[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 186 (Monday, September 25, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57629-57631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24527]


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

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of new routine uses of records and technical and 
clarifying changes for PBGC-6, Plan Participant and Beneficiary Data--
PBGC

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

SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is proposing two new 
routine uses of records for a system of records maintained pursuant to 
the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, entitled PBGC-6, Plan Participant 
and Beneficiary Data--PBGC. The first new routine use permits 
disclosure of certain benefit information to a participant's spouse, 
former spouse, child, or other dependent of the participant solely to 
obtain a qualified domestic relations order pursuant to 29 U.S.C. 
1056(d) and 26 U.S.C. 414(p). The second new routine use permits 
disclosure of information from a participant's initial determination 
under 29 CFR 4003.1(b) to the participant's spouse, former spouse, 
child, or other dependent who is an alternate payee under a qualified 
domestic relations order issued pursuant to 29 U.S.C. 1056(d) and 26 
U.S.C. 414(p) to explain how the PBGC determined the benefit due the 
alternate payee so that the alternate payee can pursue an 
administrative appeal under 29 CFR 4003.51. The PBGC is also making 
technical and clarifying changes to PBGC-6.

DATES: Comments on the new routine uses must be received by October 25, 
2000. The new routine uses will become effective November 9, 2000, 
without further notice, unless comments result in a contrary 
determination and a notice is published to that effect.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to the Office of the General Counsel, 
Suite 340, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20005-4026, or delivered to that address between 9 a.m. 
and 4 p.m. on business days. Comments also may be sent by Internet e-
mail to [email protected]. Comments will be available for public 
inspection at the PBGC's Communications and Public Affairs Department, 
Suite 240 at the same address, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on business 
days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: D. Bruce Campbell, Attorney, Office of 
the General Counsel, Suite 340, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 
1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026; 202-326-4020 (extension 
3672). (For TTY/TDD users, call the federal relay service toll-free at 
1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4020 (extension 
3672).)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Generally, a participant's benefit from a 
pension plan may not be assigned or alienated. An exception permits 
certain payments made pursuant to a state domestic relations order that 
creates or recognizes the right of a spouse, former spouse, child, or 
other dependent of a participant to receive all or a portion of the 
benefit payable with respect to the participant to satisfy child 
support, alimony, or other marital property obligations. This exception 
only applies if the domestic relations order is qualified, i.e., the 
plan or the PBGC determines that the order meets certain legal 
requirements. To be qualified, the domestic relations order must, among 
other things, specify the name of the plan to which it applies, the 
amount or percentage of the participant's benefit to be paid to the 
alternate payee, the form of the payment to the alternate payee, and 
the date the payment to the alternate payee begins and ends. See 29 
U.S.C. 1056(d) and 26 U.S.C. 414(p). The PBGC is establishing two new 
routine uses that permit disclosure of information about a participant 
to an individual who is or may become entitled to benefits from the 
PBGC as an alternate payee.
    New routine use 12 permits the PBGC to disclose the information 
needed to obtain a qualified domestic relation order under 29 U.S.C. 
1056(d) and 26 U.S.C. 414(p) to a spouse, former spouse, child, or 
other dependent of a participant. The PBGC will disclose the 
information only upon the receipt of a notarized, written request by a 
prospective alternate payee that describes the requester's relationship 
to the participant and states that the information will be used solely 
to obtain a qualified domestic relations order under state domestic 
relations law.
    New routine use 13 permits the PBGC to disclose information from a 
participant's initial determination under 29 CFR 4003.1(b) to the 
participant's spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent who is 
an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order issued 
pursuant to 29 U.S.C. 1056(d) and 26 U.S.C. 414(p). The information 
explains how the PBGC determined the benefit due the alternate payee so 
that the alternate payee can pursue an administrative appeal of the 
benefit determination under 29 CFR 4003.51. The PBGC will not disclose 
the participant's address, telephone number, social security number, 
and any sensitive medical information under the new routine use.
    The PBGC will notify the participant of the information that is 
disclosed under the new routine uses.
    The PBGC is making certain other technical and clarifying changes 
to PBGC-6 by updating the citations to its regulations and revising the 
descriptions of the categories of records in the system and of how 
records are stored and safeguarded to make them more specific. The PBGC 
is also revising the description of the purposes for which information 
is used and how information is retrieved to reflect that the PBGC uses 
names, addresses and telephone numbers to survey customer satisfaction 
with the PBGC's benefit payment services and to track (for follow up) 
those who did not respond to surveys. The PBGC mails surveys to a 
sample of individuals whose records are maintained in PBGC-6 seeking 
information about the quality of services provided by the PBGC. Survey 
responses are aggregated for statistical purposes after they are 
received by the PBGC and are not retrievable by a participant or 
beneficiary's name or other assigned identifier.
    For the convenience of the public, PBGC-6, as amended, is published 
in full below with new routine uses 12 and 13 and the technical and 
clarifying changes italicized.


