Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 28, 2009 / Notices 4979 

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 below on or before 

March 30, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are 

invited to submit written comments 

regarding the information collection 

request and burden estimates to: G. 

Christopher Cosby, Office of Policy and 

Research, U.S. Department of Labor, 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, 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 ebsa.opr@dol.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Section 306(b)(1) of the SOA amended 

section 101 of ERISA to add a new 

subsection (i), requiring that 

administrators of individual account 

plans provide notice to affected 

participants and beneficiaries in 

advance of the commencement of any 

blackout period. For purposes of this 

notice requirement, a blackout period 

generally includes any period during 

which the ability of participants or 

beneficiaries to direct or diversify assets 

credited to their accounts, to obtain 

loans from the plan or to obtain 

distributions from the plan will be 

temporarily suspended, limited or 

restricted. As required by section 

306(b)(2) of SOA, the Department of 

Labor (Department) issued rules 

necessary to implement the SOA 

amendments. The Department’s 

regulation at 29 CFR 2520.101–3 

specifies when, how, and to whom a 

blackout notice must be provided and 

provides model notices to meet the 

requirements of the regulation. 

The Department submitted the 

information collection provisions of 

§ 2520.101–3 in an ICR to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance at the time of 

publication of the interim final rule, 

which was published in the Federal 

Register on October 21, 2002 (67 FR 

64766). OMB approved the ICR under 

OMB control number 1210–0122. This 

approval is scheduled to expire on May 

31, 2009. 

II. Desired Focus of Comments 

The Department is particularly 

interested in comments that: 

• Evaluate whether the collections of 

information are 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 

collections 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 

The Department is requesting an 

extension of the currently approved ICR 

for the Final Rule Relating to Notice of 

Blackout Periods to Participants and 

Beneficiaries. The Department is not 

proposing or implementing changes to 

the regulation or to the existing ICR. 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: Final Rule Relating to Blackout 

Notices to Participants and 

Beneficiaries. 

OMB Number: 1210–0122. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; business or other for-profit; 

not-for-profit institutions. 

Respondents: 85,150. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion. 

Responses: 5,400,000. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 

187,686. 

Total Annual Cost (Operating and 

Maintenance): $1,407,000. 

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: January 22, 2009. 

Joseph S. Piacentini, 

Director, Office of Policy and Research, 

Employee Benefits Security Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–1785 Filed 1–27–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

Proposed Extension of Information 

Collection; Comment Request; 

Voluntary Fiduciary Compliance 

Program 

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 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 can be properly assessed. 

Currently, the Employee Benefits 

Security Administration is soliciting 

comments concerning the information 

collection request (ICR) incorporated in 

the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction 

Program (the VFC Program) and the 

Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 

(the Exemption) that is used in 

connection with the VFC Program. The 

ICR is currently approved under OMB 

Number 1210–0118 and is scheduled to 

expire on May 31, 2009. A copy of the 

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 below on or before 

March 30, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby, 

Office of Policy and Research, U.S. 

Department of Labor, Employee Benefits 

Security Administration, 200 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N– 

5647, Washington, DC 20210. 

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

219–5333. These are not toll-free 

numbers. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The VFC Program is an enforcement 

program intended to encourage the full 

correction of certain breaches of 

fiduciary responsibility and the 

restoration of losses resulting from those 

breaches to participants and 

beneficiaries in employee benefit plans. 

For certain eligible breaches that have 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
4980 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 28, 2009 / Notices 

been corrected according to the terms 

and conditions of the VFC Program, the 

Department will issue a ‘‘no action’’ 

letter, thereby releasing the applicant 

from possible civil penalties under 

section 502(l) of ERISA. The VFC 

Program provides applicants with 

information both on identifying eligible 

transactions for correction and on the 

means for achieving fully acceptable 

corrections. The information collection 

consists of an application, description of 

the transaction and correction, and 

other appropriate supporting 

documentation. 

The Exemption, used only in 

conjunction with the VFC Program, 

permits applicants to the VFC Program 

to make full correction of certain 

eligible transactions without incurring 

sanctions in the form of excise taxes 

imposed under sections 4975(a) and (b) 

of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) 

by reason of sections 4975(c)(1)(A) 

through (E) of the Code. For those 

fiduciaries wishing to take advantage of 

the Exemption, the information 

collection for the VFC Program also 

includes notification to interested 

persons, generally participants and 

beneficiaries, that an application has 

been submitted under the VFC Program. 

A copy of the notice must also be 

furnished to a Regional Office of the 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration. 

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., permitting electronic submission of 

responses. 

III. Current Action 

This notice requests comments on the 

extension of the ICR included in the 

VFC Program and the Exemption. The 

Department is not proposing or 

implementing changes to the existing 

ICR at this time. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: Voluntary Fiduciary Correction 

Program and Prohibited Transaction 

Class Exemption. 

OMB Number: 1210–0118. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; Business or other for-profit; 

Not-for-profit institutions. 

Respondents: 1,250. 

Frequency of Response: Annually. 

Responses: 11,790. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 5,625. 

Total Burden Cost (Operating and 

Maintenance): $109,000. 

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: January 22, 2009. 

Joseph S. Piacentini, 

Director, Office of Policy and Research, 

Employee Benefits Security Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–1786 Filed 1–27–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

Proposed Extension of Information 

Collection; Comment Request ERISA 

Advisory Opinion Procedure 76–1 

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, 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 collection 

provisions incorporated in ERISA 

Advisory Opinion Procedure 76–1. A 

copy of the information collection 

request (ICR) can be obtained by 

contacting the office shown in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted to the office shown in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice on or 

before March 30, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are 

invited to submit 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., 

Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693–8410, 

FAX (202) 693–4745 (these are not tollfree numbers). Comments may also be 

submitted electronically to 

ebsa.opr@dol.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Under the Employee Retirement 

Income Security Act of 1974 as 

amended, (ERISA), the Secretary of 

Labor is responsible for administration 

and enforcement of reporting, 

disclosure, fiduciary, and other 

standards established for pension and 

welfare benefit plans. These 

responsibilities have been delegated 

within the Department to EBSA. ERISA 

Advisory Opinion Procedure 76–1 

describes the administrative procedures 

through which the public may request a 

written interpretation of ERISA from 

EBSA to resolve issues arising out of 

specific actual transactions or 

circumstances. The procedure is 

designed to promote efficient handling 

of such inquiries and to facilitate 

prompt responses. The Procedure 

requires requesters seeking advisory 

opinions or information letters to 

submit certain information that EBSA 

has determined is essential for 

determining the nature of a request for 

interpretation and EBSA’s response. 

EBSA has previously submitted the 

information collection provisions of 

Advisory Opinion Procedure 76–1 to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review in an ICR and 

received approval from OMB under 

OMB Control No. 1210–0066. The 

current ICR approval is scheduled to 

expire on May 31, 2009. 

II. Desired Focus of Comments 

The Department of Labor 

(Department) is particularly interested 

in comments that: 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES