59422 Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 199 / Wednesday, October 15, 2003 / Notices 

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY 

CORPORATION 

Required Interest Rate Assumption for 

Determining Variable-Rate Premium; 

Interest on Late Premium Payments; 

Interest on Underpayments and 

Overpayments of Single-Employer 

Plan Termination Liability and 

Multiemployer Withdrawal Liability; 

Interest Assumptions for 

Multiemployer Plan Valuations 

Following Mass Withdrawal

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of interest rates and 

assumptions. 

SUMMARY: This notice informs the public 

of the interest rates and assumptions to 

be used under certain Pension Benefit 

Guaranty Corporation regulations. These 

rates and assumptions are published 

elsewhere (or can be derived from rates 

published elsewhere), but are collected 

and published in this notice for the 

convenience of the public. Interest rates 

are also published on the PBGC’s Web 

site (http://www.pbgc.gov).

DATES: The required interest rate for 

determining the variable-rate premium 

under part 4006 applies to premium 

payment years beginning in October 

2003. The interest assumptions for 

performing multiemployer plan 

valuations following mass withdrawal 

under part 4281 apply to valuation dates 

occurring in November 2003. The 

interest rates for late premium payments 

under part 4007 and for underpayments 

and overpayments of single-employer 

plan termination liability under part 

4062 and multiemployer withdrawal 

liability under part 4219 apply to 

interest accruing during the fourth 

quarter (October through December) of 

2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Harold J. Ashner, Assistant General 

Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, 

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 

1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20005, 202–326–4024. (TTY/TDD users 

may call the Federal relay service tollfree at 1–800–877–8339 and ask to be 

connected to 202–326–4024.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Variable-Rate Premiums 

Section 4006(a)(3)(E)(iii)(II) of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974 (ERISA) and § 4006.4(b)(1) 

of the PBGC’s regulation on Premium 

Rates (29 CFR part 4006) prescribe use 

of an assumed interest rate (the 

‘‘required interest rate’’) in determining 

a single-employer plan’s variable-rate 

premium. The required interest rate is 

the ‘‘applicable percentage’’ (currently 

100 percent) of the annual yield on 30-

year Treasury securities for the month 

preceding the beginning of the plan year 

for which premiums are being paid (the 

‘‘premium payment year’’). (Although 

the Treasury Department has ceased 

issuing 30-year securities, the Internal 

Revenue Service announces a surrogate 

yield figure each month—based on the 

30-year Treasury bond maturing in 

February 2031—which the PBGC uses to 

determine the required interest rate.) 

The required interest rate to be used 

in determining variable-rate premiums 

for premium payment years beginning 

in October 2003 is 5.14 percent. 

The following table lists the required 

interest rates to be used in determining 

variable-rate premiums for premium 

payment years beginning between 

November 2002 and October 2003.

For premium payment

years beginning in 

The required 

interest rate is 

November 2002 .................... 4.93 

December 2002 .................... 4.96 

January 2003 ........................ 4.92 

February 2003 ...................... 4.94 

March 2003 ........................... 4.81 

April 2003 ............................. 4.80 

May 2003 .............................. 4.90 

June 2003 ............................. 4.53 

July 2003 .............................. 4.37 

August 2003 ......................... 4.93 

September 2003 ................... 5.31 

October 2003 ........................ 5.14 

Late Premium Payments; 

Underpayments and Overpayments of 

Single-Employer Plan Termination 

Liability 

Section 4007(b) of ERISA and 

§ 4007.7(a) of the PBGC’s regulation on 

Payment of Premiums (29 CFR part 

4007) require the payment of interest on 

late premium payments at the rate 

established under section 6601 of the 

Internal Revenue Code. Similarly, 

§ 4062.7 of the PBGC’s regulation on 

Liability for Termination of SingleEmployer Plans (29 CFR part 4062) 

requires that interest be charged or 

credited at the section 6601 rate on 

underpayments and overpayments of 

employer liability under section 4062 of 

ERISA. The section 6601 rate is 

established periodically (currently 

quarterly) by the Internal Revenue 

Service. The rate applicable to the 

fourth quarter (October through 

December) of 2003, as announced by the 

IRS, is 4 percent. 

