[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43189-43190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17341]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; 
Comment Request; Annual Reporting (Form 5500 Series)

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of intent to request extension of OMB approval, with 
modifications.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to 
request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend approval 
(with modifications), under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, of its 
collection of information for Annual Reporting under OMB control number 
1212-0057, which expires on January 31, 2022. 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 21, 2019.

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]. Refer to Annual 
Reporting (Form 5500 Series) in the subject line.
     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 the Annual 
Reporting (Form 5500 Series). All comments received will be posted 
without change to PBGC's website, 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: Annual reporting to the Internal Revenue 
Service (IRS), the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), 
and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is required by law 
for most employee benefit plans. For example, section 4065 of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires annual 
reporting to PBGC for pension plans covered by title IV of ERISA. To 
accommodate these filing requirements, IRS, EBSA, and PBGC have jointly 
promulgated the Form 5500 Series, which includes the Form 5500 Annual 
Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan and the Form 5500-SF Short Form 
Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan.
    The collection of information has been approved by OMB under 
control number 1212-0057 through January 31, 2022. PBGC intends to 
request that OMB extend its approval, 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 is proposing modifications to the 2020 Schedule R (Retirement 
Plan Information) and its related instructions. The proposed 
modifications to Schedule R affect multiemployer defined benefit plans 
covered by Title IV of ERISA. PBGC is also proposing minor 
modifications to the Form 5500 Series to improve the accuracy of 
reported information.
    Section 103(f)(2)(C) of ERISA requires that a multiemployer defined 
benefit plan include in its annual report, ``[t]he number of 
participants under the plan on whose behalf no contributions were made 
by an employer as an employer of the participant for such plan year and 
for each of the 2 preceding plan years.'' Line 14a of Schedule R 
requires the plan to report the participant counts for the current plan 
year's filing. Lines 14b and 14c require the plan to report the 
participant counts for the previous two respective plan years. PBGC has 
found a majority of plans that are required to

[[Page 43190]]

report do not provide accurate information on line 14 of Schedule R.
    The current instructions for line 14 require multiemployer plans to 
count inactive participants using the last contributing employer 
counting method. Under the last contributing employer method, a plan 
counts only those participants whose last contributing employer 
withdrew from the plan by the beginning of the relevant plan year for 
which the Form 5500 relates. The plan does not count any participants 
whose employers had not withdrawn from the plan, even if, in the 
relevant year, no contributions were made by the employer on behalf of 
those participants.
    PBGC is proposing to modify Schedule R to provide multiemployer 
plans with a choice of the last contributing employer counting method 
and two proposed counting methods: The alternative method and the 
approximation method. PBGC anticipates that providing plans with three 
alternative counting methods will allow each plan to choose the 
counting method that will be most accurate and least burdensome for the 
plan to count its inactive participants.
    Under the first proposed counting method, the alternative method, a 
plan would count only those participants whose last contributing 
employer and all prior contributing employers had withdrawn from the 
plan by the beginning of the relevant plan year. Under this method, the 
plan would review the list of all contributing employers (employers 
that had not withdrawn from the plan by the beginning of the relevant 
plan year), and include on Line 14 only those inactive participants who 
had no covered service with any of these employers.
    Under the second proposed counting method, the reasonable 
approximation method, a plan that is unable to use the other two 
methods would make a reasonable, good faith effort to count inactive 
participants to satisfy the requirements of section 103(f)(2)(C) of 
ERISA. The plan would be required to provide an attachment that 
explains the plan's approximation method, including a description of 
the data and a breakdown describing the number of clearly identified 
inactive participants and the number of estimated inactive 
participants.
    PBGC also is proposing that when a plan reports a number on line 
14b or 14c that differs from the number it reported for the plan year 
immediately preceding the plan year, it would be required to submit an 
attachment with an explanation of the reason for the change.
    Both attachments will provide PBGC with data information that it 
uses in its Pension Insurance Modeling System (PIMS). PBGC's evaluation 
of the data submitted in the attachments will allow PBGC to review the 
integrity of the data. PBGC estimates that the proposed changes would 
have an offsetting effect and would not change the hour or cost burden 
for the Schedule R.
    PBGC estimates that it will receive approximately 24,800 Form 5500 
and Form 5500-SF filings per year under this collection of information 
for the Form 5500 Series. PBGC further estimates that the total annual 
burden of this collection of information for the Form 5500 Series, 
attributable to PBGC, will be 1,200 hours and $1,664,000.
    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.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Hilary Duke,
Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2019-17341 Filed 8-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7709-02-P