[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 98 (Wednesday, May 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29208-29210]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11749]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Proposed Extension of Information Collection Requests Submitted
for Public Comment
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 public's reporting burden. It also helps
the public understand the Department's information collection
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments
on the proposed extension of the information collection requests (ICRs)
contained in the documents described below. A copy of the ICRs may be
obtained by contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of
this notice. ICRs also are available at reginfo.gov (http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the
ADDRESSES section on or before July 21, 2014.
ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC
20210, (202) 693-8410, FAX (202) 693-4745 (these are not toll-free
numbers).
I. Supplementary Information
This notice requests public comment on the Department's request for
extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of
ICRs contained in the rules and prohibited transactions described
below. The Department is not proposing any changes to the existing ICRs
at this time. 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 ICRs and the current burden
estimates follows:
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Request for Assistance from Department of Labor, EBSA.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0146.
Affected Public: Individuals or households.
Respondents: 30,000.
Responses: 30,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 15,000.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $3,100.
Description: The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security
Administration (EBSA) maintains a program designed to provide education
and technical assistance to participants and beneficiaries as well as
to employers, plan sponsors, and service providers related to their
health and retirement benefit plans. EBSA assists participants in
understanding their rights, responsibilities, and benefits under
employee benefit law and intervenes informally on their behalf with the
plan sponsor in order to assist them in obtaining the health and
retirement benefits to which they may have been inappropriately denied,
[[Page 29209]]
which can avert the necessity for a formal investigation or a civil
action. EBSA maintains a toll-free telephone number through which
inquirers can reach Benefits Advisors in ten Regional Offices.
EBSA also makes a request for assistance form available on its Web
site for those wishing to contact EBSA online. Contact with EBSA is
entirely voluntary. The Web form includes basic identifying information
which is necessary for EBSA to contact the inquirer--first name, last
name, street address, city, zip code, and telephone number--as well as
information to improve customer service and enhance its capacity to
handle greater inquiry volume, such as the plan type, broad categories
of problem type, contact information for responsible parties, and a
mechanism for the inquirer to attach relevant documents.
This information is used by EBSA to make informed and efficient
decisions when contacting inquirers who have requested EBSA's informal
assistance with understanding their rights and obtaining benefits they
may have been denied inappropriately. EBSA uses the information to
evaluate its service to inquirers, support the development of a broader
understanding of the nature of current issues in employee benefit
plans, and to respond to requests for information regarding employee
benefit plans from members of Congress and governmental oversight
entities in accordance with ERISA section 513. The ICR was approved by
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number
1210-0146 and is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2014.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Procedure for Application for Exemption from the Prohibited
Transaction Provisions of Section 408(a) of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information
collection.
OMB Number: 1210-0060.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Respondents: 56.
Responses: 22,925.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,564.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance):
$1,547,000.
Description: Both ERISA and the Code contain various statutory
exemptions from the prohibited transaction rules. In addition, section
408(a) of ERISA authorizes the Secretary of Labor to grant
administrative exemptions from the restrictions of ERISA sections 406
and 407(a), while section 4975(c)(2) of the Code authorizes the
Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate to grant exemptions from the
prohibitions of Code section 4975(c)(1). Sections 408(a) of ERISA and
4975(c)(2) of the Code also direct the Secretary of Labor and the
Secretary of the Treasury, respectively, to establish procedures to
carry out the purposes of these sections.
Under section 3003(b) of ERISA, the Secretary of Labor and the
Secretary of the Treasury are directed to consult and coordinate with
each other with respect to the establishment of rules applicable to the
granting of exemptions from the prohibited transaction restrictions of
ERISA and the Code. Under section 3004 of ERISA, moreover, the
Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of the Treasury are authorized to
develop jointly rules appropriate for the efficient administration of
ERISA.
Under section 102 of Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978
(Reorganization Plan No. 4), the foregoing authority of the Secretary
of the Treasury to issue exemptions under section 4975 of the Code was
transferred, with certain enumerated exceptions not discussed herein,
to the Secretary of Labor. Accordingly, the Secretary of Labor now
possesses the authority under section 4975(c)(2) of the Code, as well
as under section 408(a) of ERISA, to issue individual and class
exemptions from the prohibited transaction rules of ERISA and the Code.
On April 28, 1975, the Department published ERISA Procedure 75-1 in
the Federal Register (40 FR 18471). This procedure provided necessary
information to the affected public regarding the procedure to follow
when requesting an exemption. On October 27, 2011, the Department
issued its current exemption procedure regulation, which superseded
ERISA Procedure 75-1 (and intervening amendments).
The amended rule by the Department expands the ICR contained in
sections 2570.34 and 2570.35 of the current exemption procedure
regulation in several respects. For instance, the current requirement
of specialized statements from qualified independent appraisers, where
applicable, includes the appraiser's rationale, credentials, and a
statement regarding the appraiser's independence from the parties
involved in the transaction. In this connection, the appraisal report
prepared by the independent appraiser must be current and not more than
one year old as of the date of the transaction. In addition, the
content of specialized statements submitted by qualified independent
fiduciaries, where applicable, require the disclosure of information
concerning the independent fiduciary's qualifications, duties,
independence from the parties involved in the transaction, and current
compensation. The content of specialized statements from other kinds of
experts would also be clarified in the new regulation to require
disclosure of information concerning the expert's qualifications and
their independence from the parties involved in the transaction.
