[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 27 (Friday, February 10, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10409-10410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02810]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Loans To Plan Participants and Beneficiaries 
Who Are Parties in Interest With Respect to the Plan Regulation

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, ``Loans to Plan Participants and 
Beneficiaries Who Are Parties In Interest With Respect to The Plan 
Regulation,'' 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. Public 
comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives 
on or before March 13, 2017.

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=201701-1210-003 (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, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are 
not toll-free numbers) or by email at [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: 202-395-5806 (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, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not

[[Page 10410]]

toll-free numbers) or by email at [email protected].

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ICR seeks to extend PRA authority for 
the Loans to Plan Participants and Beneficiaries Who Are Parties In 
Interest With Respect to The Plan Regulation information collection. 
More specifically, the ICR is for the information collections contained 
in the regulation related to plan participants and beneficiaries who 
are parties in interest with respect to the plan, 29 CFR 2550.408b-1. 
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) prohibits a plan 
fiduciary from causing the plan to engage in a transaction, if the 
fiduciary knows or should know the transaction constitutes a direct or 
indirect loan or extension of credit between the plan and a party in 
interest. ERISA section 408(b)(1) exempts from this prohibition a loan 
from a plan to a party in interest who is also a plan participant or 
beneficiary, provided satisfaction of certain requirements. DOL 
regulations implementing the statutory provision provide additional 
guidance. Specifically, regulations 29 CFR 2550.408b-1(d) prescribes 
eight specific provisions that must be included in the plan documents, 
including: (1) An explicit authorization for the plan fiduciary 
responsible for investing plan assets to establish such a loan program, 
(2) the identity of the person or position authorized to administer the 
program, (3) a procedure for applying for loans, (4) the basis on which 
loans will be approved or denied, (5) limitations, if any, on the types 
and amounts of loans offered, (6) the procedure for determining a 
reasonable interest rate, (7) types of collateral that may secure a 
participant loan, and (8) the events constituting default and the steps 
that will be taken to preserve plan assets in the event of such 
default. ERISA section 408(a) authorizes this information collection. 
See 29 U.S.C. 1108(a).
    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 1210-0076.
    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 February 28, 2017. 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 October 28, 2016 (81 FR 
75157).
    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 thirty (30) days of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate 
consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1210-0076. 
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
     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: Loans to Plan Participants and Beneficiaries 
Who Are Parties In Interest With Respect to The Plan Regulation.
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0076.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--businesses or other for-profits 
and not-for-profit institutions.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,556.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 2,556.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 0.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $1,023,678.

    Dated: February 6, 2017.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-02810 Filed 2-9-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-29-P