Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 199 /Thursday, October 15, 1998 / Notices 55415

State authority to regulate specific

categories of radioactive materials

formerly regulated by the NRC. This

Agreement was entered into on July 1,

1963, pursuant to Section 274b of the

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

The NRC received a letter from

Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee

dated July 1, 1998 requesting

relinquishment of the State’s authority

to evaluate and approve sealed source

and devices, and reassumption of this

authority by the NRC. The requested

action would involve reassertion of

regulatory authority by NRC over

activities currently regulated by

Arkansas pursuant to its Agreement

with NRC.

The Governor indicated that specific

requests for the Arkansas Radiation

Control Program to perform SS&D

evaluations had been few (three

requests) since Arkansas became an

Agreement State in 1963. He further

indicated that no requests for SS&D

evaluations were anticipated. The

Governor stated that Arkansas is

committed to maintaining a high quality

regulatory program for radioactive

materials. He also indicated that it

would be difficult to maintain high

quality in an extremely small and

unique program area that demands

atypical expertise on an infrequent basis

and the State could not justify the

resources required to perform the

evaluations. Based on this, the State

requests to relinquish its authority to

perform sealed source and device

evaluations.

The Commission has agreed to the

request and has notified Arkansas that

effective October 1, 1998 the NRC

reassumed authority to evaluate and

approve sealed source and devices

within the State of Arkansas. The State

of Arkansas will retain authority to

regulate the manufacture and use of

sealed sources and devices within the

State in accordance with its Section

274b Agreement with the NRC.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 8th day

of October, 1998.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Annette Vietti-Cook,

Acting Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 98–27656 Filed 10–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY

CORPORATION

Interest 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 are derivable 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 interest rate for determining

the variable-rate premium under part

4006 applies to premium payment years

beginning in October 1998. The interest

assumptions for performing

multiemployer plan valuations

following mass withdrawal under part

4281 apply to valuation dates occurring

in November 1998. 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 1998.

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:

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 in

determining a single-employer plan’s

variable-rate premium. The rate is the

‘‘applicable percentage’’ (described in

the statute and the regulation) 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’’). The yield figure is

reported in Federal Reserve Statistical

Releases G.13 and H.15.

For plan years beginning before July

1, 1997, the applicable percentage of the

30-year Treasury yield was 80 percent.

The Retirement Protection Act of 1994

(RPA) amended ERISA section

4006(a)(3)(E)(iii)(II) to change the

applicable percentage to 85 percent,

effective for plan years beginning on or

after July 1, 1997. (The amendment also

provides for a further increase in the

applicable percentage—to 100 percent—

when the Internal Revenue Service

adopts new mortality tables for

determining current liability.)

The assumed interest rate to be used

in determining variable-rate premiums

for premium payment years beginning

in October 1998 is 4.42 percent (i.e., 85

percent of the 5.20 percent yield figure

for September 1998).

(Under section 774(c) of the RPA, the

amendment to the applicable percentage

was deferred for certain regulated public

utility (RPU) plans for as long as six

months. The applicable percentage for

RPU plans has therefore remained 80

percent for plan years beginning before

January 1, 1998. For ‘‘partial’’ RPU

plans, the assumed interest rates to be

used in determining variable-rate

premiums can be computed by applying

the rules in § 4006.5(g) of the premium

rates regulation. The PBGC’s 1997

premium payment instruction booklet

also describes these rules and provides

a worksheet for computing the assumed

rate.)

The following table lists the assumed

interest rates to be used in determining

variable-rate premiums for premium

payment years beginning between

November 1997 and October 1998. The

rates for November and December 1997

in the table (which reflect an applicable

percentage of 85 percent) apply only to

non-RPU plans. However, the rates for

months after December 1997 apply to

RPU (and ‘‘partial’’ RPU) plans as well

as to non-RPU plans.

