Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 224 / Wednesday, November 20, 2024 / Notices 91787 

Laeticia Mukala-Nirere, Attorney 

Advisor, Office of the General Counsel, 

Executive Office for Immigration 

Review, 5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2600, 

Falls Church, VA 22041, telephone: 

(703) 305–0470, EOIR.PRA.Comments@

usdoj.gov or Kabina.L.Mukala-Nirere@

usdoj.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Written 

comments and suggestions from the 

public and affected agencies concerning 

the proposed collection of information 

are encouraged. Your comments should 

address one or more of the following 

four points: 

—Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics, 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; 

—Evaluate whether and if so how the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected can be 

enhanced; 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. 

Abstract: Certain individuals who are 

deportable from the United States may 

be eligible to request that the Attorney 

General suspend their deportation and 

adjust their status under former section 

244 of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act (INA). See also 8 CFR 1240.55 

(2024). An applicant seeking suspension 

of deportation may file Form EOIR–40 

based on the individual facts and 

circumstances in his/her case. To be 

granted such relief from deportation, the 

applicant must prove that s/he meets all 

the statutory prerequisites for such relief 

and that s/he is entitled to a favorable 

exercise of discretion. The form 

contains information, such as 

identifying characteristics, residence, 

employment history and family 

information, which is necessary for the 

Attorney General to determine the 

statutory eligibility of individual 

noncitizens, who have been determined 

to be deportable from the United States, 

for suspension of their deportation 

pursuant to former section 244 of the 

INA. 

Overview of This Information 

Collection 

1. Type of Information Collection: 

Renewal, with change, of a currently 

approved collection. EOIR is making a 

few non-substantive changes to the 

current Form EOIR–40, to include 

typographical and grammatical edits, 

adding appropriate spacing between 

words, and removing unnecessary 

spacing and symbols between words. 

EOIR is also making several minor but 

substantive changes to the current Form 

EOIR–40, to include removing the word 

‘‘alien’’ from the document, and 

replacing it with the word ‘‘noncitizen’’; 

clarifying the description of the 

dimension of an applicant’s facial image 

for passport photographs; modifying the 

sentence explaining the purpose and 

instructions of this form; adding ‘‘other’’ 

as an alternate option for gender 

identity; changing the word ‘‘home’’ 

phone number to ‘‘cell’’ phone number; 

and including a privacy act statement. 

2. The Title of the Form/Collection: 

Application for Suspension of 

Deportation. 

3. The agency form number, if any, 

and the applicable component of the 

Department sponsoring the collection: 

The form number is EOIR–40; the 

sponsoring component is Executive 

Office for Immigration Review, United 

States Department of Justice. 

4. Affected public who will be asked 

or required to respond, as well as the 

obligation to respond: Primary: 

Individual noncitizens determined to be 

deportable from the United States. 

Other: None. Abstract: This information 

collection is necessary to determine the 

statutory eligibility of individual 

noncitizens, who have been determined 

to be deportable from the United States, 

for suspension of their deportation 

pursuant to former section 244 of the 

INA and 8 CFR 1240.55 (2011). 

5. An estimate of the total number of 

respondents and the amount of time 

estimated for an average respondent to 

respond: It is estimated that 147 

respondents will complete the form 

annually with an average of 5 hour and 

45 minutes per response. 

6. An estimate of the total annual 

burden (in hours) associated with the 

collection: The estimated public burden 

associated with this collection is 845.25 

hours. It is estimated that respondents 

will take 5 hour and 45 minutes to 

complete the form. 

7. An estimate of the total annual cost 

burden associated with the collection, if 

applicable: 

TOTAL BURDEN HOURS

Activity Number of 

respondents 

Frequency 

(annually) 

Total annual 

responses 

Time per 

response 

(hours) 

Total annual 

burden 

(hours) 

Title ...................................................................................... 147 1 147 5.75 845.25 

Unduplicated Totals ...................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................

If additional information is required 

contact: Darwin Arceo, Department 

Clearance Officer, United States 

Department of Justice, Justice 

Management Division, Policy and 

Planning Staff, Two Constitution 

Square, 145 N Street NE, 4W–218, 

Washington, DC. 

Dated: November 15, 2024. 

Darwin Arceo, 

Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. 

Department of Justice. 

[FR Doc. 2024–27075 Filed 11–19–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found 

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Announcement of voluntary 

information collection request. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces that 

the Office of Management and Budget’s 


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91788 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 224 / Wednesday, November 20, 2024 / Notices 

1 89 FR 26932. 

2The total burden for this information collection 

is estimated as an hour burden. The hour burden 

is measured as the time for recordkeepers to obtain 

authorization, the time for plan administrators to 

provide authorization to the recordkeepers, and the 

time for recordkeepers to provide data to the 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found database. Costs 

accounted for in the hour burden are not included 

in cost burden to avoid double counting, resulting 

in a cost burden of zero. The act of transmitting the 

data to the Retirement Savings Lost and Found is 

a cost burden but since that will occur 

electronically, the Department subsumed the 

minimal cost of that activity within the hour 

burden. 

3Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, H.R. 

2617. 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs has approved under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 an 

information collection request 

developed by the Department of Labor’s 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration (Department or EBSA). 

Accordingly, EBSA is now collecting 

information from retirement plan 

administrators (e.g., via their 

recordkeepers) in order to establish and 

maintain the Retirement Savings Lost 

and Found online searchable database 

described in section 523 of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974. This database will help 

connect missing participants and other 

individuals who have lost track of their 

retirement benefits with retirement 

plans that may be holding such benefits. 

This information collection request is 

voluntary. This notice also provides 

guidance and announces an 

enforcement policy, both to incentivize 

and encourage the voluntary submission 

of data. 

DATES: Information may be submitted 

immediately. 

ADDRESSES: Information may be 

submitted at https://lostandfoundintake.dol.gov/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions regarding how to submit data 

in response to this information 

collection request: contact Division of IT 

Operations Support, Office of Program 

Planning, Evaluation and Management, 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, (202) 693–8610. For 

general questions regarding section 523 

of the Employee Retirement Income 

Security Act, contact Stephen Sklenar, 

Office of Regulations and 

Interpretations, Employee Benefits 

Security Administration, (202) 693– 

8500. These are not toll-free numbers. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Executive Summary 

The Department of Labor’s Employee 

Benefits Security Administration 

(Department or EBSA) is now collecting 

information from retirement plan 

administrators in order to establish and 

maintain the Retirement Savings Lost 

and Found online searchable database 

described in section 523 of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974 (ERISA). This database will 

help connect missing participants and 

other individuals who may have lost 

track of their retirement benefits with 

retirement plans that may be holding 

such benefits. This information 

collection request is voluntary. 

