[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75834-75835]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-24278]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request 
Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and Party in Interest

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 
95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), the Department of Labor (the Department) 
conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the general 
public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed 
and continuing collections of information. This program helps to ensure 
that the data the Department gathers can be provided in the desired 
format, that the reporting burden on the public (time and financial 
resources) is minimized, that the public understands the Department's 
collection instruments, and that the Department can accurately assess 
the impact of collection requirements on respondents.
    By this notice, the Department is soliciting comments concerning 
the information collection provisions of two similar prohibited 
transaction class exemptions, PTE 94-71 and PTE 03-39. Both of these 
class exemptions concern transactions undertaken pursuant to settlement 
agreements between an employee benefit plan and a party in interest to 
that plan. A copy of the ICR may be obtained by contacting the office 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the 
ADDRESSES section below on or before February 21, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments 
regarding the information collection request and burden estimates to: 
Susan G. Lahne, Office of Policy and Research, U.S. Department of 
Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, 200 Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Room N-5647, Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-
8410; Fax: (202) 219-4745. These are not toll-free numbers. Comments 
may also be submitted electronically to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 94-71, entitled Class 
Exemption to Permit Certain Transactions Authorized Pursuant to 
Settlement Agreements Between the U.S. Department of Labor and Plans, 
which was published in final form on October 7, 1994 (59 FR 60837), 
exempts from the prohibitions of sections 406 and 407(a) of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) transactions 
that are specifically authorized by a settlement agreement resulting 
from an investigation of an employee benefit plan by the Department 
pursuant to the authority of section 504(a) of ERISA. The availability 
of the exemption is conditioned on providing certain notices and 
disclosures. Specifically, the person seeking to rely on the exemption 
must provide notice to the affected participants and beneficiaries, at 
least 30 days prior to entering into the settlement agreement with the 
Department, in a manner approved by the Department that is reasonably 
calculated to result in actual receipt. The notice must include an 
objective description of the transaction, the approximate date on which 
it will occur, the address of the office of the Department that 
negotiated the settlement, and a statement apprising participants and 
beneficiaries of their right to provide comments to that office.
    Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 03-39, entitled Class 
Exemption For Release of Claims and Extensions of Credit in Connection 
With Litigation, which was published in final form on December 31, 2003 
(68 FR 75632), exempts from the prohibitions of sections 406 and 407(a) 
of ERISA certain transactions engaged in by a

[[Page 75835]]

plan in connection with the settlement of litigation. Exempted 
transactions must involve either release by the plan or by a plan 
fiduciary of a legal or equitable claim against a party in interest in 
exchange for consideration given by, or on behalf of, a party in 
interest to the plan in partial or complete settlement of the plan's or 
the fiduciary's claim, or an extension of credit by the plan or by a 
plan fiduciary to a party in interest in connection with a settlement 
whereby the party in interest agrees to repay, over time, an amount 
owed to the plan in settlement of a legal or equitable claim by the 
plan or a plan fiduciary against the party in interest. Among other 
conditions, the exemption requires that the terms of the settlement be 
specifically described in a written agreement or consent degree and 
that the fiduciary entering into the settlement on behalf of the plan 
acknowledge in writing its fiduciary status. The exemption also 
requires the plan to maintain, for a period of six years, the records 
necessary to enable specified interested person to determine whether 
the exemption's conditions were met.
    Because of the similarity of these two exemptions, the Department 
submitted a combined ICR for the information collections in both 
exemptions to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
clearance at the time that PTE 03-39 was published as a proposal in the 
Federal Register (February 11, 2003, 68 FR 6953). The ICR for the 
information collections in both class exemptions was approved under OMB 
control number 1210-0091. The approval for the ICRs included in the two 
exemptions will expire on April 30, 2006.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
     Evaluate whether the collections of information are 
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 collections of information, 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., by 
permitting electronic submission of responses.

III. Current Action

    The Department is requesting an extension of the currently approved 
ICR for Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and Party in Interest. The 
Department is not proposing or implementing changes to the two 
exemptions or to the existing ICR. A summary of the ICR and the current 
burden estimates follows:
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and Party in Interest.
    OMB Number: 1210-0091.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Respondents: 4.
    Frequency of Response: One-time.
    Responses: 1080.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 40.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the information 
collection request; they will also become a matter of public record.

    Dated: December 14, 2005.
Susan G. Lahne,
Senior Pension Law Specialist, Office of Policy and Research, Employee 
Benefits Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-24278 Filed 12-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P