[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 210 (Tuesday, October 31, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 63784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18231]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request; 
Employee Benefit Plan Claims Procedures Under ERISA

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), 
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This 
helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection 
requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public and the 
public understand the Department's information collection requirements 
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 current approval of information 
collection provisions incorporated in the regulation pertaining to 
employee benefit plan claims procedures under the Employee Retirement 
Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). A copy of the information 
collection request (ICR) may be obtained by contacting the office 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before January 2, 2007.

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-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 the following Internet e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 503 of ERISA requires each employee benefit plan to 
provide, pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, 
notice in writing to any participant or beneficiary whose claim for 
benefits under the plan has been denied. The notice must set forth the 
specific reasons for the denial and must be written in a manner 
calculated to be understood by the claimant. Plans must also give a 
participant or beneficiary whose claim has been denied a reasonable 
opportunity to obtain a full and fair review of any benefit claim 
denial by the appropriate named fiduciary.
    The Department issued a regulation pertaining to benefit claims 
procedures in 1977 and amended that regulation in a Notice of Final 
Rulemaking (NFRM) published on November 21, 2000 (65 FR 70246). The 
regulation pertaining to benefit claims procedures is codified at 29 
CFR 2560.503-1. The regulation requires plans to establish reasonable 
claims procedures that meet specified standards governing the timing 
and content of notices and disclosures. EBSA submitted an ICR for the 
information collections in 29 CFR 2560.503-1 to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in connection with 
publication of the NFRM, and OMB approved the information collections 
under OMB control number 1210-0053. That approval is scheduled to 
expire on February 28, 2007. After considering comments received in 
response to this notice, the Department intends to submit an ICR to OMB 
to request continuing approval. The public is not required to respond 
to an information collection unless it displays a valid control number. 
No change to the existing ICR is being proposed or made at this time.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Department of Labor (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., permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.

III. Current Action

    This notice requests comments on an extension of OMB's approval of 
the information collections included in 29 CFR 2560.503-1. The 
Department is not proposing or implementing changes to the existing ICR 
at this time. A summary of the ICR and the current burden estimates 
follows:
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Employee Benefit Plan Claims Procedures under ERISA.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0053.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Respondents: 6,700,000.
    Responses: 118,000,000.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 333,000.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 
$90,000,000.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the ICR; they will 
also become a matter of public record.

Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration.
 [FR Doc. E6-18231 Filed 10-30-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P