[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1414-1415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-695]



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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Disaster Relief

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of disaster relief in response to the Blizzard of '96.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is waiving penalties 
for certain late payments of premiums, is forgoing assessment of 
penalties for failure to comply with certain information submission 
requirements, and is extending the deadlines for complying with certain 
requirements of its administrative review, standard and distress 
termination, and disclosure to participants regulations. This relief is 
generally available to persons residing in, or whose principal place of 
business is within, an area designated by the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency as affected by the major disaster declared by the 
President of the United States on account of the Blizzard of '96.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harold J. Ashner, Assistant General 
Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, Suite 340, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005, 202-326-
4024 (202-326-4179 for TTY and TDD). (These are not toll-free numbers.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 
administers the pension plan termination insurance program under title 
IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended 
29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. Under ERISA and the PBGC's regulations, a number 
of deadlines must be met in order to avoid the imposition of penalties 
or other consequences. Six areas in which the PBGC is providing relief 
are (1) penalties for late payment of premiums due the PBGC, (2) ERISA 
section 4071 penalties for failure to provide required notices or other 
material information by the applicable time limit, (3) deadlines for 
filing a standard termination notice and distributing plan assets in a 
standard termination, (4) deadlines for filing a distress termination 
notice and, in the case of a plan that is sufficient for guaranteed 
benefits, issuing notices of benefit distribution and completing the 
distribution of plan assets, (5) deadlines for filing requests for 
reconsideration or appeals of certain agency determinations; and (6) 
deadlines for issuing Participant Notices under ERISA section 4011.
    On January 12, 13, and 14, 1996, the President of the United States 
issued a series of declarations, under the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, 
as amended (42 U.S.C. 5121, 5122(2), 5141(b)), that a major disaster 
exists because of the Blizzard of '96 in certain locations. At this 
time, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Delaware, New York, Kentucky, 
New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia 
are designated major disaster areas (within the meaning of Federal 
Emergency Management Agency regulations; 44 CFR 205.2(a)(5)).
    Given the severity of the Blizzard of '96, as the Executive 
Director of the PBGC, I have decided to provide relief from certain 
PBGC deadlines and penalties. For purposes of premium penalties, 
section 4071 penalties, standard and distress termination deadlines, 
and Participant Notice deadlines, this notice is applicable with 
respect to plans whose administrators' or sponsors' principal place of 
business, or for which the office of a service provider, bank, 
insurance company, or other person maintaining information necessary to 
meet the applicable deadlines, is located in a designated disaster 
area. For purposes of filing requests for reconsideration or appeals, 
this notice is applicable to any aggrieved person who is residing in, 
or whose principal place of business is within, a designated disaster 
area, or with respect to whom the office of the 

[[Page 1415]]
service provider, bank, insurance company, or other person maintaining 
the information necessary to file the request for reconsideration or 
appeal is within such an area.

Premiums

    The PBGC will waive the late payment penalty charge with respect to 
any premium payment required to be made on or after January 6, 1996, 
and before January 31, 1996, if the payment is made by January 31, 
1996. The PBGC is not permitted by law to waive late payment interest 
charges. (ERISA section 4007(b); 29 CFR 2610.7 and 2610.8(b)(3).)

Section 4071 Penalties

    The PBGC will not assess a section 4071 penalty for a failure to 
file any of the following notices required to be filed with the PBGC on 
or after January 6, 1996, and before January 31, 1996, if the notice is 
filed by January 31, 1996:

    (1) Post-distribution certification for single-employer plan 
(PBGC Form 501 or 602; ERISA section 4041(b)(3)(B) or (c)(3)(B); 29 
CFR 2617.28(h) or 2616.29(b)),
    (2) Notice of termination for multiemployer plans (ERISA section 
4041A; 29 CFR 2673.2),
    (3) Notice of plan amendments increasing benefits by more than 
$10 million (ERISA section 307(e)), and
    (4) Reportable event notice, except for reportable events 
related to bankruptcy or insolvency (or similar proceeding or 
settlement), liquidation or dissolution, or transactions involving a 
change in contributing sponsor or controlled group (29 CFR 2615.21, 
2615.22, and 2615.23), or reportable events described in amended 
ERISA section 4043(c)(9)-(12). (Subsection (b) of section 4043 was 
redesignated as subsection (c) and amended, in part, with the 
addition of new reportable events in paragraphs (9) through (12) by 
section 771(c)(3) of the Retirement Protection Act of 1994 (``RPA 
amendments'').)

