[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 77053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30002]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review;
Comment Request; Survey of Nonparticipating Single Premium Group
Annuity Rates
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
ACTION: Notice of Intent To Request Extension of OMB Approval.
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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to
request that OMB extend approval (with no changes), under the Paperwork
Reduction Act, of a quarterly survey of insurance company rates for
pricing annuity contracts (OMB control number 1212-0030; expires March
31, 2015). The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) conducts this
voluntary survey for PBGC. This notice informs the public of PBGC's
intent and solicits public comment on the collection of information.
DATES: Comments should be submitted by February 23, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
Web site instructions for submitting comments.
Email: [email protected].
Fax: 202-326-4224.
Mail or Hand Delivery: Office of General Counsel, Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026.
PBGC will make all comments available on its Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov.
Copies of the collection of information may be obtained without
charge by writing to the Disclosure Division, Office of the General
Counsel, at the above address, visiting the Disclosure Division, faxing
a request to 202-326-4042, or calling 202-326-4040 during normal
business hours. (TTY and TDD users may call the Federal relay service
toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4040.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo Amato Burns, Attorney, or Catherine
B. Klion, Assistant General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel,
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC
20005-4026, 202-326-4024. (For TTY/TDD users, call the Federal relay
service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-
4024.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PBGC's regulations prescribe actuarial
valuation methods and assumptions (including interest rate assumptions)
to be used in determining the actuarial present value of benefits under
single-employer plans that terminate (29 CFR part 4044) and under
multiemployer plans that undergo a mass withdrawal of contributing
employers (29 CFR part 4281). Each month PBGC publishes the interest
rates to be used under those regulations for plans terminating or
undergoing mass withdrawal during the next month.
The interest rates are intended to reflect current conditions in
the annuity markets. To determine these interest rates, PBGC gathers
pricing data from insurance companies that are providing annuity
contracts to terminating pension plans through a quarterly ``Survey of
Nonparticipating Single Premium Group Annuity Rates.'' The ACLI
distributes the survey and provides PBGC with ``blind'' data (i.e.,
PBGC is unable to match responses with the insurance companies that
submitted them). PBGC also uses the information from the survey in
determining the interest rates it uses to value benefits payable to
participants and beneficiaries in PBGC-trusteed plans for purposes of
PBGC's financial statements.
The survey is directed at insurance companies that have volunteered
to participate, most or all of which are members of ACLI. The survey is
conducted quarterly and will be sent to approximately 22 insurance
companies. PBGC estimates that about 6 insurance companies will respond
to the survey each quarter, and that each survey will require
approximately 30 minutes to complete and return. PBGC further estimates
that the average annual burden of this collection of information is 12
hours and $474.
OMB has approved this collection of information under control
number 1212-0030 through March 31, 2015. PBGC intends to request that
OMB extend its approval for another three years. An agency may not
conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
PBGC is soliciting public comments to--
Evaluate whether the 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 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.
Issued in Washington, DC, this 17th day of December, 2014.
Judith Starr,
General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2014-30002 Filed 12-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P