[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 121 (Wednesday, June 24, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34487-34488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16790]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service


Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; Proposed Extension/
Reinstatement of Information Collection Request Submitted for Public 
Comment and Recommendations

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and the 
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the Agencies), as part of their 
continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conduct a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and 
other federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and 
continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program 
helps to ensure that requested data is 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 can be properly assessed. By 
this notice, the Agencies are soliciting comments concerning the 
proposed extension/reinstatement of approval of this collection of 
information--the Form 5500 Series, Annual Return/Report of Employee 
Benefit Plan--for the 1998 plan year. 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. Although 
the 1998 Form 5500 Series is not yet available, it is not expected at 
this time to differ materially from the 1997 Form 5500 Series.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addressee section below on or before August 24, 1998. The Agencies are 
particularly interested in comments that:
    <bullet> Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agencies, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    <bullet> Evaluate the accuracy of the agencies' estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

[[Page 34488]]

    <bullet> Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    <bullet> Comment on estimates of capital or startup costs and costs 
of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide 
information; and
    <bullet> 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.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments 
regarding the collection of information. Send comments to Mr. Gerald B. 
Lindrew, Office of Policy and Research, U.S. Department of Labor, 
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
NW, Room N-5647, Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 219-4782 (this 
is not a toll-free number). All comments will be shared among the 
Agencies.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On September 3, 1997, the Agencies published a Notice of Proposed 
Revision of Annual Information Return/Reports (September 3 Notice) in 
the Federal Register (62 FR 46556) to streamline and simplify the 
annual return/report forms filed for pension, welfare and fringe 
benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
1974, as amended (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 
amended (the Code).
    The Agencies anticipate that the revision of the annual return/
report form (Form 5500 Series) will be finalized and available for use 
for plan years which begin in 1999 (see the Agencies' notice concerning 
their submission of the revised Form 5500 Series to OMB for review and 
approval, also published in today's Federal Register). OMB approval for 
the existing Form 5500 Series will expire prior to implementation of 
the proposal to revise the Form 5500 Series. As a result, the Agencies 
are requesting an extension/reinstatement of the current ICR through 
the filing period for the 1998 Form 5500 Series.
    The Form 5500 Series is the primary source of information 
concerning the operation, funding, assets and investments of pension 
and other employee benefit plans. In addition to being an important 
disclosure document for plan participants and beneficiaries, the Form 
5500 is a compliance and research tool for the Agencies, and a source 
of information for use by other federal agencies, Congress, and the 
private sector in assessing employee benefit, tax, and economic trends 
and policies.
    The Agencies solicited comments on the ICR included in the 
September 3 Notice, and specifically requested comments on the 
Agencies' estimates of burden hours and burden estimation 
methodologies. The Agencies received comments indicating that estimates 
of the time required to collect the information and prepare the forms 
and related schedules were unrealistically low. In an effort to respond 
to those comments, the Agencies are currently in the process of 
evaluating the existing burden estimation methodologies to develop a 
revised and uniform burden estimation methodology. However, the burden 
hour estimates in this Notice are based on the methodologies described 
in the September 3 Notice, pending the availability of revised burden 
estimates.
    To avoid unnecessary duplication of public comments, the 
supplementary Paperwork Reduction Act information published in the 
September 3 Notice is incorporated herein by this reference in its 
entirety, and comments submitted thereon addressing the Agencies' 
burden estimates will be treated as comments on this Notice of Proposed 
Extension/Reinstatement of Information Collection Request.

II. Current Actions

    The Agencies intend to request an extension/reinstatement of the 
currently approved ICR through the filing period for the 1998 Form 5500 
Series because the new forms are not scheduled to be implemented until 
1999 plan years.
    Although the 1998 Form 5500 Series is not yet available, it is not 
expected at this time to differ materially from the 1997 Form 5500 
Series. However, the following limited changes have been made to the 
1997 Form 5500 Series as of the date of this notice.
    Schedule B: Technical revisions to reflect requirements for 1998 
plan years (e.g., elimination of the box for ``condition code'' on line 
12a in Part II of Schedule B, resulting from an amendment to the Code).
    Schedule F: The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 amended Code section 
6039D to include adoption assistance programs. As a result, a checkbox 
was added to line 2 of Schedule F to indicate that the fringe benefit 
plan is an adoption assistance program.
    Agencies: Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits 
Administration (DOL, PWBA); Department of the Treasury, Internal 
Revenue Service (IRS); Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).

Title: Form 5500, Form 5500-C/R and Schedules.

    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection for 
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and Internal Revenue 
Service; reinstatement without change of an expired collection for 
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
    OMB Numbers: 1210-0016 (Pension and Welfare Benefits 
Administration); 1545-0710 (Internal Revenue Service); 1212-0026 
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation).
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Form Number: Form 5500, Form 5500-C/R and Schedules.
    Total Respondents: 801,934 for PWBA and PBGC; 901,400 for IRS.
    Total Responses: 801,934 for PWBA and PBGC; 901,400 for IRS.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Burden Hours, Total Annual Burden: 1.68 million burden 
hours (using the PWBA methodology) to 56.4 million burden hours (using 
the IRS methodology) for preparing the Form 5500 Series and filing it 
with the government. This total burden is shared among the Agencies. 
See the September 3 Notice for detailed information on the burden 
estimation methodology.
    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be 
summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and 
Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also 
become a matter of public record.

    Dated: June 18, 1998.
Gerald B. Lindrew,
Deputy Director, Office of Policy and Research, Pension and Welfare 
Benefits Administration.
Garrick R. Shear,
IRS Reports Clearance Officer.
Stuart A. Sirkin,
Director, Corporate Policy and Research Department, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 98-16790 Filed 6-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P