[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 83 (Wednesday, April 29, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23856-23858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09026]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Extension of Information Collection Requests Submitted 
for Public Comment

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act, provides the general public and Federal 
agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing 
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. The Employee Benefits Security Administration 
(EBSA) is soliciting comments on the proposed extension of the 
information collection requests (ICRs) contained in the documents 
described below. A copy of the ICRs may be obtained by contacting the 
office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. ICRs also are 
available at reginfo.gov (http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the 
ADDRESSES section on or before June 29, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Anja Decressin, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits 
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-5718, 
Washington, DC 20210, [email protected], (202) 693-8410, FAX (202) 219-
4745 (these are not toll-free numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice requests public comment on the 
Department's request for extension of the Office of Management and 
Budget's (OMB) approval of ICRs contained in the rules and prohibited 
transaction exemptions described below. The Department is not proposing 
any changes to the existing ICRs at this time. An agency may not 
conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an 
information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. A 
summary of the ICRs and the current burden estimates follows:
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Process for Expedited Approval of an Exemption for 
Prohibited Transaction, Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1996-62.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0098.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions, Businesses or other 
for-profits.
    Respondents: 5.
    Responses: 3,515.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 88.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $20,457.
    Description: On April 28, 1975, the Department Published ERISA 
Procedure 75-1 in the Federal Register, which provided the public with 
information regarding the procedure to follow when requesting an 
exemption. On August 10, 1990, the Department issued a regulation which 
replaced ERISA

[[Page 23857]]

Procedure 75-1 for applications for prohibited transaction exemptions 
filed on or after September 10, 1990 (29 CFR 2570.30 et seq.).
    On July 31, 1996, the Department published in the Federal Register, 
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 96-62 that provides for 
accelerated approval of an exemption permitting a plan to engage in a 
transaction which might otherwise be prohibited following a 
demonstration to the Department that the transaction: (1) Is 
substantially similar in all material respects to at least two other 
transactions for which the Department recently granted administrative 
relief from the same restriction; and (2) presents little, if any, 
opportunity for abuse or risk of loss to a plan's participants and 
beneficiaries. Under the class exemption, a party may proceed with a 
transaction in as little as 78 days from the acknowledgment of receipt 
by the Department of a written submission filed in accordance with the 
terms of the class exemption.
    In 2002, the DOL amended the exemption to clarify that it covers 
``plans'' as described in Code Section 4975(e)(1), such as IRAs and 
Keogh Plans, and that the scope of the exemption is not limited to 
Title I ERISA covered plans.
    Additionally, in 2003 the DOL amended the exemption to permit 
parties to base their submissions on substantially similar transactions 
described either in two individual exemptions granted within the past 
60 months, or in one individual exemption granted within the last 120 
months and one transaction that received final authorization under the 
exemption within the past 60 months. The Department has received 
approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0098. The 
current approval is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2020.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Suspension of Pension Benefits Pursuant to Regulations 29 
CFR 2530.203-3.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0048.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 39,457.
    Responses: 171,221.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 132,639.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $46,773.
    Description: Section 203(a)(3)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) governs the circumstances under which 
pension plans may suspend pension benefit payments to retirees who 
return to work or to participants who continue to work beyond normal 
retirement age. This section sets forth the circumstances and 
conditions under which such benefit payments may be suspended.
    This regulation, which was issued on January 27, 1981, amended on 
December 4, 1981, and corrected on December 11, 1981, generally 
describes the manner and circumstances under which retirement benefits 
may be suspended during periods of employment subsequent to retirement. 
The rule also clarifies that the normal retirement benefit of a 
participant who continues working beyond the plan's normal retirement 
age may also be considered to be suspended even though no act of 
retirement has occurred.
    In order for a plan to suspend benefits pursuant to the regulation, 
it must notify the affected retiree or participant during the first 
calendar month or payroll period in which the plan withholds payment 
that benefits are suspended. Requests for such reviews may be 
considered in accordance with the claims procedure adopted by the plan 
pursuant to Section 503 of the Act and applicable regulations. The 
notice must include the specific reasons for such suspension, a general 
description of the plan provisions authorizing the suspension, a copy 
of the relevant plan provisions, and a statement indicating where the 
applicable regulations may be found, i.e., 29 CFR 2530.203-3. In 
addition, the suspension notification must inform the retiree or 
participant of the plan's procedure for affording a review of the 
suspension of benefits. The Department has received approval from OMB 
for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0048. The current approval is 
scheduled to expire on December 31, 2020.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Employee Retirement Income Security Act Prohibited 
Transaction Class Exemption 1981-8, Investment of Plan Assets in 
Certain Types of Short-Term Investment.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0061.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Respondents: 82,664.
    Responses: 413,320.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 103,330.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $93,770.
    Description: This class exemption (PTE 81-8), which was granted on 
January 23, 1981, exempts from the prohibited transaction restrictions 
the investment of plan assets in certain short-term investments in debt 
obligations issued by certain persons who provide services to the plan 
or are affiliated with such service providers. PTE 81-8 covers four 
types of short-term investments: banker's acceptances, commercial 
paper, repurchase agreements and certificates of deposit and contains 
specific conditions for each type of investment. PTE 81-8 was amended 
on April 9, 1985, to add a new category of permissible investments-
securities issued by banks or their affiliates in cases where the bank 
is a party in interest only by reason of the furnishing of a checking 
account or related services (such as clearing and recordkeeping 
services) to the list of acceptable short-term investments in the 
existing class exemption. In addition, PTE 81-8 was amended to expand 
the category of sellers with whom the plan may enter into repurchase 
agreements to include dealers in bank acceptances who report their 
security positions on a daily basis to the Federal Reserve Bank of New 
York. The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0061. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on December 31, 2020.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1998-54 Relating to 
Certain Employee Benefit Plan Foreign Exchange Transactions Executed 
Pursuant to Standing Instructions.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0111.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Respondents: 35.
    Responses: 420,000.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 4,200.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.
    Description: The class exemption that is the subject of this 
submission would permit certain foreign exchange transactions between 
employee benefit plans and certain banks and broker-dealers that are 
parties in interest with respect to such plans. For purposes of this 
exemption, a foreign exchange transaction is the exchange of currency 
of one nation for the currency of another nation. Although the 
Department previously granted an exemption for certain foreign exchange 
transactions (PTE 94-20, 59 FR 8022 (OMB Control Number 1210-0085)), 
that exemption

[[Page 23858]]

did not include relief for those foreign exchange transactions executed 
pursuant to the advance written authorization of a plan fiduciary who 
is independent of the bank or broker-dealer engaging in the transaction 
(a ``standing instruction''). This submission covers the information 
collection included in the exemption for foreign exchange transactions 
executed pursuant to standing instructions, which was granted on 
November 13, 1998. The Department has received approval from OMB for 
this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0111. The current approval is 
scheduled to expire on December 31, 2020.

    Dated: April 23, 2020.
Anja Decressin,
Acting Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits 
Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-09026 Filed 4-28-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P