For premium payment years beginning in:

The assumed interest

rate is:

November 1997 ............................ 5.38

December 1997 ............................ 5.19

January 1998 ................................ 5.09

February 1998 .............................. 4.94

March 1998 ................................... 5.01

April 1998 ...................................... 5.06

May 1998 ...................................... 5.03

June 1998 ..................................... 5.04

July 1998 ...................................... 4.85
55416 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 199 /Thursday, October 15, 1998 / Notices

For premium payment years beginning in:

The assumed interest

rate is:

August 1998 .................................. 4.83

September 1998 ........................... 4.71

October 1998 ................................ 4.42

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 1998, as announced by the

IRS, is 8 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)

10/1/92 .................. 6/30/94 7

7/1/94 .................... 9/30/94 8

10/1/94 .................. 3/31/95 9

4/1/95 .................... 6/30/95 10

7/1/95 .................... 3/31/96 9

4/1/96 .................... 6/30/96 8

7/1/96 .................... 12/31/96 9

1/1/97 .................... 3/31/97 9

4/1/97 .................... 6/30/97 9

7/1/97 .................... 9/30/97 9

10/1/97 .................. 12/31/97 9

1/1/98 .................... 3/31/98 9

4/1/98 .................... 6/30/98 8

7/1/98 .................... 9/30/98 8

10/1/98 .................. 12/31/98 8

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

1998 (i.e., the rate reported for

September 15, 1998) is 8.50 percent.

The following table lists the

withdrawal liability underpayment and

overpayment interest rates for the

specified time periods:

From Through Rate

(percent)

10/1/92 .................. 6/30/94 6.00

7/1/94 .................... 9/30/94 7.25

10/1/94 .................. 12/31/94 7.75

1/1/95 .................... 3/31/95 8.50

4/1/95 .................... 9/30/95 9.00

10/1/95 .................. 3/31/96 8.75

4/1/96 .................... 12/31/96 8.25

1/1/97 .................... 3/31/97 8.25

4/1/97 .................... 6/30/97 8.25

7/1/97 .................... 9/30/97 8.50

10/1/97 .................. 12/31/97 8.50

1/1/98 .................... 3/31/98 8.50

4/1/98 .................... 6/30/98 8.50

7/1/98 .................... 9/30/98 8.50

10/1/98 .................. 12/31/98 8.50

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

4044). The interest assumptions

applicable to valuation dates in

November 1998 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 8th day

of October 1998.

David M. Strauss,

Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 98–27661 Filed 10–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P

POSTAL SERVICE

Privacy Act of 1974, System of

Records

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Notice of system of records.

SUMMARY: This document publishes

notice of a proposed Privacy Act system

of records, USPS 300.010, Office of

Inspector General (OIG) Investigative

File System, which partially duplicates

an existing Postal Inspection Service

file.

DATES: Any interested party may submit

written comments on the proposed

system of records. This proposal will

become effective without further notice

on November 23, 1998, unless

comments received on or before that

date result in a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this

proposal should be mailed or delivered

to Payroll Accounting/Records, United

States Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant

Plaza, SW, Washington, DC 20260–

5243. Copies of all written comments

will be available at the above address for

public inspection and photocopying

between 8 a.m. and 4:45 p.m., Monday

through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kirt

West (703) 248–2100.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Postal

Service is proposing to establish a

system of records entitled Office of

Inspector General (OIG) Investigative

File System, 300.010. This proposed

system of records will cover only the

files of investigation which identify by

name individuals who are subjects or

sources of information. The system of

records is necessary to the functions

performed by the Office of Inspector

General. The files may contain

information about civil, criminal, or

administrative wrongdoing, or about

fraud, waste, or mismanagement, or

other violations of law or regulation.

This information could be the basis for

administrative corrective action or

referrals to appropriate authorities for

prosecution. The collection and

maintenance of records subject to this

system are not new, because records of

the same type are covered by an existing

system, USPS 080.010, under the

jurisdiction of the Chief Postal

Inspector, who previously also served as

the Inspector General. With the

establishment of an independent Office

of Inspector General, system of records

300.010 is created to cover the

investigative activities carried out under

the authority of the OIG and the records

maintained by that office. A complete

description of system 300.010 appears

below.