[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 226 (Wednesday, November 24, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68421-68422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-26051]



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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Proposed Submission of Information Collections for OMB Review; 
Comment Request; Payment of Premiums; Filing, Issuance, Computation of 
Time, and Record Retention

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of intention to request OMB approval of revision of 
collections of information.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (``PBGC'') intends to 
request Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') approval, under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act, of revisions of the collections of information 
under its regulations on Payment of Premiums (29 CFR part 4007) (OMB 
control number 1212-0009; expires November 30, 2006) and on Filing, 
Issuance, Computation of Time, and Record Retention (29 CFR part 4000) 
(OMB control number 1212-0059; expires October 31, 2006). Collection of 
information 1212-0009 also includes a certification of compliance with 
requirements to provide certain notices to participants under the 
PBGC's regulation on Disclosure to Participants (29 CFR part 4011). The 
PBGC is revising the collections of information to provide for an 
alternative means of electronic filing of premium information, in 
addition to the PBGC's existing e-filing method using ``My Plan 
Administration Account'' (``My PAA'') through the PBGC's Web site. The 
alternative e-filing method is being developed in connection with an 
anticipated PBGC proposal to require electronic premium filing in the 
near future. This notice informs the public of the PBGC's intent and 
solicits public comment on the collections of information.

DATES: Comments should be submitted by January 24, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to the Office of the General Counsel, 
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, 
DC 20005-4026, or delivered to Suite 340 at that address during normal 
business hours. Comments also may be submitted electronically through 
the PBGC's Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov/paperwork, or by fax to 202-
326-4112. The PBGC will make all comments available on its Web site at 
http://www.pbgc.gov.
    Copies of the collections of information may be obtained without 
charge by writing to the PBGC's Communications and Public Affairs 
Department at Suite 240 at the above address or by visiting that office 
or calling 202-326-4040 during normal business hours. (TTY and TDD 
users may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 
and ask to be connected to 202-326-4040.) The premium payment, 
participant notice, and filing regulations and the paper premium forms 
and instructions for 2004 and prior years can be accessed on the PBGC's 
Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov; the My PAA forms and instructions can 
also be accessed through the Web site by My PAA users.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah C. Murphy, Staff Attorney, 
Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 
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: Section 4007 of Title IV of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (``ERISA'') requires the Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation (``PBGC'') to collect premiums from 
pension plans covered under Title IV pension insurance programs. 
Pursuant to ERISA section 4007, the PBGC has issued its regulation on 
Payment of Premiums (29 CFR part 4007). Section 4007.3 of the premium 
payment regulation requires plans, in connection with the payment of 
premiums, to file forms prescribed by the PBGC and refers filers to 
subpart A of its regulation on Filing, Issuance, Computation of Time, 
and Record Retention (29 CFR part 4000) for rules on permissible filing 
methods. Section 4007.10 of the premium payment regulation requires 
plans to retain and make available to the PBGC records supporting or 
validating the computation of premiums paid. Subpart A of part 4000 
states the methods that may be used for sending a filing to the PBGC. 
(Payments are treated as filings.)
    The PBGC has prescribed a series of paper premium forms: Form 1-ES, 
Form 1-EZ, and Form 1 and (for single-employer plans only) Schedule A 
to Form 1. Form 1-ES is issued, with instructions, in the PBGC's 
Estimated Premium Payment Package. Form 1-EZ, Form 1, and Schedule A 
are issued, with instructions, in the PBGC's Annual Premium Payment 
Package. In addition, the PBGC provides for premium filing through an 
electronic facility, ``My Plan Administration Account'' (``MyPAA''), on 
its Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov. The forms that filers prepare 
using My PAA are not in the same format as the paper premium forms, but 
they solicit the same premium information.
    Premium forms are used to report the computation, determine the 
amount, and record the payment of PBGC premiums. The submission of 
premium information and retention and submission of premium records are 
needed to enable the PBGC to perform premium audits. The plan 
administrator of each pension plan covered by Title IV of ERISA is 
required to file one or more premium forms each year. The PBGC uses the 
information on the premium forms to identify the plans paying premiums; 
to verify whether plans are paying the correct amounts; and to help the 
PBGC determine the magnitude of its exposure in the event of plan 
termination. That information and the retained records are used for 
audit purposes.
    In addition, section 4011 of ERISA and the PBGC's regulation on 
Disclosure to Participants (29 CFR part 4011) require plan 
administrators of certain underfunded single-employer pension plans to 
provide an annual notice to plan participants and beneficiaries of the 
plans' funding status and the limits on the PBGC's guarantee of plan 
benefits. In general, the participant notice requirement applies 
(subject to certain exemptions) to plans that must pay a variable-rate 
premium. In order to monitor compliance with part 4011, single-employer 
plan administrators must indicate in their premium filings whether the 
participant notice requirements have been complied with.
    The collection of information under the regulation on Payment of 
Premiums, including Form 1-ES, Form 1-EZ, Form 1, and Schedule A to 
Form 1, corresponding My PAA electronic forms, and related instructions 
has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') 
under control number 1212-0009. The collection of information also 
includes the certification of compliance with the participant notice 
requirements (but not the participant notices themselves).
    The collection of information under the regulation on Filing, 
Issuance, Computation of Time, and Record Retention has been approved 
by the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') under control number 
1212-0059.
    The PBGC is revising the collections of information to provide for 
a new alternative means of electronic filing of premium information, in 
addition to the existing MyPAA application. The PBGC intends to 
establish standards, for the structure and submission of files 
containing premium filing information, that can be incorporated in 
private-sector premium filing software to permit users of such software 
to submit their

