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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 48 (Wednesday, March 12, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14085-14087]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04867]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public 
Comment; Evaluating the Effectiveness of the 408(b)(2) Disclosure 
Requirements

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Office 
of the Assistant Secretary for Policy/Chief Evaluation Office, Labor.

ACTION: Proposed collection; notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), 
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on

[[Page 14086]]

proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the 
Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements 
and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public 
understand the Department's information collection requirements and 
provide the requested data in the desired format. The Department's 
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Policy/Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) are 
soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request 
(ICR) described below. A copy of the ICR may be obtained by contacting 
the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addressee section below on or before May 12, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the proposed collection of information can be 
obtained and comments may be forwarded by either one of the following 
methods: Email: richie.celeste.j@dol.gov; Mail or Courier: Office of 
the Assistant Secretary for Policy/Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Room S-2312, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210. Instructions: Please submit one copy of your 
comments by only one method. All submissions received should reference 
the agency name and title of the proposed information collection. 
Commenters are strongly encouraged to transmit their comments 
electronically via email or to submit them by mail early. Comments, 
including any personal information provided, become a matter of public 
record. They will also be summarized and/or included in the request for 
OMB approval of the information collection request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Celeste Richie by telephone at 
202-693-5076 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at 
richie.celeste.j@dol.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice requests public comment on the 
Department's proposed collection of information titled ``Evaluating the 
Effectiveness of the 408(b)(2) Disclosure Requirements.'' As further 
described below, the collection of information is designed to explore 
current practices and effects of EBSA's rule that was issued in 
February 2012, known as the ``408(b)(2) regulation,'' which requires 
covered service providers (``CSPs'') to pension plans to provide 
specific disclosures to responsible plan fiduciaries (``RPFs'') 
regarding the CSP's compensation for the services. In addition, EBSA 
intends to gather information about the utility of a guide, summary, or 
similar tool to help plan fiduciaries identify and understand the 
disclosures. A summary of the ICR and current burden estimates follows:
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the 
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy/Chief Evaluation Office 
(OASP/CEO), Department of Labor.
    Title: ``Evaluating the Effectiveness of the 408(b)(2) Disclosure 
Requirements.''
    Type of Review: New collection of information.
    OMB Number: 1210-NEW.
    Respondents: 70 to 100 Plan Sponsors and other Fiduciaries.
    Total Burden Hours: Approximately 70 to 200 hours over one year.
    Total Annual Other Burden Cost: $0.
    Description: The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 
as amended (ERISA) requires plan fiduciaries, when selecting and 
monitoring service providers and plan investments, to act prudently and 
solely in the interest of the plan's participants and beneficiaries. 
Responsible plan fiduciaries also must ensure that arrangements with 
their service providers are ``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.
    In February 2012, EBSA issued the ERISA section 408(b)(2) final 
regulations, which require CSPs to ERISA-covered pension plans to 
provide specified information to assist RPFs in assessing the 
reasonableness of the compensation paid for services and the conflicts 
of interest that may affect a service provider's performance of 
services. In the preamble to the final rule, EBSA encouraged CSPs to 
provide RPFs, especially those to small- and medium-size plans, with a 
guide, summary, or similar tool to assist RPFs in identifying all of 
the disclosures required under the final rule, particularly when 
service arrangements and related compensation are complex and 
information is disclosed in multiple documents. EBSA did not adopt such 
a guide requirement as part of the final rule but included a sample 
guide as an appendix to the final rule that can be used on a voluntary 
basis by CSPs as a model for such a guide. In the preamble to the final 
rule, EBSA stated that it intends to publish a notice of proposed 
rulemaking in the near future under which CSPs may be required to 
furnish a guide or similar tool to assist RPFs' reviews of the 
disclosures. EBSA is publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking that 
would require CSPs to provide RPFs with a guide elsewhere in today's 
issue of the Federal Register.
    In connection with the issuance of the notice of proposed 
rulemaking, EBSA and the CEO intend to request approval from the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) for the collection of data for the 
project titled ``Evaluating the Effectiveness of the 408(b)(2) 
Disclosure Requirements.'' The project is designed to explore current 
practices and effects of EBSA's final regulation and to gather 
information about the need for a guide, summary, or similar tool to 
help RPFs navigate and understand the disclosures.
    EBSA and CEO intend to conduct approximately eight to ten focus 
group sessions with approximately 70 to 100 RPFs to small pension plans 
(those with less than 100 participants). They will be asked to provide 
information including the following: (1) Their role with respect to 
their plan; (2) the number of service providers hired by the plan; (3) 
whether they are aware of and understand the disclosures mandated by 
the 408(b)(2) final regulation; (4) their experience with receiving the 
disclosures; (5) whether they were able to find information regarding 
the services that would be provided and the costs of those services; 
(6) whether their review of the disclosures impacted their decision-
making with regard to hiring, monitoring, or retaining service 
providers or changing plan investment options; (7) whether their CSPs 
provide a guide or similar organizational tool to help find specific 
information within the disclosures; and (8) whether a guide to the 
required disclosures would be beneficial to them, and if so, how much 
they would be willing to pay to receive a guide.
    EBSA intends to use information collected from the focus groups to: 
(1) Assess responsible plan fiduciaries' experience in receiving the 
408(b)(2) regulation's required disclosures; (2) assess the 
effectiveness of these disclosures in helping plan fiduciaries make 
decisions; (3) determine how well plan fiduciaries understood the 
disclosures, especially in the small plan marketplace (less than 100 
participants); and (4) evaluate whether, and how, a guide, summary, or 
similar tool would help fiduciaries understand the disclosures.

Focus of Comments

    The Department is particularly interested in comments that: (1) 
Evaluate whether the proposed

[[Page 14087]]

collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (2) 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; (3) 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and (4) 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., by 
permitting electronic submissions of responses).
    Comments submitted in response to this request will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval; they will also become 
a matter of public record.

James H. Moore, Jr.,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2014-04867 Filed 3-11-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-23-P
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