[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 237 (Friday, December 10, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 69298]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32096]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; 
Comment Request; Customer Satisfaction Surveys and Focus Groups

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of intention to request OMB approval.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation intends to request 
that the Office of Management and Budget extend and expand its approval 
of an information collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The 
purpose of the information collection, 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. The 
PBGC invites public comment on this information collection.

DATES: Comments should be submitted by February 8, 2000.

ADDRESSES: All written comments should be addressed to: Office of the 
General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Suite 340, 1200 
K St. NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026. The comments will be available 
for public inspection between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the PBGC's 
Communications and Public Affairs Department, Suite 240, at the above 
address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas H. Gabriel, Attorney, Office of 
the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, (202) 326-4020, extension 3898. 
(For TTY and TDD users, call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-
800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4040.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 
person is not required to respond to, a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The PBGC 
intends to request that the Office of Management and Budget extend its 
approval, for a three-year period, of a generic collection of 
information consisting of customer satisfaction focus groups and 
surveys (OMB control number 1212-0053; expires April 30, 1999). The 
PBGC also intends to request that the Office of Management and Budget 
expand its approval to encompass a broader range of surveys than those 
approved under 1212-0053, which provided for surveys only as an adjunct 
to focus groups. The expanded information collection will further the 
goals of Executive Order 12862, Setting Customer Service Standards, 
which states the Federal Government must seek to provide ``the highest 
quality of service delivered to customers by private organizations 
providing a comparable or analogous service.''
    The PBGC uses customer satisfaction focus groups and surveys to 
find out about the needs and expectations of its customers and assess 
how well it is meeting those needs and expectations. By keeping these 
avenues of communication open, the PBGC can continually improve service 
to its customers, including plan 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. Because 
the areas of concern to the PBGC and its customers vary and may quickly 
change, it is important that the PBGC have the ability to evaluate 
customer concerns quickly by developing new vehicles for gathering 
information under this generic approval. The PBGC intends to include in 
this information collection two surveys already approved by the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB Approval Nos. 1212-0056 and 1212-0058).
    Participation in the focus groups and surveys will be voluntary. 
The PBGC will consult with the Office of Management and Budget 
regarding each specific information collection during the approval 
period.
    The PBGC estimates that the annual burden for this collection of 
information will total 2,000 hours for 8,000 respondents.
    The PBGC is specifically seeking public comments to:
    (1) 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;
    (2) evaluate the accuracy of the estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    (3) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and (4) 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.

    Issued at Washington, DC, this 6th day of December, 1999.
Stuart A. Sirkin,
Director, Corporate Policy and Research Department, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 99-32096 Filed 12-9-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P