Summary Plan Description Requirements Under ERISA

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
SPDss07.doc Supporting Statement A	2007-01-29

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
13335	Summary Plan Description Requirements Under ERISA	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1210-0039	ICR Reference No: 200611-1210-005
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 200311-1210-003
Agency/Subagency: DOL/EBSA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Summary Plan Description Requirements Under ERISA
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 03/07/2007
	Date Received in OIRA: 01/30/2007
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	03/31/2010	36 Months From Approved	03/31/2007
Responses	93,457,000	0	148,128,000
Time Burden (Hours)	262,000	0	1,349,254
Cost Burden (Dollars)	257,914,000	0	427,874,000

---

Abstract: The Department's regulations provide guidance on the content, frequency, and manner of disclosures required under ERISA to be furnished by employee benefit plans to plan participants and certain specified plan beneficiaries periodically in Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs), Summaries of Material Modifications(SMMs), and Summaries of Material Reductions (SMRs).

---

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 29 USC 1024 Name of Law: Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
   US Code: 29 USC 1022 Name of Law: Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

---

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

---

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	71 FR 63785	10/31/2006
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	72 FR 4298	01/30/2007
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

---

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Summary Plan Description Requirements Under ERISA

---

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	93,457,000	148,128,000	0	0	-54,671,000	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	262,000	1,349,254	0	0	-1,087,254	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	257,914,000	427,874,000	0	0	-169,960,000	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: There have been no program changes to this ICR since the prior submission. The large reduction in the burden estimates for the current ICR, as compared with the burden estimate in the prior submission, arise from adjustments. In developing this burden estimate, the Department re-examined the regulations creating the information collection requirements and the assumptions previously used to estimate burden and made substantial changes in the assumptions and methodology. In the prior submission, the Department assumed that every employee benefit plan, both welfare and pension, would be amended and would prepare a new SPD in each year and would distribute it to each participant and beneficiary in the plan. In the current submission, the Department has revised these assumptions. The Department has assumed that only a small percentage of plans are amended in any year so as to require a new SPD; this change results in a substantial reduction in the burden. In the prior submission, the Department assumed that SPDs and SMMs would be required to be provided to all participants and all beneficiaries in every welfare benefit plan. Upon re-examination, the Department has determined that the regulations require SPDs to be distributed only upon specific triggering events and only to participants or beneficiaries actually receiving benefits under a pension plan. This change results in an additional significant reduction in the number of disclosures and resulting burden. Finally, the Department has increased its estimate of the percentage of disclosures that will be made electronically, resulting in an additional reduction in the overall burden. Additional changes in methodology include more refined assumptions as to the frequency of the triggering events for providing these disclosures and better data on the number of distinct group health products marketed to welfare plans. The Department has also updated and revised its basic assumptions to take into account new data on the number of plan-respondents and the number of participants and beneficiaries receiving benefits in such plans. The result of this comprehensive re-evaluation of the burden of this ICR is a substantial decrease in the overall burden numbers, which the Department believes presents a more accurate estimate of the actual burden of this information collection.

---

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $0

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Is the Supporting Statement intended to be a Privacy Impact Assessment required by the E-Government Act of 2002? No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? Uncollected

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? Uncollected

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? Uncollected

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

---

Common Form ICR:  No

---

On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 01/30/2007

---