18462 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 72 /Wednesday, April 15, 1998 / Notices

Mr. Sam Duraiswamy, Chief of the

Nuclear Reactors Branch, at least five

days before the meeting, if possible, so

that appropriate arrangements can be

made to allow the necessary time during

the meeting for such statements. Use of

still, motion picture, and television

cameras during this meeting may be

limited to selected portions of the

meeting as determined by the Chairman.

Information regarding the time to be set

aside for this purpose may be obtained

by contacting the Chief of the Nuclear

Reactors Branch prior to the meeting. In

view of the possibility that the schedule

for ACRS meetings may be adjusted by

the Chairman as necessary to facilitate

the conduct of the meeting, persons

planning to attend should check with

the Chief of the Nuclear Reactors Branch

if such rescheduling would result in

major inconvenience.

In accordance with Subsection 10(d)

Public Law 92–463, I have determined

that it is necessary to close portions of

this meeting noted above to discuss

matters that relate solely to the internal

personnel rules and practices of this

Advisory Committee per 5 U.S.C.

552b(c)(2), and to discuss information

the release of which would constitute a

clearly unwarranted invasion of

personal privacy per 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6).

Further information regarding topics

to be discussed, whether the meeting

has been canceled or rescheduled, the

Chairman’s ruling on requests for the

opportunity to present oral statements

and the time allotted therefor, can be

obtained by contacting Mr. Sam

Duraiswamy, Chief of the Nuclear

Reactors Branch (telephone 301/415–

7364), between 7:30 A.M. and 4:l5 P.M.

EDT.

ACRS meeting agenda, meeting

transcripts, and letter reports are

available for downloading or reviewing

on the internet at http://www.nrc.gov/

ACRSACNW.

Dated: April 9, 1998.

Andrew L. Bates,

Advisory Committee Management Officer.

[FR Doc. 98–10001 Filed 4–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Advisory Committee on Reactor

Safeguards Subcommittee Meeting on

Planning and Procedures; Notice of

Meeting

The ACRS Subcommittee on Planning

and Procedures will hold a meeting on

April 29, 1998, Room T–2B1, 11545

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.

The entire meeting will be open to

public attendance, with the exception of

a portion that may be closed pursuant

to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c) (2) and (6) to discuss

organizational and personnel matters

that relate solely to internal personnel

rules and practices of ACRS, and

information the release of which would

constitute a clearly unwarranted

invasion of personal privacy.

The agenda for the subject meeting

shall be as follows:

Wednesday, April 29, 1998—1:30 p.m.

until 3:00 p.m.

The Subcommittee will discuss

proposed ACRS activities and related

matters. It may also discuss the

qualifications of candidates for

appointment to the ACRS. The purpose

of this meeting is to gather information,

analyze relevant issues and facts, and to

formulate proposed positions and

actions, as appropriate, for deliberation

by the full Committee.

Oral statements may be presented by

members of the public with the

concurrence of the Subcommittee

Chairman; written statements will be

accepted and made available to the

Committee. Electronic recordings will

be permitted only during those portions

of the meeting that are open to the

public, and questions may be asked only

by members of the Subcommittee, its

consultants, and staff. Persons desiring

to make oral statements should notify

the cognizant ACRS staff person named

below five days prior to the meeting, if

possible, so that appropriate

arrangements can be made.

Further information regarding topics

to be discussed, the scheduling of

sessions open to the public, whether the

meeting has been canceled or

rescheduled, the Chairman’s ruling on

requests for the opportunity to present

oral statements, and the time allotted

therefor can be obtained by contacting

the cognizant ACRS staff person, Dr.

John T. Larkins (telephone: 301/415–

7360) between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.

(EDT). Persons planning to attend this

meeting are urged to contact the above

named individual one or two working

days prior to the meeting to be advised

of any changes in schedule, etc., that

may have occurred.

Dated: April 9, 1998

Noel F. Dudley,

Acting Chief, Nuclear Reactors Branch.

[FR Doc. 98–9998 Filed 4–14–98; 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 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 April 1998. The interest

assumptions for performing

multiemployer plan valuations

following mass withdrawal under part

4281 apply to valuation dates occurring

in May 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 second quarter

(April through June) 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
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 72 /Wednesday, April 15, 1998 / Notices 18463

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 April 1998 is 5.06 percent (i.e., 85

percent of the 5.95 percent yield figure

for March 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 May

1997 and April 1998. The rates for July

through December 1997 in the table

(which reflect an applicable percentage

of 85 percent) apply only to non-RPU

plans. However, the rates for months

before July 1997 and 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:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For premium payment years

beginning in:

The assumed interest rate

is:

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

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

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

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

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

second quarter (April through June) 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)

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

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

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 second

quarter (April through June) of 1998

(i.e., the rate reported for March 16,

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)

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

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

4/1/98 ............... 6/30/98 ............... 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 May

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 April 1998.

David M. Strauss,

Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 98–9749 Filed 4–14–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P