[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 113 (Friday, June 13, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 25091]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10818]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment
Request; Notices Following a Substantial Cessation of Operations
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
ACTION: Notice of request for extension of OMB approval of information
collection.
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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is requesting
that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend approval under
the Paperwork Reduction Act, of a collection of information that is
necessary to fulfill various reporting obligations following a
cessation of operations at a facility. This notice informs the public
of PBGC's request and solicits public comment on the collection of
information.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by July 14, 2025 to be assured of
consideration.
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.
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.
A copy of the request will be posted on PBGC's website at
www.pbgc.gov/prac/laws-and-regulation/federal-register-notices-open-for-comment. It may also be obtained without charge by writing to the
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: Monica O'Donnell
([email protected]), Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division,
Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation,
445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024-2101, 202-229-8706. 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 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
(PBGC) is requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
extend approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act, of a collection of
information that is necessary to fulfill various reporting obligations
following a cessation of operations at a facility (OMB control number
1212-0073; expires August 31, 2025). This notice informs the public of
PBGC's request and solicits public comment on the collection of
information.
Section 4062(e) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974 (ERISA) imposes reporting obligations in the event of a
``substantial cessation of operations.'' A substantial cessation of
operations occurs when a permanent cessation at a facility causes a
separation from employment of more than 15 percent of all ``eligible
employees.'' ``Eligible employees'' are employees eligible to
participate in any of the facility's employer's employee pension
benefit plans. Following a substantial cessation of operations, the
facility's employer is treated, with respect to its single-employer
pension plans covered by title IV of ERISA that are covering
participants at the facility, as if the employer were a withdrawing
substantial employer under a multiple employer plan. Under section
4063(a) of ERISA, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) must
receive notice of the substantial cessation of operations and a request
to determine the employer's resulting liability.
To fulfill such resulting liability, the employer may elect, under
section 4062(e)(4)(A), to make additional contributions annually for
seven years to plans covering participants at the facility where the
substantial cessation of operations took place. Under sections
4062(e)(4)(E)(i)(I), (II), (III), (IV), and (V) respectively, an
employer that is making the election for annual additional
contributions must give notice to PBGC of: (1) its decision to make the
election, (2) its payment of an annual contribution, (3) its failure to
pay an annual contribution, (4) its receipt of a funding waiver from
the Internal Revenue Service, and (5) the ending of its obligation to
make additional annual contributions
The existing collection of information is approved through August
31, 2025, under OMB control number 1212-0073. On April 8, 2025, PBGC
published in the Federal Register (at 90 FR 15164) a notice informing
the public of its intent to request an extension of this collection of
information. No comments were received. PBGC is requesting that OMB
extend approval of the collection 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 estimates that, over the next 3 years, it will receive 3 forms
in this series each year. PBGC estimates that these forms will be
completed by a combination of plan office staff and outside
professionals: attorneys and actuaries. PBGC further estimates that the
average burden of this information collection will be 8 hours per
filer, with a total burden of 24 hours (8 hours x 3 filers). PBGC also
estimates that each filer will spend an average of $8,000 in contractor
costs, for an estimated total annual cost burden of $24,000 ($8,000 x 3
filers).
Issued in Washington, DC.
Hilary Duke
Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2025-10818 Filed 6-12-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P