[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 72 (Friday, April 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19544-19545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-5566]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request; 
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 90-1, Pooled Separate Accounts

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

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 continuing collections 
of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA 95). This program helps to ensure that the Department can properly 
assess the impact of its information collection requirements on 
respondents and minimize the reporting burden (time and financial 
resources) on the public and that the public can understand the 
Department's collection instruments and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. Currently, the Employee Benefits Security 
Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments on a proposed extension of 
the information collection request (ICR) incorporated in Prohibited 
Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 90-1, Pooled Separate Accounts. 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 June 13, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Susan G. Lahne, Office of 
Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-5718, 
Washington, DC 20210, (210) 693-8410, FAX (202) 219-4745 (the foregoing 
are not toll-free numbers). Comments may also be submitted 
electronically to the following Internet e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    PT E 90-1 provides an exemption from certain provisions of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) relating to 
transactions involving insurance company pooled separate accounts in 
which employee benefit plans participate. Without the

[[Page 19545]]

exemption, sections 406 and 407(a) of ERISA and section 4975(c)(1) of 
the Internal Revenue Code might prohibit a party in interest to a plan 
from furnishing goods or services to an insurance company pooled 
separate account in which the plan has an interest, or prohibit 
engaging in other transactions. Under the exemption, persons who are 
parties in interest to a plan that invests in a pooled separate 
account, such as a service provider, may engage in otherwise prohibited 
transactions with the separate account if the plan's participation in 
the separate account does not exceed specified limits and other 
conditions are met. These other conditions include a requirement that 
the party in interest not be the insurance company, or an affiliate 
thereof, that holds the plan assets in its pooled separate account or 
other separate account. The terms of the transaction to which the 
exemption is applied must be at least as favorable to the pooled 
separate account as those that would be obtained in a separate arms-
length transaction with an unrelated party, and the insurance company 
must maintain records of any transaction to which the exemption applies 
for a period of six years. This ICR covers this recordkeeping 
requirement.
    The Department previously submitted this information collection to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in an ICR that was approved 
under the OMB Control Number 1210-0083. The current approval is 
scheduled to expire on July 31, 2006.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Department 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, 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

    This notice requests comments on the proposed extension of the ICR 
included in PTE 90-1. The Department is not proposing or implementing 
changes to the existing ICR at this time. The following summarizes the 
ICR and the current burden estimates:
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: PTE 90-1--Pooled Separate Accounts.
    OMB Number: 1210-0083.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Respondents: 130.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Responses: 130.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 12.
    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: April 10, 2006.
Susan G. Lahne,
Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-5566 Filed 4-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P