[[Page 68422]]

premium filings to the PBGC electronically. This alternative e-filing 
method is being developed in connection with an anticipated PBGC 
proposal to require electronic premium filing in the near future.
    In connection with and as part of the new filing standards, the 
PBGC is providing for a new method for certifying premium filings made 
using private-sector software. Currently, a plan's premium filing must 
be certified by the plan administrator and, in many cases, also by an 
enrolled actuary. My PAA, which uses interactive software on the PBGC's 
Web site, permits both a plan administrator and an enrolled actuary to 
certify the same filing, but the PBGC anticipates that private-sector 
software developers will find it difficult or impossible to implement 
such a feature, which requires both the plan administrator and the 
enrolled actuary to access the same filing electronically.
    Accordingly, the PBGC is introducing a new premium filing 
certification methodology for premium filings made with private-sector 
software. The new methodology requires one responsible person (who may 
but need not be either the plan administrator or the enrolled actuary) 
to certify a private-sector software premium filing. If the responsible 
person is not the plan administrator, the certification will also state 
that the responsible person is authorized to act by the plan 
administrator and has a written representation from the plan 
administrator that the filing is proper. If the responsible person is 
not the enrolled actuary, the certification for a filing that includes 
actuarial items (variable-rate premium computations or certain 
variable-rate premium exemptions) will also state that the responsible 
person has a written representation from the enrolled actuary that the 
actuarial items in the filing are proper. The responsible person may be 
either the plan administrator or the enrolled actuary, and if not, must 
be at an appropriate level of authority, such as an officer of the plan 
sponsor.
    The PBGC intends to request that OMB approve this revision of the 
collections of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 
person is not required to respond to, a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    The PBGC estimates that it will receive premium filings annually 
from about 28,900 plan administrators and that the total annual burden 
of the collection of information will be about 3,478 hours and 
$18,172,550. (These estimates include paper and electronic filings.)
    The PBGC is soliciting public comments to--
    <bullet> Evaluate whether the collections of information are 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    <bullet> Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of collection of information 1212-0009, including the validity 
of the methodology and assumptions used;
    <bullet> Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    <bullet> Minimize the burden of the collections of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 19th day of November, 2004.
Stuart A. Sirkin,
Director, Corporate Policy and Research Department, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 04-26051 Filed 11-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P