The following table lists the late 

payment interest rates for premiums and 

employer liability for the specified time 

periods:

From— Through— Interest rate

(percent) 

7/1/96 ................ 3/31/98 9 

4/1/98 ................ 12/31/98 8 

1/1/99 ................ 3/31/99 7 

4/1/99 ................ 3/31/00 8 

4/1/00 ................ 3/31/01 9 

4/1/01 ................ 6/30/01 8 

7/1/01 ................ 12/31/01 7 

1/1/02 ................ 12/31/02 6 

1/1/03 ................ 9/30/03 5 

10/1/03 .............. 12/31/03 4 

Underpayments and Overpayments of 

Multiemployer Withdrawal Liability 

Section 4219.32(b) of the PBGC’s 

regulation on Notice, Collection, and 

Redetermination of Withdrawal 

Liability (29 CFR part 4219) specifies 

the rate at which a multiemployer plan 

is to charge or credit interest on 

underpayments and overpayments of 

withdrawal liability under section 4219 

of ERISA unless an applicable plan 

provision provides otherwise. For 

interest accruing during any calendar 

quarter, the specified rate is the average 

quoted prime rate on short-term 

commercial loans for the fifteenth day 

(or the next business day if the fifteenth 

day is not a business day) of the month 

preceding the beginning of the quarter, 

as reported by the Board of Governors 

of the Federal Reserve System in 

Statistical Release H.15 (‘‘Selected 

Interest Rates’’). The rate for the fourth 

quarter (October through December) of 

2003 (i.e., the rate reported for 

September 15, 2003) is 4.00 percent. 

The following table lists the 

withdrawal liability underpayment and 

overpayment interest rates for the 

specified time periods:

From Through 

Interest 

rate

(percent) 

7/1/97 ............. 12/31/98 ........... 8.50 

1/1/99 ............. 9/30/99 ............. 7.75 

10/1/99 ........... 12/31/99 ........... 8.25 

1/1/00 ............. 3/31/00 ............. 8.50 

4/1/00 ............. 6/30/00 ............. 8.75 

7/1/00 ............. 3/31/01 ............. 9.50 

4/1/01 ............. 6/30/01 ............. 8.50 

7/1/01 ............. 9/30/01 ............. 7.00 

10/1/01 ........... 12/31/01 ........... 6.50 

1/1/02 ............. 12/31/02 ........... 4.75 

1/1/03 ............. 9/30/03 ............. 4.25 

10/1/03 ........... 12/31/03 ........... 4.00 

Multiemployer Plan Valuations 

Following Mass Withdrawal 

The PBGC’s regulation on Duties of 

Plan Sponsor Following Mass 

Withdrawal (29 CFR part 4281) 

prescribes the use of interest 

assumptions under the PBGC’s 

regulation on Allocation of Assets in 

Single-Employer Plans (29 CFR part 

Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 199 / Wednesday, October 15, 2003 / Notices 59423

4044). The interest assumptions 

applicable to valuation dates in 

November 2003 under part 4044 are 

contained in an amendment to part 4044 

published elsewhere in today’s Federal 

Register. Tables showing the 

assumptions applicable to prior periods 

are codified in appendix B to 29 CFR 

part 4044.

Issued in Washington, DC, on this 7th day 

of October 2003. 

Joseph H. Grant, 

Deputy Executive Director and Chief 

Operating Officer, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 03–26027 Filed 10–14–03; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

Privacy Act of 1974; Computer 

Matching Programs, Office of 

Personnel Management/Department of 

Labor, Office of Workers’

Compensation Programs

AGENCY: Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM).

ACTION: Publication of notice of 

computer matching to comply with 

Public Law 100–503, the Computer 

Matching and Privacy Act of 1988. 

SUMMARY: OPM is publishing notice of 

its computer matching program with the 

Department of Labor, Office of Workers’

Compensation Programs (OWCP) to 

meet the reporting and publication 

requirements of Public Law 100–503. 

The purpose of this match is to identify 

and/or prevent erroneous payments 

under the Civil Service Retirement Act 

(CSRA) or the Federal Employees’

Retirement System Act (FERSA) and the 

Federal Employees’ Compensation Act 

(FECA). The match will identify 

individuals receiving prohibited 

benefits simultaneously under CSRA or 

FERSA and the FECA. All three laws 

prohibit the receipt of certain 

simultaneous payments covering the 

same period of time. 

The match will involve the OPM 

system of records published as OPM 

CENTRAL–1, Civil Service Retirement 

and Insurance Records at 64 FR 54930 

October 8, 1999, as amended May 3, 

2000, (65 FR 25775) and the Department 

of Labor system of records published as 

DOL/GOVT–1, entitled ‘‘Office of 

Workers’ Compensation Programs, 

Federal Employees’ Compensation Act 

File’’ at 67 FR 16817, on April 8, 2002.

