2021-21762. Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request; Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Submitted to PBGC

AGENCY:

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION:

Notice of intent to request extension of OMB approval, with modifications.

SUMMARY:

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to request that the Office of Management and Budget extend its approval (with modifications), under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, of the information collection related to PBGC's booklet, Qualified Domestic Relations Orders & PBGC. This notice informs the public of PBGC's intent and solicits public comment on the collection of information.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted by December 6, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

• Email: [e-mail] . Refer to OMB control number 1212-0054 in the subject line.

• Mail or Hand Delivery: Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-4026.

Commenters are strongly encouraged to submit public comments electronically. PBGC expects to have limited personnel available to process public comments that are submitted on paper through mail. Until further notice, any comments submitted on paper will be considered to the extent practicable.

All submissions received must include the agency's name (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or PBGC) and refer to OMB control number 1212-0054. All comments received will be posted without change to PBGC's website, http://www.pbgc.gov,, including any personal information provided. Commenters should not include any information for which disclosure is restricted by statute, such as trade secrets and commercial or financial information (“confidential business information”). Submission of confidential business information without a request for protected treatment constitutes a waiver of any claims of confidentiality.

Copies of the collection of information may be obtained by writing to Disclosure Division, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-4026, or calling 202-229-4040 during normal business hours. TTY users may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-229-4040.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Karen Levin ( [e-mail] ), Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-4026, 202-229-3559. (TTY and TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-229-3559.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A defined benefit pension plan that does not have enough money to pay benefits may be terminated if the employer responsible for the plan faces severe financial difficulty, such as bankruptcy, and is unable to maintain the plan. In such an event, PBGC becomes trustee of the plan and pays benefits, subject to legal limits, to plan participants and beneficiaries.

The benefits of a pension plan participant generally may not be assigned or alienated. Title I of ERISA provides an exception for domestic relations orders that relate to child support, alimony payments, or marital property rights of an alternate payee (a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a plan participant). The exception applies only if the domestic relations order meets specific legal requirements that make it a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO).

When PBGC is trustee of a plan, it reviews submitted domestic relations orders to determine whether the order is qualified before paying benefits to an alternate payee. The requirements for submitting a domestic relations order and the contents of such orders are established by statute. The models and the guidance provided by PBGC assist parties by making it easier for them to comply with ERISA's QDRO requirements in plans trusteed by PBGC; they do not create any additional requirements and result in a reduction of the statutory burden.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the collection of information in PBGC's booklet, Qualified Domestic Relations Orders & PBGC, under control number 1212-0054 through February 28, 2022. PBGC intends to request that OMB extend approval of the collection of information with modifications for 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 proposing modifications to the booklet including: Removing language concerning age 70 1/2 for required minimum distributions because the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) changed the age for required minimum distributions in section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code, clarifying that PBGC will delay commencement of benefits to a participant upon receipt of written notice of a pending domestic relations order (DRO), and increasing the amount of time parties have to contact PBGC to extend a hold after submission of a DRO or a non-DRO written notice of a pending DRO. PBGC is also making other editorial changes to the QDRO booklet.

PBGC estimates that it will receive approximately 428 DROs each year. PBGC further estimates that the total average annual burden of this collection of information will be approximately 321 hours and $299,600.

PBGC is soliciting public comments to—

• 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 methodologies 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.

Stephanie Cibinic,

Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.