[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 6, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55638-55639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21762]


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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, with 
modifications.

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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 December 6, 2021.

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 OMB control 
number 1212-0054 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.
    Commenters are strongly encouraged to submit public comments 
electronically. PBGC expects to have limited personnel available to 
process public comments that are submitted on paper through mail. Until 
further notice, any comments submitted on paper will be considered to 
the extent practicable.
    All submissions received must include the agency's name (Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or PBGC) and refer to OMB control number 
1212-0054. All comments received will be posted without change to 
PBGC's website, http://www.pbgc.gov, including any personal information 
provided. Commenters should not include any information for which 
disclosure is restricted by statute, such as trade secrets and 
commercial or financial information (``confidential business 
information''). Submission of confidential business information without 
a request for protected treatment constitutes a waiver of any claims of 
confidentiality.
    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 202-229-4040 during normal business hours. TTY users may call 
the Federal relay service toll-free at 800-877-8339 and ask to be 
connected to 202-229-4040.

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, 202-229-3559. (TTY and TDD users may call the Federal relay 
service toll-free at 800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-229-
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 
February 28, 2022. 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 is proposing modifications to the booklet including: Removing 
language concerning age 70\1/2\ for required minimum distributions 
because the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act 
of 2019 (SECURE Act) changed the age for required minimum distributions 
in section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code, clarifying that PBGC 
will delay commencement of benefits to a participant upon receipt of 
written notice of a pending domestic relations order (DRO), and 
increasing the amount of time parties have to contact PBGC to extend a 
hold after submission of a DRO or a non-DRO written notice of a

[[Page 55639]]

pending DRO. PBGC is also making other editorial changes to the QDRO 
booklet.
    PBGC estimates that it will receive approximately 428 DROs each 
year. PBGC further estimates that the total average annual burden of 
this collection of information will be approximately 321 hours and 
$299,600.
    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.
Stephanie Cibinic,
Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2021-21762 Filed 10-5-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P