[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 187 (Thursday, September 30, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 54248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21239]



[[Page 54248]]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Blackout Period Notice

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Employee 
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)-sponsored information 
collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives 
on or before November 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
    Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) if the information will be processed and used in a timely 
manner; (3) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and 
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (4) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (5) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mara Blumenthal by telephone at 202-
693-8538, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOA), enacted on 
July 30, 2002, amended ERISA to include a blackout period disclosure 
requirement in subsection 101(i). This information collection requires 
administrators of individual account pension plans (e.g., a profit 
sharing plan, 401(k) type plan or money purchase pension plan) to 
provide at least 30 days advance written notice to the affected 
participants and beneficiaries in advance of any ``blackout period'' 
during which their existing rights to direct or diversify their 
investments under the plan, or obtain a loan or distribution from the 
plan will be temporarily suspended. For additional substantive 
information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the 
Federal Register on March 31, 2021 (86 FR 16787).
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless the OMB approves it and displays a currently valid 
OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions 
of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to 
comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid 
OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
    DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for 
three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than 
three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information 
collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive 
a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.
    Agency: DOL-EBSA.
    Title of Collection: Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
Blackout Period Notice.
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0122.
    Affected Public: Private Sector-- Businesses or other for-profits 
and not-for-profit institutions.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 47,250.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 7,409,220.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 88,905 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $324,524.
    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

     Dated: September 22, 2021.
Mara Blumenthal,
Senior PRA Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2021-21239 Filed 9-29-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P