[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 239 (Thursday, December 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71530-71531]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27251]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment 
Request; Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Submitted to PBGC

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of request for extension of OMB approval of information 
collection, with modifications.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is requesting 
that the Office of Management and Budget extend 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 
request and solicits public comment on the collection of information.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by January 18, 2022.

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.
    A copy of the request will be posted on PBGC's website at 
www.pbgc.gov/prac/laws-and-regulation/federalregister-notices-open-for-comment. It may also be obtained without charge by writing to the 
Disclosure Division of the Office of the General Counsel of PBGC, 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). The 
Disclosure Division will email, fax, or mail the information to you, as 
you request.

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 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

[[Page 71531]]

for the plan faces severe financial difficulty, such as bankruptcy, and 
is unable to maintain the plan. In such an event, the Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation (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 (DRO or 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 existing collection of information was approved under OMB 
control number 1212-0054, expiring on February 28, 2022. On October 6, 
2021, PBGC published in the Federal Register (at 86 FR 55638), a notice 
informing the public of its intent to request an extension of this 
collection of information, as modified. No comments were received. PBGC 
is requesting that OMB extend approval of the collection with 
modifications for three years. The modifications requested are not 
material. 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 estimates that it will receive approximately 428 domestic 
relations orders each year from prospective alternate payees and 
participants. PBGC further estimates that the total average annual 
burden of this collection of information will be approximately 321 
hours and $299,600.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Stephanie Cibinic,
Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2021-27251 Filed 12-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P