[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 53 (Monday, March 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19361-19362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05645]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Investment Advice to Participants and 
Beneficiaries

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 the agency 
receives on or before April 17, 2024.

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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Howell by telephone at 202-
693-6782, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under ERISA, providing ``investment advice'' 
is a fiduciary act. A fiduciary who advises participants about plan 
investment opportunities that pay the adviser fees or commissions may 
be subject to liability under the Employee Retirement Income Security 
Act of 1974 (ERISA) prohibited transaction rules. The Pension 
Protection Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-280) amended the ERISA and the 
Internal Revenue Code (Code) to include a statutory exemption for 
providing investment advice to participants and beneficiaries in self-
directed defined contribution individual account ERISA-covered plans 
(Plans) and beneficiaries of individual retirement accounts, individual 
retirement annuities, Archer MSAs, health savings accounts and 
Coverdell education savings accounts (collectively IRAs) described in 
the Code. The statutory exemption provides relief from the prohibited 
transaction provisions of ERISA, and the parallel provisions of the 
Code.
    The information collections that are conditions of the regulation 
include, third-party disclosures, recordkeeping, and audit 
requirements. With one exception, the regulation does not require any 
reporting or filing with the Federal government, but the designated 
records must be made available upon request. The exception is the 
requirement that the fiduciary adviser is required under certain 
circumstances to forward the audit report which is also a required 
disclosure under the regulation to the Department. For additional 
substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice 
published in the Federal Register on August 25, 2023 (88 FR 58312).
    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) 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; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) 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.
    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.

[[Page 19362]]

    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: Investment Advice to Participants and 
Beneficiaries.
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0134.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 8,938.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 24,698,107.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 1,867,800 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $247,377,814.

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D))

Michael Howell,
Senior Paperwork Reduction Act Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2024-05645 Filed 3-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P