[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 153 (Thursday, August 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64965-64966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17609]


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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 on or before October 7, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the 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, 445 12th 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20245-2101.
    Commenters are strongly encouraged to submit public comments 
electronically. Commenters who submit comments on paper by mail should 
allow sufficient time for mailed

[[Page 64966]]

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 OMB control number 
1212-0054. 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 the collection of information may be obtained without 
charge by writing to the Disclosure Division, Office of the General 
Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 445 12th Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20024-2101, or calling 202-229-4040 during 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: Karen Levin ([email protected]), 
Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of the General Counsel, 
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, 
DC 20024-2101; 202-229-3559. 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: 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 (DRO) 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 DRO 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 January 
31, 2025. PBGC intends to request that OMB extend approval of the 
collection of information with modifications for 3 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 adding one term and is making clarifying changes to other 
terms in the Glossary. PBGC is making other editorial and clarifying 
changes to the QDRO booklet.
    PBGC estimates that it will receive approximately 253 DROs each 
year. PBGC further estimates that the total average annual burden of 
this collection of information will be approximately 190 hours and 
$177,100.
    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.
Hilary Duke,
Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2024-17609 Filed 8-7-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P