[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 229 (Tuesday, November 30, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 66936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31063]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
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 request for extension of OMB approval.
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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 a collection of
information (OMB control number 1212-0030; expires December 31, 1999).
This voluntary collection of information is a quarterly survey of
insurance company rates for pricing annuity contracts. The survey is
conducted by the American Council of Life Insurance for the PBGC. This
notice informs the public of the PBGC's request and solicits public
comment on the collection of information.
DATES: Comments should be submitted by December 30, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk
Officer for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Washington, DC 20503.
Copies of the request for extension (including the collection of
information) may be obtained from the PBGC's Communications and Public
Affairs Department, suite 240, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC
20005-4026, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on business days.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah C. Murphy, Attorney, 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 the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and request
connection to 202-326-4024).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation'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 the 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 investment and annuity markets. To determine these interest rates,
the 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 survey is distributed by the American Council of Life
Insurance and provides the PBGC with ``blind'' data (i.e., is conducted
in such a way that the PBGC is unable to match responses with the
companies that submitted them).
The survey is directed at insurance companies that have volunteered
to participate, most or all of which are members of the American
Council of Life Insurance. The survey is conducted quarterly and will
be sent to approximately 12 insurance companies. Based on experience
under the current approval, the PBGC estimates that 8 insurance
companies will complete and return the survey. The PBGC further
estimates that the average annual burden of this collection of
information is 32 hours and $48.
The collection of information has been approved by OMB under
control number 1212-0030 through December 31, 1999. The PBGC is
requesting 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.
Issued in Washington, D.C., this 24th day of November, 1999.
Stuart Sirkin,
Director, Corporate Policy and Research Department, Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 99-31063 Filed 11-29-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P
