[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7596-7597]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3107]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Disaster Relief
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
ACTION: Notice of disaster relief in response to California floods.
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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is waiving penalties
for certain late payments of premiums, is forgoing assessment of
penalties for failure to comply with certain information submission
requirements, and is extending the deadlines for complying with certain
requirements of its administrative review and standard and distress
termination regulations. This relief is generally available to persons
residing, in, or whose principal place of business is within, an area
designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as affected by
the major disaster declared by the President of the United States on
account of the severe floods in California.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Harold J. Ashner, Assistant General Counsel, Office of the General
Counsel, Suite 340, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005, 202-326-4024 (202-326-4179 for TTY
and TDD). (These are not toll-free numbers.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
(``PBGC'') administers the pension plan termination insurance program
under title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,
as amended (``ERISA''), 29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. Under ERISA and the
PBGC's regulations, a number of deadlines must be met in order to avoid
the imposition of penalties or other consequences. Five areas in which
the PBGC is providing relief are (1) penalties for late payment of
premiums due the PBGC, (2) ERISA section 4071 penalties for failure to
provide required notices or other material information by the
applicable time limit, (3) deadlines for filing a standard termination
notice and distributing plan assets in a standard termination, (4)
deadlines for filing a distress termination notice and, in the case of
a plan that is sufficient for guaranteed benefits, issuing notices of
benefit distribution and completing the distribution of plan assets,
and (5) deadlines for filing requests for reconsideration or appeals of
certain agency determinations.
On January 10, 1995, the President of the United States declared,
under the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5121,
5122(2), 5141(b)), that a major disaster exists because of the severe
floods in California. At this time, thirty-eight California counties
are designated areas (within the meaning of Federal Emergency
Management Agency (``FEMA'') regulations; 44 CFR 205.2(a)(5)).
Given the severity of this major disaster, as the Executive
Director of the PBGC, I have decided to provide relief from certain
PBGC deadlines and penalties. For purposes of premium penalties,
section 4071 penalties, and standard termination deadlines, this notice
is applicable with respect to plans whose administrators' or sponsors'
principal place of business, or for which the office of a service
provider, bank, insurance company, or other person maintaining
information necessary to meet the applicable deadlines, is located in a
designated disaster area. For purposes of filing requests for
reconsideration or appeals, this notice is applicable to any aggrieved
person who is residing in, or whose principal place of business is
within, a designated disaster area, or with respect to whom the office
of the service provider, bank, insurance company, or other person
maintaining the information necessary to file the request for
reconsideration or appeal is within such an area.
Premiums
The PBGC will waive the late payment penalty charge with respect to
any premium payment required to be made on or after January 6, 1995,
and before March 2, 1995, if the payment is made by March 2, 1995. The
PBGC is not permitted by law to waive late payment interest charges.
(ERISA section 4007(b); 29 CFR 2610.7 and 2610.8(b)(3).)
Section 4071 penalties
The PBGC will not assess a section 4071 penalty for a failure to
file any of the following notices that were, or will be, required to be
filed with the PBGC on or after January 6, 1995, and before March 2,
1995, if the notice is filed by March 2, 1995:
(1) Post-distribution certification for single-employer plan (PBGC
Form 501 or 602; ERISA section 4041(b)(3)(B) or (c)(3)(B); 29 CFR
2617.28(h) or 2616.29(b)),
(2) Notice of termination for multiemployer plans (ERISA section
4041A; 29 CFR 2673.2),
(3) Notice of plan amendments increasing benefits by more than $10
million (ERISA section 307(e)), and
(4) Reportable event notice, except for reportable events related
to bankruptcy or insolvency (or similar proceeding or settlement),
liquidation or dissolution, or transactions involving a change in
contributing sponsor or controlled group (29 CFR 2615.21, 2615.22, and
2615.23), or reportable events described in amended ERISA section
4043(c)(9)-(12). (Subsection (b) of section 4043 as it presently
appears in 29 U.S.C. 1343 was redesignated as subsection (c) and
amended, in part, with the addition of new reportable events in
paragraphs (9) through (12) by the Retirement Protection Act of 1994,
Subtitle F, Title VII, Uruguay Round Agreements Act, Sec. 771(c)(3),
Pub. L. 103-465, 108 Stat. 5042 (1994) (the (``RPA amendments'').)
