[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 98 (Friday, May 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 24050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-12021]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; 
Comment Request; Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Submitted to PBGC

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of intent to request extension of OMB approval of 
information collection.

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SUMMARY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (``PBGC'') intends to 
request that the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') extend 
approval, under the Paperwork Reduction Act, of the collection of 
information in PBGC's booklet, Qualified Domestic Relations Orders & 
PBGC (OMB control number 1212-0054; expires August 31, 2009). The 
booklet provides guidance on how to submit a qualified domestic 
relations order (a ``QDRO'') to PBGC. This notice informs the public of 
PBGC's intent and solicits public comment on the collection of 
information.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by July 21, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the Web site instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: 202-326-4224.
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Legislative and Regulatory 
Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20005-4026.
    PBGC will make all comments available on its Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov.
    Copies of the collections of information may be obtained without 
charge by writing to the Disclosure Division of the Office of the 
General Counsel of PBGC at the above address or by visiting that office 
or calling 202-326-4040 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.) The current QDRO booklet is 
available on PBGC's Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo Amato Burns, Attorney, Legislative 
and Regulatory Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, 202-326-4024. (For TTY/TDD 
users, call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and 
ask to be connected to 202-326-4024.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A defined benefit pension plan that does not 
have enough money to pay benefits may be terminated if the employer 
responsible for the plan faces severe financial difficulty, such as 
bankruptcy, and is unable to maintain the plan. In such an event, PBGC 
becomes trustee of the plan and pays benefits, subject to legal limits, 
to plan participants and beneficiaries.
    The benefits of a pension plan participant generally may not be 
assigned or alienated. Title I of ERISA provides an exception for 
domestic relations orders that relate to child support, alimony 
payments, or marital property rights of an alternate payee (a spouse, 
former spouse, child, or other dependent of a plan participant). The 
exception applies only if the domestic relations order meets specific 
legal requirements that make it a qualified domestic relations order.
    When PBGC is trustee of a plan, it reviews submitted domestic 
relations orders to determine whether the order is qualified before 
paying benefits to an alternate payee. The requirements for submitting 
a domestic relations order and the contents of such orders are 
established by statute. The models and the guidance provided by PBGC 
assist parties by making it easier for them to comply with ERISA's QDRO 
requirements in plans trusteed by PBGC; they do not create any 
additional requirements and result in a reduction of the statutory 
burden.
    OMB has approved the collection of information in PBGC's booklet, 
Qualified Domestic Relations Orders & PBGC under control number 1212-
0054 through August 31, 2009. PBGC intends to request that OMB extend 
its approval for another three years. 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 control number.
    PBGC estimates that it will receive 895 domestic relations orders 
each year from prospective alternate payees and participants. PBGC 
further estimates that the total average annual burden of this 
collection of information will be 2085 hours and $496,302.
    PBGC is soliciting public comments to--
     Evaluate whether the proposed 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 proposed collections of information, including the 
validity of the methodologies and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collections 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.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 19th day of May 2009.
John H. Hanley,
Director, Legislative and Regulatory Department, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. E9-12021 Filed 5-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-01-P