49986 Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 178 /Wednesday, September 15, 1999 /Rules and Regulations

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY

CORPORATION

29 CFR Part 4044

Allocation of Assets in SingleEmployer Plans; Interest Assumptions

for Valuing Benefits

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation’s regulation on Allocation

of Assets in Single-Employer Plans

prescribes interest assumptions for

valuing benefits under terminating

single-employer plans. This final rule

amends the regulation to adopt interest

assumptions for plans with valuation

dates in October 1999. Interest

assumptions are also published on the

PBGC’s web site (http://www.pbgc.gov).

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 1999.

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. (For TTY/TDD

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

connected to 202–326–4024.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

PBGC’s regulation on Allocation of

Asses in Single-Employer Plans (29 CFR

part 4044) prescribes actuarial

assumptions for valuing plan benefits of

terminating single-employer plans

covered by title IV of the Employee

Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Among the actuarial assumptions

prescribed in part 4044 are interest

assumptions. These interest

assumptions are intended to reflect

current conditions in the financial and

annuity markets.

Two sets of interest assumptions are

prescribed, one set for the valuation of

benefits to be paid as annuities and one

set for the valuation of benefit to be paid

as lump sums. This amendment adds to

appendix B to part 4044 the annuity and

lump sum interest assumptions for

valuing benefits in plans with valuation

dates during October 1999.

For annuity benefits, the interest

assumptions will be 6.30 percent for the

first 20 years following the valuation

date and 5.25 percent thereafter. The

annuity interest assumptions are

unchanged from those in effect for

September 1999. For benefits to be paid

as lump sums, the interest assumptions

to be used by the PBGC will be 5.00

percent for the period during which a

benefits is in pay status, 4.25 percent

during the seven-year period directly

preceding the benefit’s placement in pay

status, and 4.00 percent during any

other years preceding the benefit’s

placement in pay status. The lump sum

interest assumptions are unchanged

from those in effect for September 1999.

The PBGC has determined that notice

and public comment on this amendment

are impracticable and contrary to the

public interest. This finding is based on

the need to determine and issue new

interest assumptions promptly so that

the assumptions can reflect, as

accurately as possible, current market

conditions.

Because of the need to provide

immediate guidance for valuation of

benefits in plans with valuation dates

during October 1999, the PBGC finds

that good cause exists for making the

assumptions set forth in this

amendment effective less than 30 days

after publication.

The PBGC has determined that this

action is not a ‘‘significant regulatory

action’’ under the criteria set forth in

Executive Order 12866.

Because no general notice of proposed

rulemaking is required for this

amendment, the Regulatory Flexibility

Act of 1980 does not apply. See 5 U.S.C.

601(2).

List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 4044

Pension insurance, Pensions.

In consideration of the foregoing, 29

CFR part 4044 is amended as follows:

PART 4044—ALLOCATION OF

ASSETS IN SINGLE-EMPLOYER

PLANS

1. The authority citation for part 4044

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1301(a), 1302(b)(3),

1341, 1344, 1362.

2. In appendix B, a new entry is

added to Table I, and Rate Set 72 is

added to Table II, as set forth below.

The introductory text of each table is

republished for the convenience of the

reader and remains unchanged.

Appendix B to Part 4044—Interest Rates Used to Value Annuities and Lump Sums

TABLE I.—ANNUITY VALUATIONS

[This table sets forth, for each indicated calendar month, the interest rates (denoted by i1, i2, * * *, and referred to generally as it) assumed to be

in effect between specified anniversaries of a valuation date that occurs within that calendar month; those anniversaries are specified in the

columns adjacent to the rates. The last listed rate is assumed to be in effect after the last listed anniversary date.]

For valuation dates occurring in the month—

The values of it are:

it for t = it for t = it for t =

* * * * * * *

October 1999 ........................................................................ .0630 1–20 .0525 >20 N/A N/A
Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 178 /Wednesday, September 15, 1999 /Rules and Regulations 49987

TABLE II.—LUMP SUM VALUATIONS

[In using this table: (1) For benefits for which the participant or beneficiary is entitled to be in pay status on the valuation date, the immediate annuity rate shall apply; (2) For benefits for which the deferral period is y years (where y is an integer and 0 < y ≤ n1), interest rate i1 shall

apply from the valuation date for a period of y years, and thereafter the immediate annuity rate shall apply; (3) For benefits for which the deferral period is y years (where y is an integer and n1 < y ≤ n1 + n2), interest rate i2 shall apply from the valuation date for a period of y ¥ n1

years, interest rate i1 shall apply for the following n1 years, and thereafter the immediate annuity rate shall apply; (4) For benefits for which

the deferral period is y years (where y is an integer and y > n1 + n2), interest rate i3 shall apply from the valuation date for a period of y ¥

n1 ¥ n2 years, interest rate i2 shall apply for the following n2 years, interest rate i1 shall apply for the following n1 years, and thereafter the

immediate annuity rate shall apply.]

