2012-14085. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Prohibited Transaction Exemption 90-1, Insurance Company Pooled Separate Accounts

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, “Prohibited Transaction Exemption 90-1; Insurance Company Pooled Separate Accounts,” to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

DATES:

Submit comments on or before July 11, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained from the RegInfo.gov Web site, http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain,, on the day following publication of this notice or by contacting Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or sending an email to [e-mail].

Submit comments about this request to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-EBSA, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, Telephone: [phone]/Fax: [phone] (these are not toll-free numbers), email: [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 90-1, Insurance Company Pooled Separate Accounts, provides an exemption from certain provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) relating to transactions involving insurance company pooled separate accounts in which employee benefit plans participate. Without the exemption, ERISA sections 406 and 407(a) and Internal Revenue Code section 4975(c)(1) might prohibit a party in interest to a plan from furnishing goods or services to an insurance company pooled separate account in which the plan has an interest or prohibit engaging in other transactions. Under the exemption, persons who are parties in interest to a plan that invests in a pooled separate account, such as a service provider, may engage in otherwise prohibited transactions with the separate account if the plan's participation in the separate account does not exceed specified limits and other conditions are met. These other conditions include a requirement that the party in interest not be the insurance company, or an affiliate thereof, that holds the plan assets in its pooled separate account or other separate account. The terms of the transaction to which the exemption is applied must be at least as favorable to the pooled separate account as those that would be obtained in a separate arms-length transaction with an unrelated party, and the insurance company must maintain records of any transaction to which the exemption applies for a period of six years. This ICR covers the recordkeeping requirement. This ICR seeks extension of the authority for the information collection without revising it.

This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not required to respond to an information collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if the collection of information does not display a valid OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information collection under OMB Control Number 1210-0083. The current OMB approval is scheduled to expire on August 31, 2012; however, it should be noted that existing information collection requirements submitted to the OMB receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. For additional information, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on April 5, 2012 (77 FR 20650).

Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in the ADDRESSES section within 30 days of publication of this notice in the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate consideration, comments should reference OMB Control Number 1210-0083. The OMB is particularly interested in comments that:

• 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 methodology 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.

Agency: DOL-EBSA.

Title of Collection: Insurance Company Pooled Separate Accounts.

OMB Control Number: 1210-0083.

Affected Public: Private Sector—Businesses or other for-profits.

Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 64.

Total Estimated Number of Responses: 640.

Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 107.

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

Dated: June 5, 2012.

Michel Smyth,

Departmental Clearance Officer.