[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7596-7597]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3107]



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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Disaster Relief

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of disaster relief in response to California floods.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is waiving penalties 
for certain late payments of premiums, is forgoing assessment of 
penalties for failure to comply with certain information submission 
requirements, and is extending the deadlines for complying with certain 
requirements of its administrative review and standard and distress 
termination regulations. This relief is generally available to persons 
residing, in, or whose principal place of business is within, an area 
designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as affected by 
the major disaster declared by the President of the United States on 
account of the severe floods in California.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Harold J. Ashner, Assistant General Counsel, Office of the General 
Counsel, Suite 340, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005, 202-326-4024 (202-326-4179 for TTY 
and TDD). (These are not toll-free numbers.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 
(``PBGC'') administers the pension plan termination insurance program 
under title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 
as amended (``ERISA''), 29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. Under ERISA and the 
PBGC's regulations, a number of deadlines must be met in order to avoid 
the imposition of penalties or other consequences. Five areas in which 
the PBGC is providing relief are (1) penalties for late payment of 
premiums due the PBGC, (2) ERISA section 4071 penalties for failure to 
provide required notices or other material information by the 
applicable time limit, (3) deadlines for filing a standard termination 
notice and distributing plan assets in a standard termination, (4) 
deadlines for filing a distress termination notice and, in the case of 
a plan that is sufficient for guaranteed benefits, issuing notices of 
benefit distribution and completing the distribution of plan assets, 
and (5) deadlines for filing requests for reconsideration or appeals of 
certain agency determinations.
    On January 10, 1995, the President of the United States declared, 
under the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5121, 
5122(2), 5141(b)), that a major disaster exists because of the severe 
floods in California. At this time, thirty-eight California counties 
are designated areas (within the meaning of Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (``FEMA'') regulations; 44 CFR 205.2(a)(5)).
    Given the severity of this major disaster, as the Executive 
Director of the PBGC, I have decided to provide relief from certain 
PBGC deadlines and penalties. For purposes of premium penalties, 
section 4071 penalties, and standard termination deadlines, this notice 
is applicable with respect to plans whose administrators' or sponsors' 
principal place of business, or for which the office of a service 
provider, bank, insurance company, or other person maintaining 
information necessary to meet the applicable deadlines, is located in a 
designated disaster area. For purposes of filing requests for 
reconsideration or appeals, this notice is applicable to any aggrieved 
person who is residing in, or whose principal place of business is 
within, a designated disaster area, or with respect to whom the office 
of the service provider, bank, insurance company, or other person 
maintaining the information necessary to file the request for 
reconsideration or appeal is within such an area.

Premiums

    The PBGC will waive the late payment penalty charge with respect to 
any premium payment required to be made on or after January 6, 1995, 
and before March 2, 1995, if the payment is made by March 2, 1995. The 
PBGC is not permitted by law to waive late payment interest charges. 
(ERISA section 4007(b); 29 CFR 2610.7 and 2610.8(b)(3).)

