[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 22, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44159-44160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21156]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration


Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted 
for Public Comment and Recommendations; Delinquent Filer Voluntary 
Program

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance 
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing 
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). This 
program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the 
desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is 
minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the 
impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly 
assessed.
    Currently, the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration is 
soliciting comments concerning the proposed extension of a currently 
approved collection of information included in the Delinquent Filer 
Voluntary Compliance Program. A copy of the proposed information 
collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual 
listed in the Addresses section of this Notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
Addresses section below on or before October 22, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Gerald B. Lindrew, Office of Policy and Research, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, 200 
Constitution Avenue, Room N-5647, Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: 202-
219-4782. Fax: 202-219-4745 (these are not toll-free numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Secretary of Labor has the authority, under section 502(c)(2) 
of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), to 
assess civil penalties of up to $1,000 a day \1\ against plan 
administrators who fail or refuse to file complete and timely annual 
reports (Form 5500 Series Annual Return/Reports) as required under 
section 101(b)(4) of ERISA related regulations. Pursuant to 29 CFR 
2560.502c-2 and 2570.60 et seq., PWBA has maintained a program for the 
assessment of civil penalties for noncompliance with the annual 
reporting requirements. Under this program, plan administrators filing 
annual reports after the date on which the report was required to be 
filed may be assessed $50 per day for each day an annual report is 
filed after the date on which the annual report(s) was required to be 
filed, without regard to any extensions for filing.
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    \1\ Adjusted to $1,100 per day pursuant to the Federal Civil 
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 and the Debt Collection 
Improvement Act of 1996. See 62 FR 40696, July 29, 1997.
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    Plan administrators who fail to file an annual report may be 
assessed a penalty of $300 per day, up to $30,000 per year, until a 
complete annual report is filed. Penalties are applicable to each 
annual report required to be filed under Title I of ERISA. The 
Department may, in its discretion, waive all or part of a civil penalty 
assessed under section 502(c)(2) upon a showing by the administrator 
that there was reasonable cause for the failure to file a complete and 
timely annual report.
    The Department has determined that the possible assessment of these 
civil penalties may deter certain delinquent filers from voluntarily 
complying with the annual reporting requirements under Title I of 
ERISA. In an effort to encourage annual reporting compliance, 
therefore, the Department implemented the Delinquent Filer Voluntary 
Compliance (DFVC) Program (the Program) on April 27, 1995 (60 FR 
20873). Under the Program, administrators otherwise subject to the 
assessment of higher civil penalties are permitted to pay reduced civil 
penalties for voluntarily complying with the annual reporting 
requirements under Title I of ERISA.
    This ICR covers the requirement of providing data necessary to 
identify the plan along with the penalty payment. This data is the 
means by which each penalty payment is associated with the appropriate 
plan. With respect to most pension plans and welfare plans, the 
requirement is satisfied by sending a photocopy of the delinquent Form 
5500 annual report \2\ that has been filed, along with the penalty 
payment.
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    \2\ DFVC information collection provisions originally required 
submission of the first page of the Form 5500 annual report. because 
of the recent revisions to the Form 5500, the information needed to 
process the DFVC filing is no longer confined to the first page of 
the Form 5500. DFVC filers using a 1999 or later Form 5500 must 
submit a copy of all pages of the Form 5500 (generally 4), dated 
with original signature but without any schedules or attachments.
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    Under current regulations, apprenticeship and training plans may be 
exempted from the reporting and disclosure requirements of Part 1 of 
Title I, and certain pension plans maintained for highly compensated 
employees, commonly called ``top hat'' plans may comply with these 
reporting and disclosure requirements by using an alternate method by 
filing a one-time identifying statement with the Department. The DFVC 
Program provides that apprenticeship and training plans and top hat 
plans may, in lieu of filing any past due annual reports and paying 
otherwise applicable civil penalties, complete and file specific 
portions of a Form 5500, file the identifying statements that were 
required to be filed, and pay a one-time penalty.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments 
that:
     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;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information,

[[Page 44160]]

including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     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 submissions of responses.

III. Current Actions

    This notice requests comments on the extension of the ICR included 
in the Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program. The Pension and 
Welfare Benefits Administration is not proposing or implementing 
changes to the existing ICR in connection with this extension.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Agency: U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits 
Administration.
    Title: Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program.
    OMB Number: 1210-0089.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Average Burden Hours/Minutes Per Response: 21 minutes.
    Number of Respondents: 3,100.
    Total Annual Responses: 3,100.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 109.
    Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $74.000.

    Dated: August 16, 2001.
Alan D. Lebowitz,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations, Pension and Welfare 
Benefits Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-21156 Filed 8-21-01; 8:45 am]
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