[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4458-4459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01156]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public 
Comment; Survey Regarding Pension Benefit Statements

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 public's reporting burden. It also helps 
the public understand the Department's information collection 
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The 
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments 
on the proposed information collection request (ICR) described below. A 
copy of the ICRs may be obtained by contacting the office listed in the 
ADDRESSES section of this notice. ICRs also are available at 
reginfo.gov (http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the 
Addresses section on or before March 25, 2013.

ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits 
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., N-5718, 
Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693-8410, FAX (202) 693-4745 (these are not 
toll-free numbers).

I. Supplementary Information

    This notice requests public comment on the Department's proposed 
collection of information regarding a survey and focus groups that will 
ask respondents to answer questions related to information presented in 
benefit statements received from their retirement plans. A summary of 
the ICR and the current burden estimates follows:
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Household survey questions and experiments related to 
pension benefit statements.
    Type of Review: New collection of information.
    OMB Number: 1210-NEW.
    Respondents: 2,950.
    Number of Annual Responses: 2,950.
    Total Burden Hours: 945 hours.
    Total Annualized Capital/Startup Costs: $0.
    Total Annual Costs: $244,800.
    Description: The Department is planning to survey participants in 
an existing household Internet panel called the American Life Panel 
(ALP) and conduct four focus groups consisting of non-panel members to 
explore whether information presented in retirement plan benefit 
statements can be presented in a manner that is understandable for 
participants and beneficiaries and makes them better prepared for 
retirement. Topics probed in the survey include participants' current 
allocations to their retirement accounts, their expectations for how 
long they will need to keep working, their financial goals for 
retirement, the basis for calculating those goals, how frequently they 
view their current benefits statement, whether they receive benefit 
statements in paper or electronic format, and what information from the 
statements do they primarily focus on. Survey participants will then be 
provided with two different benefits statements that provide slightly 
different information and will be asked to answer several questions 
based on those statements to better assess what they understand about 
the statements.
    The study results will be used to support the Department's 
rulemaking pursuant to section 105(a) of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 as amended by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, 
which requires administrators of ERISA-covered individual account plans 
to furnish periodic benefit statements to participants and 
beneficiaries and the Department to develop model benefits statements.

II. Focus of Comments

    The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
     Evaluate whether the 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 
collections of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used;

[[Page 4459]]

     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 submissions of responses.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the ICRs for OMB approval of the extension of the 
information collection; they will also become a matter of public 
record.

Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-01156 Filed 1-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P