[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 203 (Tuesday, October 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66580-66581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23191]


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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 December 21, 2020.

ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby, 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: Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0089.
    Affected Public: Private Sector.
    Respondents: 11,554.
    Responses: 11,554.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 898,265.
    Description: On April 27, 1995, the Department implemented the 
Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (the DFVC Program). Under 
the DFVC Program, administrators otherwise subject to the assessment of 
higher civil penalties are permitted to pay reduced civil penalties for 
voluntarily complying with the annual reporting requirements under 
Title I of ERISA. The program also helps plan officials understand the 
law and gives immediate relief from payment of excise taxes under a 
class exemption.
    This information collection requires providing data necessary to 
identify the plan along with the penalty payment. With respect to most 
pension plans and welfare plans, the requirement is satisfied by 
sending, along with the penalty payment, a copy of the delinquent 
annual report (without attachments or schedules) which is filed with 
the Department at a different address under the EFAST system. In the 
event that the plan administrator files the delinquent annual report 
using a 1998 or prior plan year form, a paper copy of only the first 
page of the Form 5500 or Form 5500-C, as applicable, should be 
submitted along with the penalty payment. With respect to ``top hat'' 
plans and apprenticeship plans, the requirement is satisfied by sending 
a completed first page of an annual report form along with the penalty 
payment.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0089. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on January 31, 2021.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Request for Assistance from the Department of Labor, 
Employee Benefits Security Administration.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0146.
    Affected Public: Individual or Households.
    Respondents: 7,618.
    Responses: 7,618.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 3,809.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 0.
    Description: EBSA assists participants in understanding their 
rights, responsibilities, and benefits under employee benefits laws and 
intervenes informally on their behalf with the plan sponsor in order to 
assist them in obtaining the health and retirement benefits to which 
they may have been inappropriately denied, which can avert the 
necessity for a formal investigation or a civil action. EBSA has made a 
request for assistance form available on its website for those wishing 
to obtain assistance in this manner. This collection of information is 
an intake form for assistance requests from the public. This 
information includes the plan type, broad categories of problem type, 
contact information for responsible parties, and a mechanism for the 
inquirer to attach relevant documents. The Department has received 
approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0146. The 
current approval is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2021.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Alternative Method of Compliance for Certain Simplified 
Employee Pensions.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0034.
    Affected Public: Private Sector.
    Respondents: 35,660.
    Responses: 67,930.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 21,227.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 18,556.
    Description: The regulation containing the ICR (29 CFR 2520.104-49) 
relieves sponsors of certain Simplified Employee Pensions (SEPs) from 
ERISA's Title I reporting and

[[Page 66581]]

disclosure requirements by prescribing an alternative method of 
compliance. This information collection generally requires timely 
written disclosure to employees eligible to participate in non-model 
SEPs, including specific information concerning: Participation 
requirements; allocation formulas for employer contributions; 
designated contact persons for further information; and, for employer 
recommended IRAs, specific terms of the IRAs such as rates of return 
and any restrictions on withdrawals. The Department has received 
approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0034. The 
current approval is scheduled to expire on February 28, 2021.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Section 
408(a) Prohibited Transaction Provisions Exemption Application 
Procedure.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0060.
    Affected Public: Private Sector.
    Respondents: 37.
    Responses: 17,271.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,852.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 1,023,418.
    Description: This information collection relates to the 
Department's regulation governing the procedure for filing and 
processing of applications for administrative exemptions from the 
prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the 
Code), and the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986 
(FERSA).
    The regulation contains the following collections of information: 
(1) An applicant for an exemption must disclose information regarding 
the application and certify that the information is necessary in order 
for the Department to make an informed determination regarding the 
application and (2) the applicant must distribute a notice to 
interested parties, in which participants and beneficiaries are 
informed of the application for exemption and have an opportunity to 
respond.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0060. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on February 28, 2021.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Investment Advice Participants and Beneficiaries.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0134.
    Affected Public: Private Sector.
    Respondents: 29,838.
    Responses: 21,501,930.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,340,981.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 
278,939,750.
    Description: The Department's final rule allows financial services 
firms, such as a registered investment adviser, bank, or registered 
broker-dealer, to provide investment advice on its proprietary 
investment products or other investments that would result in fees or 
other payments to the firm, if the firm complies with a fee-leveling 
requirement or the advice is furnished using a certified computer 
model.
    The regulation contains the following collections of information: 
(1) A fiduciary adviser must furnish an initial disclosure that 
provides detailed information to participants about an advice 
arrangement before initially providing investment advice; (2) a 
fiduciary adviser must engage, at least annually, an independent 
auditor to conduct an audit of the investment advice arrangement for 
compliance with the regulation; (3) if the fiduciary adviser provides 
the investment advice through the use of a computer model, the 
fiduciary adviser must obtain the written certification of an eligible 
investment expert as to the computer model's compliance with certain 
standards (e.g., applies generally accepted investment theories, 
unbiased operation, objective criteria) set forth in the regulation 
before providing the advice; and (4) fiduciary advisers must maintain 
records with respect to the investment advice provided in reliance on 
the regulation necessary to determine whether the applicable 
requirements of the regulation have been satisfied.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0134. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on February 28, 2021.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Alternative Reporting Methods for Apprenticeship and 
Training Plans and Top Hat Plans.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0153.
    Affected Public: Private Sector.
    Respondents: 1,872.
    Responses: 1,872.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 312.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 0.
    Description: This information collection relates to the 
Department's final rule providing an alternative method of compliance 
with the reporting and disclosure requirements of Title I of ERISA for 
plan administrators to file ``top hat'' plan statements and 
apprenticeship and training plan notices with the Department (29. CFR 
2520.104-22(c) and 2520.104-23(c)). Beginning in 2019, the regulations 
were amended to require the notices and statements to be distributed 
electronically.
    The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under 
OMB Control No. 1210-0153. The current approval is scheduled to expire 
on February 28, 2021.

    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Furnishing Documents to the Secretary of Labor on Request 
Under Employee Retirement Income Security Act Section 104(a)(6).
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0112.
    Affected Public: Private Sector.
    Respondents: 831.
    Responses: 831.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 55.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 3,451.
    Description: Plan administrators of ERISA-covered employee benefit 
plans are not required to file copies of the summary plan descriptions 
and summaries of material modifications with the Department that are 
publicly available. This information collection relates to ERISA 
section 104(a)(6) and 29 CFR 2520.104a-8, which authorize the 
Department to request these documents when a participant or beneficiary 
has requested them from her plan administrator and the administrator 
has failed or refused to provide them. The Department has received 
approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0112. The 
current approval is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2021.

    Signed at Washington, DC.
Jeanne Klinefelter Wilson,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration, 
Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2020-23191 Filed 10-19-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P