[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 180 (Monday, September 18, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48178-48179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23195]



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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Request for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of a 
Revision of a Currently Approved Collection of Information

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of request for OMB approval of revision.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation has requested approval by the Office of Management 
and Budget for a revision of the collection of information in the 
PBGC's premium forms (currently approved under OMB control number 1212-
0009). The premium forms are being modified to require a certification 
by the plan administrator relating to the participant notice required 
under the PBGC's recently-published regulation on Disclosure to 
Participants.

DATES: The PBGC is requesting that OMB complete action on the PBGC's 
request for extension of approval by September 29, 1995. Comments must 
be received by that date.

ADDRESSES: All written comments should be addressed to Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
Attention: Desk Officer for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 
Washington, DC 20503, with a copy to the Office of the General Counsel, 
Suite 340, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street, N.W., 
Washington, DC 20005-4026. The request for extension will be available 
for public inspection at the PBGC Communications and Public Affairs 
Department, Suite 240, 1200 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20005-4026, 
between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on business days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Harold J. Ashner, Assistant General Counsel, or Deborah C. Murphy, 
Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, Suite 340, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20005-4026, 
202-326-4024 (202-326-4179 for TTY and TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 4011 of the Employee Retirement 
Income Security Act of 1974 requires plan administrators of certain 
underfunded single-employer pension plans to provide an annual notice 
to plan participants and beneficiaries of the plans' funding status and 
the limits on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's guarantee of 
plan benefits. The PBGC's regulation on Disclosure to Participants (60 
FR 34412 (June 30, 1995), to be codified as 29 CFR Part 2627) 
implements section 4011. Under section 4011 and Part 2627, a plan that 
must pay a variable-rate premium under ERISA section 4006 and Part 2610 
must furnish the participant notice unless the plan is otherwise exempt 
under Part 2627.
    The participant notice requirement only applies (subject to certain 
exemptions) to plans that must pay a variable rate premium. In order to 
monitor compliance with Part 2627, the PBGC has added a participant 
notice certification to Schedule A to PBGC Form 1. Schedule A is 
promulgated by the PBGC under ERISA sections 4006 and 4007 and the 
PBGC's regulation on Payment of Premiums (29 CFR Part 2610), and is 
used to report information to the PBGC about the variable rate premium. 
Office of Management and Budget approval (1212-0009) of Schedule A 
expires February 28, 1998.
    At the same time, the PBGC is removing from the 1996 Schedule A the 
special certification language in existing items 10(a), (b) and (c). 
The general certification in item 10, preceding item 10(a), is broad 
enough to include the three existing special certifications.
    The PBGC has redrafted item 10 on the 1996 Schedule A, including 
the new participant notice certification, to read as follows:
10. Certification of Plan Administrator
    All single-employer plan administrators must sign and complete this 
line. (See instructions, page 23.)
    I certify, under penalties of prejury (18 U.S.C. 1001), that I have 
examined the completed PBGC Form 1 (including Schedule A and 
attachments) and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the Form 1 
(including Schedule A and attachments) and this certificate are in 
conformance with the premium regulation and instructions, complete, and 
accurate, and any information I made available to the enrolled actuary 
is true, correct, and complete.
    I further certify, under penalties of perjury (18 U.S.C. 1001), 
that, for the plan year preceding the premium payment year, a 
Participant Notice as provided for in ERISA section 4011 (29 U.S.C. 
1311) and the PBGC's regulation on Disclosure to Participants (29 CFR 
Part 2627):
    (a) [  ] Was not required to be issued; or
    (b) [  ] Was issued as required.
    (c) [  ] Explanation attached.

    Note. Check box (a), (b), or (c). If you check box (c), attach 
an explanation and check the box in item 19 on Form 1. Check box (a) 
if no variable rate premium was required for the plan year preceding 
the premium payment year or the plan was otherwise exempt (see 
instructions).

    The draft instructions for the redrafted item 10 are as follows:
8. Certification of Plan Administrator
    The plan administrator of a single-employer plan must sign and date 
the certification in item 10 of Schedule A. We may return any filing 
that does not have your original signature in item 10. The 
certification has two parts: a general certification about the 
correctness of your premium filing, and a new certification regarding 
compliance with the participant notice requirements in ERISA section 
4011 (29 U.S.C. 1311) and the PBGC's regulation on Disclosure to 
Participants (29 CFR Part 2627).
    For each plan year in which a variable rate premium is payable for 
a plan, the plan administrator must issue a notice to participants 
about the plan's funding status and the limits on the PBGC's guarantee, 
unless the plan is exempt from the notice requirement under the 
Disclosure to Participants regulation. The participant notice is due no 
later than two months after the Form 5500 due date (or extended due 
date) for the prior plan year.
    The new certification relates to the participant notice requirement 
for the plan year preceding the premium payment year. You must check 
box (a), (b), or (c). If you check box (c) (e.g., because a required 
participant notice was not issued or was issued late), you must attach 
an explanation and check the box in item 19 of Form 1.

    Note: If your plan had no variable rate premium for the plan 
year preceding the

[[Page 48179]]

premium payment year, the participant notice requirement did not 
apply for that year and you can check box (a). Other exemptions are 
described in the Disclosure to Participants regulation. Note in 
particular that the regulation contains exemptions for certain new 
and newly-covered plans and, for the 1995 plan year, for certain 
small plans (generally under 100 participants).

    The PBGC is requesting OMB to approve this revision of Schedule A 
and related instructions without any change in the expiration date of 
OMB's current approval. Other changes to the premium forms for 1996 
(e.g., allowing plans to claim overpayment credits on Form 1-ES) will 
be minor and non-substantive.
    The participant notice certification will require simply that a box 
be checked to indicate whether, for the prior year, the plan was exempt 
from, or complied with, the participant notice requirement. The burden 
of redrafted item 10 as it will appear on the 1996 Schedule A, 
including the new certification, will therefore be no greater than the 
burden of existing item 10 as it appears on the 1995 Schedule A.
    The PBGC estimates that it receives a total of about 66,300 premium 
filings annually from a total of 56,000 single-employer and 2,000 
multiemployer plans (some of which make an estimated filing in addition 
to the final filing), an average of about 1.14 filings per plan. The 
PBGC also estimates that the total burden of the collection of 
information, including the new participant notice certification, is 
about 80,670 hours, or an average of about 1.22 hours per filing. (The 
estimated burden includes recordkeeping under 29 CFR Sec. 2610.11.)

    Issued at Washington, D.C., this 14th day of September 1995.
Martin Slate,
Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 95-23195 Filed 9-15-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-M