Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request
[07/02/2007]
Volume 72, Number 126, Page 36041-36043
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary
Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request
June 25, 2007
The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted the following public
information collection requests (ICR) to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35). A copy of
each ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained
from RegInfo.gov at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain or by
contacting Darrin King on 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number)
/ email: king.darrin@dol.gov.
Comments should be sent to Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the Employee Benefits Security
Administration (EBSA), Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235,
Washington, DC 20503, Telephone: 202-395-7316 / Fax: 202-395-6974
(these are not a toll-free numbers), within 30 days from the date of
this publication in the Federal Register.
The OMB is particularly interested in comments which:
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: Employee Benefits Security Administration.
Type of Review: Extension without change of currently approved
collection.
Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 92-6: Sale of
Individual Life Insurance or Annuity Contracts By a Plan.
OMB Number: 1210-0063.
Type of Response: Third party disclosure.
Affected Public: Private Sector: Business or other for-profit.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 9,780.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 9,780.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,956.
Estimated Total Annualized capital/startup costs: $0.
Estimated Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or
purchasing services): $4,499.
Description: Section 408(a) of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and section 4975(c)(2) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code) authorize the Secretary of Labor and
the Secretary of the Treasury to grant a conditional or unconditional
exemption of any fiduciary, disqualified person or class of
fiduciaries, or orders of disqualified persons or transactions, from
all or part of the restrictions imposed by sections 406 and 407(a) of
ERISA and from the taxes imposed by sections 4975(a) and (b) of the
Code, by reason of section 4975(c)(1) of the Code. Under section 102 of
Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978 (Reorganization Plan No. 4), the
Secretary of Labor was given the authority to grant such exemptions.
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 92-6 (PTE 92-6) was granted
on February 5, 1992 and became effective on October 22, 1986. PTE 92-6
amends and replaces Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 77-8 (PTE
77-8), and exempts from the prohibited transaction restrictions the
sale of individual life insurance or annuity contracts held by an
employee benefit plan to: (1) Plan participants insured under such
contracts; (2) relatives of such participants who are the beneficiaries
under the contract, (3) employers, any of whose employees are covered
by the plan; (4) other employee benefit plans that have a party in
interest relationship; (5) owner-employees (as defined in section
401(c)(3) of the Code), (6) shareholder-employees (as defined in
section 1379 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 as in effect on the
day before the enactment of the Subchapter S Revision Act of 1982), or
(7) trusts established by plan participants insured under such
contracts or relatives of such participants who are the beneficiaries
under the contract, for the cash surrender value of the contracts,
provided certain conditions set forth in the class exemption are met.
In order to ensure that the class exemption is not abused, that the
rights of the participants and beneficiaries are protected, and that
the exemption's conditions are being complied with, the Department
often requires minimal information collection pertaining to the
affected transactions.
The Department has included in the class exemption a basic
disclosure requirement. Pension plans are required to inform the
insured participant of a proposed sale of a life insurance or annuity
policy to the employer, a relative, another plan, an owner-employee, or
a shareholder-employee. If the participant elects not to purchase the
contract, the relative, the employer, another plan, the owner-
employees, or the shareholder-employees may purchase the contract from
the plan upon the receipt by the plan of written consent of the
participant. The disclosure requirement of the class exemption does not
apply if the contract is sold to the plan participant. The disclosure
requirement incorporated within this class exemption is intended to
protect the rights of plan participants and beneficiaries by putting
them on notice of the plan's intention to sell insurance or annuity
contracts under which they are insured, and by giving them the right of
first refusal to purchase such contracts. Without this disclosure
requirement, the Department, which may only grant an exemption if it
can find that participants and beneficiaries are protected, would be
unable to effectively enforce the terms of the class exemption and
ensure user compliance.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration.
Type of Review: Extension without change of currently approved
collection.
Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 91-55: Transactions
Between Individual Retirement Accounts and Authorized Purchasers of
American Eagle Coins.
OMB Number: 1210-0079.
Type of Response: Recordkeeping and Third party disclosure.
Affected Public: Private Sector: Business or other for-profit.
[[Page 36042]]
Estimated Number of Respondents: 3.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 663,431.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 11,063.
Estimated Total Annualized capital/startup costs: $0.
Estimated Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or
purchasing services): $152,589.
Description: Section 408(a) of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (``ERISA'') and section 4975(c)(2) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (the ``Code'') authorize the Secretary of Labor
and the Secretary of the Treasury to grant a conditional or
unconditional exemption of any fiduciary, disqualified person or class
of fiduciaries, or orders of disqualified persons or transactions, from
all or part of the restrictions imposed by sections 406 and 407(a) of
ERISA and from the taxes imposed by sections 4975(a) and (b) of the
Code, by reason of section 4975(c)(1) of the Code. Under section 102 of
Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978 (Reorganization Plan No. 4), the
Secretary of Labor was given the authority to grant such exemptions.
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 91-55 (PTE 91-55) was
granted on September 23, 1991, and provides an exemption from certain
of ERISA's prohibited transaction provisions (and the taxes imposed by
section 4975 of the Code) for purchases and sales by ``certain
individual retirement accounts,'' as defined in Code section 408
(``IRAs'') of American Eagle bullion coins (``Coins'') in principal
transactions from or to broker-dealers in Coins (i.e., banks and other
approved persons referenced in Code sections 408(a)(2) and 408(h))
which are ``authorized purchasers'' of Coins in bulk quantities from
the United States Mint (``Mint'') which are also ``disqualified
persons,'' within the meaning of Code section 4975(e)(2) with respect
to IRAs. Under the class exemption, relief is provided only for
purchases and sales of Coins between such disqualified persons and IRAs
with respect to which the IRA depositor either self-directs the IRA
investments or delegates investment discretion over assets in the IRA
to a third person who is independent of and unrelated to the
disqualified person or other affiliate thereof.
The class exemption also describes the circumstances under which
the interest-free extension of credit in connection with such sales and
purchases is permitted. In the absence of an exemption, such purchases
and sales and extensions of credit would be impermissible under ERISA.
Section 406 of ERISA (and section 4975(c)(1) of the Code) prohibits
various transactions between a plan and certain related parties. Those
parties in interest described in section 3(14) of ERISA and
disqualified persons described in section 4975(e)(2) of the Code, such
as plan fiduciaries, sponsoring employers, unions, service providers
and affiliates, may not engage in a transaction described in section
406 of ERISA and section 4975(c) of the Code with a plan without an
exemption. Code section 4975(e)(1) states that an IRA described in
section 408(a) of the Code is included within the definition of the
term ``plan'' for purposes of Code section 4975. Specifically, these
sections prohibit sales, leases, loans, or the provision of services
between a party in interest and a plan, as well as a use of plan assets
by or for the benefit of, or a transfer of plan assets to, a party in
interest or a disqualified person, unless a statutory or administrative
exemption applies to the transaction.
The Department of Labor has authority under Reorganization Plan No.
4, pursuant to section 408 of ERISA and section 4975(c)(2) of the Code,
to grant either individual or class exemptions. In order to grant a
class exemption under section 408 and section 4975(c)(2), the
Department must determine that the exemption is:
(1) Administratively feasible,
(2) In the interests of the plan and its participants and
beneficiaries, and
(3) Protective of the rights of participants and beneficiaries of
such plan.
In order to ensure that the class exemption is not abused, that the
rights of the participants and beneficiaries are protected, and that
the exemption's conditions are being complied with, the Department
often requires minimal information collection pertaining to the
affected transactions.
Because the value of Coins can fluctuate frequently, the Department
believes that the maintenance of contemporaneous records by the
purchaser is essential to enable those persons directing the
investments of the IRAs, as well as the Department and the IRS, to
monitor compliance with the conditions of the class exemption. The
recordkeeping requirement facilitates the Department's ability to make
findings under section 408 of ERISA and section 4975(c) of the Code.
The confirmation and disclosure requirements enable participants and
beneficiaries investing in IRAs better to monitor their investments in
Coins.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration.
Type of Review: Extension without change of currently approved
collection.
Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 85-68 to Permit
Employee Benefit Plans to Invest in Customer Notes of Employers.
OMB Number: 1210-0094.
Type of Response: Recordkeeping.
Affected Public: Private Sector: Business or other for-profit.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 69.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 325.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1.
Estimated Total Annualized capital/startup costs: $0.
Estimated Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or
purchasing services): $0.
Description: Section 408(a) of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and section 4975(c)(2) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code) authorize the Secretary of Labor and
the Secretary of the Treasury to grant a conditional or unconditional
exemption of any fiduciary, disqualified person or class of
fiduciaries, or orders of disqualified persons or transactions, from
all or part of the restrictions imposed by sections 406 and 407(a) of
ERISA and from the taxes imposed by sections 4975(a) and (b) of the
Code, by reason of section 4975(c)(1) of the Code. Under section 102 of
Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978 (Reorganization Plan No. 4), the
Secretary of Labor was given the authority to grant such exemptions.
This class exemption which was granted on March 28, 1985 and
replaced prohibited Transaction Exemption 79-9, describes the
conditions under which a plan is permitted to acquire customer notes
accepted by an employer of employees covered by the plan in the
ordinary course of the employer's business activity and thus be exempt
from the prohibited transaction restrictions. The class exemption
covers sales as well as contributions of customer notes by an employer
to its plan.
In order to ensure that the class exemption is not abused, that the
rights of the participants and beneficiaries are protected, and that
the exemption's conditions are being complied with, the Department of
Labor (the Department) often requires minimal information collection
pertaining to the affected transactions.
The Department has included in the class exemption a recordkeeping
provision, whereby plans are required to maintain for six years from
the date of the transaction the records necessary to enable interested
parties including the
[[Page 36043]]
Department to determine whether the conditions of the exemption have
been met. The class exemption also requires that those records be made
available to certain persons on request. Without this recordkeeping
requirement, the Department would be unable to effectively enforce the
terms of the exemption and ensure user compliance.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration.
Type of Review: Extension without change of currently approved
collection.
Title: Notice Requirements of the Health Care Continuation Coverage
Provisions.
OMB Number: 1210-0123.
Type of Response: Third party disclosure.
Affected Public: Private Sector: Business or other for-profit.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 593,000.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 15,237,957.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 0.
Estimated Total Annualized Capital/startup costs: $0.
Estimated Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or
purchasing services): $18,387,739.
Description: The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1984 (COBRA) provides that under certain circumstances participants and
beneficiaries of group health plans that satisfy the definition of
``qualified beneficiaries'' under COBRA may elect to continue group
health coverage temporarily following events known as ``qualifying
events'' that would otherwise result in loss of coverage. COBRA
provides that the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) has the authority
under section 608 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974 (ERISA) to carry out the provisions of Part 6 of title I of ERISA.
The Conference Report that accompanied COBRA authorized the Secretary
to issue regulations implementing the notice and disclosure
requirements of COBRA.
The Department has implemented the Notice Requirements of Section
606 of ERISA (regulations) because the provision of timely and adequate
notifications regarding COBRA rights and responsibilities is critical
to a qualified beneficiary's ability to obtain health continuation
coverage. In addition, in the Department's view, regulatory guidance
was necessary to establish clearer standards for administering and
processing COBRA notices.
The provision of timely and adequate notifications is critical for
the effective exercise of COBRA rights. As such, plan administrators,
group health plan insurers, and other service providers to the
healthcare industry have indicated to the Department that additional
guidance on notification and disclosure under COBRA would be welcome.
Failure on the part of a plan administrator to meet notice requirements
might result in a qualified beneficiary's losing out on continuation
coverage, assessment of fines on a plan administrator, or other adverse
consequences.
Under the regulatory guidelines, plan administrators are required
to distribute notices as follows: A general notice to be distributed to
all participants in group health plans subject to COBRA; an employer
notice that must be completed by the employer upon the occurrence of a
qualifying event; a notice and election form to be sent to a
participant upon the occurrence of a qualifying event that might cause
the participant to lose group health coverage; an employee notice that
may be completed by a qualified beneficiary upon the occurrence of
certain qualifying events such as divorce or disability; and, two other
notices, one of early termination and the other a notice of
unavailability.
Darrin A. King,
Acting Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. E7-12704 Filed 6-29-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P
|
