00-27253. Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request; Payment of Premiums

AGENCY:

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION:

Notice of request for extension of OMB approval.

SUMMARY:

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) is requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) extend approval, under the Paperwork Reduction Act, of the collection of information under its regulation on Payment of Premiums (29 CFR Part 4007), including Form 1-ES, Form 1, and Schedule A to Form 1, and related instructions (OMB control number 1212-0009; expires December 31, 2000). The collection of information also includes a certification (on Schedule A) of compliance with requirements to provide certain notices to participants under the PBGC's regulation on Disclosure to Participants (29 CFR Part 4011).

DATES:

Comments should be submitted by November 22, 2000.

ADDRESSES:

Comments should be mailed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Washington, DC 20503. The request for extension will be available for public inspection at the Communications and Public Affairs Department of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, suite 240, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on business days.

Copies of the collection of information may be obtained without charge by writing to the PBGC's Communications and Public Affairs Department at the address given above or calling 202-326-4040. (For TTY and TDD, call 800-877-8339 and request connection to 202-326-4040.) The premium payment regulation can be accessed on the PBGC's home page at www.pbgc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Deborah C. Murphy, Attorney, or Harold J. Ashner, 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 and TDD, call 800-877-8339 and request connection to 202-326-4024.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 4007 of Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) requires the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) to collect premiums from pension plans covered under Title IV pension insurance programs. Pursuant to ERISA section 4007, the PBGC has issued its regulation on Payment of Premiums (29 CFR Part 4007). Section 4007.3 of the premium payment regulation requires plans, in connection with the payment of premiums, to file certain forms prescribed by the PBGC, and § 4007.10 requires plans to retain and make available to the PBGC records supporting or validating the computation of premiums paid.

The forms prescribed are PBGC Form 1-ES and Form 1 and (for single-employer plans only) Schedule A to Form 1. Form 1-ES is issued, with instructions, in the PBGC's Estimated Premium Payment Package. Form 1 and Schedule A are issued, with instructions, in the PBGC's Annual Premium Payment Package.

The premium forms are needed to determine the amount and record the payment of PBGC premiums, and the submission of forms and retention and submission of records are needed to enable the PBGC to perform premium audits. The plan administrator of each pension plan covered by Title IV of ERISA is required to file one or more of the premium payment forms each year. The PBGC uses the information on the premium payment forms to identify the plans paying premiums and to verify whether plans are paying the correct amounts. That information and the retained records are used for audit purposes.

In addition, section 4011 of ERISA and the PBGC's regulation on Disclosure to Participants (29 CFR Part 4011) require plan administrators of certain underfunded single-employer pension plans to provide an annual notice to plan participants and beneficiaries of the plans' funding status and the limits on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's guarantee of plan benefits. The participant notice requirement only applies (subject to certain exemptions) to plans that must pay a variable rate premium. In order to monitor compliance with Part 4011, plan administrators must indicate on Schedule A to Form 1 that the participant notice requirements have been complied with.

The collection of information under the regulation on Payment of Premiums, including Form 1-ES, Form 1, and Schedule A to Form 1, and related instructions has been approved by OMB under control number 1212-0009 through December 31, 2000. This collection of information also includes the certification of compliance with the participant notice requirements (but not the participant notices themselves). The PBGC is requesting that OMB extend its approval of this collection of information for another three years. (The participant notices constitute a different collection of information that has been separately approved by OMB.)

The PBGC estimates that it receives responses annually from about 39,400 plan administrators and that the total annual burden of the collection of information is about 2,482 hours and $9,431,600.

Issued in Washington, DC, this 19th day of October, 2000.

C. David Gustafson,

Acting Director, Corporate Policy and Research Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.