[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 27 (Thursday, February 8, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 5649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02502]



[[Page 5649]]

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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; 
Comment Request; Survey of Nonparticipating Single Premium Group 
Annuity Rates

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

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

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to 
request that OMB extend approval (with changes), under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act, of a quarterly survey of insurance company rates for 
pricing annuity contracts (OMB control number 1212-0030; expires May 
31, 2018). The American Council of Life Insurers conducts this 
voluntary survey for PBGC. This notice informs the public of PBGC's 
intent and solicits public comment on the collection of information.

DATES: Comments should be submitted by April 9, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
website instructions for submitting comments.
    Email: [email protected].
    Mail or Hand Delivery: Office of the General Counsel, Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-
4026. PBGC will make all comments available on its website at http://www.pbgc.gov.
    Copies of the collection 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/ASCII users 
may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask 
to be connected to 202-326-4040.) The regulations and forms and 
instructions relating to this collection of information are available 
on PBGC's website at www.pbgc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo Amato Burns 
([email protected]), Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of the 
General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street 
NW, Washington, DC 20005-4026, 202-326-4400, extension 3072, or 
Stephanie Cibinic ([email protected]), Deputy Assistant General 
Counsel, same address and phone number, extension 6352. TTY/ASCII users 
may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 800-877-8339 and ask to 
be connected to 202-326-4400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PBGC's regulations prescribe actuarial 
valuation methods and assumptions (including interest rate assumptions) 
to be used in determining the actuarial present value of benefits under 
single-employer plans that terminate (29 CFR part 4044) and under 
multiemployer plans that undergo a mass withdrawal of contributing 
employers (29 CFR part 4281). Each month PBGC publishes the interest 
rates to be used under those regulations for plans terminating or 
undergoing mass withdrawal during the next month.
    The interest rates are intended to reflect current conditions in 
the annuity markets. To determine these interest rates, PBGC gathers 
pricing data from insurance companies that are providing annuity 
contracts to terminating pension plans through a quarterly ``Survey of 
Nonparticipating Single Premium Group Annuity Rates.'' The American 
Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) distributes the survey and provides 
PBGC with ``blind'' data (i.e., PBGC is unable to match responses with 
the insurance companies that submitted them). PBGC also uses the 
information from the survey in determining the interest rates it uses 
to value benefits payable to participants and beneficiaries in PBGC-
trusteed plans for purposes of PBGC's financial statements.
    PBGC is proposing several changes to the survey distributed by 
ACLI:
     Reduction in the number of ages for which PBGC requests 
net rate plan factors for immediate and deferred annuities, and removal 
of columns asking for Deferred to Exact Age 60 net rate plan factors. 
These changes are proposed because the net rate plan factors for the 
annuitant ages removed are no longer used when deriving interest 
factors. The proposed changes will simplify the completion of the 
survey.
     Increases in the dollar ranges of the Settlement 
Categories in Parts III and IV to better capture variability and range 
of business accepted by respondents. Dollar amounts previously used 
were too low to differentiate among insurance companies that responded 
to the survey.
     Addition of a question asking whether the respondent 
participated in the survey in the previous year to enable PBGC to 
determine the extent to which the survey respondents vary over time.
     Addition of a question asking whether the current value of 
the respondent's annuity portfolio is greater than $5 billion. This 
proposed addition will permit PBGC to determine if the insurers who 
respond to the survey represent a sizable portion of the total annuity 
market.
    This voluntary survey is directed at insurance companies most, if 
not all, of which are members of ACLI. The survey is conducted 
quarterly and will be sent to approximately 22 insurance companies. 
PBGC estimates that about six insurance companies will respond to the 
survey each quarter, and that each survey will require approximately 30 
minutes to complete and return. The total burden is estimated to be 12 
hours (30 minutes per survey x four per year x six respondents).
    OMB has approved this collection of information under control 
number 1212-0030 through May 31, 2018. 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 is soliciting public comments to--
     Evaluate whether the 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 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 using appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

Stephanie Cibinic,
Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2018-02502 Filed 2-7-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7709-02-P