35466 Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 114 / Friday, June 13, 2003 / Notices 

contribution base, withdrawal liability 

would be imposed pursuant to the 

special liability rules previously 

approved by the PBGC. Because of the 

local nature of the work and the 

requirement that contributions be made 

to the Plan for all longshore work done 

on the West Coast, the comings and 

goings of employers do not have an 

adverse effect on the Plan’s contribution 

base, which is dependent upon the 

vitality of the West Coast shipping 

industry as a whole. Thus, the covered 

industry evidences characteristics that 

indicate that cessations by employers do 

not have a weakening effect on the 

Plan’s contribution base. 

The Plan further contends that past 

experience and reasonable future 

projections show that the relaxation of 

the current rule will not pose an 

unacceptable risk of loss to PBGC or 

participants. 

The Plan’s funded status has 

improved dramatically since 1984, 

underscoring the ability of the industry 

to fund the Plan * * *. And, even 

though the Plan’s funded status will 

decline for a time once the amendment 

fully takes effect, the Plan and the 

covered industry have unique 

characteristics that suggest that the 

Plan’s contribution base is likely to 

remain stable * * * [Actuarial 

projections show that] the Plan’s 

funding policy will return the Plan to 

85% funding in a little over ten (10) 

years * * *. The Plan’s continuation is 

dependent only on the continued 

activity in the West Coast shipping 

industry as a whole. Consequently, the 

Plan’s contribution base is secure and 

the departure of one employer from the 

Plan is highly unlikely to have an 

adverse effect on the contribution base 

so long as the level of shipping does not 

decline. 

Comments 

All interested persons are invited to 

submit written comments concerning 

the pending request to PBGC at the 

above address, on or before July 28, 

2003. All comments will be made a part 

of the record. The PBGC will make the 

comments received available on its Web 

site, http://www.pbgc.gov. Copies of the 

comments and the pending request may 

be obtained by writing the PBGC’s 

Communications and Public Affairs 

Department (CPAD) at Suite 240 at the 

above address or by visiting or calling 

CPAD during normal business hours 

(202–325–4040).

Issued in Washington, DC, on this 10th day 

of June 2003. 

Steven A. Kandarian, 

Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 03–14969 Filed 6–12–03; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY 

CORPORATION 

Required Interest Rate Assumption for 

Determining Variable-Rate Premium; 

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 June 2003. 

The interest assumptions for performing 

multiemployer plan valuations 

following mass withdrawal under part 

4281 apply to valuation dates occurring 

in July 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 June 2003 is 4.53 percent. 

The following table lists the required 

interest rates to be used in determining 

variable-rate premiums for premium 

payment years beginning between July 

2002 and June 2003.

For premium payment years 

beginning in—

The required

interest

rate is—

July 2002 ............................ 5.52

August 2002 ....................... 5.39

September 2002 ................. 5.08

October 2002 ...................... 4.76

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

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 July 

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 9th day 

of June, 2003. 

Joseph H. Grant, 

Deputy Executive Director and Chief 

Operating Officer, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 03–14953 Filed 6–12–03; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P