The information being collected is 

basic information about individuals of a 

certain age who may be owed benefits 

under ERISA retirement plans. 

Specifically, EBSA is requesting the 

name and social security number of any 

participant who separated from service, 

is owed a benefit from the plan, and is 

age 65 or older. EBSA also is asking for 

current contact information for the plan 

administrator so that individuals 

meeting these characteristics may 

contact the plan administrator and make 

an inquiry. 

The scope of this information 

collection request is very narrow. It is 

much narrower than what was 

previously proposed by the Department 

and what is ultimately going to be 

necessary to establish and maintain the 

complete database contemplated by 

section 523 of ERISA.1 The Department 

narrowed the scope of its proposal in 

response to public concerns that the 

proposal was overly broad and 

unnecessarily burdensome. As 

supported by commenters, the 

Department is starting its information 

collection efforts by focusing on 

information about individuals who are 

at or near normal retirement age and 

who are owed a benefit by the plan. 

This is because such individuals are 

more likely to benefit sooner from a 

functioning Retirement Savings Lost 

and Found database than other age 

cohorts. Future efforts through notice 

and comment, however, will be needed 

to gradually expand the database to 

fully implement section 523 of ERISA. 

II. Summary of Burden 

In summary, the final information 

collection request has a 3-year average 

hour burden of 26,017 hours with an 

equivalent cost of $4,660,421 and a cost 

burden of $0.2

A summary of paperwork burden 

estimates follows: 

Type of Review: Revision. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Labor. 

Title: Retirement Savings Lost and 

Found. 

OMB Control Number: 1210–0172. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profits, Not-for-profit institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

150,920. 

Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 150,940. 

Frequency of Response: Annual. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 26,017. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: 

$0. 

III. Background 

A. Section 303 of SECURE 2.0 

Section 303 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 

2022, which was enacted on December 

29, 2022 (SECURE 2.0),3 amended part 

5 of subtitle B of title I of ERISA to add 

Section 523, which requires the 

Department, not later than 2 years after 

the date of enactment and in 

consultation with the Secretary of the 

Treasury, to create an online searchable 

database, to be known as the Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found. Among other 

things, SECURE 2.0 requires that this 

database allow retirement savers who 

may have lost track of their retirement 

plan to search for the contact 

information of their plan administrator 

in order to make a claim for benefits that 

they may be owed under the plan. 

Section 523(a) of ERISA expressly 

directs the Secretary to establish an 

online searchable database which, inter 

alia, allows an individual to locate 

information about a plan if the 

individual is or was a participant of that 

plan. Section 523(e) of ERISA expressly 

authorizes the Department to collect 

certain information for plan years 

beginning after December 31, 2023. For 

example, it authorizes the Department 

to collect the information described in 

sections 6057(b)(1) through (4) and 

6057(a)(2)(A) and (B) of the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986 (Code). It also 

authorizes the Department to collect the 

names and social security numbers of 

participants and former participants 

described in Code section 6057(a)(2)(C) 

(i.e., individuals who separated from 

service covered under their plans and 

who are entitled to deferred vested 

benefits) and identify those who were 

fully paid their deferred vested benefits. 

Finally, it authorizes the Department to 

collect the names and social security 

numbers of each participant or former 

participant in the plan with respect to 

whom vested benefits were distributed 

under section 401(a)(31)(B) of the Code 

or to whom a deferred annuity contract 

was distributed. 

B. IRS Form 8955–SSA 

Much of the foregoing information is 

currently reported to the Internal 


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4The Form 8955–SSA is the designated successor 

to Schedule SSA (Form 5500). The Schedule SSA 

attachment to the Form 5500 was the vehicle the 

IRS used to collect this information until the 

Schedule SSA was replaced by the stand-alone IRS 

Form 8955–SSA. 

5See 26 U.S.C. 6103 (confidentiality and 

disclosure of returns and return information). 6 89 FR 26932. 

Revenue Service (IRS) on Form 8955– 

SSA (Annual Registration Statement 

Identifying Separated Participants With 

Deferred Vested Benefits).4 The 

information reported on Forms 8955– 

SSA is generally provided by the IRS to 

the Social Security Administration 

(SSA). The SSA then provides the 

reported information to separated vested 

participants when they file for social 

security benefits. Pursuant to section 

523(a) of ERISA, the Department 

consulted with the Secretary of the 

Treasury and IRS on the Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found online 

searchable database, and its ability to 

rely on the data reported on Form 8955– 

SSA to populate the database. 

Initially, citing concerns under 

section 6103 of the Code,5 IRS indicated 

that it would not authorize the release 

of this data to the Department for the 

purpose of communicating either 

directly with participants and 

beneficiaries about retirement plans that 

may still owe them retirement benefits 

or indirectly through the Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found online 

searchable database. As explained 

below in section VII F of this notice, 

however, the Department believes the 

issues are now resolved and that it will 

be able to receive the information 

reported on Form 8955–SSA. 

Nevertheless, the Department is 

moving forward with the voluntary 

information collection request because 

of the uncertainties associated with the 

Form 8955–SSA data, concerns about 

the completeness and accuracy of that 

data, and the importance of complying 

with the statutory deadline contained in 

section 523 of ERISA. Accordingly, the 

Department continues to request that 

plan administrators voluntarily furnish 

the information specified below directly 

to the Department. 

C. Terminated Vested Participants 

Project 

Separate from the database required 

by SECURE 2.0, the Department 

administers the Terminated Vested 

Participants Project (TVPP or missing 

participant program). The TVPP has 

three key objectives for defined benefit 

pension plans. First, to ensure these 

plans maintain adequate census and 

other records necessary to determine (a) 

the identity and address of participants 

and beneficiaries due benefits under the 

plan, (b) the amount of benefits due 

under the plan, and (c) when 

participants and beneficiaries are 

eligible to commence benefits. Second, 

to ensure these plans have appropriate 

procedures for advising participants 

with vested accrued benefits of their 

eligibility to apply for benefits as they 

near normal retirement age and the date 

they must start required minimum 

distributions under federal tax law. 

Third, to ensure these plans implement 

appropriate search procedures for 

terminated participants and 

beneficiaries for whom they have 

incorrect or incomplete information. 

Since 2017, the Department has 

recovered more than $7 billion for such 

‘‘missing’’ participants and 

beneficiaries. 

IV. April 2024 Proposed Information 

Collection Request 

On April 16, 2024, the Department 

published for notice and comment in 

the Federal Register a proposed 

information collection request (April 

2024 Proposed ICR) setting forth a 

proposed framework for a voluntary 

information collection. The April 2024 

Proposed ICR contained three broad 

categories of information, as follows: (1) 

Information From Plans With Separated 

Vested Participants; (2) Information 

From Plans That Distributed Benefits 

Under Section 401(a)(31)(B) of the 

Internal Revenue Code; and (3) 

Information From Plans That 

Distributed Annuities.6 The specific 

information in each category of the 

April 2024 Proposed ICR is set forth 

below in Section IV. The Department 

received thirteen comment letters in 

response to the April 2024 Proposed 

ICR. The commenters’ concerns are 

addressed in Sections V–VII. 

