Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 230 / Monday, December 1, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 71019 

Dated: November 24, 2014. 

Kevin J. Wolf, 

Assistant Secretary for Export 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28221 Filed 11–28–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–33–P 

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY 

CORPORATION 

29 CFR Part 4044 

Allocation of Assets in SingleEmployer Plans; Valuation of Benefits 

and Assets; Expected Retirement Age 

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule amends the Pension 

Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s 

regulation on Allocation of Assets in 

Single-Employer Plans by substituting a 

new table for determining expected 

retirement ages for participants in 

pension plans undergoing distress or 

involuntary termination with valuation 

dates falling in 2015. This table is 

needed in order to compute the value of 

early retirement benefits and, thus, the 

total value of benefits under a plan. 

DATES: Effective Date: January 1, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Catherine B. Klion (Klion.Catherine@

pbgc.gov), Assistant General Counsel for 

Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit 

Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street 

NW., Washington, DC 20005, 202–326– 

4024. (TTY/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 plan 

termination insurance program under 

Title IV of the Employee Retirement 

Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). 

PBGC’s regulation on Allocation of 

Assets in Single-Employer Plans (29 

CFR part 4044) sets forth (in subpart B) 

the methods for valuing plan benefits of 

terminating single-employer plans 

covered under Title IV. Guaranteed 

benefits and benefit liabilities under a 

plan that is undergoing a distress 

termination must be valued in 

accordance with subpart B of part 4044. 

In addition, when PBGC terminates an 

underfunded plan involuntarily 

pursuant to ERISA section 4042(a), it 

uses the subpart B valuation rules to 

determine the amount of the plan’s 

underfunding. 

Under § 4044.51(b) of the asset 

allocation regulation, early retirement 

benefits are valued based on the annuity 

starting date, if a retirement date has 

been selected, or the expected 

retirement age, if the annuity starting 

date is not known on the valuation date. 

Sections 4044.55 through 4044.57 set 

forth rules for determining the expected 

retirement ages for plan participants 

entitled to early retirement benefits. 

Appendix D of part 4044 contains tables 

to be used in determining the expected 

early retirement ages. 

Table I in appendix D (Selection of 

Retirement Rate Category) is used to 

determine whether a participant has a 

low, medium, or high probability of 

retiring early. The determination is 

based on the year a participant would 

reach ‘‘unreduced retirement age’’ (i.e., 

the earlier of the normal retirement age 

or the age at which an unreduced 

benefit is first payable) and the 

participant’s monthly benefit at 

unreduced retirement age. The table 

applies only to plans with valuation 

dates in the current year and is updated 

annually by the PBGC to reflect changes 

in the cost of living, etc. 

Tables II–A, II–B, and II–C (Expected 

Retirement Ages for Individuals in the 

Low, Medium, and High Categories 

respectively) are used to determine the 

expected retirement age after the 

probability of early retirement has been 

determined using Table I. These tables 

establish, by probability category, the 

expected retirement age based on both 

the earliest age a participant could retire 

under the plan and the unreduced 

retirement age. This expected retirement 

age is used to compute the value of the 

early retirement benefit and, thus, the 

total value of benefits under the plan. 

This document amends appendix D to 

replace Table I–14 with Table I–15 in 

order to provide an updated correlation, 

appropriate for calendar year 2015, 

between the amount of a participant’s 

benefit and the probability that the 

participant will elect early retirement. 

Table I–15 will be used to value benefits 

in plans with valuation dates during 

calendar year 2015. 

PBGC has determined that notice of, 

and public comment on, this rule are 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. Plan administrators need to be 

able to estimate accurately the value of 

plan benefits as early as possible before 

initiating the termination process. For 

that purpose, if a plan has a valuation 

date in 2015, the plan administrator 

needs the updated table being 

promulgated in this rule. Accordingly, 

the public interest is best served by 

issuing this table expeditiously, without 

an opportunity for notice and comment, 

to allow as much time as possible to 

estimate the value of plan benefits with 

the proper table for plans with valuation 

dates in early 2015. 

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 

regulation, the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act of 1980 does not apply (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. Appendix D to part 4044 is 

amended by removing Table I–14 and 

adding in its place Table I–15 to read as 

follows: 

Appendix D to Part 4044—Tables Used 

to Determine Expected Retirement Age 

TABLE I–15—SELECTION OF RETIREMENT RATE CATEGORY

[For Plans with valuation dates after December 31, 2014, and before January 1, 2016] 

If participant reaches URA in year— 

Participant’s retirement rate category is— 

Low 1 if 

monthly benefit at URA 

is less than— 

Medium 2 if monthly benefit at 

URA is— 

High 3 if 

monthly 

benefit at URA 

is greater 

From— To— than— 

2016 ................................................................................................................. 618 618 2,610 2,610 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES
71020 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 230 / Monday, December 1, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE I–15—SELECTION OF RETIREMENT RATE CATEGORY—Continued 

