60-day Federal Register Notice

4978

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 28, 2009 / Notices

Comments may also be submitted
electronically to [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES

I. Background
Prohibited Transaction Class
Exemption 94–71, entitled Class
Exemption to Permit Certain
Transactions Authorized Pursuant to
Settlement Agreements Between the
U.S. Department of Labor and Plans,
which was published in final form on
October 7, 1994 (59 FR 60837), exempts
from the prohibitions of sections 406
and 407(a) of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)
transactions that are specifically
authorized by a settlement agreement
resulting from an investigation of an
employee benefit plan by the
Department pursuant to the authority of
section 504(a) of ERISA. The availability
of the exemption is conditioned on
providing certain notices and
disclosures. Specifically, the person
seeking to rely on the exemption must
provide notice to the affected
participants and beneficiaries, at least
30 days prior to entering into the
settlement agreement with the
Department, in a manner approved by
the Department that is reasonably
calculated to result in actual receipt.
The notice must include an objective
description of the transaction, the
approximate date on which it will
occur, the address of the office of the
Department that negotiated the
settlement, and a statement apprising
participants and beneficiaries of their
right to provide comments to that office.
Prohibited Transaction Class
Exemption 03–39, entitled Class
Exemption For Release of Claims and
Extensions of Credit in Connection With
Litigation, which was published in final
form on December 31, 2003 (68 FR
75632), exempts from the prohibitions
of sections 406 and 407(a) of ERISA
certain transactions engaged in by a
plan in connection with the settlement
of litigation. Exempted transactions
must involve either release by the plan
or by a plan fiduciary of a legal or
equitable claim against a party in
interest in exchange for consideration
given by, or on behalf of, a party in
interest to the plan in partial or
complete settlement of the plan’s or the
fiduciary’s claim, or an extension of
credit by the plan or by a plan fiduciary
to a party in interest in connection with
a settlement whereby the party in
interest agrees to repay, over time, an
amount owed to the plan in settlement
of a legal or equitable claim by the plan
or a plan fiduciary against the party in
interest. Among other conditions, the

VerDate Nov<24>2008

17:30 Jan 27, 2009

Jkt 217001

exemption requires that the terms of the
settlement be specifically described in a
written agreement or consent degree and
that the fiduciary entering into the
settlement on behalf of the plan
acknowledge in writing its fiduciary
status. The exemption also requires the
plan to maintain, for a period of six
years, the records necessary to enable
specified interested person to determine
whether the exemption’s conditions
were met.
Because of the similarity of these two
exemptions, the Department submitted a
combined ICR for the information
collections in both exemptions to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and clearance at the
time that PTE 03–39 was published as
a proposal in the Federal Register
(February 11, 2003, 68 FR 6953). The
ICR for the information collections in
both class exemptions was approved
under OMB control number 1210–0091.
The approval for the ICRs included in
the two exemptions will expire on May
31, 2009.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
The Department is particularly
interested in comments that:
• Evaluate whether the collections of
information are 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
collections 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., by permitting electronic submission
of responses.
III. Current Action
The Department is requesting an
extension of the currently approved ICR
for Settlement Agreements Between a
Plan and Party in Interest. The
Department is not proposing or
implementing changes to the two
exemptions or to the existing ICR. A
summary of the ICR and the current
burden estimates follows:
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection of
information.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.

PO 00000

Frm 00066

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

Title: Settlement Agreements Between
a Plan and Party in Interest.
OMB Number: 1210–0091.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; Business or other for-profit;
Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 4.
Frequency of Response: One-time.
Responses: 1,080.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 28.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of the information collection
request; they will also become a matter
of public record.
Dated: January 22, 2009.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research,
Employee Benefits Security Administration.
[FR Doc. E9–1784 Filed 1–27–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–29–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security
Administration
Proposed Extension of Information
Collection; Comment Request; Final
Rule Relating to Notice of Blackout
Periods to Participants and
Beneficiaries
ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA
95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), the
Department of Labor (the Department)
conducts a preclearance consultation
program to provide the general public
and Federal agencies with an
opportunity to comment on proposed
and continuing collections of
information. This program helps to
ensure that the data the Department
gathers can be provided in the desired
format, that the reporting burden on the
public (time and financial resources) is
minimized, that the public understands
the Department’s collection
instruments, and that the Department
can accurately assess the impact of
collection requirements on respondents.
By this notice, the Department is
soliciting comments concerning the
information collection provisions of the
regulation under section 101(i) of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the SOA),
which requires written notice to be
provided to affected participants and
beneficiaries of individual account
plans of any ‘‘blackout period’’ during
which their right to direct or diversify
investments, obtain a loan, or obtain a
distribution under the plan may be
temporarily suspended. A copy of the

E:\FR\FM\28JAN1.SGM

28JAN1

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 28, 2009 / Notices
ICR may be obtained by contacting the
office listed in the ADDRESSES section of
this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted to the office shown in the
ADDRESSES section below on or before
March 30, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are
invited to submit written comments
regarding the information collection
request and burden estimates to: G.
Christopher Cosby, Office of Policy and
Research, U.S. Department of Labor,
Employee Benefits Security
Administration, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Room N–5647,
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone:
(202) 693–8410; Fax: (202) 219–4745.
These are not toll-free numbers.
Comments may also be submitted
electronically to [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background

sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES

Section 306(b)(1) of the SOA amended
section 101 of ERISA to add a new
subsection (i), requiring that
administrators of individual account
plans provide notice to affected
participants and beneficiaries in
advance of the commencement of any
blackout period. For purposes of this
notice requirement, a blackout period
generally includes any period during
which the ability of participants or
beneficiaries to direct or diversify assets
credited to their accounts, to obtain
loans from the plan or to obtain
distributions from the plan will be
temporarily suspended, limited or
restricted. As required by section
306(b)(2) of SOA, the Department of
Labor (Department) issued rules
necessary to implement the SOA
amendments. The Department’s
regulation at 29 CFR 2520.101–3
specifies when, how, and to whom a
blackout notice must be provided and
provides model notices to meet the
requirements of the regulation.
The Department submitted the
information collection provisions of
§ 2520.101–3 in an ICR to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance at the time of
publication of the interim final rule,
which was published in the Federal
Register on October 21, 2002 (67 FR
64766). OMB approved the ICR under
OMB control number 1210–0122. This
approval is scheduled to expire on May
31, 2009.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
The Department is particularly
interested in comments that:
• Evaluate whether the collections of
information are necessary for the proper

VerDate Nov<24>2008

17:30 Jan 27, 2009

Jkt 217001

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
collections 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., by permitting electronic submission
of responses.
III. Current Action
The Department is requesting an
extension of the currently approved ICR
for the Final Rule Relating to Notice of
Blackout Periods to Participants and
Beneficiaries. The Department is not
proposing or implementing changes to
the regulation or to the existing ICR. A
summary of the ICR and the current
burden estimates follows:
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection of
information.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: Final Rule Relating to Blackout
Notices to Participants and
Beneficiaries.
OMB Number: 1210–0122.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; business or other for-profit;
not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 85,150.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Responses: 5,400,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
187,686.
Total Annual Cost (Operating and
Maintenance): $1,407,000.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of the information collection
request; they will also become a matter
of public record.
Dated: January 22, 2009.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research,
Employee Benefits Security Administration.
[FR Doc. E9–1785 Filed 1–27–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–29–P

PO 00000

Frm 00067

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

4979

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security
Administration
Proposed Extension of Information
Collection; Comment Request;
Voluntary Fiduciary Compliance
Program
ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the
Department), as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, conducts a
preclearance consultation program to
provide the general public and Federal
agencies with an opportunity to
comment on proposed and continuing
collections of information in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
This helps to ensure that requested data
can be provided in the desired format,
reporting burden (time and financial
resources) is minimized, collection
instruments are clearly understood, and
the impact of collection requirements on
respondents can be properly assessed.
Currently, the Employee Benefits
Security Administration is soliciting
comments concerning the information
collection request (ICR) incorporated in
the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction
Program (the VFC Program) and the
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption
(the Exemption) that is used in
connection with the VFC Program. The
ICR is currently approved under OMB
Number 1210–0118 and is scheduled to
expire on May 31, 2009. A copy of the
ICR may be obtained by contacting the
office listed in the ADDRESSES section of
this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted to the office shown in the
ADDRESSES section below on or before
March 30, 2009.
ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby,
Office of Policy and Research, U.S.
Department of Labor, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N–
5647, Washington, DC 20210.
Telephone: (202) 693–8410; Fax: (202)
219–5333. These are not toll-free
numbers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background
The VFC Program is an enforcement
program intended to encourage the full
correction of certain breaches of
fiduciary responsibility and the
restoration of losses resulting from those
breaches to participants and
beneficiaries in employee benefit plans.
For certain eligible breaches that have

E:\FR\FM\28JAN1.SGM

28JAN1