[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 170 (Friday, August 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 44681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19004]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; 
Comment Request; Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Submitted to PBGC

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 the Office of Management and Budget extend its approval 
(with modifications), under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, of the 
information collection related to PBGC's booklet, Qualified Domestic 
Relations Orders & PBGC. This notice informs the public of PBGC's 
intent and solicits public comment on the collection of information.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by October 30, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Regulatory Affairs Division, Office 
of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K 
Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-4026.
    All submissions received must include the agency's name (Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or PBGC) and refer to OMB Control No. 
1212-0054. All comments received will be posted without change to 
PBGC's website, http://www.pbgc.gov, including any personal information 
provided. Copies of the collection of information may be obtained by 
writing to Disclosure Division, Office of the General Counsel, Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-
4026, or calling 202-326-4040 during normal business hours. TTY users 
may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 800-877-8339 and ask to 
be connected to 202-326-4040.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Levin ([email protected]), 
Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of the General Counsel, 
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 
20005-4026, 202-326-4400, extension 3559. (TTY users may call the 
Federal relay service toll-free at 800-877-8339 and ask to be connected 
to 202-326-4400, extension 3559.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A defined benefit pension plan that does not 
have enough money to pay benefits may be terminated if the employer 
responsible for the plan faces severe financial difficulty, such as 
bankruptcy, and is unable to maintain the plan. In such an event, PBGC 
becomes trustee of the plan and pays benefits, subject to legal limits, 
to plan participants and beneficiaries.
    The benefits of a pension plan participant generally may not be 
assigned or alienated. Title I of ERISA provides an exception for 
domestic relations orders that relate to child support, alimony 
payments, or marital property rights of an alternate payee (a spouse, 
former spouse, child, or other dependent of a plan participant). The 
exception applies only if the domestic relations order meets specific 
legal requirements that make it a qualified domestic relations order 
(QDRO).
    When PBGC is trustee of a plan, it reviews submitted domestic 
relations orders to determine whether the order is qualified before 
paying benefits to an alternate payee. The requirements for submitting 
a domestic relations order and the contents of such orders are 
established by statute. The models and the guidance provided by PBGC 
assist parties by making it easier for them to comply with ERISA's QDRO 
requirements in plans trusteed by PBGC; they do not create any 
additional requirements and result in a reduction of the statutory 
burden.
    The Office of Management and Budget(OMB) has approved the 
collection of information in PBGC's booklet, Qualified Domestic 
Relations Orders & PBGC under control number 1212-0054 through December 
31, 2018. PBGC intends to request that OMB extend approval of the 
collection of information with modifications 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 approximately 630 domestic 
relations orders each year from prospective alternate payees and 
participants. PBGC further estimates that the total average annual 
burden of this collection of information will be approximately 3,576 
hours and $894,000.
    PBGC is soliciting public comments to--
     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 methodologies 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.

Stephanie Cibinic,
Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2018-19004 Filed 8-30-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7709-02-P