[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 204 (Wednesday, October 22, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60422-60423]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-26674]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment 
Request; Payment of Premiums

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

[[Page 60423]]


ACTION: Notice of request for extension of OMB approval of revised 
collection of information.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (``PBGC'') is 
requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') extend 
approval, under the Paperwork Reduction Act, of the collection of 
information under its regulation on Payment of Premiums (29 CFR part 
4007) (OMB control number 1212-0009; expires January 31, 2005). The 
collection of information also includes a certification of compliance 
with requirements to provide certain notices to participants under the 
PBGC's regulation on Disclosure to Participants (29 CFR part 4011). The 
PBGC is revising the collection of information to provide for 
electronic filing of premium information and payments. The PBGC intends 
to create an electronic facility, ``My Plan Administration Account'' 
(``MyPAA''), on its Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov, through which plan 
administrators and other plan professionals will be able to prepare and 
submit premium filings. This notice informs the public of the request 
for OMB approval and solicits public comment on the collection of 
information.

DATES: Comments should be submitted by November 21, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, Attention: 
Desk Officer for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Washington, DC 
20503.
    Copies of the request for extension (including the collection of 
information) may be obtained by writing to the Communications and 
Public Affairs Department, suite 240, Pension Benefit Guaranty 
Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, or by 
visiting that office or calling (202) 326-4040 during normal business 
hours. TTY and TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll-free 
at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to (202) 326-4040. The 
premium payment and participant notice regulations and the premium 
forms and instructions for 2003 and prior years can be accessed on the 
PBGC's Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah C. Murphy, Staff Attorney, 
Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 
1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, (202) 326-4024. TTY and 
TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-877-
8339 and ask to be connected to (202) 326-4024.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 4007 of Title IV of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (``ERISA'') requires the Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation (``PBGC'') to collect premiums from 
pension plans covered under Title IV pension insurance programs. 
Pursuant to ERISA section 4007, the PBGC has issued its regulation on 
Payment of Premiums (29 CFR part 4007). Section 4007.3 of the premium 
payment regulation requires plans, in connection with the payment of 
premiums, to file forms prescribed by the PBGC, and Sec.  4007.10 
requires plans to retain and make available to the PBGC records 
supporting or validating the computation of premiums paid.
    The PBGC has prescribed a series of premium forms: Form 1-ES, Form 
1-EZ, and Form 1 and (for single-employer plans only) Schedule A to 
Form 1. Form 1-ES is issued, with instructions, in the PBGC's Estimated 
Premium Payment Package. Form 1-EZ, Form 1, and Schedule A are issued, 
with instructions, in the PBGC's Annual Premium Payment Package.
    Premium forms are needed to report the computation, determine the 
amount, and record the payment of PBGC premiums. The submission of 
forms and retention and submission of records are needed to enable the 
PBGC to perform premium audits. The plan administrator of each pension 
plan covered by Title IV of ERISA is required to file one or more 
premium forms each year. The PBGC uses the information on the premium 
forms to identify the plans paying premiums; to verify whether plans 
are paying the correct amounts; and to help the PBGC determine the 
magnitude of its exposure in the event of plan termination. That 
information and the retained records are used for audit purposes.
    In addition, section 4011 of ERISA and the PBGC's regulation on 
Disclosure to Participants (29 CFR part 4011) require plan 
administrators of certain underfunded single-employer pension plans to 
provide an annual notice to plan participants and beneficiaries of the 
plans' funding status and the limits on the Pension Benefit Guaranty 
Corporation's guarantee of plan benefits. In general, the participant 
notice requirement applies (subject to certain exemptions) to plans 
that must pay a variable-rate premium. In order to monitor compliance 
with part 4011, single-employer plan administrators must indicate on 
their premium filings whether the participant notice requirements have 
been complied with.
    The collection of information under the regulation on Payment of 
Premiums, including Form 1-ES, Form 1-EZ, Form 1, and Schedule A to 
Form 1, and related instructions has been approved by OMB under control 
number 1212-0009. The collection of information also includes the 
certification of compliance with the participant notice requirements 
(but not the participant notices themselves).
    The PBGC is revising the collection of information to provide for 
electronic filing of premium information and payments. As part of the 
PBGC's ongoing implementation of the Government Paperwork Elimination 
Act (GPEA), the PBGC is creating an application, ``My Plan 
Administration Account'' (``MyPAA'') on its Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov, through which plan administrators and other plan 
professionals will be able to prepare and submit premium filings.
    The PBGC intends to request that OMB extend its approval of this 
collection of information, as revised, for three years from the date of 
approval. 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 estimates that it will receive responses annually from 
about 26,122 plan administrators and that the total annual burden of 
the collection of information will be about 3,055 hours and 
$15,965,675. (These estimates include paper and electronic filings.)

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 17th day of October, 2003.
Stuart A. Sirkin,
Director, Corporate Policy and Research Department, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 03-26674 Filed 10-21-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P