A. Plans With Separated Vested 

Participants 

The April 2024 Proposed ICR, in 

relevant part, sought to collect the 

following information for any plan with 

a participant or former participant 

described in 26 U.S.C. 6057(a)(2)(C) 

(‘‘separated vested participant’’): 

1. Name and plan number of plan as 

reflected on the most recent Form 5500 

Annual Return/Report of Employee 

Benefit Plan or Form 5500–SF Short 

Form Annual Return/Report of 

Employee Benefit Plan (individually 

and collectively ‘‘Form 5500’’). If the 

plan had names other than the name on 

the most recent Form 5500, provide the 

prior names and plan numbers and 

include the date of change. 

2. Name, employer identification 

number (EIN), mailing address, and 

telephone number of the plan 

administrator as reflected on the most 

recent Form 5500. If the plan had plan 

administrators other than the plan 

administrator on the most recent Form 

5500, provide the names and EINs of the 

prior plan administrators and include 

the date of change. 

3. Name, EIN, mailing address, and 

telephone number of the plan sponsor 

as reflected on the most recent Form 

5500, if different than the plan 

administrator. If the plan had plan 

sponsors other than the plan sponsor on 

the most recent Form 5500, provide the 

names and EINs of the prior plan 

sponsors and include the date of 

change. 

4. Name, date of birth, mailing 

address, email address, telephone 

number, and social security number 

(SSN) of each separated vested 

participant. 

5. Nature, form, and amount of benefit 

of each separated vested participant. 

6. If the vested benefit of each such 

separated vested participant was fully 

paid in a form other than an annuity 

(i.e., lump sum payout) to the separated 

vested participant, provide the date and 

the amount of the distribution. 

7. If an annuity form of benefit, state 

whether the separated vested 

participant has begun receiving benefits, 

the date of the annuity commencement, 

and the monthly benefit. 

8. Name, date of birth, mailing 

address, email address, telephone 

number, and SSN of any separated 

vested participant of normal retirement 

age or older who is owed a vested 

benefit, and who has been unresponsive 

to plan communications about their 

benefits or whose contact information as 

set forth in paragraph 4 above, the plan 

has reason to believe is no longer 

accurate. 

9. Name, date of birth, mailing 

address, email address, telephone 

number, and SSN of any designated 

beneficiary of the separated vested 

participant. 

10. With respect to any participant 

whose benefit was transferred to the 

plan in the manner described in Line 9 

of the Form 8955–SSA, provide the 

name and plan number of the transferor 

plan. Include the date of transfer to the 

plan. 

B. Plans That Distributed Benefits 

Under Section 401(a)(31)(B) of the 

Internal Revenue Code 

The April 2024 Proposed ICR, in 

relevant part, sought to collect the 

following information for any plan that 


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7Comment Letter of US Chamber of Commerce, 

page 3. 

8Comment Letter of SPARK, page 2. 

9Comment Letter of the ERISA Industry 

Committee, pp 2–3. 

10Comment Letter of the Investment Company 

Institute, page 5. 

distributed benefits under section 

401(a)(31)(B) of the Code: 

1. Name of plan and plan number as 

reflected on the most recent Form 5500. 

If the plan had names other than the 

name on the most recent Form 5500, 

provide the prior names and plan 

numbers to include the date of change. 

2. Name, EIN, mailing address, and 

telephone number of the plan 

administrator as reflected on the most 

recent Form 5500. If the plan had plan 

administrators other than the plan 

administrator on the most recent Form 

5500, provide the names and EINs of the 

prior plan administrators and include 

the date of change. 

3. Name, EIN, mailing address, and 

telephone number of the plan sponsor 

as reflected on the most recent Form 

5500, if different than the plan 

administrator. If the plan had plan 

sponsors other than the plan sponsor on 

the most recent Form 5500, provide the 

names and EINs of the prior plan 

sponsors and include the date of 

change. 

4. Name, date of birth, mailing 

address, email address, telephone 

number and SSN of each participant or 

former participant with respect to whom 

any amount of the vested benefit was 

distributed under section 401(a)(31)(B) 

of the Code. 

5. With respect to such participant or 

former participant, the name of the 

designated trustee or issuer described in 

section 401(a)(31)(B) of the Code. 

6. With respect to such participant or 

former participant, the address of the 

designated trustee or issuer described in 

section 401(a)(31)(B) of the Code. 

7. With respect to such participant or 

former participant, the amount of the 

distribution. 

8. With respect to such participant or 

former participant, the account number 

of the individual retirement plan to 

which the amount was distributed. 

9. With respect to such participant or 

former participant, the name, date of 

birth, mailing address, email address, 

telephone number, and SSN of any 

designated beneficiary. 

C. Plans That Distributed Annuities 

The April 2024 Proposed ICR, in 

relevant part, sought to collect the 

following information for any plan that 

distributed benefits pursuant to an 

annuity contract described in 29 CFR 

2510.3–3(d)(2)(ii): 

1. Name and plan number of plan as 

reflected on the most recent Form 5500. 

If the plan had names other than the 

name on the most recent Form 5500, 

provide the prior names and plan 

numbers to include the date of change. 

2. Name, EIN, mailing address, and 

telephone number of the current plan 

administrator as reflected on the most 

recent Form 5500. If the plan had plan 

administrators other than the plan 

administrator on the most recent Form 

5500, provide the names and EINs of the 

prior plan administrators and include 

the date of change. 

3. Name, EIN, mailing address, and 

telephone number of plan sponsor as 

reflected on the most recent Form 5500, 

if different than the plan administrator. 

If the plan had plan sponsors other than 

the plan sponsor on the most recent 

Form 5500, provide the names and EINs 

of the prior plan sponsors and include 

the date of change. 

4. Name, date of birth, SSN, mailing 

address, email address, and telephone 

number of each participant or former 

participant with respect to whom an 

annuity contract, described in 29 CFR 

2510.3–3(d)(2)(ii), was distributed. 

5. With respect to such participant or 

former participant, the name of the 

issuer of the annuity contract. 

6. With respect to such participant or 

former participant, the address of the 

issuer of the annuity contract. 

7. With respect to such participant or 

former participant, the contract or 

certificate number. 

8. With respect to such participant or 

former participant, the name, date of 

birth, mailing address, email address, 

telephone number, and SSN of any 

designated beneficiary. 

D. Historical Data 

With respect to all three categories of 

information described above (in sections 

A through C), the April 2024 Proposed 

ICR sought historic information, to the 

extent available, dating back to the date 

the plan first became subject to ERISA 

or as far back as possible, if shorter. The 

Proposed ICR sought this data in an 

effort to establish the most effective 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found 

online searchable database possible. 

E. Public Comments on April 2024 

Proposal 

Nearly every commenter objected to 

the breadth of the April 2024 Proposed 

ICR. One commenter, for instance, 

asserted that there is very little 

information the Department needs to 

build the Retirement Savings Lost and 

Found database contemplated by 

section 523 of ERISA. This commenter 

is of the view that ‘‘the only information 

needed is the participant’s name, the 

plan name and the plan’s contact 

information, and any updates to the 

latter two.’’ 7 This commenter suggested 

that the Department reevaluate what 

actually is needed for the database to 

function and focus on collecting only 

that information. 

A different commenter asserted that, 

in many respects, the April 2024 

Proposed ICR goes beyond what the 

Department is expressly authorized to 

collect under section 523 of ERISA. This 

commenter also contended that the 

April 2024 Proposed ICR goes beyond 

‘‘what is reasonably necessary to ensure 

the proper administration and 

maintenance of the [Retirement Savings 

Lost and Found], as envisioned by 

Congress.’’ 8 This commenter suggested 

that, before moving on to additional 

services and functionality that might 

necessitate broader information 

requests, the Department should limit 

its information request to only those 

data elements that are necessary for 

participants to locate and receive 

information that is needed to access 

benefits owed them. In the commenter’s 

view, such information did not include, 

for example, information regarding (a) 

beneficiaries; (b) participant and 

beneficiary contact information such as 

phone numbers, email addresses, and 

physical addresses; and (c) account 

balances. 

A third commenter stated that the 

April 2024 Proposed ICR asks plan 

administrators for an ‘‘overwhelming’’ 

amount of information beyond what is 

specifically authorized.9 Unauthorized 

and unnecessary information, according 

to this commenter, includes (a) plan 

sponsor information; (b) date of birth, 

mailing address, email address, and 

telephone number of the participant; (c) 

beneficiary information; and (d) 

historical information. This commenter 

believes that the April 2024 Proposed 

ICR unnecessarily complicates what was 

supposed to be a basic online database, 

raising serious privacy and 

administration concerns. Accordingly, 

the commenter urged the Department to 

narrow the April 2024 Proposed ICR 

and abandon the proposal. 

A fourth commenter stated that the 

April 2024 Proposed ICR requests 

significantly more information about 

participants and their beneficiaries than 

is authorized by the statute’s limited list 

of data elements.10 This commenter also 

argued that the proposal requests data 

dating back to the date a plan became 

covered by ERISA, while the statue 


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11See also Comment Letter of American 

Retirement Association (sharing this concern), page 

2. 

12Comment Letter of American Benefits Council, 

page 6. 13 89 FR 74291 (Sept. 12, 2024). 

specifically authorizes only the 

collection of information with respect to 

plan years beginning in 2024. In the 

commenter’s view, the April 2024 

Proposed ICR impermissibly expanded 

both the data elements, and the time 

period covered. This commenter 

asserted that collecting and providing 

the additional data would be 

prohibitively expensive, placing an 

enormous cost and burden on plans and 

their recordkeepers—cost that may 

ultimately be passed on to plan 

participants. The commenter also 

expressed concern that the prospect of 

sharing participants’ confidential and 

personal information raises significant 

data concerns, and could expose plans 

and their recordkeepers to liability, 

particularly in the event of any data 

breach.11 This commenter urged the 

Department to collect no more than the 

information specified by section 523(e) 

of ERISA. 

Another commenter expressed its 

concern with the April 2024 Proposed 

ICR’s request for data on individuals 

that exceeds the data specifically 

described in the statute.12 This 

commenter stated that the statute 

contemplates the name and taxpayer 

identifying number of terminated vested 

participants whose benefits were 

distributed during the plan year, 

together with certain limited additional 

information such as whether an annuity 

was distributed to such an individual 

and the name and address of the 

annuity issuer. This commenter asserted 

that the more personal information the 

Department requests beyond what is 

necessary, the greater the potential 

liability if such data is compromised, 

and the greater the possibility that plans 

will not provide any information. This 

commenter encourages the Department 

not to proceed with any voluntary 

information collection request, but 

instead proceed directly to the 

rulemaking process and limit the 

information required to what is required 

by the statute. 

This commenter also strongly 

objected to the historical information 

requested by the April 2024 Proposed 

ICR. This commenter argued that the 

statute does not contemplate requiring 

administrators to report the plan-related 

information described in Internal 

Revenue Code section 6057(b)(1)–(4) or 

6057(a)(2)(A)–(B) on a retroactive basis, 

let alone as far back as to the date a 

covered plan became subject to ERISA. 

This commenter submits that the recreation of historical plan data by 

administrators would in many cases be 

exceedingly challenging and timeconsuming, and for some plans it will 

be impossible to produce. 

V. September 2024 Revised Information 

Collection Request 

A. Narrowed Scope of April 2024 

Proposal 

In response to the public comments 

received on the April 2024 Proposed 

ICR (discussed above in section IV E of 

this notice), the Department revised and 

republished the proposed ICR in 

September 2024 again soliciting public 

input (September 2024 Revised ICR).13

As compared to the April 2024 

Proposed ICR, the September 2024 

Revised ICR proposed to significantly 

narrow the scope of collection to 

capture only information on separated 

vested participants who have reached 

age 65 and who are owed a benefit, as 

well as basic contact information for the 

plan administrator. Information on 

separated vested participants under the 

second proposal in September included 

deceased participants who would have 

been age 65 or older if they had 

survived and whose beneficiary is 

entitled to a benefit; separated vested 

participants aged 65 or older whose 

benefits were conditionally forfeited 

under Treasury Regulation section 

1.411(a)–4(b)(6); and separated vested 

participants aged 65 or older who are in 

pay status. The comment period for the 

September 2024 Revised ICR closed on 

October 15, 2024, and five comments on 

the September Revised ICR were 

received. 

B. Public Comments on Narrower Scope 

Overall, commenters supported the 

narrower scope of collection in the 

September 2024 Revised ICR. 

Commenters, however, continued to 

raise a number of concerns including 

with respect to cybersecurity risks. 

These comments and concerns are 

addressed below. 

VI. Final Information Collection 

Request 

A. Decision To Narrow Information 

Collection Request 

The Department does not agree with 

the position of those commenters 

described in Section IV.E who found it 

inappropriate for the Department to 

collect all of the information listed in 

the April 2024 Proposed ICR. 

Nevertheless, the Department generally 

agrees to structure the final information 

collection request to reduce cost and 

burden on responders in order to 

encourage participation. The 

Department has significantly narrowed 

the scope of the final information 

collection request in response to public 

comments. Generally speaking, this 

final information collection request is 

limited to the current contact 

information for the plan as well as the 

name and social security number of any 

participant who separated from service, 

is owed a benefit, and is age 65 or older. 

In this regard, the scope of the final 

information collection request is very 

similar to the scope of the September 

2024 Revised ICR, with a few 

improvements made in response to 

public comments received on the 

September proposal. 

Subsection VI B of this notice 

delineates the precise data points being 

sought under the final ICR. Unlike the 

April 2024 Proposed ICR, this final 

information collection request does not 

seek, among other things, data on: (a) 

historical practices dating back to the 

date the covered plan became subject to 

ERISA; (b) beneficiaries; (c) date of 

birth, mailing address, email address, 

and telephone number of each separated 

vested participant; (d) benefits 

distributed under section 401(a)(31)(B) 

of the Internal Revenue Code; and (e) 

benefits distributed pursuant to an 

annuity contract described in 29 CFR 

2510.3–3(d)(2)(ii). 

As supported by commenters, the 

Department is starting its information 

collection efforts by focusing on 

information about individuals who are 

at or near normal retirement age and 

who are owed a benefit by the plan. 

This is because such individuals are 

more likely to benefit sooner from a 

functioning database than other age 

cohorts. Future efforts, however, are 

needed to gradually expand the 

database to fully implement section 523 

of ERISA. At this time, the Department 

is requesting only the following specific 

information. 

B. Specific Information Requested— 

Limited to Plans With Separated Vested 

Participants Still Owed Benefits 

For any plan with a participant or 

former participant described in 26 

U.S.C. 6057(a)(2)(C)(i) and (ii) 

(‘‘separated vested participant’’), 

provide the following information with 

respect to that plan in accordance with 

filing instructions created by the 

Department: 

1. Name and plan number of plan as 

reflected on the most recent Form 5500 

Annual Return/Report of Employee 

Benefit Plan or Form 5500–SF Short 

Form Annual Return/Report of 


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14See appendix A. 

15See appendix B. 

16To include AC–03(14)—Individual Access; PL– 

08—Security and Privacy Architectures; PT–05(2)— 

Privacy Act Statements; RA–08—Privacy Impact 

Assessments; SC–07(24)—Personally Identifiable 

Information; SI–12—Information Management and 

Retention; SC–28—Protection of Information at 

Rest; SC–28(1)—Cryptographic Protection. 

Additional information on individual security and 

privacy controls is available on the NIST 

Cybersecurity and Privacy Reference Tool web 

page, https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/cprt/catalog#/ 

cprt/framework/version/SP_800_53_5_1_1/home. 

Employee Benefit Plan (individually 

and collectively ‘‘Form 5500’’). 

2. Name, employer identification 

number (EIN), mailing address, and 

telephone number of the plan 

administrator as reflected on the most 

recent Form 5500. 

3. Name, EIN, and telephone number 

of the plan sponsor as reflected on the 

most recent Form 5500. 

4. Name and SSN of any separated 

vested participant aged 65 (or older) 

who is owed a vested benefit. This 

includes deceased participants who 

would have been age 65 or older if they 

had survived and whose beneficiary is 

entitled to a benefit; separated vested 

participants aged 65 or older whose 

benefits were conditionally forfeited 

under Treasury Regulation section 

1.411(a)–4(b)(6); and separated vested 

participants aged 65 or older who are in 

pay status. 

5. With respect to participants 

previously reported to the Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found as owed a 

benefit that has since been paid, 

indicate once their benefit has been paid 

and the date of the payment. 

C. Scope—Beneficiaries 

Commenters on the September 2024 

Revised ICR objected to collecting 

information about beneficiaries. 

Commenters stated that information 

about beneficiaries is beyond the scope 

of section 523 of ERISA. The 

Department does not agree that 

information about beneficiaries is 

outside the scope of section 523 of 

ERISA. Regardless, the commenters 

misapprehended the scope of the 

September 2024 Revised ICR. Neither it 

nor the final ICR seeks to collect 

information about beneficiaries. The 

final ICR, however, does request data on 

deceased participants who still have 

benefits under the plan so that the 

deceased participant’s beneficiary or 

survivor may use the Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found to search for 

that benefit. 

D. Scope—Participants in Pay Status 

Commenters questioned why the 

September 2024 Revised ICR sought to 

collect information on separated vested 

participants aged 65 or older who are in 

pay status in defined benefit plans. 

Commenters asserted that individuals in 

pay status are not ‘‘missing’’ or ‘‘lost.’’ 

The final ICR seeks this information 

because these individuals are still owed 

a benefit under the plan. ERISA section 

523 includes missing and lost 

individuals but is not limited to them. 

E. Scope—Church Plans 

One commenter on the September 

2024 Revised ICR asked whether the 

Department intends the final ICR to 

cover non-electing church plans. The 

scope of the final ICR is coextensive 

with the scope of section 523 of ERISA. 

Section 523(a)(2) of ERISA generally 

limits the scope of section 523 to ‘‘a 

plan to which the vesting standards of 

section 203 apply.’’ Since non-electing 

church plans are not subject to section 

203 of ERISA, the final ICR does not 

cover such plans. 

F. Method of Transmitting Data 

The April 2024 Proposed ICR 

solicited public comment on two 

electronic methods to submit data to 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found. 

Under the first method, plan 

administrators (or their authorized 

representatives, such as recordkeepers) 

would be able to electronically submit 

data as an attachment to the Form 5500 

using EFAST2. The second method 

mentioned was the establishment of a 

portal for plan administrators (or their 

recordkeepers) to submit the 

information directly into the Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found database as an 

alternative to submitting the 

information as an attachment to the 

Form 5500 using EFAST2. Under either 

method, the April 2024 Proposed ICR 

indicted that the Department would 

provide a model format that plan 

administrators could use to submit the 

information. 

Overall, commenters offered support 

for both methods of electronically 

submitting the data. While generally 

supportive of the use of EFAST2, 

commenters questioned the feasibility of 

being able to submit a Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found attachment in 

time to meet the plan’s deadline for 

filing the plan’s 2023 Form 5500. Some 

commenters, noting that the Form 5500 

is filed annually, suggested that the 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found data 

should be furnished more frequently 

than annually in order to keep the 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found 

current, e.g., at least quarterly. Some 

commenters raised privacy concerns 

with attaching certain Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found data (social 

security numbers) to the Form 5500 

(which is a public filing). Other 

commenters expressed a preference for 

a direct upload portal for plan 

recordkeepers to submit information 

directly into the Retirement Savings 

Lost and Found database because this 

method would permit a single 

recordkeeper to submit bulk uploads on 

behalf of multiple plans simultaneously 

and would allow frequent uploads on 

regular basis, e.g., quarterly, monthly, or 

even more frequently, so that the 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found 

does not become stale. 