In addition, a requirement contained in section 2570.43(d) and (e)
provides the Department with the discretion to require an applicant to
furnish interested persons with a Summary of Proposed Exemption (SPE).
Finally, the Department amended Sec. 2570.43 to permit applicants to
utilize electronic means (such as email) to deliver notice to
interested persons of a pending exemption, provided that the applicant
can demonstrate satisfactory proof of electronic delivery to the entire
class of interested persons. The ICR was approved by OMB under OMB
Control Number 1210-0060 and is scheduled to expire on October 31,
2014.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Investment Advice Participants and Beneficiaries.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0134.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Respondents: 16,000.
Responses: 20,716,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 3,623,008.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance):
$480,725,024.
Description: On October 25, 2011, the Department issued a final
regulation implementing the provisions of the statutory exemption set
forth in sections 408(b)(14) and 408(g) of ERISA, and parallel
provisions in sections 4975(d)(17) and 4975(f)(8) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (Code), relating to the provision of
investment advice described in section 3(21)(A)(ii) of the Act by a
fiduciary adviser to participants and beneficiaries in participant-
directed individual account plans, such as 401(k) plans, and
beneficiaries of individual retirement accounts (and certain similar
plans).
Section 408(b)(14) sets forth the investment advice-related
transactions that will be exempt from the prohibitions of ERISA section
406 if the requirements of section 408(g) are met.
[[Page 29210]]
The transactions described in section 408(b)(14) are: The provision of
investment advice to the participant or beneficiary with respect to a
security or other property available as an investment under the plan;
the acquisition, holding or sale of a security or other property
available as an investment under the plan pursuant to the investment
advice; and the direct or indirect receipt of compensation by a
fiduciary adviser or affiliate in connection with the provision of
investment advice or the acquisition, holding or sale of a security or
other property available as an investment under the plan pursuant to
the investment advice. The requirements in section 408(g) are met only
if advice is provided by a fiduciary adviser under an ``eligible
investment advice arrangement.'' Section 408(g) provides for two
general types of eligible arrangements: One based on compliance with a
``fee-leveling'' requirement (imposing limitation on fees and
compensation of the fiduciary adviser); the other, based on compliance
with a ``computer model'' requirement (requiring use of a certified
computer model).
The regulation contains the following collections of information:
(1) A fiduciary adviser must furnish an initial disclosure that
provides detailed information to participants about an advice
arrangement before initially providing investment advice; (2) a
fiduciary adviser must engage, at least annually, an independent
auditor to conduct an audit of the investment advice arrangement for
compliance with the regulation; (3) if the fiduciary adviser provides
the investment advice through the use of a computer model, then before
providing the advice, the fiduciary adviser must obtain the written
certification of an eligible investment expert as to the computer
model's compliance with certain standards (e.g., applies generally
accepted investment theories, unbiased operation, objective criteria)
set forth in the regulation; and (4) fiduciary advisers must maintain
records with respect to the investment advice provided in reliance on
the regulation necessary to determine whether the applicable
requirements of the regulation have been satisfied.
The ICR was approved by OMB under OMB Control Number 1210-0134 and
is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2014.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Alternative Method of Compliance for Certain Simplified
Employee Pensions.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0034.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Respondents: 36,000.
Responses: 68,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 21,000.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $23,000.
Description: Section 110 of ERISA authorizes the Secretary to
prescribe alternative methods of compliance with the reporting and
disclosure requirements of Title I of ERISA for pension plans.
Simplified employee pensions (SEPs) are established in section 408(k)
of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Although SEPs are primarily a
development of the Code and subject to its requirements, SEPs are also
pension plans subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of
Title I of ERISA.
The Department previously issued a regulation under the authority
of section 110 of ERISA (29 CFR 2520.104-49) that intended to relieve
sponsors of certain SEPs from ERISA's Title I reporting and disclosure
requirements by prescribing an alternative method of compliance. These
SEPs are, for purposes of this Notice, referred to as ``non-model''
SEPs because they exclude (1) those SEPs which are created through use
of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 5305-SEP, and (2) those SEPs in
which the employer limits or influences the employees' choice to IRAs
into which employers' contributions will be made and on which
participant withdrawals are prohibited. The disclosure requirements in
this regulation were developed in conjunction with the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS Notice 81-1). Accordingly, sponsors of ``nonmodel'' SEPs
that satisfy the limited disclosure requirements of the regulation are
relieved from otherwise applicable reporting and disclosure
requirements under Title I of ERISA, including the requirements to file
annual reports (Form 5500 Series) with the Department, and to furnish
summary plan descriptions and summary annual reports to participants
and beneficiaries.
This ICR includes four separate disclosure requirements. First, at
the time an employee becomes eligible to participate in the SEP, the
administrator of the SEP must furnish the employee in writing specific
and general information concerning the SEP; a statement on rates,
transfers and withdrawals; and a statement on tax treatment. Second,
the administrator of the SEP must furnish participants with information
concerning any amendments. Third, the administrator must notify
participants of any employer contributions made to the IRA. Fourth, in
the case of a SEP that provides integration with Social Security, the
administrator shall provide participants with statement on Social
Security taxes and the integration formula used by the employer. The
ICR was approved by OMB under OMB Control Number 1210-0034 and is
scheduled to expire on December 31, 2014.
II. 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
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 submissions of responses.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the ICRs for OMB approval of the extension of the
information collection; they will also become a matter of public
record.
Dated: April 29, 2014.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-11749 Filed 5-20-14; 8:45 am]
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