E7-11668. Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted for Public Comment; Final Rule on Plan Loans to Participants and Beneficiaries

AGENCY:

Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Employee Benefits Security Administration is soliciting comments on the proposed extension of the information collection provisions of its regulation relating to loans to plan participants and beneficiaries who are parties in interest with respect to the plan (29 CFR 2550.408b-1). A copy of the information collection request (ICR) may be obtained by contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. ICRs also are available at reginfo.gov (http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain).

DATES:

Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the ADDRESSES section on or before August 17, 2007.

ADDRESSES:

Joseph S. Piacentini, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210, [phone], FAX [phone] (these are not toll-free numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) prohibits a plan fiduciary from causing the plan to engage in a transaction if he knows or should know that such transaction constitutes direct or indirect loan or extension of credit between the plan and a party in interest. ERISA section 408(b)(1) exempts from this prohibition loans from a plan to parties in interest who are participants and beneficiaries of the plan, provided that certain requirements are satisfied. In final regulations published in the Federal Register on July 20, 1989 (54 FR 30520), the Department provided additional guidance on section 408(b)(1)(C), which requires that loans be made in accordance with specific provisions in the plan. This ICR therefore relates to the provisions plan documents must include in order that a plan may make loans to participants.

II. Current Actions

This notice requests public comment on the Department's request for extension of OMB approval of the information collection contained in its final rule at 29 CFR 2550.408b-1. After considering all the responses to this notice, the Department intends to submit an ICR to OMB for continuing approval. The Department is not proposing any changes to the existing ICR at this time. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. A summary of the ICR and the current burden estimates follows:

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

Title: Regulation Relating to Loans to Plan Participants and Beneficiaries who are Parties in Interest with Respect to the Plan.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of information.

OMB Number: 1210-0076.

Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other for-profit entities; not-for-profit institutions.

Total Respondents: 1,700.

Frequency of Responses: On occasion.

Responses: 1,700.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 0.

Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $428,000.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

The Department of Labor (Department) is particularly interested in comments that:

• Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
• Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's burden estimate in 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 suggestions for appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., by permitting responses to be submitted electronically.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and possibly included in the ICR for OMB approval of the extension of the information collection; they will also become a matter of public record.

Dated: June 8, 2007.

Joseph S. Piacentini,

Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration.