02-4502. Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request; Annual Financial and Actuarial Information Reporting

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 the PBGC's regulation on Annual Financial and Actuarial Information Reporting, 29 CFR part 4010 (OMB control number 1212-0049; expires March 31, 2002). 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 March 28, 2002.

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. Copies of the request for extension (including the collection of information) may be obtained without charge by writing to or visiting the PBGC's Communications and Public Affairs Department, suite 240, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, or calling 202-326-4040. (TTY and TDD users may call 800-877-8339 and request connection to 202-326-4040). The regulation on Annual Financial and Actuarial Information Reporting can be accessed on the PBGC's Web site at http://www.pbgc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Harold J. Ashner, Assistant General Counsel, or Deborah C. Murphy, Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, 202-326-4024. (TTY and TDD users may call 800-877-8339 and request connection to 202-326-4024.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 4010 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires each member of a controlled group to submit identifying, financial, and actuarial information to the PBGC in certain circumstances. Reporting is required (1) if the aggregate unfunded vested benefits of all defined benefit pension plans maintained by the controlled group exceed $50 million, (2) if the controlled group maintains any plan with missed contributions aggregating more than $1 million (unless paid within a ten-day grace period), or (3) if the controlled group maintains any plan with funding waivers in excess of $1 million and any portion is still outstanding (taking into account certain credit balances in the funding standard account). The PBGC's regulation on Annual Financial and Actuarial Information Reporting (29 CFR part 4010) implements section 4010.

The regulation requires the controlled group to file certain identifying information, certain financial information, each plan's actuarial valuation report, certain participant information, and a determination of the amount of each plan's benefit liabilities. The information submitted under the regulation allows the PBGC (1) to detect and monitor financial problems with the contributing sponsors that maintain severely underfunded pension plans and their controlled group members and (2) to respond quickly when it learns that a controlled group with severely underfunded pension plans intends to engage in a transaction that may significantly reduce the assets available to pay plan liabilities.

The collection of information under the regulation has been approved by OMB under control number 1212-0049, expiring March 31, 2002. The PBGC is requesting that OMB extend its approval 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.

The PBGC estimates that an average of 70 controlled groups per year respond to this collection of information. The PBGC further estimates that the average annual burden of this collection of information is 7.9 hours and $10,000 per controlled group, for a total burden of 552 hours and $700,000.

Issued in Washington, D.C., this 20th day of February, 2002.

Stuart Sirkin,

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