[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55879-55880]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22352]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment 
Request; Payment of Premiums

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of request for OMB approval of revised collection of 
information.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is modifying 
the collection of information under its regulation on Payment of 
Premiums (OMB control number 1212-0007; expires December 31, 2013) and 
is requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve 
the revised collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
for three years. This notice informs the public of PBGC's request and 
solicits public comment on the collection of information.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by October 11, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk 
Officer for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, via electronic 
mail at [email protected] or by fax to 202-395-6974.
    Copies of the collection of information and comments may be 
obtained without charge by writing to the Disclosure Division, Office 
of General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street 
NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026; visiting the Disclosure Division; 
faxing a request to 202-326-4042; or calling 202-326-4040 during normal 
business hours. (TTY/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 
premium payment regulation and the premium instructions (including 
illustrative forms) for 2012 are available at www.pbgc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine B. Klion, Manager, 
Regulatory and Policy Division, Legislative and Regulatory Department, 
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 
20005-4026; 202-326-4024. (TTY/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: Section 4007 of Title IV of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires pension plans 
covered under Title IV pension insurance programs to pay premiums to 
PBGC. Pursuant to section 4007, PBGC has issued its regulation on 
Payment of Premiums (29 CFR part 4007). Under Sec.  4007.3 of the 
premium payment regulation, plan administrators are required to file 
premium payments and information prescribed by PBGC. Premium 
information must be filed electronically using ``My Plan Administration 
Account'' (``My PAA'') through PBGC's Web site except to the extent 
PBGC grants an exemption for good cause in appropriate circumstances, 
in which case the information must be filed using an approved PBGC 
form. The plan administrator of each pension plan covered by Title IV 
of ERISA is required to submit one or more premium filings for each 
premium payment year. Under Sec.  4007.10 of the premium payment 
regulation, plan administrators are required to retain records about 
premiums and information submitted in premium filings.
    PBGC needs information from premium filings to identify the plans 
for which premiums are paid, to verify whether the amounts paid are 
correct, to help PBGC determine the magnitude of its exposure in the 
event of plan termination, to help track the creation of new plans and 
transfer of participants and plan assets and liabilities among plans, 
and to keep PBGC's insured-plan inventory up to date. That information 
and the retained records are also needed for audit purposes.
    All plans covered by Title IV of ERISA pay a flat-rate per-
participant premium. An underfunded single-employer plan also pays a 
variable-rate premium based on the value of the plan's unfunded vested 
benefits.
    Large-plan filers (i.e., plans that were required to pay premiums 
for 500 or more participants for the prior plan year) are required to 
pay PBGC's flat-rate premium early in the premium payment year. To 
accommodate plans that find it impractical to do an accurate 
participant count until later in the premium payment year, PBGC permits 
filers to make an estimated flat-rate premium filing.
    All plans are required to make a comprehensive premium filing. 
Comprehensive filings are used to report flat- and (for single-employer 
plans) variable-rate premiums, premium-related data, and information 
about plan identity, status, and events. (For large plans, the 
comprehensive filing reconciles an estimated flat-rate premium paid 
earlier in the year.)
    PBGC proposes to revise its premium filing procedures and 
instructions for

[[Page 55880]]

the 2013 plan year. On May 8, 2012 (at 77 FR 27099), PBGC gave public 
notice that it was submitting the revised procedures and instructions 
to OMB for review. On July 6, 2012, the President signed into law the 
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). MAP-21 
includes provisions affecting PBGC premiums. PBGC has modified its 
proposed premium filing procedures and instructions accordingly; this 
notice informs the public of the modified OMB submission.
    PBGC now intends to revise the 2013 filing procedures and 
instructions to:
     Provide for revoking a prior election to use the 
Alternative Premium Funding Target (APFT) to determine unfunded vested 
benefits (UVBs). (Under PBGC regulations, an election to use the APFT 
is irrevocable for 5 years; 2008 was the first year that plans were 
permitted to elect the APFT, so 2013 is the first year for which it is 
necessary to collect this information.)
     Require plan administrators to provide a breakdown of the 
total premium funding target into the same categories of participants 
used for reporting on Schedule SB to Form 5500, i.e., active 
participants, terminated vested participants, and retirees and 
beneficiaries receiving payment. PBGC uses the premium funding target 
to estimate termination liability, e.g., for the annual contingency 
list, and a breakdown will enable PBGC to make a much better estimate 
than simply using only the total premium funding target.
     Require plan administrators to report a contact name to 
make it easier for PBGC to contact a plan. Filers also will have the 
option of providing an additional plan contact.
     Require plan administrators to report the plan effective 
date for all plans rather than just new and newly covered plans. This 
date helps PBGC trace plans that change Employer Identification Number 
or Plan Number.
     Require plan administrators to break down the premium 
credit information in the comprehensive premium filing into two items 
rather than aggregating the premium credit. This information will help 
PBGC to manage the application of overpayments.
     Add a data item for the MAP-21 variable-rate premium cap, 
which is first effective for 2013.
     Explain how MAP-21 affects premium computations.
     Eliminate the following data items--
    [cir] The plan sponsor's address.
    [cir] The boxes to check if there has been a change in name for a 
plan sponsor or a change in name or address for a plan administrator.
    [cir] The payment method for paper filers.
     Reorder and re-number some items on the illustrative form 
that accompanies and is part of the instructions, and make other minor 
changes.
    The collection of information under the regulation has been 
approved by OMB through December 31, 2013, under control number 1212-
0007. PBGC is requesting that OMB extend approval of this revised 
collection of information for 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 29,900 premium filings per year 
from 24,600 plan administrators under this collection of information. 
PBGC further estimates that the average annual burden of this 
collection of information is 8,200 hours and $54,387,000.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 6th day of September, 2012.
John H. Hanley,
Director, Legislative and Regulatory Department, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2012-22352 Filed 9-10-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-01-P