[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 217 (Monday, November 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66741-66743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26499]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted 
for Public Comment; Revisions to Annual Return/Report--Multiple 
Employer Plans

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), 
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This 
helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection 
requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps 
the public understand the Department's information collection 
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. 
Currently, the Employee Benefits Security Administration is soliciting 
comments on the revision of the Form 5500 information collection to 
reflect the hour burden required to implement annual reporting changes 
for multiple employer plans required by the Cooperative and Small 
Employer Charity Pension Flexibility Act. 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 to the office shown in the 
Addresses section on or before January 9, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments regarding the information 
collection request and burden estimates to G. Christopher Cosby, Office 
of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-5718, 
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-8410; Fax: (202) 219-4745. 
These are not toll-free numbers. Comments may also be

[[Page 66742]]

submitted electronically to the following Internet email address: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ee8b8c9d8fc0819e9cae8a8182c0898198"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="80e5e2f3e1aeeff0f2c0e4efecaee7eff6">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 103 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
(ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1023, and the regulations issued under that section, 
impose annual reporting and filing obligations on pension and welfare 
benefit plans, including multiple employer plans. Plan administrators, 
employers, and others generally satisfy these annual reporting 
obligations by the filing of the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of 
Employee Benefit Plan or Form 5500-SF Annual Return/Report of Small 
Employee Benefit Plan, including any required schedules and attachments 
(together ``Form 5500 Annual Return/Report''), in accordance with the 
instructions and related regulations.
    The Form 5500 Annual Return/Report is the principal source of 
information and data available to the Department of Labor (DOL), the 
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty 
Corporation (PBGC) concerning the operations, funding, and investments 
of pension and welfare benefit plans. The Form 5500 Annual Return/
Report constitutes an integral part of each Agency's enforcement, 
research, and policy formulation programs, and is a source of 
information and data for use by other federal agencies, Congress, and 
the private sector in assessing employee benefit, tax, and economic 
trends and policies. The Form 5500 Annual Return/Report also serves as 
a primary means by which plan operations can be monitored by 
participants and beneficiaries and by the general public.
    The Cooperative and Small Employer Charity Pension Flexibility Act 
(the ``CSEC Act''),\1\ enacted on April 7, 2014, created additional 
annual reporting requirements for multiple employer plans covered by 
Title I of ERISA. Specifically, section 104(c) of the CSEC Act amended 
section 103 of ERISA to require in section 103(g) that annual reports 
of multiple employer plans include ``a list of participating 
employers'' and, with respect to each participating employer ``a good 
faith estimate of the percentage of total contributions made by such 
participating employers during the plan year.'' The effective date 
provisions in Section 3 of the CSEC Act make these new annual reporting 
requirements applicable for plan years beginning after December 31, 
2013.
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    \1\ Public Law 113-97, 128 Stat. 1101.
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    In order to implement the CSEC Act requirements in a timely 
fashion, the interim final rule published elsewhere in this Federal 
Register issue changes Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF as follows for plan 
years beginning after December 31, 2013. First, certain conforming 
revisions to Part I (Annual Report Identification Information) of the 
Form 5500 Annual Return/Report are being made to facilitate multiple 
employer plans using the Form 5500 to comply with the new requirements 
imposed by section 104(c) of the CSEC Act. Specifically, Line A of Part 
I of the Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF currently provide a box to check if 
the Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF is being filed for a multiple employer 
plan. A parenthetical is being added next to the box that tells filers 
checking the box that they must attach a list of participating 
employers and related information, and directing them to the form 
instructions for further information and directions on the filing 
requirements for the attachment. The instructions to the Form 5500 and 
Form 5500-SF for that box are also being amended to include information 
and specific directions on completing and filing the required 
attachment.
    The instructions to the Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF will now provide 
that the Annual Return/Report filed for a multiple employer plan must 
include an attachment that identifies the participating employers in 
the plan by name and employer identification number (EIN), and includes 
for each participating employer an estimate of the percentage of the 
contributions made by the employer relative to the total contributions 
made by all participating employers during the plan year. The 
attachment, entitle ``Multiple Employer Plan Participating Employer 
Information,'' supplements and does not replace other Form 5500 
reporting requirements that apply to multiple employer plans.
    On October 7, 2014, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approved the changes to Form 5500 required by the CSEC Act as a 
revision to OMB Control Number 1210-0110 under the emergency procedures 
for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) and 5 CFR 1320.13. OMB's 
approval of the revision currently is scheduled to expire on April 30, 
2015.

II. Current Actions

    This notice requests public comment pertaining to the Department's 
request for extension of OMB's approval of its revision to OMB Control 
Number 1210-0110 relating to the CSEC Act requirements. After 
considering comments received in response to this notice, the 
Department intends to submit an ICR to OMB for continuing approval. No 
change to the existing ICR is proposed or made at this time. The 
Department notes that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 
person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless 
it displays a valid OMB control number. A summary of the ICR and the 
current burden estimates follows:
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Annual Information Return/Report.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0110.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit; not-for-profit institutions.
    Respondents: 5,527.
    Frequency of Responses: Annual.
    Responses: 5,527.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,764.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $0.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Department of Labor (Department) is particularly interested in 
comments that:
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; 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., by 
permitting electronic submissions of responses.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the ICR for OMB approval of the extension of the 
information collection; they will also become a matter of public 
record.


[[Page 66743]]


    Dated: October 8, 2014.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-26499 Filed 11-7-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P


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