[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 28 (Friday, February 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7072-7073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1826]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request

February 1, 2006.
    The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted the following public 
information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35). A copy of 
this ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by 
contacting Darrin King on 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) 
or e-mail: [email protected].
    Comments should be sent to Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the Employee Benefits Security 
Administration (EBSA), Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 
Washington, DC 20503, 202-395-7316 (this is not a toll-free number), 
within 30 days from the date of this publication in the Federal 
Register.
    The OMB is particularly interested in comments which:
     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, 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 submission of responses.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.
    Title: Disclosures for Participant Directed Individual Account 
Plans under ERISA section 404(c).
    OMB Number: 1210-0090.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Type of Response: Third party disclosure.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; and Individuals or households.
    Number of Respondents: 245,000.
    Number of Annual Responses: 30,164,000.
    Estimated Time Per Respondent: 3.5 hours.
    Total Burden Hours: 860,000.
    Total Annualized capital/startup costs: $0.
    Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or purchasing 
services): $33,020,000.
    Description: Section 404(c) of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security

[[Page 7073]]

Act of 1974 (ERISA) (29 U.S.C. 1104(c)) provides that, if an individual 
account pension plan permits a participant or beneficiary to exercise 
control over assets in his or her account and the participant or 
beneficiary in fact exercises such control (as determined under 
regulations of the Department of Labor), the participant or beneficiary 
shall not be deemed to be a fiduciary by such exercise of control and 
no person otherwise a fiduciary to the plan shall be liable for any 
loss or breach that results solely from this exercise of control.
    The Department of Labor's regulation under section 404(c), codified 
at 29 CFR 2550.404c-1, describes the circumstances in which a 
participant or beneficiary in an individual account plan is considered 
to have exercised control over the assets in his or her individual 
account so as to relieve a fiduciary to the plan of liability relating 
to the exercise of control. The regulation specifies the manner in 
which an individual account pension plan must operate in allowing 
participants or beneficiaries to allocate individual account assets 
among available investment alternatives, such that section 404(c) will 
limit the plan fiduciary's liability for the investment decision. The 
regulation provides, among other things, that participants and 
beneficiaries must have adequate information on which to base 
investment decisions. The regulation specifies the information that a 
plan must make available before a participant first makes investment 
decisions; when that information changes, for example when the 
available investment options under the plan change; and also upon the 
participant's and beneficiary's request. These information collection 
provisions are necessary to ensure that participants and beneficiaries 
are adequately informed about investment alternatives available under 
the plan, their rights, and the consequences of their investment 
decisions. Such information is important in assisting participants and 
beneficiaries in understanding their investment risks and achieving 
their retirement savings goals.

Ira L. Mills,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. E6-1826 Filed 2-9-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P