Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 27 / Thursday, February 9, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 6675 

1PBGC’s benefit guarantees apply to plan 

participants in a covered plan even if the plan has 

failed to pay required premiums. However, if the 

sponsor goes out of business, PBGC often finds out 

that benefits need to be paid only when it is 

contacted by a plan participant. 

2PBGC’s Plan for Regulatory review can be found 

at www.pbgc.gov/documents/plan-for-regulatoryreview.pdf. 

3PBGC recognizes that there may be difficulty in 

determining premiums and premium-related 

information for years in the distant past. PBGC is 

willing to discuss application of the relief in this 

notice even in situations where not all premiums 

for past years are paid and/or not all premium 

information for past years is provided. 

4Currently, premiums must be filed 

electronically. The requirement to file electronically 

applies to filings for plan years beginning in 2006 

that are made on or after July 1, 2006, for plans with 

500 or more participants for the prior plan year and 

to filings for all plans for plan years beginning after 

2006. Plan administrators and their representatives 

should review the information under the ‘‘New 

Users’’ heading at www.pbgc.gov/prac/prem/onlinepremium-filing-with-my-paa.html for information 

on how to file premiums electronically. PBGC will 

discuss with plan administrators how to file for 

years for which electronic filing was not available. 

the private sector. This rule does not 

impose any federal mandates on any 

state, local, or tribal governments, or on 

the private sector, within the meaning of 

UMRA. 

Environmental Impact 

This final rule does not direct, 

provide for assistance or loan and 

mortgage insurance for, or otherwise 

govern or regulate, real property 

acquisition, disposition, leasing, 

rehabilitation, alteration, demolition, or 

new construction, or establish, revise, or 

provide for standards for construction or 

construction materials, manufactured 

housing, or occupancy. Accordingly, 

under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(1), this rule is 

categorically excluded from 

environmental review under the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321). 

Accordingly, under the authority of 

42 U.S.C. 35335(d) and 25 U.S.C. 4101 

et seq., HUD amends 24 CFR chapter IX 

by removing part 954, as follows: 

PART 954—[REMOVED] 

■ 1. Remove part 954. 

Dated: February 1, 2012. 

Sandra B. Henriquez, 

Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian 

Housing. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3015 Filed 2–8–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY 

CORPORATION 

29 CFR Part 4007 

Premium Penalty Relief for Certain 

Delinquent Plans 

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Policy statement. 

SUMMARY: Executive Order 13563 on 

Improving Regulation and Regulatory 

Review directs agencies to review and 

improve their regulatory processes. As a 

result of this regulatory review, among 

other initiatives, PBGC is announcing a 

limited window for covered plans that 

have never paid required premiums to 

pay past-due premiums without 

penalty. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Catherine B. Klion 

(klion.catherine@pbgc.gov), Manager, 

Regulatory and Policy Division, 

Legislative and Regulatory Department, 

1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 

20005–4026, 202–326–4024. (TTY and 

TDD users may call the Federal relay 

service toll-free at 1–800–877–8339 and 

ask to be connected to 202–326–4024). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 

(PBGC) administers the pension 

insurance program under title IV of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974 (ERISA). Under sections 

4006 and 4007 of ERISA, plans covered 

by title IV must pay premiums to PBGC. 

The vast majority of plans covered by 

PBGC make every effort to pay required 

premiums in full and on time. PBGC 

depends on these premium funds to 

provide participants and beneficiaries of 

terminated defined benefit plans 

guaranteed benefits as provided under 

ERISA. 

A few times a year, PBGC becomes 

aware of a covered plan that has never 

filed PBGC premiums, in some cases 

because the plan administrator was 

unaware that the plan was covered.1

PBGC’s regulation on Payment of 

Premiums (29 CFR part 4007) requires 

that in addition to the unpaid 

premiums, such a plan must pay 

interest and penalties. PBGC believes 

that one reason plan administrators of 

covered plans that have not paid any 

required premiums fail to come forward 

is that penalties can be quite substantial, 

often as much as 100 percent of the 

unpaid premium (see 29 CFR 4007.8(a)). 

On January 18, 2011, the President 

issued Executive Order 13563 on 

Improving Regulation and Regulatory 

Review (76 FR 3821, Jan. 21, 2011). 

Executive Order 13563 calls, among 

other things, for agencies to develop a 

plan to review existing regulations to 

identify any that can be made more 

effective or less burdensome in 

achieving regulatory objectives. 

As part of PBGC’s review of its 

premium regulations pursuant to 

Executive Order 13563,2 PBGC is 

adopting a voluntary compliance 

program to encourage compliance and 

reduce workload burden in connection 

with covered plans that have never paid 

required premiums. PBGC will waive 

premium payment penalties (as well as 

information penalties under ERISA 

section 4071 for failure to timely file 

premium information) for any such 

plan, if the plan administrator contacts 

PBGC, pays past due premiums, and 

files required information within the 

time frames described in this 

document.3 (The relief provided in this 

notice does not apply to late payment 

interest charges.) 

To qualify for the relief provided in 

this document, the plan administrator of 

an eligible plan (or a representative) 

must— 

1. By July 31, 2012, contact Robert 

Callahan (callahan.robert@pbgc.gov) or 

Bill O’Neill (oneill.bill@pbgc.gov) of 

PBGC’s Financial Operations 

Department (202–346–4067) to discuss 

how to comply with premium filing 

requirements to obtain this relief, and 

2. By August 31, 2012 (or a later date 

specified by PBGC), pay past-due 

premiums and file required premium 

information.4

PBGC will use its Web site 

(www.pbgc.gov) and other methods (e.g., 

presentations at professional 

conferences) to educate plan 

administrators of covered plans that 

may not be paying required premiums 

about premium requirements. PBGC 

expects that these efforts, together with 

the relief provided in this document, 

will encourage compliance. 

Out of fairness to compliant plan 

sponsors and to protect participants, 

after the end of the period for taking 

advantage of this relief, PBGC will step 

up its efforts to enforce premium 

requirements for covered plans that 

have not paid any required premiums, 

including assessment of penalties. 

Issued in Washington, DC, this 31st day of 

January 2012. 

Joshua Gotbaum, 

Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3054 Filed 2–8–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7709–01–P 


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