Rate set

For plans with a valuation

date Immediate

annuity rate

(percent)

Deferred annuities (percent)

On or after Before i1 i2 i3 n1 n2

* * * * * * *

72 10–1–99 11–1–99 5.00 4.25 4.00 4.00 7 8

Issued in Washington, DC, on this 7th day

of September 1999.

David M. Strauss,

Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 99–23849 Filed 9–14–99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 51

[FRL–6437–3]

Notice of Direct Final Rule Revisions to

Emissions Budgets Set Forth in EPA’s

Finding of Significant Contribution and

Rulemaking for Purposes of Reducing

Regional Transport of Ozone for the

States of Connecticut, Massachusetts

and Rhode Island

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: On October 27, 1998, EPA

published a final action requiring 22

States and the District of Columbia to

submit State implementation plan (SIP)

revisions to prohibit specified amounts

of emissions of oxides of nitrogen

(NOX)—one of the precursors to ozone

(smog) pollution—for the purpose of

reducing NOX and ozone transport

across State boundaries in the eastern

half of the United States. This action is

referred to as the NOX SIP Call.

Subsequent to that rulemaking, three

States, Connecticut, Massachusetts and

Rhode Island, approached EPA with

concerns about the distribution of the

emission reduction requirements to the

three States. While the States agreed

that the amount of the overall emission

reductions that EPA was requiring from

the three State region was appropriate,

the States had concerns about the

specific emission reductions that EPA

was requiring from each of the three

individual States. In particular, the

States were concerned that the emission

reduction requirements were

inconsistent with the emission

reductions that those States were

requiring in connection with an existing

multi-state effort to reduce NOX and

ozone transport across State boundaries

in the northeastern portion of the

United States.

In response to these concerns, EPA

and the States of Connecticut,

Massachusetts and Rhode Island signed

a memorandum of understanding

(MOU) in February 1999. This MOU

required EPA to take action to

redistribute the NOX emission reduction

requirements among the three States. In

the MOU, the three States and EPA

agreed that EPA would propose a

specific redistribution of the combined

electric generating stationary source

(EGU) portion of the budget for the three

States.

Subsequent to the signing of the

MOU, EPA took a final action that

changed the EGU portion of the budget

for the three States in a Technical

Amendment to the NOX SIP Call

published on May 14, 1999. EPA is now

taking direct final action to redistribute

the States’ budgets. The final

redistribution that EPA is promulgating

is slightly different than the

redistribution as stated in the MOU to

reflect and remain consistent with the

May 14, 1999 changes to the budgets.

DATES: This rule is effective on

November 1, 1999 without further

notice, unless EPA receives adverse

comment by Ocotber 5, 1999. If such

comments are received, EPA will

publish a timely withdrawal in the

Federal Register informing the public

that this rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Any written comments

must be identified with Docket No. A–

99–13, must be identified as comments

on the direct final rule and companion

proposal and must be submitted in

duplicate to: EPA Air Docket (6102),

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460.

The docket is available for public

inspection and copying between 8:30

a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday through

Friday, at the address given above. A

reasonable fee may be charged for

copying.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kathryn Petrillo, Acid Rain Division

(6204J) U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, 401 M Street SW, Washington

DC 20460, telephone number (202) 564–

9093; e-mail: petrillo.kathryn@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA is

publishing this rule without prior

proposal because EPA views this

redistribution of the EGU portions of

Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode

Island’s NOX budgets as

noncontroversial and anticipates no

adverse comment. EPA believes this

rule is not controversial for the

following reasons: (1) Connecticut,

Massachusetts, Rhode Island and EPA

signed an MOU agreeing to the action

taken by this rule; (2) the rule does not

result in an overall increase in NOX

emissions; (3) the rule is consistent with

the final State budgets published in the

May 14, 1999 Technical Amendment to

the NOX SIP Call; and (4) the rule is

consistent with the goals of the NOX SIP

Call. However, in the ‘‘Proposed Rules’’

section of today’s Federal Register EPA

is publishing a separate document that

will serve as a proposed rule to

redistribute the EGU portions of these

States’ budgets if EPA receives any

timely adverse comment. If EPA

receives timely adverse comment, EPA

will publish a withdrawal in the

Federal Register informing the public

that the direct final rule will not take

effect. EPA will then address all

significant public comments in a

subsequent final rule based on the

proposed rule. EPA will not institute a

second comment period on this action.