DATES: The matching program will begin 

in October 2003, or 40 days after 

agreements by the parties participating 

in the match have been submitted to 

Congress and the Office of Management 

and Budget, whichever is later. The 

matching program will continue for 18 

months from the beginning date and 

may be extended an additional 12 

months thereafter. The data exchange 

will begin at a date mutually agreed 

upon between OPM and OWCP after 

October 2003, unless comments on the 

match are received that result in 

cancellation of the program. Subsequent 

matches will take place semi-annually 

on a recurring basis until one of the 

parties advises the other in writing of its 

intention to reevaluate, modify and/or 

terminate the agreement.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Maurice 

O. Duckett, Assistant Director for RIS 

Support Services Program, Office of 

Personnel Management, Room 4H28, 

1900 E. Street NW., Washington, DC 

20415.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James Sparrow, (202) 606–1803.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

computer matching program between 

OPM and OWCP will involve 

comparison of beneficiaries under the 

FECA and the CSRA or the FERSA. The 

match will identify beneficiaries 

receiving payment of compensation for 

wage loss or death under the FECA and 

those receiving retirement or death 

benefits under the CSRA or FERS 

covering the same period of time. 

The concurrent receipt of benefits 

under the FECA based on wage loss and 

under the CSRA or FERSA for 

retirement, or under the FECA, CSRA, 

or FERSA based on the death of a 

Federal employee, is prohibited. OPM 

has the responsibility to monitor 

retirement annuity and survivor benefits 

paid under the retirement laws to 

ensure that its beneficiaries are not 

receiving benefits under the FECA 

which are prohibited during receipt of 

benefits under the CSRA or FERSA. 

Similarly, it is OWCP’s responsibility to 

ensure that Federal employees or 

dependents of deceased Federal 

employees receiving benefits under the 

FECA are not also receiving benefits 

under CSRA or FERSA which are 

prohibited. 

By comparing the information 

received through this computer 

matching program on a regular basis, the 

agencies will be able to make a timely 

and more accurate adjustment in their 

benefit payments. The match will 

prevent overpayments, fraud and abuse, 

thus assuring that benefit payments are 

proper under the appropriate Acts. 

Additional information regarding the 

matching program, including the 

authority for the program, a description 

of the matches, the personnel records to 

be matched, security safeguards, and 

plans for the disposal of records 

following completion of the match are 

provided in the text below.

Office of Personnel Management 

Kay Coles James, 

Director.

Matching of Records Between Office of 

Workers’ Compensation Programs and 

the Office of Personnel Management 

A. Authority. The Civil Service 

Retirement Act (CSRA), 5 U.S.C. 8331, 

et seq; the Federal Employees’

Retirement System Act (FERSA), 5 

U.S.C. 8401, et seq; and the Federal 

Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA), 

5 U.S.C. 8101, et seq.

B. Description of Computer Matching 

Program. OPM pays annuities or 

survivor benefits to individuals who 

also may receive benefits under the 

FECA. OPM’s responsibility as the 

administrator of CSRA and the FERSA 

is to assure that such benefit payments 

are proper and to prevent fraud and 

abuse. The computer matching program 

is an efficient method of determining 

whether these individuals are receiving 

benefits simultaneously from both OPM 

and OWCP which is prohibited by law. 

OWCP will provide OPM with 

extracts of its payment files containing 

data (names, social security numbers, 

payee relationship codes, addresses, zip 

codes, and payment data) needed to 

identify the individual and determine if 

he or she is receiving benefits from both 

organizations at the same time. OPM 

will match OWCP’s extract of its 

payment files against its payment 

records for the same dates to determine 

if benefits were being paid for the same 

day by both agencies. OPM will provide 

OWCP with a list of valid matches. Both 

organizations will detect, identify, and 

follow-up on payment of prohibited 

dual benefits. An individual identified 

as receiving prohibited dual benefits 

will be offered an opportunity to contest 

the findings and proposed actions and 

the opportunity to elect the benefits he 

or she wishes to receive. This due 

process will be provided to the 

individual before any payment 

adjustments are made. 

C. Personnel Records to be Matched.

The respective OPM and OWCP system 

of records cited above, which contain 

payment data on beneficiaries, will be 

matched. 

D. Privacy Safeguards and Security.

The personal privacy of the individuals 

whose names are included in the tapes 

is protected by strict adherence to the 

provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 

and OMB’s Guidance Interpreting the 

Provisions of Pub. L. 100–503, the