Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 219 / Tuesday, November 15, 2005 / Notices 69355 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

Proposed Extension of Information 

Collection; Comment Request 

Regulation Regarding Participant 

Directed Individual Account Plans 

Under ERISA 404(c) 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the 

Department), 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 continuing 

collections of information in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). 

This helps to ensure that the data the 

Department gathers can be provided in 

the desired format, that the reporting 

burden on the public (time and financial 

resources) is minimized, that the public 

understands the Department’s collection 

instruments, and that the Department 

can accurately assess the impact of 

collection requirements on respondents. 

Currently, the Employee Benefits 

Security Administration (EBSA) is 

soliciting comments concerning an 

extension of the information collections 

in regulation section 2550.404c–1, 

pertaining to participant-directed 

individual account plans under section 

404(c) of the Employee Retirement 

Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). A 

copy of the information collection 

request (ICR) may be obtained by 

contacting the office listed in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before January 17, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

regarding the information collection 

request and burden estimates to Susan 

G. Lahne, Office of Policy and Research, 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Room N–5647, Washington, DC 20210. 

Telephone: (202) 693–8410; Fax: (202) 

219–4745. These are not toll-free 

numbers. Comments may also be 

submitted electronically to the 

following Internet e-mail address: 

ebsa.opr@dol.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Section 404(c) of ERISA provides that, 

if an individual account pension plan 

permits a participant or beneficiary to 

exercise control over assets in his or her 

account and the participant or 

beneficiary in fact exercises such 

control, the participant or beneficiary 

shall not be deemed to be a fiduciary by 

such exercise of control and no person 

otherwise a fiduciary shall be liable for 

any loss or breach that results from the 

participant’s or beneficiary’s exercise of 

control. 

The Department’s regulation at 29 

CFR 2550.404c–1 describes the 

circumstances in which a participant or 

beneficiary will be considered to have 

exercised independent control over the 

assets in his or her individual account 

as contemplated in section 404(c). The 

regulation specifies information that 

must be made available to participants 

or beneficiaries in order for them to 

exercise independent control over the 

assets in their individual accounts. The 

regulation provides that the relief from 

fiduciary liability specified in section 

404(c) is not available with respect to a 

transaction undertaken by a participant 

or beneficiary unless the specific 

information is provided to the 

participant or beneficiary. EBSA 

submitted the information collection 

provisions in the regulation to the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review in an information collection 

request (ICR) in connection with 

promulgation of the final rulemaking, 

and OMB approved the ICR under OMB 

Control No. 1210–0090. The ICR 

approval is scheduled to expire on 

February 28, 2006. 

II. Desired Focus of Comments 

The Department is particularly 

interested in comments that: 

• Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

• Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

• Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

• Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

e.g., by permitting electronic submission 

of responses. 

III. Current Action 

This notice requests comments on an 

extension of the information collections 

included in regulation section 

2550.404c–1, which sets requirements 

for fiduciary relief pertaining to 

participant-directed individual account 

plans under section 404(c) of ERISA. 

The Department is not proposing or 

implementing changes to the existing 

ICR at this time. A summary of the ICR 

and the current burden estimates 

follows: 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: Regulation Regarding 

Participant Directed Individual Account 

Plans (ERISA section 404(c) Plans). 

OMB Number: 1210–0090. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; Business or other for-profit; 

Not-for-profit institutions. 

Respondents: 324,000. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion. 

Responses: 324,000. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 

37,000. 

Total Burden Cost (Operating and 

Maintenance): $17,755,000. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of the information collection 

request; they will also become a matter 

of public record. 

Dated: November 8, 2005. 

Susan G. Lahne, 

Senior Pension Law Specialist, Office of 

Policy and Research, Employee Benefits 

Security Administration. 

[FR Doc. 05–22584 Filed 11–14–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration 

[Docket No. NRTL03–SDOC] 

RIN 1218–AC21 

Nationally Recognized Testing 

Laboratories; Supplier’s Declaration of 

Conformity 

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA), Labor. 

ACTION: Request for information. 

SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and 

Health Administration (OSHA) requests 

comments on a specific proposal 

submitted to OSHA to permit the use of 

a Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity 

(SDoC) as part of, or as an alternative to, 

the Nationally Recognized Testing 

Laboratories (NRTLs) product approval 

process.