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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 234 (Friday, December 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72213-72214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28592]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Focus Groups for Evaluating the Effectiveness 
of Employee Retirement Income Security Act Section 408(b)(2) Disclosure 
Requirements

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee 
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information 
collection request (ICR) proposal titled, ``Focus Groups for Evaluating 
the Effectiveness of Employee Retirement Income Security Act Section 
408(b)(2) Disclosure Requirements,'' to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval for use in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Public 
comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives 
on or before January 5, 2015.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; 
including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency 
of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge 
from the RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201408-1210-004 (this link will only become active 
on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting 
Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free 
number) or by email at DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.
    Submit comments about this request by mail or courier to the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-
EBSA, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: 202-395-5806 (this is not a toll-free 
number); or by email: OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov. Commenters are 
encouraged, but not required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments 
by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor-OASAM, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Attn: Departmental Information Compliance 
Management Program, Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210; or by email: DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-
4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at 
DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ICR seeks PRA authority for focus 
groups to be used for evaluating the effectiveness of Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) section 408(b)(2) disclosure 
requirements. The ERISA requires a plan fiduciary, when selecting and 
monitoring service providers and plan investments, to act prudently and 
solely in the interest of plan participants and beneficiaries. A 
responsible plan fiduciary must also ensure that any arrangement with a 
service provider is reasonable and that only reasonable compensation is 
paid for services. Fundamental to the ability of fiduciaries to 
discharge these obligations is obtaining information sufficient to 
enable them to make informed decisions about an employee benefit plan's 
services, the costs of such services, and the service providers. This 
ICR is designed to explore current practices and effects of a final 
regulation published in the Federal Register on February 3, 2012, to 
implement section 408(b)(2) and to gather information about the need 
for a guide, summary, or similar tool to help a responsible plan 
fiduciary navigate through and understand the disclosures. See 77 FR 
5632. The EBSA intends to use information collected from the focus 
groups: (1) To assess responsible plan fiduciaries' experience in 
receiving the disclosures the 408(b)(2) regulations require; (2) to 
assess the effectiveness of the disclosures in helping plan fiduciaries 
make decisions; (3) to determine how well plan fiduciaries understand 
the disclosures, especially in the small plan marketplace (100 
participants or less); and (4) to evaluate whether, and how, a guide, 
summary, or similar tool would help a fiduciary understand the 
disclosures. The focus group results will be used to inform and support 
a notice of final rulemaking for the guide requirement.
    This proposed information collection is subject to the PRA. A 
Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information, and the public is generally not required to respond to an 
information collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA 
and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, 
notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally 
be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of 
information if the collection of information does not display a valid 
Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. For additional 
information, see the related notice published in the Federal Register 
on March 12, 2014 (79 FR 14085).
    Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in 
the ADDRESSES section within thirty (30) days of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate 
consideration, comments should mention OMB ICR Reference Number 201408-
1210-004. The OMB is particularly interested in comments that:

[[Page 72214]]

     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection 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.
    Agency: DOL-EBSA.
    Title of Collection: Focus Groups for Evaluating the Effectiveness 
of Employee Retirement Income Security Act Section 408(b)(2) Disclosure 
Requirements.
    OMB ICR Reference Number: 201408-1210-004.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--businesses or other for-profits.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 85.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 85.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 128 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

    Dated: December 1, 2014.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-28592 Filed 12-4-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P
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