Source: http://www.govpulse.us/entries/2001/01/12/01-686/assessment-of-and-relief-from-penalties
Timestamp: 2013-12-05 11:46:28
Document Index: 373902396

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 4007', 'art 4071', 'art 4003', 'art 4041', 'art 4050', 'arts 4003', 'art 4003', '§ 4003', '§ 4003', 'art 4007', 'art 4007', '§ 4007', '§ 32', '§ 31', 'art.\n5', 'art 4007', 'art 4007']

govpulse | Assessment of and Relief From Penalties
The PBGC has issued a number of policy statements about penalties over the last few years. Some of these policy statements have been incorporated into the PBGC's regulations. For the convenience of thepublic, the PBGC is now proposing to codify in its regulations an expanded version of the remaining penalty policy statements. Among other things, this expanded version of the PBGC's penalty policies would explain in general terms the meaning of “reasonable cause” for penalty waivers and the guidelines for assessing penalties under ERISA section 4071.
Section 1 What Is the Purpose of this Appendix?
Section 2 What Defined Terms Are Used in This Appendix?
Section 3 What Is the Purpose of a Premium Penalty?
Section 11 What Are the Basic Steps for Assessing and Reviewing Premium Penalties?
Section 12What Should I Know About Preliminary Notices of Premium Penalties?
Section 13What Should I Know About Premium Penalty Determinations?
Section 14What Should I Know About Review of Premium Penalty Determinations?
Section 21 What Are the Rules for Assessing a Premium Penalty?
Section 22 How Do Premium Penalties Apply to Small Plans?
Section 31 What Are the Standards for Waiving a Premium Penalty?
Section 32What Is “Reasonable Cause”?
Section 33What Kinds of Facts Does the PBGC Consider in Determining Whether There is Reasonable Cause for a Failure to Pay a Premium?
Section 34What Are Some Situations That Might Justify a “Reasonable Cause” Waiver?
Section 35What Are Some Situations That Might Justify a Partial “Reasonable Cause” Waiver?
Information Penalty Assessment
Section 1What Is the Purpose of This Appendix?
Section 2What Defined Terms are Used in This Appendix?
Section 3What Is the Purpose of an Information Penalty?
Section 11What Are the Basic Steps for Assessing and Reviewing Information Penalties?
Section 12What Should I Know About Preliminary Notices of Information Penalties?
Section 13What Should I Know About Information Penalty Determinations?
Section 14What Should I Know About Review of Information Penalty Determinations?
Section 21Where Can I Find the General Principles That the PBGC Follows in Assessing Information Penalties and how the PBGC Applies Those Principles to Specific Cases?
Section 22What Are the General Principles That the PBGC Follows in Deciding Whether To Assess an Information Penalty and, if so, the Amount or Rate of Information Penalty to Assess?
Section 23What Aggravating Factors Does the PBGC Consider?
Section 24What Mitigating Factors Does the PBGC Consider?
Section 25What if Multiple Persons Must Give a Notice?
Section 26What if Multiple Persons Must Get a Notice?
Section 27What if a Single Event or Circumstance Leads to Multiple Failures to Provide Section 4071 Information?
Section 28What Special Guidance is There for Specific Types of Cases?
Section 31What are the Standards for Waiving an Information Penalty?
Section 33What Kinds of Facts Does the PBGC Consider in Determining Whether There is Reasonable Cause for a Failure to Provide Section 4071 Information?
Section 35What Is a Siuation That Might Justify a Partial “Reasonable Cause” Waiver?
Comments may be mailed to the Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, or delivered to Suite 340 at the above address. Comments also may be sent by Internet e-mail to reg.comments@pbgc.gov. Comments will be available for inspection at the PBGC's Communications and Public Affairs Department in Suite 240 at the above address during normal business hours.
Harold J. Ashner, Assistant General Counsel, or Deborah C. Murphy, Attorney, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Office of the General Counsel, Suite 340, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, 202-326-4024. (For TTY/TTD users, call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4024.)
The PBGC administers the pension plan termination insurance program under Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). When a single-employer plan terminates without sufficient assets to provide all benefits, the PBGC steps in to ensure that participants and beneficiaries receive their plan benefits, subject to certain legal limits. The PBGC also provides financial assistance to multiemployer plans that become unable to pay benefits.
ERISA and the PBGC's regulations require the payment of premiums to the PBGC and the providing of certain information to the PBGC and to other persons. To promote the effective operation of the insurance program under Title IV, ERISA authorizes the PBGC to assess penalties if premiums are paid late and if certain notices and other material information are not timely provided. (See ERISA sections 4007 and 4071 and the PBGC's regulations on Payment of Premiums (29 CFR Part 4007) and Penalties for Failure to Provide Certain Notices or Other Material Information (29 CFR Part 4071).) The PBGC has published four notices in the Federal Register since mid-1995 describing its penalty policies under sections 4007 and 4071.
