA) to prohibit
discrimination in health coverage based on genetic information.
Sections 101 through 103 of Title I of GINA prevent employment-based
group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and
individual markets from discriminating based on genetic information and
from collecting such information.
GINA and the interim final regulations (29 CFR 2590.702-1(c)(5))
provide an exception to the limitations on requesting or requiring
genetic testing that allows a group health plan or group health
insurance issuer to request, but not require, a participant or
beneficiary to undergo a genetic test if all of the following
conditions of the research exception are satisfied.
First, the request must be made pursuant to research that complies
with 45 CFR part 46 (or equivalent Federal regulations) and any
applicable State or local law or regulations for the protection of
human subjects in research. To comply with the informed consent
requirements of 45 CFR 46.116(a)(8), a participant must receive a
disclosure that participation in the research is voluntary, refusal to
participate cannot involve any penalty or loss of benefits to which the
participant is otherwise entitled, and the participant may discontinue
participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits to which
the participant is entitled (the Participant Disclosure).
Second, the plan or issuer must make the request in writing and
must clearly indicate to each participant or beneficiary (or in the
case of a minor child, to the legal guardian of such beneficiary) to
whom the request is made that compliance with the request is voluntary
and noncompliance will have no effect on eligibility for benefits,
premium, or contribution amounts.
Third, none of the genetic information collected or acquired as a
result of the research may be used for underwriting purposes. Finally,
the plan or issuer must complete a copy of the ``Notice of Research
Exception under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act'' and
provide it to the address specified in its instructions. The Notice and
instructions are available on the Department's website.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0136. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Opt-in State Balance Bill Process.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0168.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits,
Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 207.
Responses: 207.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 311.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $106.
Description: The No Surprises Act was enacted as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116-260). The final
rules allow plans to voluntarily opt in to state law that provides for
a method for determining the cost-sharing amount or total amount
payable under such a plan, where a state has chosen to expand access to
such plans, to satisfy their obligations under section 9816(a)-(d) of
the Code, section 716(a)-(d) of ERISA, and section 2799A-1(a)-(d) of
the PHS Act. A plan that has chosen to opt into a state law must
prominently display in its plan materials describing the coverage of
out-of-network services a statement that the plan has opted into a
specified state law, identify the state (or states), and include a
general description of the items and services provided by
nonparticipating facilities and providers that are covered by the
specified state law.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0168. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on April 30, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and a Party in
Interest.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0091.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits.
Respondents: 3.
Responses: 810.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 16.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $214.
Description: This information collection request relates to two
prohibited transaction class exemptions (PTEs) that the Department has
granted, both of which involve settlement agreements. These two
exemptions are described below.
PTE 94-71 exempts from certain restrictions of ERISA and certain
taxes imposed by the Code, a transaction or activity that is
authorized, prior to the execution of the transaction or activity, by a
settlement agreement, to which the Department is a party, resulting
from an investigation of an employee benefit plan conducted by the
Department. The following information collections are among the
conditions for the exemption: (1) A party engaging in a settlement
agreement arising out of a Department investigation must provide
written notice to the affected participants and beneficiaries of the
plan at least 30 days prior to entry into the settlement agreement. The
notice must contain an objective description of the transaction or
activity, the approximate date on which the transaction will occur, the
address of the regional or district office of the Department that
negotiated the settlement agreement, and a statement informing
participants and beneficiaries of their right to forward their comments
to such office. (2) A copy of the notice and a description of the
method by which it will be distributed must be approved in advance by
the regional or district office of the Department which negotiated the
settlement.
PTE 2003-39 exempts from certain restrictions of ERISA and certain
taxes imposed by the Code, transactions arising out of the settlement
of litigation that involve: the release by the plan or a plan fiduciary
of legal claims against parties in interest in exchange for payment
given by or on behalf of the party in interest to the plan; an
extension of credit by a plan to a party interest in connection with a
settlement; and the plan's acquisition, holding, and disposition of
employer securities received in settlement of litigation. The relief is
granted provided certain conditions are met, such as the requirement of
an independent fiduciary who has no relationship to, or interest in,
any parties in the litigation to authorize the settlement and the
settlement terms of the agreement and any extension of credit are
reasonable and no less favorable than comparable arm's length
agreement. The other conditions include the following information
collections: (1) The terms of the settlement must be specifically
described in a written agreement or consent decree. (2) The fiduciary
acting on behalf of the plan must acknowledge
[[Page 56420]]
in writing that the person is a fiduciary with respect to the
settlement of the litigation. (3) The plan fiduciary must maintain
records of the transaction for six years and must disclose the records
on request to the Department and other interested persons.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0091. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on May 31, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0118.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits.
Respondents: 3,325.
Responses: 246,918.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 22,202.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $42,175.
Description: This information collection arises from two related
actions: the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (the VFC Program)
and Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 2002-51 (the
Exemption). The Department adopted the Program and the Exemption in
order to encourage members of the public to voluntarily correct
transactions that violate (or are suspected of violating) the fiduciary
or prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Both the Program and the Exemption
incorporate information collection requirements in order to protect
participants and beneficiaries and enable the Department to oversee the
appropriate use of the Program and the Exemption. The information
collection provisions of the Program and the Exemption include third-
party disclosures, recordkeeping, and disclosures to the Federal
government.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0118. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on May 31, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Affordable Care Act Grandfathered Health Plan Disclosure,
Recordkeeping Requirement, and Change in Carrier Disclosure.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0140.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits,
Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 360,479.
Responses: 8,868,468.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 655.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $125,533.
Description: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public
Law 111-148, (the Affordable Care Act or the Act) was enacted on March
23, 2010. Section 1251 of the Act provides that certain plans and
health insurance coverage in existence as of March 23, 2010, known as
grandfathered health plans, are not required to comply with certain
statutory provisions in the Act. On November 18, 2015, the Departments
issued final regulations the contain the information collections (80 FR
72191).
To maintain its status as a grandfathered health plan, plans must
maintain records documenting the terms of the plan in effect on March
23, 2010, and any other documents that are necessary to verify,
explain, or clarify status as a grandfathered health plan. The plan
must make such records available for examination upon request by
participants, beneficiaries, individual policy subscribers, or a State
or Federal agency official.
In addition, grandfathered health plans must include a statement in
plan materials provided to participants or beneficiaries describing the
benefits provided under the plan or health insurance coverage, that the
plan or coverage believes it is a grandfathered health plan within the
meaning of section 1251 of the Affordable Care Act, that being a
grandfathered health plan means that the plan does not include certain
consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act, providing contact
information for participants to direct questions regarding which
protections apply and which protections do not apply to a grandfathered
health plan, and what might cause a plan to change from grandfathered
health plan status and to file complaints. However, grandfathered
health plans are not required to provide the disclosure statement every
time they send out a communication, such as an explanation of benefits,
to a participant or beneficiary. Instead, grandfathered health plans
will comply with this disclosure requirement if they include the model
disclosure language provided in the Departments' interim final
grandfather regulations (or a similar statement) whenever a summary of
the benefits under the plan is provided to participants and
beneficiaries.
Finally, grandfathered group health plans that change health
insurance issuers must provide the succeeding health insurance issuer
(and the succeeding health insurance issuer must require) documentation
of plan terms (including benefits, cost sharing, employer
contributions, and annual limits) under the prior health insurance
coverage sufficient to make a determination whether the standards of
paragraph (g)(1) of the final regulations are exceeded.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0140. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on May 31, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Affordable Care Act Advance Notice of Rescission.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0141.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits,
Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 100.
Responses: 1,744.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 19.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $230.
Description: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public
Law 111-148, (the Affordable Care Act or the Act) was enacted on March
23, 2010. Section 2712 of the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act), as
added by the Affordable Care Act, and the Department's final regulation
(26 CFR 54.9815-2712, 29 CFR 2590.715-2712, 45 CFR 147.2712) provides
rules regarding rescissions of health coverage for group health plans
and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health
insurance coverage (80 FR 72191). Under the statute and final
regulations, a group health plan, or a health insurance issuer offering
group or individual health insurance coverage, generally must not
rescind coverage except in the case of fraud or an intentional
misrepresentation of a material fact. This standard applies to all
rescissions, whether in the group, or individual insurance market, or
for self-insured coverage. These rules also apply regardless of any
contestability period of the plan or issuer.
The PHS Act section 2712 mandated a new advance notice requirement
when coverage is rescinded where still permissible. Specifically, the
second sentence in section 2712 provides that coverage may not be
cancelled unless prior notice is provided, and then only as permitted
under PHS Act sections 2702(c) and 2742(b). Under these final
[[Page 56421]]
regulations, even if prior notice is provided, rescission is only
permitted in cases of fraud, or an intentional misrepresentation of a
material fact as permitted under the cited provisions.
These final regulations provide that a group health plan, or health
insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage, must provide
at least 30 days advance notice to an individual before coverage may be
rescinded. The notice must be provided regardless of whether the
rescission is of group or individual coverage; or whether, in the case
of group coverage, the coverage is insured or self-insured, or the
rescission applies to an entire group or only to an individual within
the group.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0141. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on May 31, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Affordable Care Act Internal Claims and Appeals and External
Review Procedures for ERISA Plans.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0144.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits,
Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 2,007,298.
Responses: 390,574.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 19,047.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $602,026.
Description: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public
Law 111-148, (the Affordable Care Act or the Act) was enacted on March
23, 2010. As part of the Act, Congress added Public Health Service Act
(the PHS Act) section 2719, which provides rules relating to internal
claims and appeals and external review processes. The Department of
Labor, Internal Revenue Service, and the Health and Human Services
Department (the Departments) issued final regulations (80 FR 72191)
that set forth rules implementing PHS Act section 2719 for internal
claims and appeals and external review processes. With respect to
internal claims and appeals processes for group health coverage, PHS
Act section 2719 and paragraph (b)(2)(i) of the final regulations
provide that group health plans and health insurance issuers offering
group health insurance coverage must comply with the internal claims
and appeals processes set forth in 29 CFR 2560.503-1 (the DOL claims
procedure regulation) and update such processes in accordance with
standards established by the Secretary of Labor in paragraph (b)(2)(ii)
of the regulations.
The DOL claims procedure regulation requires plans to provide every
claimant who is denied a claim with a written or electronic notice that
contains the specific reasons for denial, a reference to the relevant
plan provisions on which the denial is based, a description of any
additional information necessary to perfect the claim, and a
description of steps to be taken if the participant or beneficiary
wishes to appeal the denial. The regulation also requires that any
adverse decision upon review be in writing (including electronic means)
and include specific reasons for the decision, as well as references to
relevant plan provisions. Paragraph (b)(2)(ii)(C) of the final
regulations adds a requirement that non-grandfathered ERISA-covered
group health plans provide to the claimant, free of charge, any new or
additional evidence considered relied upon, or generated by the plan or
issuer in connection with the claim.
In addition, the PHS Act section 2719 and the final regulations
provide that group health plans and issuers offering group health
insurance coverage must comply either with a State external review
process or a Federal review process. The regulations provide a basis
for determining when plans and issuers must comply with an applicable
State external review process and when they must comply with the
Federal external review process.
The No Surprises Act extends the balance billing protection related
to external reviews to grandfathered plans. The definitions of group
health plan and health insurance issuer that are cited in section 110
of the No Surprises Act include both grandfathered and non-
grandfathered plans and coverage. Accordingly, the practical effect of
section 110 of the No Surprises Act is that grandfathered health plans
must provide external review for adverse benefit determinations
involving benefits subject to these surprise billing protections.
The claims procedure regulation imposes information collection
requirements as part of the reasonable procedures that an employee
benefit plan must establish regarding the handling of a benefit claim.
These requirements include third-party notice and disclosure
requirements that the plan must satisfy by providing information to
participants and beneficiaries of the plan.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0144. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on May 31, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Summary of Benefits and Coverage and Uniform Glossary
Required Under the Affordable Care Act.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0147.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits,
Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 2,007,766.
Responses: 80,182,298.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 313,490.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance):
$7,605,988.
Description: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub.
