[Federal Register: October 31, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 210)]
[Notices]
[Page 63784]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31oc06-76]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request;
Employee Benefit Plan Claims Procedures Under ERISA
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 the
public understand the Department's information collection requirements
and provide the requested data in the desired format. Currently, the
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments
on a proposed extension of the current approval of information
collection provisions incorporated in the regulation pertaining to
employee benefit plan claims procedures under the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). 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 on or before January 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Susan G. Lahne, Office of
Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, 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 the following Internet e-mail address:
ebsa.opr@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 503 of ERISA requires each employee benefit plan to
provide, pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor,
notice in writing to any participant or beneficiary whose claim for
benefits under the plan has been denied. The notice must set forth the
specific reasons for the denial and must be written in a manner
calculated to be understood by the claimant. Plans must also give a
participant or beneficiary whose claim has been denied a reasonable
opportunity to obtain a full and fair review of any benefit claim
denial by the appropriate named fiduciary.
The Department issued a regulation pertaining to benefit claims
procedures in 1977 and amended that regulation in a Notice of Final
Rulemaking (NFRM) published on November 21, 2000 (65 FR 70246). The
regulation pertaining to benefit claims procedures is codified at 29
CFR 2560.503-1. The regulation requires plans to establish reasonable
claims procedures that meet specified standards governing the timing
and content of notices and disclosures. EBSA submitted an ICR for the
information collections in 29 CFR 2560.503-1 to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in connection with
publication of the NFRM, and OMB approved the information collections
under OMB control number 1210-0053. That approval is scheduled to
expire on February 28, 2007. After considering comments received in
response to this notice, the Department intends to submit an ICR to OMB
to request continuing approval. The public is not required to respond
to an information collection unless it displays a valid control number.
No change to the existing ICR is being proposed or made at this time.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
The Department of Labor (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 submissions of responses.
III. Current Action
This notice requests comments on an extension of OMB's approval of
the information collections included in 29 CFR 2560.503-1. The
Department is not proposing or implementing changes to the existing ICR
at this time. A summary of the ICR and the current burden estimates
follows:
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Employee Benefit Plan Claims Procedures under ERISA.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0053.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit
institutions.
Respondents: 6,700,000.
Responses: 118,000,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 333,000.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance):
$90,000,000.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the ICR; they will
also become a matter of public record.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security
Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-18231 Filed 10-30-06; 8:45 am]
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