[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 122 (Friday, June 23, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39208-39209]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15921]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment 
Request; Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Submitted to the PBGC

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

[[Page 39209]]


ACTION: Notice of request for extension of OMB approval.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is requesting 
that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend approval, under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act, of the collection of information (OMB 
control number 1212-0054; expires July 31, 2000) relating to model 
forms contained in the PBGC booklet, Divorce Orders & PBGC. The booklet 
provides guidance on how to submit a proper qualified domestic 
relations order (a ``QDRO'') to the PBGC. This notice informs the 
public of the PBGC's request and solicits public comment on the 
collection of information.

DATES: Comments should be submitted by July 24, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, Attention: 
Desk Officer for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Washington, DC 
20503. Copies of the request for extension (including the collection of 
information) may be obtained by writing the Communications and Public 
Affairs Department, suite 240, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20005-4026, or visiting that office between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on 
business days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James L. Beller, Attorney, Office of 
the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, 202-326-4024. (For TTY and TDD, 
call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and request 
connection to 202-326-4024.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A defined benefit pension plan that does not 
have enough money to pay benefits may be terminated if the employer 
responsible for the plan faces severe financial difficulty, such as 
bankruptcy, and is unable to maintain the plan. In such an event, the 
PBGC becomes trustee of the plan and pays benefits, subject to legal 
limits, to plan participants and beneficiaries.
    The benefits of a pension plan participant generally may not be 
assigned or alienated. Title I of ERISA provides an exception for 
domestic relations orders that relate to child support, alimony 
payments, or marital property rights of an alternate payee (a spouse, 
former spouse, child, or other dependent of a plan participant). The 
exception applies only if the domestic relations order meets specific 
legal requirements that make it a qualified domestic relations order.
    When the PBGC is trustee of a plan, it reviews submitted domestic 
relations orders to determine whether the order is qualified before 
paying benefits to an alternate payee. For several years the PBGC has 
provided the public with model QDROs (and accompanying guidance) in the 
booklet, Divorce Orders & PBGC, that attorneys and other professionals 
who are preparing QDROs for plans trusteed by the PBGC may submit to 
the PBGC after receiving court approval. The models and the guidance 
assist parties by making it easier to comply with ERISA's QDRO 
requirements in plans trusteed by the PBGC.
    Before providing the model forms and the QDRO booklet, the PBGC 
received many inquiries on the requirements for QDROs. Furthermore, 
many domestic relations orders, both in draft and final form, did not 
meet the applicable requirements. The PBGC worked with practitioners on 
a case-by-case basis to ensure that their orders were amended to meet 
applicable requirements. This process was time-consuming for 
practitioners and for the PBGC.
    Since making the booklet and the model forms available, the PBGC 
has experienced a decrease in (1) the number of inquiries about QDRO 
requirements, (2) the number of orders that do not meet the applicable 
requirements, and (3) the amount of time practitioners and the PBGC 
need to spend to ensure that the orders meet the applicable 
requirements.
    The requirements for submitting a QDRO are established by statute. 
The model QDROs and accompanying guidance do not create any additional 
requirements and will result in a reduction of the statutory burden. 
The PBGC estimates that it will receive 300 QDROs each year from 
prospective alternate payees; that the average burden of preparing a 
QDRO with the assistance of the guidance and model QDROs in PBGC's 
booklet will be \1/4\ hour of the alternate payee's time and $400 in 
professional fees if the alternate payee hires an attorney or other 
professional to prepare the QDRO, or 10 hours of the alternate payee's 
time if the alternate payee prepares the QDRO without hiring an 
attorney or other professional; and that the total annual burden will 
be 104.25 hours and $118,800.
    The PBGC is requesting a three-year extension of the paperwork 
approval relating to model forms contained in the PBGC booklet, Divorce 
Orders & PBGC. The collection of information has been approved through 
July 31, 2000, by OMB under control number 1212-0054. 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.

    Issued in Washington, D.C., this 20th day of June, 2000.
Stuart Sirkin,
Director, Corporate Policy and Research Department, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 00-15921 Filed 6-22-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P