    The PBGC will not assess a section 4071 penalty for a failure to 
provide certain supporting information and documentation when any of 
the following notices is timely filed:

    (1) Notice of failure to make required contributions totaling 
more than $1 million (including interest) (PBGC Form 200; ERISA 
section 302(f)(4); 29 CFR 2615.31). The timely filed notice must 
include at least items 1 through 7 and items 11 and 12 of Form 200; 
the responses to items 8 through 10, with the certifications in 
items 11 and 12, may be filed late.
    (2) Notice of a reportable event related to bankruptcy or 
insolvency (or similar proceeding or settlement), liquidation or 
dissolution, or a transaction involving a change in contributing 
sponsor or controlled group. The timely filed notice must include at 
least the information specified in 29 CFR 2615.3(b) (1) through (5); 
the information that may be filed late is that specified in 29 CFR 
2615.3(b) (6) through (9) and 2615.3(c) (5) and (6), as applicable.
    (3) Notice of a reportable event described in the RPA amendments 
for which notice is required no later than 30 days after the event 
occurs.
    (A) If the event is reportable under both the RPA amendments and 
29 CFR 2615, the notice will be considered timely filed if the 
notice satisfies the requirements described in paragraph (2) above.
    (B) If the event is reportable only under the RPA amendments, 
the notice will be considered timely filed if the notice includes at 
least the information specified in 29 CFR 2615.3(b) (1) through (5); 
the information that may be filed late is that specified in 29 CFR 
2615.3(b) (6) through (9).
    (4) Notice of a reportable event described in the RPA amendments 
for which notice is required at least 30 days before the event 
occurs. The notice will be considered timely filed if the filer 
makes a good faith effort to include with the notice at least the 
information specified in 29 CFR 2615.3(b) (1) through (5); the 
information specified in 29 CFR 2615.3(b) (6) through (9) and 
2615.3(c) (5) and (6), as applicable, may be filed late and should 
be filed as soon thereafter as it is available.

    This relief applies to notices required to be filed with the PBGC 
on or after January 6, 1996, and before January 31, 1996, provided that 
all supporting information and documentation are filed by January 31, 
1996.

Standard and Distress Termination Notices and Distribution of 
Assets

    With respect to a standard termination for which the standard 
termination notice is required to be filed, or the distribution of plan 
assets is required to be completed, on or after January 6, 1996 and 
before January 31, 1996, the PBGC is (pursuant to 29 CFR 2617.25(a)(2) 
and 2617.28(f)(4)) extending to January 31, 1996, the time within which 
the standard termination notice must be filed (and, thus, the time 
within which notices of plan benefits must be provided) and the time 
within which the distribution of plan assets must be completed. With 
respect to a distress termination for which the distress termination 
notice is required to be filed or, in the case of a plan that is 
sufficient for guaranteed benefits, other actions must be taken on or 
after January 6, 1996 and before January 31, 1996, the PBGC is 
(pursuant to 29 CFR 2616.10(a) and 2616.24(d)) extending to January 31, 
1996, the time within which the termination notice must be filed and, 
in the case of a plan that is sufficient for guaranteed benefits, 
notices of benefit distribution must be provided and plan assets must 
be distributed. In addition, as noted above, the PBGC is providing 
relief from penalties for late filing of the post-distribution 
certification.

Requests for Reconsideration or Appeals

    For persons who are aggrieved by certain agency determinations and 
for whom a request for reconsideration or an appeal is required to be 
filed on or after January 6, 1996, and before January 31, 1996, the 
PBGC is (pursuant to 29 CFR 2606.4(b)) extending the time for filing to 
January 31, 1996.

Participant Notices

    For Participant Notices that are required to be issued on or after 
January 6, 1996, and before January 31, 1996, the PBGC is (pursuant to 
29 CFR 2627.8) extending the due date to January 31, 1996.

Applying for Waivers/Extensions

    A submission to the PBGC to which a waiver or an extension is 
applicable under this notice should be marked in bold print ``BLIZZARD 
OF '96, State of (fill in appropriate state)'' at the top center.

    Issued in Washington, DC this 16th day of January, 1996.
Martin Slate,
Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 96-695 Filed 1-18-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P