The PBGC will not assess a section 4071 penalty for a failure to
provide certain supporting information and documentation when any of
the following notices is timely filed:
(1) Notice of failure to make required contributions totaling more
than $1 million (including interest) (PBGC Form 200; ERISA section
302(f)(4); 29 CFR 2615.31). The timely filed notice must include at
least items 1 through 7 and items 11 and 12 of Form 200; the responses
to items 8 through 10, with the certifications in items 11 and 12, may
be filed late.
(2) Notice of a reportable event related to bankruptcy or
insolvency (or similar proceeding or settlement), liquidation or
dissolution, or a transaction involving a change in contributing
sponsor or controlled group. The timely filed notice must include at
least the information specified in 29 CFR 2615.3(b)(1) through (5); the
information that may be filed late is that specified in 29 CFR
2615.3(b)(6) through (9) and 2615.3(c)(5) and (6), as applicable.
(3) Notice of a reportable event described in the RPA amendments
for [[Page 7597]] which notice is required no later than 30 days after
the event occurs.
(A) If the event is reportable under both the RPA amendments and 29
CFR 2615, the notice will be considered timely filed if the notice
satisfies the requirements described in paragraph (2) above.
(B) If the event is reportable only under the RPA amendments, the
notice will be considered timely filed if the notice includes at least
the information specified in 29 CFR 2615.3(b)(1) through (5); the
information that may be filed late is that specified in 29 CFR
2615.3(b)(6) through (9).
(4) Notice of a reportable event described in the RPA amendments
for which notice is required at least 30 days before the event occurs.
The notice will be considered timely filed if the filer makes a good
faith effort to include with the notice at least the information
specified in 29 CFR 2615.3(b)(1) through (5); the information specified
in 29 CFR 2615.3(b)(6) through (9) and 2615.3(c)(5) and (6), as
applicable, may be filed late and should be filed as soon thereafter as
it is available.
This relief applies to notices that were, or will be, required to
be filed with the PBGC on or after January 6, 1995, and before March 2,
1995, provided that all supporting information and documentation are
filed by March 2, 1995.
Standard and Distress Termination Notices and Distribution of
Assets
With respect to a standard termination for which the standard
termination notice is required to be filed, or the distribution of plan
assets is required to be completed, on or after January 6, 1995, the
PBGC is (pursuant to 29 CFR 2617.25(a)(2) and 2617.28(f)(4)) extending
to March 2, 1995, the time within which the standard termination notice
must be filed (and, thus, the time within which notices of plan
benefits must be provided) and the time within which the distribution
of plan assets must be completed. With respect to a distress
termination for which the distress termination notice is required to be
filed or, in the case of a plan that is sufficient for guaranteed
benefits, other actions must be taken on or after January 6, 1995, the
PBGC is (pursuant to 29 CFR 2616.10(a) and 2616.24(d)) extending to
March 2, 1995, the time within which the termination notice must be
filed and, in the case of a plan that is sufficient for guaranteed
benefits, notices of benefit distribution must be provided and plan
assets must be distributed. In addition, as noted above, the PBGC is
providing relief from penalties for late filing of the post-
distribution certification.
Requests for Reconsideration or Appeals
For persons who are aggrieved by certain agency determinations and
for whom a request for reconsideration or an appeal is required to be
filed on or after January 6, 1995, and before March 2, 1995, the PBGC
is (pursuant to 29 CFR Sec. 2606.4(b)) the time for filing to March 2,
1995.
Applying for Waivers/Extensions
A submission to the PBGC to which a waiver or an extension is
applicable under this notice should be marked in bold print
``CALIFORNIA FLOOD RELIEF, County of (fill in appropriate county name
and state)'' at the top center.
Issued in Washington, DC this 3rd day of February, 1995.
Martin Slate,
Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 95-3107 Filed 2-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-M