Section 4071 penalties

    The PBGC will not assess a section 4071 penalty for a failure to 
file any of the following notices that were, or will be, required to be 
filed with the PBGC on or after January 6, 1995, and before March 2, 
1995, if the notice is filed by March 2, 1995:
    (1) Post-distribution certification for single-employer plan (PBGC 
Form 501 or 602; ERISA section 4041(b)(3)(B) or (c)(3)(B); 29 CFR 
2617.28(h) or 2616.29(b)),
    (2) Notice of termination for multiemployer plans (ERISA section 
4041A; 29 CFR 2673.2),
    (3) Notice of plan amendments increasing benefits by more than $10 
million (ERISA section 307(e)), and
    (4) Reportable event notice, except for reportable events related 
to bankruptcy or insolvency (or similar proceeding or settlement), 
liquidation or dissolution, or transactions involving a change in 
contributing sponsor or controlled group (29 CFR 2615.21, 2615.22, and 
2615.23), or reportable events described in amended ERISA section 
4043(c)(9)-(12). (Subsection (b) of section 4043 as it presently 
appears in 29 U.S.C. 1343 was redesignated as subsection (c) and 
amended, in part, with the addition of new reportable events in 
paragraphs (9) through (12) by the Retirement Protection Act of 1994, 
Subtitle F, Title VII, Uruguay Round Agreements Act, Sec. 771(c)(3), 
Pub. L. 103-465, 108 Stat. 5042 (1994) (the (``RPA amendments'').)
    The PBGC will not assess a section 4071 penalty for a failure to 
provide certain supporting information and documentation when any of 
the following notices is timely filed:
    (1) Notice of failure to make required contributions totaling more 
than $1 million (including interest) (PBGC Form 200; ERISA section 
302(f)(4); 29 CFR 2615.31). The timely filed notice must include at 
least items 1 through 7 and items 11 and 12 of Form 200; the responses 
to items 8 through 10, with the certifications in items 11 and 12, may 
be filed late.
    (2) Notice of a reportable event related to bankruptcy or 
insolvency (or similar proceeding or settlement), liquidation or 
dissolution, or a transaction involving a change in contributing 
sponsor or controlled group. The timely filed notice must include at 
least the information specified in 29 CFR 2615.3(b)(1) through (5); the 
information that may be filed late is that specified in 29 CFR 
2615.3(b)(6) through (9) and 2615.3(c)(5) and (6), as applicable.
    (3) Notice of a reportable event described in the RPA amendments 
for [[Page 7597]] which notice is required no later than 30 days after 
the event occurs.
    (A) If the event is reportable under both the RPA amendments and 29 
CFR 2615, the notice will be considered timely filed if the notice 
satisfies the requirements described in paragraph (2) above.
    (B) If the event is reportable only under the RPA amendments, the 
notice will be considered timely filed if the notice includes at least 
the information specified in 29 CFR 2615.3(b)(1) through (5); the 
information that may be filed late is that specified in 29 CFR 
2615.3(b)(6) through (9).
    (4) Notice of a reportable event described in the RPA amendments 
for which notice is required at least 30 days before the event occurs. 
The notice will be considered timely filed if the filer makes a good 
faith effort to include with the notice at least the information 
specified in 29 CFR 2615.3(b)(1) through (5); the information specified 
in 29 CFR 2615.3(b)(6) through (9) and 2615.3(c)(5) and (6), as 
applicable, may be filed late and should be filed as soon thereafter as 
it is available.
    This relief applies to notices that were, or will be, required to 
be filed with the PBGC on or after January 6, 1995, and before March 2, 
1995, provided that all supporting information and documentation are 
filed by March 2, 1995.

Standard and Distress Termination Notices and Distribution of 
Assets

    With respect to a standard termination for which the standard 
termination notice is required to be filed, or the distribution of plan 
assets is required to be completed, on or after January 6, 1995, the 
PBGC is (pursuant to 29 CFR 2617.25(a)(2) and 2617.28(f)(4)) extending 
to March 2, 1995, the time within which the standard termination notice 
must be filed (and, thus, the time within which notices of plan 
benefits must be provided) and the time within which the distribution 
of plan assets must be completed. With respect to a distress 
termination for which the distress termination notice is required to be 
filed or, in the case of a plan that is sufficient for guaranteed 
benefits, other actions must be taken on or after January 6, 1995, the 
PBGC is (pursuant to 29 CFR 2616.10(a) and 2616.24(d)) extending to 
March 2, 1995, the time within which the termination notice must be 
filed and, in the case of a plan that is sufficient for guaranteed 
benefits, notices of benefit distribution must be provided and plan 
assets must be distributed. In addition, as noted above, the PBGC is 
providing relief from penalties for late filing of the post-
distribution certification.

Requests for Reconsideration or Appeals

    For persons who are aggrieved by certain agency determinations and 
for whom a request for reconsideration or an appeal is required to be 
filed on or after January 6, 1995, and before March 2, 1995, the PBGC 
is (pursuant to 29 CFR Sec. 2606.4(b)) the time for filing to March 2, 
1995.

Applying for Waivers/Extensions

    A submission to the PBGC to which a waiver or an extension is 
applicable under this notice should be marked in bold print 
``CALIFORNIA FLOOD RELIEF, County of (fill in appropriate county name 
and state)'' at the top center.

    Issued in Washington, DC this 3rd day of February, 1995.
Martin Slate,
Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 95-3107 Filed 2-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-M