[For Plans with valuation dates after December 31, 2014, and before January 1, 2016] 

If participant reaches URA in year— 

Participant’s retirement rate category is— 

Low 1

if monthly benefit at URA is 

less than— 

Medium 2 if monthly benefit at 

URA is— 

High 3 if 

monthly 

benefit at URA 

is greater 

From— To— than— 

2017 ................................................................................................................. 631 631 2,667 2,667 

2018 ................................................................................................................. 646 646 2,728 2,728 

2019 ................................................................................................................. 661 661 2,791 2,791 

2020 ................................................................................................................. 676 676 2,855 2,855 

2021 ................................................................................................................. 691 691 2,921 2,921 

2022 ................................................................................................................. 707 707 2,988 2,988 

2023 ................................................................................................................. 724 724 3,057 3,057 

2024 ................................................................................................................. 740 740 3,127 3,127 

2025 or later .................................................................................................... 757 757 3,199 3,199 

1Table II–A. 

2Table II–B. 

3Table II–C. 

* * * * * 

Issued in Washington, DC, this 24th day of 

November, 2014. 

Judith Starr, 

General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28216 Filed 11–28–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7709–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 165 

[Docket Number USCG–2014–0878] 

RIN 1625–AA00 

Safety Zone; Upper Mississippi River 

Between Mile 44 and 46; Thebes, IL 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Temporary Final Rule. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is 

establishing a temporary safety zone for 

all waters of the Upper Mississippi 

River, extending the entire width from 

mile 44 and 46. This safety zone is 

needed to protect persons, property, and 

infrastructure from potential damage 

and safety hazards associated with the 

removal of two 16 inch Enterprise 

pipelines in the navigation channel. 

Entry into this zone is prohibited unless 

specifically authorized by the Captain of 

the Port (COTP) Ohio Valley or a 

designated representative. 

DATES: This rule is effective without 

actual notice from December 1, 2014 

until January 31, 2015. For the purposes 

of enforcement, actual notice will be 

used from November 1, 2014, until 

December 1, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Documents mentioned in 

this preamble are part of docket [USCG– 

2014–0878]. To view documents 

mentioned in this preamble as being 

available in the docket, go to http://

www.regulations.gov, type the docket 

number in the ‘‘SEARCH’’ box and click 

‘‘SEARCH.’’ Click on Open Docket 

Folder on the line associated with this 

rulemaking. You may also visit the 

Docket Management Facility in Room 

W12–140 on the ground floor of the 

Department of Transportation West 

Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have questions on this rule, call or 

email MSU Paducah, U.S. Coast Guard; 

telephone 270–442–1621, email 

Heather.Norman@uscg.mil. If you have 

questions on viewing or submitting 

material to the docket, call Cheryl F. 

Collins, Program Manager, Docket 

Operations, telephone 202–366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Acronyms 

APA Administrative Procedures Act 

BNM Broadcast Notice to Mariners 

COTP Captain of the Port 

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

FR Federal Register 

LNM Local Notice to Mariners 

MM Mile Marker 

NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

A. Regulatory History and Information 

The Coast Guard is issuing this 

temporary final rule without prior 

notice and opportunity to comment 

pursuant to authority under section 4(a) 

of the Administrative Procedure Act 

(APA) (5 U.S.C. 553(b)). This provision 

authorizes an agency to issue a rule 

without prior notice and opportunity to 

comment when the agency for good 

cause finds that those procedures are 

‘‘impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary 

to the public interest.’’ Under 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(3)(B), the Coast Guard finds that 

good cause exists for not publishing a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 

with respect to this rule as it would be 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. On 23 September 2014, the 

Coast Guard received information about 

the scope and extent of a project, 

beginning 02 October 2014, involving 

the removal of two 16 inch Enterprise 

pipelines located at MM 45, Upper 

Mississippi River, Thebes, IL. Removal 

operations are anticipated to be 

approximately 4 hours per day until 

completion. The Coast Guard 

determined that immediate action is 

necessary to establish a safety zone to 

protect life and property from the 

hazards associated with and resulting 

from the pipeline removal. The Coast 

Guard was not advised of the scope and 

extent of this potentially hazardous 

condition in sufficient time to publish a 

NPRM. 

This safety zone may include closures 

and/or navigation restrictions and 

requirements that are vital to 

maintaining safe navigation on the 

Upper Mississippi River during the 

Enterprise pipeline removal. Therefore, 

delaying the effective date for this 

emergency safety zone to complete the 

NPRM process would be contrary to the 

public interest as it would delay the 

safety measures vital to safe navigation. 

Broadcast Notices to Mariners (BNM) 

and information sharing with the 

waterway users will update mariners of 

the restrictions, requirements, and 


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