[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77717-77718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30634]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Default Investment Alternatives under 
Participant Directed Individual Account Plans

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee 
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information 
collection request (ICR) titled, ``Default Investment Alternatives 
under Participant Directed Individual Account Plans,'' to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, 
without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

DATES: Submit comments on or before January 23, 2014.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; 
including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency 
of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge 
from the RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201311-1210-004 (this link will only become active 
on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting 
Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free 
number) or sending an email to [email protected].
    Submit comments about this request by mail or courier to the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-
EBSA, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: 202-395-6881 (this is not a toll-free 
number); or by email: [email protected]. Commenters are 
encouraged, but not required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments 
by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor-OASAM, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Attn: Departmental Information Compliance 
Management Program, Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210; or by email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-
4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at [email protected]. Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ICR seeks to maintain PRA authority for 
the information collection requirements specified in regulations 29 CFR 
2520.104b-1 and 2550.404c-5. More specifically, Employee Retirement 
Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) section 404(c), 29 U.S.C. 1104(c), 
provides that a participant or beneficiary who can hold an individual 
account under his or her pension plan and who can exercise control over 
account assets, as determined in DOL regulations, will not be treated 
as a plan fiduciary. Moreover, no other plan fiduciary will be liable 
for any loss, or due to any breach, resulting from the participant's or 
beneficiary's exercise of control over the individual account assets. 
The Pension Protection Act, Public Law 109-280, amended the ERISA by 
adding section 404(c)(5)(A), 29 U.S.C. 1104(c)(5)(A), which provides 
that a participant in an individual account plan who fails to make 
investment elections regarding his or her account assets will 
nevertheless be treated as having exercised control over those assets, 
so long as the plan provides appropriate notice and invests the assets 
in accordance with DOL regulations. The DOL, accordingly, has 
promulgated a regulation to offer guidance on the types of investment 
vehicles that a plan may choose as its qualified default investment 
alternative (QDIA). The regulation also outlines two information 
collection requirements. First, it implements the statutory requirement 
that a plan provide an annual notice to each participant and 
beneficiary whose account assets could be invested in a QDIA. Second, 
the regulation requires a plan to pass any pertinent materials it 
receives from a QDIA to any participant or beneficiary with assets 
invested in the QDIA, as well to provide certain information on 
request. These information collections inform participants and 
beneficiaries who do not make investment elections of the consequences 
of the failure to elect investments, the ways in which account assets 
will be invested through the QDIA, and of the continuing opportunity to 
make other investment elections, including options available under the 
plan.
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays 
a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any 
other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that 
does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 
1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information collection 
under Control Number 1210-0132.
    OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) 
years without renewal, and the current approval for this collection is 
scheduled to expire on December 31, 2013. The DOL seeks to extend PRA 
authorization for this information collection for three (3) more years, 
without any change to existing requirements. The DOL notes that 
existing information collection requirements submitted to the OMB 
receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. For 
additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related 
notice published in the Federal Register on May 22, 2013 (78 FR 3033).
    Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in 
the ADDRESSES section within 30 days of publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate 
consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1210-0132. 
The OMB 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

[[Page 77718]]

     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 submission of responses.
    Agency: DOL-EBSA.
    Title of Collection: Default Investment Alternatives under 
Participant Directed Individual Account Plans.
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0132.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--businesses or other for-profits 
and not-for profit institutions.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 239,000.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 31,100,000.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 201,000.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $10,800,000.

    Dated: December 13, 2013.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-30634 Filed 12-23-13; 8:45 am]
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