[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 62 (Friday, March 29, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14164-14165]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7673]



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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Customer Satisfaction Surveys and Focus Groups

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of submission for OMB review; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has requested that 
the Office of Management and Budget approve a series of new collections 
of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The purpose of the 
information collections, which will be conducted through focus groups 
and surveys over a three-year period, is to help the PBGC assess the 
efficiency and effectiveness with which it serves its customers and to 
design actions to address identified problems.

DATES: All comments must be submitted to OMB by April 29, 1996.

ADDRESSES: All written comments should be addressed to: Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for 
the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 725 17th Street NW., Room 
10235, Washington, DC 20503. The request for approval will be available 
for public inspection at the PBGC Communications and Public Affairs 
Department, suite 240, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005, between 
the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marc L. Jordan, Attorney, Office of 
the General Counsel, Suite 340, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 
20005, 202-326-4026 (202-326-4179 for TTY and TDD). (These are not 
toll-free numbers.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35) establishes policies and procedures for controlling 
the paperwork burdens imposed by Federal agencies on the public. The 
Act vests the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with regulatory 
responsibility over these burdens, and OMB has promulgated rules on the 
clearance of collections of information by Federal agencies.
    Executive Order 12862, Setting Customer Service Standards, states 
that, in order to carry out the principles of the National Performance 
Review, the Federal Government must be customer-driven. It directs all 
executive departments and agencies that provide significant services 
directly to the public to provide those services in a manner that seeks 
to meet the customer service standards established in the Executive 
Order.
    The PBGC intends to establish a mechanism through which it will be 
able to explore issues of mutual concern (e.g., kind and quality of 
desired services) with its major outside client groups, i.e., 
participants and beneficiaries, plan sponsors and their affiliates, 
plan administrators, pension practitioners and others involved in the 
establishment, operation and termination of plans covered by the PBGC's 
insurance program.
    The areas of concern to the PBGC and its client groups will change 
over time, and it is important that the PBGC have the ability to 
evaluate customer concerns quickly. Accordingly, the PBGC is requesting 
that OMB grant ``generic'' approval, for a three-year period, of focus 
groups and surveys of the PBGC's outside client groups. Participation 
in the focus groups and surveys will be voluntary. The PBGC will 
consult with OMB regarding each specific information collection during 
the approval period.
    On December 29, 1995, the PBGC published in the Federal Register a 
notice of intention to request OMB approval of these collections. No 
comments were received in response to the notice.
    This voluntary collection of information will put a slight burden 
on a very small percentage of the public. The PBGC expects to conduct 
focus groups involving a total of approximately 225 persons each year, 
with a total annual burden of approximately 675 hours, including travel 
time. (Some portion of this time may be spent completing surveys at 
focus group meetings.) In addition, the PBGC expects to distribute 
written surveys to approximately 1,600 persons each year (in most cases 
as an adjunct to a focus group), with a total annual burden of 
approximately 200 hours.


[[Page 14165]]

    Issued at Washington, D.C., this 26th day of March 1996.
Martin Slate,
Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 96-7673 Filed 3-28-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P