L. 111-148, was signed into law on March 23, 2010, and the Health Care
and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, Pub. L. 111-152, was signed
into law on March 30, 2010 (collectively known as the ``Affordable Care
Act''). The Affordable Care Act amends the Public Health Service Act
(PHS Act) by adding section 2715 ``Development and Utilization of
Uniform Explanation of Coverage Documents and Standardized
Definitions.''
Each group health plan and health insurance issuer offering group
insurance coverage must provide a summary of benefits and coverage to
plans and participants at specified points in the enrollment process.
This disclosure must include, among other things, coverage examples
that illustrate common benefits scenarios and related cost sharing.
Additionally, plans and issuers must make the uniform glossary
available in electronic form, with paper upon request, and provide 60
days advance notice of any material modifications in the plan or
coverage.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0147. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on May 31, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemptions for Multiple
Employer Plans and Multiple Employer Apprenticeship Plans--PTE 1976-1,
PTE 1977-10, PTE 1978-6.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0058.
[[Page 56422]]
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits,
Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 3,259.
Responses: 3,409.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 815.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
Description: The three prohibited transaction class exemptions
(PTEs) included in this ICR, (1) PTE 76-1, (2) PTE 77-10, and (3) PTE
78-6, exempt certain types of transactions commonly entered into by
``multiemployer'' plans from certain of the prohibitions contained in
sections 406 and 407(a) of ERISA. The Department determined that, in
the absence of these exemptions, the affected plans would not be able
to operate efficiently or to enter into routine types of transactions
necessary for their operations. In order to ensure that the class
exemptions for these necessary transactions meet the statutory
standards, the Department imposed conditions contained in the
exemptions that are information collections. The information
collections consist of recordkeeping and third-party disclosures.
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0058. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on June 30, 2025.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Notice for Health Reimbursement Arrangements Integrated with
Individual Health Insurance Coverage.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0160.
Affected Public: Private sector, Business or other for profits,
Not-for-profit institutions, Individuals or Households.
Respondents: 177,480.
Responses: 2,140,197.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 53,131.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $24,831.
Description: On June 21, 2018, the Department published the
Definition of Employer under Section 3(5) of ERISA--Association Health
Plans final rule. On August 3, 2018, the Department of Labor, HHS and
the Treasury Department (the Departments) published the Short-Term,
Limited-Duration Insurance final rule. These final rules remove the
prohibition on integrating health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs)
with individual health insurance coverage, if certain conditions are
met. The final rules also set forth conditions under which certain HRAs
are as limited excepted benefits. In addition, the Treasury Department
and the IRS finalized rules regarding premium tax credit (PTC)
eligibility for individuals offered coverage under an HRA integrated
with individual health insurance coverage, and DOL finalized a safe
harbor to provide HRA plan sponsors with assurance that the individual
health insurance coverage that is integrated with an HRA would not
become part of an ERISA plan if the conditions of the safe harbor are
met. Finally, HHS finalized rules that provide a special enrollment
period in the individual market for individuals who gain access to an
HRA that is integrated with individual health insurance coverage or who
are provided a qualified small employer health reimbursement
arrangement (QSEHRA).
The following five information Collections are contained in the
final rules: (1) Verification of Enrollment in Individual Coverage; (2)
HRA Notice to Participants; (3) Notice to Participants that Individual
Policy is not Subject to Title I of ERISA; (4) Participant Notification
of Individual Coverage HRA of Cancelled or Discontinued Coverage; (5)
Notice for Excepted Benefit HRAs. These information collections notify
the HRA that participants are enrolled in individual health insurance
coverage, help individuals understand the impact of enrolling in an HRA
on their eligibility for the PTC, and help individuals understand that
coverage is not subject to the rules and consumer protections of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under
OMB Control No. 1210-0160. The current approval is scheduled to expire
on June 30, 2025.
II. Focus of Comments
The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
<bullet> Evaluate whether the collections of information are
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
collections of information, including the validity of the methodology
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., by
permitting electronic submissions of responses.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the ICR for OMB approval of the information
collection; they will also become a matter of public record.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 2nd day of July, 2024.
Lisa M. Gomez,
Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2024-15030 Filed 7-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 9, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.