[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 162 (Monday, August 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51843-51844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20799]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted
for Public Comment; Final Rule on Default Investments Under Participant
Directed Individual Account Plans
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 is soliciting comments on the
proposed extension of the information collection provisions of its
regulation relating to default investment alternatives (29 CFR
2550.404c-5). A copy of the information collection request (ICR) 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 October 22, 2010.
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).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 404(c) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974 (ERISA) states that participants or beneficiaries who can hold
individual accounts under their pension plans, and who can exercise
control over the assets in their accounts ``as determined in
regulations of the Secretary [of Labor]'' will not be treated as
fiduciaries of the plan. Moreover, no other plan fiduciary will be
liable for any loss, or by reason of any breach, resulting from the
participants' or beneficiaries' exercise of control over their
individual account assets.
The Pension Protection Act (PPA), Public Law No. 109-280, amended
ERISA section 404(c) by adding subparagraph (c)(5)(A). The new
subparagraph says that a participant in an individual account plan who
fails to make investment elections regarding his or her account assets
will nevertheless be treated as having exercised control over those
assets so long as the plan
[[Page 51844]]
provides appropriate notice (as specified) and invests the assets ``in
accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary [of Labor].''
Section 404(c)(5)(A) further requires the Department of Labor
(Department) to issue corresponding final regulations within six months
after enactment of the PPA. The PPA was signed into law on August 17,
2006.
The Department of Labor issued a final regulation under ERISA
section 404(c)(5)(A) offering guidance on the types of investment
vehicles that plans may choose as their ``qualified default investment
alternative'' (QDIA). The regulation also outlines two information
collections. First, it implements the statutory requirement that plans
provide annual notices to participants and beneficiaries whose account
assets could be invested in a QDIA. Second, the regulation requires
plans to pass certain pertinent materials they receive relating to a
QDIA to those participants and beneficiaries with assets invested in
the QDIA as well to provide certain information on request. The ICRs
are approved under OMB Control Number 1210-0132, which is scheduled to
expire on October 31, 2010.
II. Current Actions.
This notice requests public comment pertaining to the Department's
request for extension of OMB approval of the information collection
contained in its final rule at 29 CFR 2550.404c-5. After considering
comments received in response to this notice, the Department intends to
submit an ICR to OMB for continuing approval. No change to the existing
ICRs is proposed or made 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 ICR and the current burden estimates follows:
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Default Investment Alternatives under Individual Account
Plans.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0132.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 1,700.
Responses: 66,991,403.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 795,219.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance):
$24,711,418.
III. 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., by
permitting electronic submissions of responses.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the ICR for OMB approval of the extension of the
information collection; they will also become a matter of public
record.
Dated: August 17, 2010.
Michael L. Davis,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-20799 Filed 8-20-10; 8:45 am]
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