[[Page 57630]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, this 19th day of September, 2000.
David M. Strauss,
Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
PBGC-6

System name:
    Plan Participant and Beneficiary Data--PBGC.

Security classification:
    Not applicable.

System location:
    Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20005-4026 and/or field benefit administrator, plan 
administrator, and paying agent worksites.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Participants and beneficiaries in terminating and terminated 
pension plans covered by Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974, as amended (``ERISA'').

Categories of records in the system:
    Names, addresses, telephone numbers, sex, social security numbers 
and other Social Security Administration information, dates of birth, 
dates of hire, salary, marital status, domestic relations orders, time 
of plan participation, eligibility status, pay status, benefit data, 
health-related information, insurance information where plan benefits 
are provided by private insurers, initial and final PBGC determinations 
(29 CFR 4003.21 and 4003.59). The records listed herein are included 
only as pertinent or applicable to the individual plan participant or 
beneficiary.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    29 U.S.C. 1055, 1056(d)(3), 1302, 1321, 1322, 1322a, 1341, 1342 and 
1350.

Purpose(s):
    This system of records is maintained for use in determining whether 
participants and beneficiaries are eligible for benefits under plans 
covered by Title IV of ERISA, the amounts of benefits to be paid, 
making benefit payments, and collecting benefit overpayments. Names, 
addresses, and telephone numbers are used to survey customers to 
measure their satisfaction with the PBGC 's benefit payment services 
and to track (for follow up) those who do not respond to surveys.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    1. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to third 
parties, such as banks, insurance companies, or trustees, to make 
benefit payments to plan participants and beneficiaries.
    2. A record from this system of records may be disclosed, in 
furtherance of proceedings under Title IV of ERISA, to a contributing 
sponsor (or other employer who maintained the plan), including any 
predecessor or successor, and any member of the same controlled group.
    3. A record from this system of records may be disclosed, upon 
request for a purpose authorized under Title IV of ERISA, to an 
official of a labor organization recognized as the collective 
bargaining representative of the individual about whom a request is 
made.
    4. Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of participants and 
beneficiaries and information pertaining to debts owed by such 
participants and beneficiaries to the PBGC may be disclosed to a debt 
collection agency or firm to collect a claim. Disclosure shall be made 
only under a contract that binds any such contractor or employee of 
such contractor to the criminal penalties of the Privacy Act. The 
information so disclosed shall be used exclusively pursuant to the 
terms and conditions of such contract and shall be used solely for the 
purposes prescribed therein. The contract shall provide that the 
information so disclosed shall be returned at the conclusion of the 
debt collection effort.
    5. The name and social security number of a participant employed or 
formerly employed as a pilot by a commercial airline may be disclosed 
to the Federal Aviation Administration (``FAA'') to obtain information 
relevant to the participant's eligibility or continued eligibility for 
disability benefits.
    6. Names and social security numbers of plan participants and 
beneficiaries may be disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service 
(``IRS'') to obtain current addresses from tax return information and 
to the Social Security Administration (``SSA'') to obtain current 
addresses. Such information will be disclosed only if the PBGC has no 
address for an individual or if mail sent to the individual at the last 
known address is returned as undeliverable.
    7. Names and last known addresses may be disclosed to an official 
of a labor organization recognized as the collective bargaining 
representative of participants for posting in union halls or for other 
means of publication to obtain current addresses of participants and 
beneficiaries. Such information will be disclosed only if the PBGC has 
no address for an individual or if mail sent to the individual at the 
last known address is returned as undeliverable.
    8. Names, social security numbers, last known addresses, and dates 
of birth and death may be disclosed to private firms and agencies that 
provide locator services, including credit reporting agencies and debt 
collection firms or agencies, to locate participants and beneficiaries. 
Such information will be disclosed only if the PBGC has no address for 
an individual or if mail sent to the individual at the last known 
address is returned as undeliverable. Disclosure shall be made only 
under a contract that binds the firm or agency providing the service 
and its employees to the criminal penalties of the Privacy Act. The 
information so disclosed shall be used exclusively pursuant to the 
terms and conditions of such contract and shall be used solely for the 
purposes prescribed therein. The contract shall provide that the 
information so disclosed shall be returned at the conclusion of the 
locating effort.
    9. Names and last known addresses may be disclosed to licensees of 
the United States Postal Service (``USPS'') to obtain current addresses 
under the USPS's National Change of Address Program. Such information 
will be disclosed only if the PBGC has no address for an individual or 
if mail sent to the individual at the last known address is returned as 
undeliverable. Disclosure shall be made only under a contract that 
binds the licensee of the Postal Service and its employees to the 
criminal penalties of the Privacy Act. The information so disclosed 
shall be used exclusively pursuant to the terms and conditions of such 
contract and shall be used solely for the purposes prescribed therein. 
The contract shall provide that the information so disclosed shall be 
returned at the conclusion of the locating effort.
    10. Names and last known addresses may be disclosed to other 
participants in, and beneficiaries under, a pension plan to obtain the 
current addresses of individuals. Such information will be disclosed 
only if the PBGC has no address for an individual or if mail sent to 
the individual at the last known address is returned as undeliverable.
    11. Names and last known addresses of participants and 
beneficiaries, and the names and addresses of participants' former 
employers, may be disclosed to the public to obtain current addresses 
of