The Department established a portal 

for plan administrators or their 

recordkeepers to submit the information 

directly into the Retirement Savings 

Lost and Found database, instead of 

submitting the information as an 

attachment to the Form 5500 using 

EFAST2 as was contemplated by the 

April 2024 Proposed ICR. The 

Department also created an upload 

template to assist filers.14 The template 

is a table, in Microsoft Excel/CSV 

format, designed to capture details on 

separated vested participants who have 

reached age 65 and who are owed a 

benefit, and basic information about 

their plans. The plan administrator or 

the plan’s recordkeeper may download, 

populate, and then upload the 

completed Excel/CSV file directly with 

EBSA through RSFL. This direct portal 

approach allows recordkeepers to file on 

behalf of multiple plans simultaneously. 

RSFL requires filers to have a free 

Login.gov account, and to create a user 

profile. The Department has also 

developed line-by-line instructions to 

guide filers through the process.15 The 

upload template and instructions are 

available at https://lostandfoundintake.dol.gov/template.xlsx. 

Many commenters discussing the 

topic of transmitting data to the 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found also 

mentioned concerns about data security 

after the transfer. In response, the 

Department notes that the Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found is being 

developed in accordance with the U.S. 

Department of Commerce National 

Institute of Standards and Technology 

SP 800–53 Revision 5 security controls, 

including implementation of all 

applicable privacy controls.16

Retirement Savings Lost and Found 

administrators will use the 

Department’s login credential practices 

to access the Retirement Savings Lost 

and Found, including Multi-Factor 

Authentication login and Single SignOn account access via Personal Identity 


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17While at rest, the Amazon RDS encrypted DB 

instances will use the industry standard AES–256 

encryption algorithm to encrypt the data on the 

server that hosts the Amazon RDS DB instances. 

18 In transit, data passed from the user to the 

application will be protected via standard HTTPS/ 

SSL encryption and data from the database to the 

application will be protected by TLS encryption. 

19However, no party acting on behalf of a plan 

may furnish information in response to this 

information collection request without the approval 

or consent of a responsible plan fiduciary. 

Verification certificate authentication. 

Public users (search users) will require 

Login.gov credentials to access the 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found. 

Top industry standards for data 

encryption will be used to encrypt data 

while at rest 17 and in transit.18

VII. Miscellaneous 

A. Fiduciary Duty To Mitigate 

Cybersecurity Risk 

Several commenters raised concerns 

about data security and their potential 

exposure to liability under ERISA in the 

event of a future data breach involving 

the Retirement Savings Lost and Found. 

The commenters acknowledged that 

fiduciaries have an obligation under 

section 404 of ERISA to take prudent 

measures to protect participants’ 

personal information and mitigate 

cybersecurity risks. The commenters 

stated that the April 2024 Proposed ICR 

and the September 2024 Revised ICR 

both had failed to provide sufficient 

information about the Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found’s security 

features to enable plan fiduciaries to 

prudently conclude that furnishing the 

information described in the proposals 

would not constitute a breach of 

ERISA’s fiduciary duties. The 

commenters concluded that this may 

prevent a significant number of plans 

from responding to the voluntary 

information collection request. The 

commenters requested a detailed 

description of the Retirement Savings 

Lost and Found’s security protocols and 

asked that the Department agree to 

indemnify and otherwise make whole 

plans and their recordkeepers for losses 

that occur as result of a data security 

failure attributable to the Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found. 

The Department agrees with these 

commenters that responsible plan 

fiduciaries have an obligation to ensure 

proper mitigation of cybersecurity risks, 

which includes using only services that 

follow strong cybersecurity practices. 

The Department had not finished 

constructing the security protocols at 

the time of publication of the September 

2024 Revised ICR. A more fulsome 

description, however, now is contained 

in Section VI F, above, of this notice. 

The Department has taken great care 

to ensure the security and 

confidentiality of participant data and 

reassures plan fiduciaries that if they 

voluntarily furnish data in response to 

this information collection request and 

follow the instructions for transmitting 

the data to the Department, they will 

have satisfied their duty under section 

404 of ERISA to ensure proper 

mitigation of cybersecurity risks. 

Accordingly, plan fiduciaries’ 

submission of data to the Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found in accordance 

with the system’s instructions on 

submissions will not violate fiduciaries’ 

duties of prudence and loyalty, but 

rather would promote participant 

interests in securing promised benefits 

in accordance with those obligations. 

Such plan fiduciaries will not be subject 

to liability under ERISA for the 

Department’s conduct in the event of a 

future security failure involving 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found. In 

light of this opinion, the Department 

need not address the commenters’ 

request for indemnification. 

B. State Privacy Laws 

Several commenters requested that 

the Department address the interaction 

of state privacy laws with this voluntary 

information collection request. They 

raised concerns about potential liability 

under ERISA’s fiduciary provisions and 

state law in connection with voluntarily 

furnishing certain personal information 

(e.g., name, social security number, 

telephone number, date of birth, mailing 

address) under this information 

collection request without first 

obtaining participant consent. 

The Department notes that section 

523(e) of ERISA explicitly authorizes 

the Department to collect, among other 

information, the ‘‘name and taxpayer 

identifying number’’ of affected 

participants or former participants. The 

Department also observes, however, that 

state privacy laws vary in their scope 

and application, it is unclear whether 

any apply in the specific circumstances 

at hand, and commenters acknowledged 

such laws often contain an exemption 

for information provided to government 

authorities to comply with a regulatory 

inquiry. No commenter suggested that 

the Department is not a government 

authority or that the Retirement Savings 

Lost and Found is not a proper 

regulatory function in light of section 

523 of ERISA. 

Further, the Department narrowed 

this voluntary information collection 

request to two pieces of sensitive data— 

the participant’s name and social 

security number—both of which the 

plan has already reported to the federal 

government under section 6057 of the 

Code for purposes aligned with and 

integrated with the Retirement Savings 

Lost and Found. In any event, the 

Department will not take enforcement 

action under ERISA against any plan 

fiduciary, or recordkeeper or other party 

acting on behalf of the plan, for 

responding to this information 

collection request without first 

obtaining participant consent to the 

extent required by state law provided 

that the plan fiduciary acts reasonably 

and in good faith in responding to this 

information collection request.19 The 

Department believes this enforcement 

policy, in combination with the 

narrower scope of the revised 

information collection request and 

participants’ right to opt out of 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found, 

discussed in sections VI and VII of this 

notice, below, addresses the 

commenters’ concerns. However, 

individuals with residual concerns or 

unique circumstances are encouraged to 

contact the Department directly for 

additional assistance. 

C. User Authentication as Protection 

Some commenters raised concerns 

that establishing a publicly accessible 

online searchable database storing 

sensitive personal information, such as 

social security numbers or information 

regarding retirement account balances, 

introduces the risk that this information 

will be disclosed to an unintended 

audience or possibly used for fraud. 

Generally, these commenters urged the 

Department to limit information 

returned from a search of the Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found to that related 

to the individual conducting the search 

and to prevent data ‘‘scraping,’’ a 

process used by certain ‘‘property 

finders,’’ ‘‘recovery agents,’’ 

‘‘heirfinders,’’ and other data 

aggregators to mass collect information 

using other publicly accessible 

databases such as those used to search 

state unclaimed property funds. The 

Department understands these concerns 

and incorporated limitations to the 

search function to address this risk, 

such as requiring an authenticated 

account for each user searching the 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found and 

producing search results particularized 

to that account holder. Unlike other 

publicly available property search tools 

and engines, no general list of 

information will be accessible for the 

public to view. As such, the risk for 

unintended disclosure, or fraud using 

information collected from the 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found, is 

thoroughly mitigated. 


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20United States Government Accountability 

Office, Report GAO–14–92 (Nov. 2013), Private 

Pensions: Clarity of Required Reports and 

Disclosures Could be Improved. 

D. Use of Plan Assets To Pay Cost of 

Voluntary Reporting 

Commenters requested clarification 

regarding whether, and the extent to 

which, plan assets may be used, 

consistent with ERISA’s fiduciary 

duties, to pay the cost of voluntary 

reporting. Commenters mentioned that 

such cost includes the cost associated 

with collecting, formatting, and 

transmitting the data, and that the scope 

of the final ICR obviously will impact 

costs. In the Department’s view, the 

reasonable cost of voluntarily reporting 

the data under the revised ICR is a 

permissible use of plan assets because 

the purpose of the reporting is to 

connect separated vested participants 

with benefits owed them under the 

plan. 

E. Participants’ Opt-Out Rights 

Commenters requested clarification 

on how participants may exercise their 

statutory right to opt-out of Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found. Section 

523(c)(2) of ERISA provides that in 

establishing the Retirement Savings Lost 

and Found, the Department, in 

consultation with the Secretary of the 

Treasury, shall take all necessary and 

proper precautions to ‘‘allow any 

individual to contact the Secretary to 

opt out of inclusion in the Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found.’’ Commenters 

observed that the Proposed ICR did not 

describe an opt-out mechanism or 

procedure. 

The Department considered a number 

of options to enable participants to 

exercise this statutory right in a 

convenient and easy-to-use mechanism 

for participants of all ages, backgrounds, 

and abilities. Initially, participants may 

opt out online by submitting a request 

at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/ 

about-ebsa/ask-a-question/ask-ebsa. 

Instructions will guide the participant. 

If a participant chooses to opt out of the 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found, the 

participant’s data will be suppressed 

from appearing in searches of the 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found. 

The participant’s decision will be 

documented and referred to database 

administrators for execution. The 

Department is also considering adding 

an online self-service opt out feature 

directly to the Retirement Savings Lost 

and Found, but this option is not 

available now. 

F. Alternatives to the Voluntary 

Information Collection Request 

Commenters recommended the 

Department consider alternative 

methods for implementing the 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found. 

One commenter suggested that the 

Department consider hiring a private 

sector contractor to operate the 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found. 

Another commenter stated its concern 

that the voluntary ICR approach to 

populating the Retirement Savings Lost 

and Found with information will 

compromise the content and 

effectiveness of the Retirement Savings 

Lost and Found and, thus, the 

Department should abandon its current 

approach and instead proceed to formal 

notice and comment rulemaking. 

The Department declines to abandon 

its current approach. The current 

approach gives the Department the best 

chance to comply with the 

Congressional directive in a timely 

manner. Under its current approach, the 

Department has substantially reduced 

the burden of responding to the ICR. In 

addition, the current approach does not 

foreclose the Department from making 

improvements to the Retirement Savings 

Lost and Found in the future. The 

Department will take the comments 

received on the ICR into consideration 

regarding any future improvements. 

In response to commenters’ requests 

that the Department continue to work 

with IRS, SSA, or both, to obtain Form 

8955–SSA information directly from 

those agencies instead of requesting 

such information from plan 

administrators, the Department notes 

that it has continued its discussions 

with both agencies and believes it will 

be able to use the Form 8955–SSA data. 

The Department notes, however, that 

the Form 8955–SSA data may often be 

inaccurate, outdated, or incomplete.20

For instance, current recordkeeper data 

can show if benefits have been paid out, 

whereas Form 8955–SSA data likely 

cannot. Access to payout data is critical 

to keep the Retirement Savings Lost and 

Found current and reduce the instances 

of ‘‘false positive’’ search results 

mentioned by the commenters. These 

commenters strongly encouraged the 

Department to make every possible 

effort to maintain as up-to-date 

information as possible so that the 

public has confidence in the integrity of 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found. To 

that end, even if Form 8955–SSA data 

is received, such data would stand to 

benefit if supplemented by current 

recordkeeper data. The minimal 

voluntary data collection requested here 

will enable plans and plan sponsors to 

ensure the accuracy of information 

contained in the database. Accurate data 

will serve the interests of both plans and 

plan participants in obtaining benefits 

to which they are truly entitled and in 

avoiding search efforts and inquiries to 

plans and plan sponsors based on 

erroneous information. As noted above, 

the current approach also gives the 

Department the best chance to comply 

with the Congressional directive in a 

timely manner. 

G. Multi-Vendor Plans 

Commenters raised a concern with 

what they described as ‘‘multi-vendor’’ 

situations. Commenters explained that 

this occurs when a plan has more than 

one recordkeeper, such as in the case of 

ERISA-covered 403(b) plans. 

Commenters stated that the Department 

did not address this situation in the 

April 2024 Proposed ICR or the 

September 2024 Revised ICR. 

Commenters are concerned that the 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found may 

not be able to intake and integrate more 

than one upload template for a single 

plan. The Department understands this 

issue and confirms that the Retirement 

Savings Lost and Found is able to 

accommodate multiple filings from 

different recordkeepers for the same 

plan. 

H. Failure To Reflect Payments 

Commenters raised concerns about 

what they described as ‘‘false positives.’’ 

They described this as the potential for 

Retirement Savings Lost and Found 

searches to indicate that participants are 

owed previously distributed benefits if 

the Retirement Savings Lost and Found 

is not updated to reflect distributions. 

These commenters requested that the 

Department establish a mechanism for 

filers to submit data indicating that a 

participant has been paid their benefits. 

