[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 217 (Thursday, November 10, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 67853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24588]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

29 CFR Part 4213

RIN 1212-AB54


Actuarial Assumptions for Determining an Employer's Withdrawal 
Liability

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is extending 
the comment period for a proposed rule that would provide interest rate 
assumptions that may be used by a plan actuary in determining a 
withdrawing employer's liability under a multiemployer plan. PBGC 
published the proposed rule in the Federal Register on October 14, 
2022, with a comment period that was scheduled to end on November 14, 
2022. Since the proposed rule was published, PBGC has received a 
request from a group of interested parties for PBGC to extend the 
comment period to provide a total of at least 60 days from October 14, 
2022, for them to submit comments on the proposal. In response to this 
request, PBGC is extending the comment period through December 13, 
2022.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published October 14, 
2022, at 87 FR 62316, is extended. Comments must be received on or 
before December 13, 2022, to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected] with subject line ``4213 
proposed rule.''
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Regulatory Affairs Division, Office 
of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 445 12th 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20024-2101.
    Commenters are strongly encouraged to submit comments 
electronically. PBGC expects to have limited personnel available to 
process comments submitted on paper by mail or hand delivery. 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 the 4213 proposed 
rule. All comments received will be posted without change to PBGC's 
website, www.pbgc.gov, including any personal information provided. Do 
not submit comments that include any personally identifiable 
information or confidential business information.
    Copies of comments may also be obtained by writing to Disclosure 
Division, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty 
Corporation, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024-2101, or calling 
202-326-4040 during normal business hours. If you are deaf or hard of 
hearing or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access 
telecommunications relay services.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Ginsberg 
([email protected]), Assistant General Counsel, Multiemployer Law 
Division, Office of the General Counsel, at 202-229-3714, or Gregory 
Katz ([email protected]), Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division, 
Office of the General Counsel, at 202-227-8918. If you are deaf or hard 
of hearing or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access 
telecommunications relay services.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's (PBGC) legal authority 
to prescribe actuarial assumptions and methods for purposes of 
determining an employer's withdrawal liability comes from section 4213 
of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and 
from section 4002(b)(3) of ERISA, which authorizes PBGC to issue 
regulations to carry out the purposes of title IV of ERISA.
    Section 4213(a)(2) of ERISA authorizes PBGC to set forth in its 
regulations actuarial assumptions and methods that may be used by a 
plan actuary for the purpose of determining an employer's withdrawal 
liability as an alternative to the assumptions and methods used under 
section 4213(a)(1).
    On October 14, 2022, PBGC published a proposed rulemaking in the 
Federal Register entitled Actuarial Assumptions for Determining an 
Employer's Withdrawal Liability (the Proposed Rule).\1\ The rule was 
proposed to make clear that use of settlement rates prescribed by PBGC 
under section 4044 of ERISA, either as a standalone assumption or 
combined with funding interest assumptions, represents a valid approach 
to selecting an interest rate assumption to determine withdrawal 
liability in all circumstances.
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    \1\ 87 FR 62316
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    The Proposed Rule contains a 30-day comment period, which was 
scheduled to expire on November 14, 2022. Since the publication of the 
Proposed Rule, PBGC received a comment from a group of interested 
parties that expressed concern that the 30-day comment period does not 
provide commenters with sufficient time to develop and submit comments. 
The comment requests that PBGC extend the comment period to at least 60 
days from the date of publication in the Federal Register. After 
considering the extension request, PBGC has decided that it is 
appropriate to extend the comment period for this Proposed Rule to a 
total of 60 total days from the date of publication to provide 
interested parties with additional time to participate in this 
rulemaking process. The comment period, therefore, will close on 
December 13, 2022.

    Signed in Washington, DC.
Gordon Hartogensis,
Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2022-24588 Filed 11-9-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P