[[Page 57631]]

the individuals. Such information will be disclosed to the public only 
if the PBGC is unable to make benefit payments to the participants and 
beneficiaries because the address it has does not appear to be current 
or correct.
    12. The name of a participant's pension plan, the actual or 
estimated amount of a participant's benefit under Title IV of ERISA, 
the form(s) in which the benefit is payable, and whether the 
participant is currently receiving benefit payments under the plan or 
(if not) the earliest date(s) such payments could commence may be 
disclosed to the participant's spouse, former spouse, child, or other 
dependent solely to obtain a qualified domestic relations order under 
29 U.S.C. 1056(d) and 26 U.S.C. 414(p). The PBGC will disclose the 
information only upon the receipt of a notarized, written request by a 
prospective alternate payee that describes the requester's relationship 
to the participant and states that the information will be used solely 
to obtain a qualified domestic relations order under state domestic 
relations law. The PBGC will notify the participant of any information 
disclosed to a prospective alternate payee under this routine use. Any 
person who knowingly and willfully requests or obtains any record 
concerning an individual under false pretenses is subject to a criminal 
penalty under 5 U.S.C. 552a(i)(3).
    13. Information from a participant's initial determination under 29 
CFR 4003.1(b) (excluding the participant's address, telephone number, 
social security number, and any sensitive medical information) may be 
disclosed to a participant's spouse, former spouse, child, or other 
dependent who is an alternate payee under a qualified domestic 
relations order issued pursuant to 29 U.S.C. 1056(d) and 26 U.S.C. 
414(p) to explain how the PBGC determined the benefit due the alternate 
payee so that the alternate payee can pursue an administrative appeal 
of the benefit determination under 29 CFR 4003.51. The PBGC will notify 
the participant of the information disclosed to an alternate payee 
under this routine use. 
    General Routine Uses G1 and G4 through G7 (see Prefatory Statement 
of General Routine Uses) apply to this system of records.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
    Information may be disclosed to a consumer reporting agency in 
accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3711(f) (5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12)).

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Records are maintained in paper and electronic form.

Retrievability:
    Records are indexed by plan and participant and/or beneficiary 
name. Customer satisfaction survey responses are aggregated for 
statistical purposes after they have been received by the PBGC and are 
not retrievable by a participant or beneficiary's name or other 
assigned identifier.

Safeguards:
    Paper records are kept in file folders in areas of restricted 
access that are locked after office hours. Electronic records are 
stored on computer networks and protected by assigning user 
identification numbers to individuals needing access to the records and 
by passwords set by authorized users that must be changed periodically.

Retention and disposal:
    Records for plan participants are transferred to the Washington 
National Federal Records Center 6 months after either the final payment 
to a participant and/or beneficiary or the PBGC's final determination 
that a participant or beneficiary is not entitled to any benefits and 
are destroyed 7 years after such payment or determination.

System manager(s) and address:
    Director, Insurance Operations Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty 
Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026.

Notification procedure:
    Procedures are detailed in the PBGC's regulations: 29 CFR part 
4902.

Record access procedures:
    Same as notification procedure.

Contesting records procedure:
    Same as notification procedure.

Record source categories:
    Plan administrators, participants and beneficiaries, the FAA, the 
SSA, labor organization officials, firms or agencies providing locator 
services, and USPS licensees.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    None.
[FR Doc. 00-24527 Filed 9-22-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P