This proposed rule would expand and codify the policies described in two of those notices: those published July 18, 1995 (60 FR 36837), and December 17, 1996 (61 FR 66338). (The 1995 notice in turn replaced an earlier penalty policy notice published March 3, 1992 (at 57 FR 7605).) The policy guidance would be placed in appendices to the premium payment regulation and the regulation on Penalties for Failure to Provide Certain Notices or Other Material Information. In addition, the PBGC's regulation on Rules for Administrative Review of Agency Decisions (29 CFR Part 4003) would be amended to cover penalties assessed under section 4071.
The policies described in the other two notices have already been codified in PBGC regulations.
• The PBGC's regulations on Termination of Single-Employer Plans (29 CFR Part 4041) and Missing Participants (29 CFR Part 4050) reflect the PBGC's Statement of Policy published March 14, 1997 (at 62 FR 12521), announcing penalty relief for late filing of post-distribution certifications in connection with a plan termination.
• Section 4007.8 of the PBGC's premium payment regulation reflects the PBGC's Statement of Policy published December 2, 1996 (at 61 FR 63874), announcing a new policy regarding the rate at which premium penalties accrue (1 percent or 5 percent per month depending on whether the premium underpayment is self-corrected).
Thus, once the amendments in this rule became effective, all of the PBGC's penalty policies under sections 4007 and 4071 would be in the Code of Federal Regulations. (This rule does not deal with penalties under ERISA section 4302, which applies only to multiemployer plans.)
This rule would not affect the use of any other remedies available to the PBGC and would not address the settlement of legal disputes involving penalties, either alone or in the context of other legal issues.
Compliance With Rulemaking Guidelines ↑
Although the PBGC is publishing this rule as a proposed rule, the rule is not subject to notice and comment rulemaking requirements under section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act because it deals only with general statements of PBGC policy and with PBGC procedural rules. Because no general notice of proposed rulemaking is required, the Regulatory Flexibility Act does not apply. See 5 U.S.C. 601(2), 603, 604.
List of subjects ↑
Administrative practice and procedure, Organization and functions (Government agencies), Pension insurance, Pensions.
For the reasons given above, the PBGC proposes to amend 29 CFR parts 4003, 4007, and 4071 as follows.
Part 4003—rules for administrative review of agency decisions ↑
2. In § 4003.1, paragraph (a) is amended by removing the words “(b)(1) through (b)(4)” and adding in their place the words “(b)(1) through (b)(5)” and by removing the words “(b)(5) through (b)(10)” and adding in their place the words “(b)(6) through (b)(11)”; paragraphs (b)(5) through (b)(10) are redesignated as paragraphs (b)(6) through (b)(11); and a new paragraph (b)(5) is added to read as follows:
§ 4003.1
(b)Scope.* * *
(5) Determinations with respect to penalties under section 4071 of ERISA.
Part 4007—payment of premiums ↑
3. The authority citation for part 4007 continues to read as follows:
4. In § 4007.8, the introductory text of paragraph (a) is amended by removing the words “The charge will be based on” and adding in their place the words “The amount determined under this paragraph (a) will be based on”; and paragraphs (c) and (d) are revised to read as follows:
(c)Reasonable cause waivers. The PBGC will waive all or part of a late payment penalty charge if the PBGC determines that there is reasonable cause for the late payment. Policy guidelines for applying the “reasonable cause” standard are in §§ 32 through 35 of the Appendix to this part.
(d)Other waivers. The PBGC may waive all or part of a late payment penalty charge in other circumstances without regard to whether there is reasonable cause. Policy guidelines for waivers without reasonable cause are in § 31(b)(1), (b)(3), and (b)(4) of the Appendix to this part.
5. An appendix is added to part 4007 to read as follows:
Appendix to part 4007—policy guidelines on penalties ↑
General Provisions ↑
Procedures ↑
11What are the basic rules for assessing and reviewing premium penalties?
12What should I know about preliminary notices of premium penalties?
13What should I know about premium penalty determinations?
14What should I know about review of premium penalty determinations?
Premium Penalty Assessment ↑
21What are the rules for assessing a premium penalty?
22How do premium penalties apply to small plans?
Waiver Standards ↑
31What are the standards for waiving a premium penalty?
32What is “reasonable cause”?
33What kinds of facts does the PBGC consider in determining whether there is reasonable cause for a failure to pay a premium?
34What are some situations that might justify a “reasonable cause” waiver?
35What are some situations that might justify a partial “reasonable cause” waiver?
Section 1 What Is the Purpose of this Appendix? ↑
Section 2 What Defined Terms Are Used in This Appendix? ↑