[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 10, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47774-47775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23088]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Request for a Collection of Information Under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act; Qualified Domestic Relations Order Submitted to the PBGC

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of request for OMB approval.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has requested that 
the Office of Management and Budget approve a new collection of 
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The information 
collection relates to model forms contained in a PBGC booklet providing 
guidance on how to submit a proper qualified domestic relations order 
to the PBGC.

DATES: The PBGC has requested that OMB approve this request by 
September 10, 1996.

ADDRESSES: All written comments should be addressed to: Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, 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: James L. Beller, Attorney, Office of 
the General Counsel, Suite 340, 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 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 OMB with regulatory responsibility over these burdens, 
and OMB has promulgated rules on the clearance of collections of 
information by Federal agencies.
    The PBGC is a federal agency that insures the benefits of nearly 42 
million working men and women in about 55,000 private-sector defined 
benefit pension plans. A defined benefit pension plan that does not 
have enough money to pay benefits may be terminated if the employer 
responsible for the plan faces severe financial difficulty, such as 
bankruptcy, and is unable to maintain the plan. In such an event, the 
PBGC becomes trustee of the plan and pays benefits, subject to legal 
limits, to plan participants and beneficiaries.
    The benefits of a pension plan participant generally may not be 
assigned or alienated. Title I of ERISA provides an exception for 
domestic relations orders that relate to child support, alimony 
payments, or marital property rights of an alternate payee (a spouse, 
former spouse, child, or other dependent of a plan participant). The 
exception applies only if the domestic relations order meets specific 
legal requirements that make it a qualified

[[Page 47775]]

domestic relations order (``QDRO''). The PBGC reviews submitted 
domestic relations orders to determine whether the order is qualified 
before paying benefits to an alternate payee.
    The PBGC receives many inquiries on the requirements for QDROs. 
Many domestic relations orders, both in draft and final form, do not 
meet the applicable requirements. The PBGC works with practitioners on 
a case-by-case basis to ensure that their orders are amended to meet 
applicable requirements. This process is time-consuming for 
practitioners and for the PBGC.
    To simplify the process, the PBGC has included model QDROs and 
accompanying guidance in a booklet, ``Divorce Orders & PBGC,'' that 
attorneys and other professionals who are preparing QDROs for plans 
trusteed by the PBGC may submit to the PBGC after receiving court 
approval. These models and the guidance are intended to assist parties 
by making it easier to comply with ERISA's QDRO requirements in plans 
trusteed by the PBGC.
    The requirements for submitting a QDRO are established by statute. 
The model QDROs and accompanying guidance do not create any additional 
requirements and will result in a reduction of the statutory burden. 
The PBGC estimates that it will receive 333 QDROs each year from 
prospective alternate payees; that the average burden of preparing a 
QDRO with the assistance of the guidance and model QDROs in PBGC's 
booklet will be \1/4\ hour of the alternate payee's time and $400 in 
professional fees if the alternate payee hires an attorney or other 
professional to prepare the QDRO, or 10 hours of the alternate payee's 
time if the alternate payee prepares the QDRO without hiring an 
attorney or other professional; and that the total annual burden will 
be 156 hours and $132,000.
    The PBGC solicits comments to: (i) 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; (ii) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's 
estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, 
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (iii) 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and (iv) 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.
    The PBGC has requested that OMB approve this collection on an 
emergency basis by September 10, 1996 so that model QDROs can be made 
available to practitioners immediately. Early availability will greatly 
assist practitioners in preparing proper QDROs for the PBGC, thereby 
saving parties both time and expense.

    Issued at Washington, DC, this 5th day of September 1996.
Martin Slate,
Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 96-23088 Filed 9-9-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P