[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 126 (Monday, July 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42758-42759]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14061]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; 
Comment Request; Missing Participants

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of intent to request extension of OMB approval of an 
information collection.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to 
request that the Office of Management and Budget extend approval under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of a collection of information under PBGC's 
regulation on Missing Participants. PBGC needs the information 
submitted by plans under this collection to search for missing 
participants and beneficiaries and pay their benefits. This notice 
informs the public of PBGC's intent and solicits public comment on the 
collection of information.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 1, 2023 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 instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Refer to Missing 
Participants and/or OMB Control No. 1212-0069 in the subject line.
     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. Commenters who submit comments on paper by mail should 
allow sufficient time for mailed comments to be received before the 
close of the comment period.
    All submissions received must include the agency's name (Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or PBGC) and refer to Missing 
Participants and/or OMB Control No. 1212-0069. All comments received 
will be posted without change to PBGC's website, https://www.pbgc.gov, 
including any personal information provided. Do not submit comments 
that include any personally identifiable information or confidential 
business information.
    Copies of this information collection may be obtained by writing to 
Disclosure Division ([email protected]), Office of the General 
Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 445 12th Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20024-2101, or calling 202-229-4040 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: Stephanie Cibinic, Deputy Assistant 
General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Office of the General Counsel, 
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, 
DC 20024-2101; 202-229-6352; [email protected]. 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: The process of closing out a terminated 
pension plan or other retirement plan involves the disposition of plan 
assets to satisfy the benefits of plan participants and beneficiaries. 
One difficulty faced by plan administrators in closing out terminated 
plans is how to provide for the benefits of missing persons. Section 
4050 of ERISA and 29 CFR part 4050 establishes a program under which 
the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) holds the retirement 
benefits for missing participants and beneficiaries in terminated plans 
and seeks to reunite those participants and beneficiaries with the 
benefits being held for them. The program is applicable to certain 
defined benefit (DB) pension plans covered by PBGC's single-employer or 
multiemployer insurance programs, and to defined contribution (DC) 
plans and small professional service DB plans not covered by PBGC's 
insurance programs.
    The Missing Participant Program (MPP) for each of the four types of 
plans follows the same basic design. The most prominent difference 
among them lies in the mandatory or voluntary nature of the program. 
For plans covered by the title IV insurance programs, participation in 
the MPP is mandatory. For plans not covered by the title IV insurance 
programs, PBGC's regulation permits, but does not require, such plans 
to participate in the MPP.
    PBGC needs information from plans that participate in the MPP to 
identify the plans and the missing participants and beneficiaries, to 
search for missing participants and beneficiaries, to determine the 
persons entitled to benefits that the plans transfer to PBGC and the 
forms and amounts of benefits payable, and to refer claimants of 
benefits being held elsewhere to the institutions holding the benefits.
    PBGC intends to make the following modifications to the information 
collection in this renewal:
     PBGC is proposing a requirement for plans that are filing 
information about more than five missing individuals (participants or 
beneficiaries) to provide that information in a spreadsheet file. PBGC 
provides a user-friendly template that may be used for this purpose.
     PBGC is adding a question to the DB plan forms (MP-100, 
300, and 400) asking if the plan has a default beneficiary provision, 
and, if yes, requiring an attachment of it. (This question is already 
on the DC plan form (MP-200)).
     PBGC is updating references on the DB plan forms and 
instructions that relate to de minimis benefit amounts of $5,000 or 
less to reflect the change under section 304 of the SECURE 2.0

[[Page 42759]]

Act increasing that amount to $7,000 as of January 1, 2024.\1\
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    \1\ SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, Division T of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2023, Public Law 117-328 (Dec. 29, 2022).
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     PBGC is adding a box to the DC plan form for the person 
certifying the form to check whether they are the plan's plan 
administrator or the plan's qualified termination administrator.
    Finally, PBGC intends to make other clarifying and editorial 
changes to the forms and instructions.
    PBGC estimates that it will receive over the next 3 years an annual 
average of 345 filings from plans under this collection of information. 
PBGC further estimates that the average annual burden of this 
collection of information is 70 hours and $498,000. The actual hour 
burden and cost burden per plan will vary depending on plan size and 
other factors.
    The existing collection of information was approved under OMB 
control number 1212-0069 (expires January 31, 2024). PBGC intends to 
request that OMB extend its approval of this collection of information 
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 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. 2023-14061 Filed 6-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P