53668 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 199 / Wednesday, October 15, 1997 / Notices

a potential location for a permanent

repository for the disposal of that waste.

Dated: October 8, 1997.

William Barnard,

Executive Director, Nuclear Waste Technical

Review Board.

[FR Doc. 97–27256 Filed 10–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–AM–M

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 home

page (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 1997. The interest

assumptions for performing

multiemployer plan valuations

following mass withdrawal under part

4281 apply to valuation dates occurring

in November 1997. 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 1997.

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 and

TDD, call 800–877–8339 and request

connection 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 provide that the

applicable percentage is 85 percent for

plan years beginning on or after July 1,

1997, through (at least) plan years

beginning before January 1, 2000.

However, under section 774(c) of the

RPA, the application of the amendment

is deferred for certain regulated public

utility (RPU) plans for as long as six

months. The applicable percentage for

RPU plans will therefore remain 80

percent for plan years beginning before

January 1, 1998. (The rules governing

the applicable percentages for ‘‘partial’’

RPU plans are described in § 4006.5(g)

of the premium rates regulation.)

For plans for which the applicable

percentage is 85 percent, the assumed

interest rate to be used in determining

variable-rate premiums for premium

payment years beginning in October

1997 is 5.53 percent (i.e., 85 percent of

the 6.50% percent yield figure for

September 1997).

The following table lists the assumed

interest rates to be used in determining

variable-rate premiums for premium

payment years beginning between

November 1996 and October 1997. The

rates for July through October 1997 in

the table reflect an applicable

percentage of 85 percent and thus apply

only to non-RPU plans. However, the

rates for months before July 1997, which

reflect an applicable percentage of 80

percent, 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 1996 ........................ 5.45

December 1996 ........................ 5.18

For premium payment years

beginning in:

The assumed interest rate

is—

January 1997 ............................ 5.24

February 1997 .......................... 5.46

March 1997 ............................... 5.35

April 1997 .................................. 5.54

May 1997 .................................. 5.67

June 1997 ................................. 5.55

July 1997 .................................. 5.75

August 1997 .............................. 5.53

September 1997 ....................... 5.59

October 1997 ............................ 5.53

For premium payment years

beginning in October 1997, the assumed

interest rate to be used in determining

variable-rate premiums for RPU plans

(determined using an applicable

percentage of 80 percent) is 5.20

percent. 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 premium

payment instruction booklet also

describes these rules and provides a

worksheet for computing the assumed

rate.

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 1997, as announced by the

IRS, is 9 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)

4/1/91 .......... 12/31/91 ........... 10

1/1/92 .......... 3/31/92 ............. 9

4/1/92 .......... 9/30/92 ............. 8

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

7/1/94 .......... 9/30/94 ............. 8
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 199 / Wednesday, October 15, 1997 / Notices 53669

1Sierra Asset Management Trust, et al.,

Investment Company Act Release Nos. 22001 (June

3, 1996) (notice) and 22047 (June 28, 1996) (order).

2 ‘‘Successor in interest’’ is limited to entities that

result from a reorganization into another

jurisdiction or a change in the type of business

organization.

3The Trust was initially organized as the ‘‘Sierra

Asset Management Trust,’’ but changed its name on

July 19, 1996, prior to the Trust’s registration

statement becoming effective.

From— Through— Interest rate

(percent)

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

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

1997 (i.e., the rate reported for

September 15, 1997) 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)

10/1/91 ........ 12/31/91 ........... 8.00

1/1/92 .......... 3/31/92 ............. 7.50

4/1/92 .......... 9/30/92 ............. 6.50

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

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 1997 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 October 1997.

David M. Strauss,

Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 97–27272 Filed 10–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Rel. No. IC–22842; 812–10582]

Sierra Asset Management Portfolios, et

al.; Notice of Application

October 7, 1997.

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange

Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’).

ACTION: Notice of application under

sections 6(c), 12(d)(1)(J), and 17(b) of the

Investment Company Act of 1940 (the

‘‘Act’’) for an exemption from sections

12(d)(1) (A) and (C) and 17(a) of the Act.

SUMMARY OF APPLICATION: Applicants

request an order that would amend a

prior order 1 (the ‘‘Prior Order’’) to

permit a ‘‘fund of funds’’ that is an

open-end investment company to invest

in shares of an affiliated closed-end

investment company.

APPLICANTS: Sierra Asset Management

Portfolios (the ‘‘Trust’’), Sierra Prime

Income Fund (‘‘SPIF’’), Sierra

Investment Advisors Corporation

(‘‘Sierra Advisors’’), and Sierra

Investment Services Corporation

(‘‘Sierra Services’’), including each

applicant’s successor in interest.2

FILING DATES: The application was filed

on March 19, 1997 and amended on July

21, 1997. Applicants have agreed to file

an amendment, the substance of which

is incorporated in this notice, during the

notice period.

HEARING OR NOTIFICATION OF HEARING: An

order granting the application will be

issued unless the SEC orders a hearing.

Interested persons may request a

hearing by writing to the SEC’s

Secretary and serving applicants with a

copy of the request, personally or by

mail. Hearing requests should be

received by the SEC by 5:30 p.m. on

October 29, 1997, and should be

accompanied by proof of service on

applicants in the form of an affidavit or,

for lawyers, a certificate of service.

Hearing requests should state the nature

of the writer’s interest, the reason for the

request, and the issues contested.

Persons who wish to be notified of a

hearing may request notification by

writing to the SEC’s Secretary.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, SEC, 450 5th

Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549.

Applicants, 9301 Corbin Avenue, Suite

333, Northridge, California 91324.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Elaine M. Boggs, Senior Counsel, at

(202) 942–0572, or Christine Y.

Greenlees, Branch Chief, at (202) 942–

0564 (Office of Investment Company

Regulation, Division of Investment

Management).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

following is a summary of the

application. The complete application

may be obtained for a fee at the SEC’s

Public Reference Branch, 450 5th Street,

N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549

(telephone (202) 942–8090).

Applicants’ Representations

1. The Trust is registered under the

Act as an open-end management

investment company and consists of

five portfolios (the ‘‘SAM Portfolios’’).3

Each SAM Portfolio operates as a ‘‘fund

of funds’’ under the Prior Order and

invests substantially all of its assets in

shares of various portfolios of Sierra

Trust Funds. Sierra Trust Funds is a

registered open-end management

investment company comprised of

sixteen portfolios (the ‘‘Underlying

Funds’’) that is part of the ‘‘same group

of investment companies’’ (as defined in

section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Act) as the

SAM Portfolios. Each SAM Portfolio

also invests in other securities. Each

SAM Portfolio seeks to provide

diversification among major asset

categories and stock and bond subcategories. Certain of the SAM Portfolios

are designed to provide exposure in

varying degrees to the growth potential

of the stock market and/or the income

potential of the bond market.

2. Applicants seek to amend the Prior

Order to permit the SAM Portfolios to

acquire up to 100% of SPIF’s shares.

Applicants request that relief be

extended to any registered open-end

management investment company, or