[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 68 (Friday, April 7, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18383-18384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-8584]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Request for Extension of Approval of a Collection of Information 
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; Customer Service Focus Groups and 
Surveys

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of request for extension and expansion of OMB approval.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is requesting that 
the Office of Management and Budget extend and expand its approval of a 
collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The 
purpose of the information collection, which will be

[[Page 18384]]

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: Comments should be submitted on or before June 6, 2000.

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 20503-0009. The request for approval of the 
proposed collection of information will be available for public 
inspection at the PBGC Communications and Public Affairs Department, 
suite 240, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, between the 
hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas H. Gabriel, Attorney, Office of 
the General Counsel, Suite 340, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20005, 202-326-4024. (For TTY/TDD users, call the Federal relay service 
toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4024.)

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 is requesting that OMB extend its approval, for a three-
year period, of a generic collection of information consisting of 
customer satisfaction focus groups and surveys (OMB No. 1212-0053; 
expires July 31, 2002). The PBGC also is requesting that OMB 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 focus groups and surveys 
will provide important information on customer attitudes about the 
delivery and quality of agency services and will be used as part of an 
ongoing process to improve PBGC programs. The PBGC is including in this 
information collection two surveys previously approved by OMB (OMB 
Approval Nos. 1212-0056 and 1212-0058).
    Participation in the focus groups and surveys will be voluntary. 
The PBGC estimates that the average annual burden will total 2,500 
burden hours for 9,500 respondents (an average of about one-quarter 
hour per respondent). The PBGC will consult with OMB regarding each 
specific information collection during the approval period.
    On December 10, 1999, the PBGC published in the Federal Register a 
notice of intention to request extension of OMB approval of this 
collection. No comments were received in response to the notice.

    Issued at Washington, D.C., this 31st day of March, 2000.
Stuart A. Sirkin,
Director, Corporate Policy and Research Department, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 00-8584 Filed 4-6-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P