[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52349-52350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7424]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Request for Extension of Approval of a Collection of Information 
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; Comment Request; Customer 
Satisfaction Surveys and Focus Groups

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of request for extension of OMB approval.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is requesting that 
the Office of Management and Budget extend its approval of a collection 
of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The purpose of the 
information collection, which will be conducted through focus groups 
and surveys over a three-year period, is to help the PBGC assess the 
efficiency and effectiveness with which it serves its customers and to 
design actions to address identified problems.

DATES: Comments should be submitted by October 5, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk 
Officer for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Washinton, DC 20503. 
Copies of the request for extension (including the collection of 
information) may be obtained without charge by writing to the 
Disclosure Division of the Office of the General Counsel of PBGC at 
1200 K Street, NW., 11th Floor, Washington, DC 20005-4026, or by 
visiting or calling (202-326-4040) the Disclosure Division 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.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas H. Gabriel, Attorney, 
Legislative and Regulatory Department, 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: 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 contorl number.
    The PBGC is requesting that OMB extend its approval, for a three-
year period, of a generic collection of information consisting of 
customer satisfaction focus groups and surveys (OMB No. 1212-0053; 
expires October 31, 2006). The information collection will further the 
goals of Executive Order 12862, Setting Customer Service Standards, 
which states the Federal Government must seek to provide ``the highest 
quality of service delivered to customers by private organizations 
providing a comparable or analogous service.''
    The PBGC uses customer satisfaction focus groups and surveys to 
find out about the needs and expectations of its customers and assess 
how well it is meeting those needs and expectations. By keeping these 
avenues of communication open, the PBGC can continually improve service 
to its customers, including plan participants and beneficiaries, plan 
sponsors and their affiliates, plan administrators, pension 
practitioners, and others involved in the establishment, operation and 
termination of plans covered by the PBGC's insurance program. Because 
the areas of concern to the PBGC and its customers vary and may quickly 
change, it is important that the PBGC have the ability to evaluate 
customer concerns quickly by developing new vehicles for gathering 
information under this generic approval. The focus groups and surveys 
will provide important information on customer attitudes about the 
delivery and quality of agency services and will

[[Page 52350]]

be used as part of an ongoing process to improve PBGC programs.
    Participation in the focus groups and surveys will be voluntary. 
The PBGC estimates that the annual burden for this collection of 
information will total 1,400 hours for 4,200 respondents. The PBGC 
further estimates that the cost to respondents per burden hour will 
average $65, resulting in a total cost of $91,000 ($65 x 1,400). The 
PBGC will consult with OMB regarding each specific information 
collection during the approval period.
    On May 8, 2006, the PBGC published in the Federal Register a notice 
of intention to request extension of OMB approval of this collection. 
No comments were received in response to the notice.

    Issued at Washington, DC, this 30th day of August 2006.
Cris Birch,
Acting Chief Information Officer, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 06-7424 Filed 9-1-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-01-M