Otherwise, RSFL would show false 

positives, leading to confusion. These 

commenters suggested that the 

Department remove participants from 

the Retirement Savings Lost and Found 

once benefits are paid. 

The Department agrees with these 

comments on the need to reduce 

confusion and is taking the following 

actions. Two data elements are being 

added to the Retirement Savings Lost 

and Found upload template in Columns 

V and W. These modifications permit 

the filer to indicate (1) whether the 

present value of the total accrued 

benefit has been paid and (2) the date 

of payment. In addition, when searchers 

run queries, Retirement Savings Lost 

and Found results will display the 

payment information captured in these 

new fields, if applicable. This outcome 

will mitigate the concerns raised by the 

commenters. 


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21See Compliance Assistance Release 2021–01; 

Best Practices for Pension Plans; and EBSA Field 

Assistance Bulletin 2021–01 (https://www.dol.gov/ 

agencies/ebsa/employers-and-advisers/planadministration-and-compliance/retirement/ 

missing-participants-guidance). 

I. Use of Information Collected 

One commenter expressed concern 

that the Department would use 

information collected under the ICR to 

audit plans. Information collected under 

the ICR is considered information 

collected under section 523 of ERISA. 

Section 523(f) of ERISA imposes limits 

on how the Department uses 

information collected under section 523. 

The Department will respect the 

limitations in section 523(f) in 

connection with information obtained 

under the ICR. 

J. Use of Other Authorities Under ERISA 

To Collect Information 

Some commenters requested that the 

Department retract previously made 

statements that it has the authority to 

collect information through 

investigations and under a general grant 

of rulemaking authority. The 

Department declines to retract the 

statements. See sections 504 and 505 of 

ERISA. Questions regarding the 

Department’s investigative authority 

and its general rulemaking authority are 

beyond the scope of this ICR. 

K. Fiduciary Duty—Guidance on 

Missing Participants 

One commenter requested that the 

Department issue guidance regarding 

the steps a plan fiduciary must take 

under section 404 to search for 

‘‘missing’’ participants. This 

commenter’s request is outside the 

scope of the ICR. In this connection, 

however, the Department notes that it 

has given extensive guidance with 

respect to missing participants, which 

can be found on its website.21 If there 

are questions regarding that guidance or 

additional guidance needed on issues 

related to missing participants, 

interested parties should contact the 

Department with their questions or 

requests. 

Signed at Washington, DC, this 14th day of 

November, 2024. 

Lisa M. Gomez, 

Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits 

Security Administration, U.S. Department of 

Labor. 

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P 


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[FR Doc. 2024–27098 Filed 11–19–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–29–C 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission for OMB 

Review; Comment Request, 

Strengthening Community Colleges 

Training Grant Program Round 4 

(SCC4) Evaluation, New Collection 

AGENCY: Office of Employment and 

Training Administration, Chief 

Evaluation Office, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor 

(DOL), as part of its continuing effort to 

reduce paperwork and respondent 

burden, conducts a preclearance 

consultation program to provide the 

general public and federal agencies with 

an opportunity to comment on proposed 

and/or continuing collections of 

information in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA95). This program helps to ensure 

that requested data can be provided in 

the desired format, reporting burden 

(time and financial resources) is 

minimized, collection instruments are 

clearly understood, and the impact of 

collection requirements on respondents 

is properly assessed. Currently, the 

Department of Labor is soliciting 

comments concerning the collection of 

data for an evaluation of the fourth 

round of the Strengthening Community 

Colleges Training Grants Program. A 

copy of the proposed Information 

Collection Request (ICR) can be 

obtained by contacting the office listed 

below in the addressee section of this 

notice. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted to the office listed in the 

addressee section below on or before 

January 21, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either one of the following methods: 

Email: ChiefEvaluationOffice@

dol.gov; Mail or Courier: Suchitra 

Akmanchi, Chief Evaluation Office, 

OASP, 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 must include the 

agency name and OMB Control Number 

identified above for this information 

collection. 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: 

Suchitra Akmanchi by email at 

ChiefEvaluationOffice@dol.gov or by 

phone at (202) 693 8935. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background: The Chief Evaluation 

Office (CEO) and the Employment and 

Training Administration (ETA) in the 

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) are 

partnering to commission an evaluation 

of the fourth round of the Strengthening 

Community Colleges Training Grants 

Program (SCC4). The program, which 

awarded grants to sixteen community 

college grantees, aims to enable 

community colleges to adopt and 

enhance evidence-based career 

pathways programs that lead to 

equitable access to employment 

opportunities in good jobs aligned with 

locally in-demand industries. The SCC4 

evaluation will shed light on which 

programs are effective for which types 

of students, why they are effective, and 

the core components that support 

success. In addition, SCC4 will build on 

existing evidence regarding successful 

programs in community college settings 

and advance the understanding of how 

career pathways programs promote 

equitable outcomes. The SCC4 

Evaluation includes two components: 

(1) an impact study to measure the 

effects of SCC4 grant program strategies 

on participant outcomes and (2) an 

implementation study to understand 

program implementation. The impact 

study will include both a quasiexperimental design (QED) and a 

randomized controlled trial (RCT) each 

with a subset of grantees. Impact study 

grantees were identified during an 

evaluability assessment in summer 

2024, during which they were assessed 

on a series of criteria including the 

potential number of enrolled students, 

interest in and feasibility of random 

assignment of students to treatment and 

control service groups, and a notable 

difference in the services available to 

treatment and control group students. 

Five community college sites from four 

grantees will be included in the RCT 

portion of the study. Twelve grantees 

will be included in the QED study. The 

implementation study will include all 

sixteen grantees and examine the 

context of SCC4 programs, including 

how grantees integrate employer 

perspectives and student voice to shape 

programming. The evaluation will occur 

over four years (2024 to 2028). The 

evaluation will rely on rigorous study 

procedures and high-quality data. To 

facilitate these studies, the evaluation 

will use several instruments, which will 

be used during site visits, phone calls, 

and surveys with SCC4-involved staff 

and participating students. 

This Federal Register Notice provides 

the opportunity to comment on the 

following proposed data collection 

instruments that the evaluation will use: 

Impact Study: 

1. Participant baseline survey and 

consent form. Survey of 6,000 impact 

study participants to collect basic 

demographic information, interest in 

receiving support services, and current 

employment and earnings information. 

2. Participant follow-up survey. 

Follow-up survey of 1,800 impact study 

participants focused on job quality, job 

characteristics, and overall well-being. 

3. Service receipt logs. As part of the 

impact study data, grantee staff will 

track information frequency and type of 

the services they provide to 

participants. Fifteen grantee staff across 

the five participating impact study sites, 

will be responsible for inputting 

information into these logs. 

Implementation Study: 

The implementation study will use 

the following data collections to 

understand the education and economic 


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