60-Day FRN

72870

Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 231 / Monday, December 1, 2008 / Notices

Dated: November 25, 2008.
R. Michelle Schroll,
Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8–28557 Filed 11–26–08; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY
CORPORATION
PBGC Flat Premium Rates
Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation.
ACTION: Notice of flat premium rates.
AGENCY:

This notice informs the public
of the PBGC flat premium rates for
premium payment years beginning in
2009. These rates can be derived from
information published elsewhere but are
published in this notice for the
convenience of the public.
DATES: The flat premium rates apply to
premium payment years beginning in
2009.
SUMMARY:

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Catherine B. Klion, Manager, Regulatory
and Policy Division, Legislative and
Regulatory Department, Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street,
NW., Washington, DC 20005, 202–326–
4024. (TTY/TDD users may call the
Federal relay service toll-free at 1–800–
877–8339 and ask to be connected to
202–326–4024.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
(PBGC) administers the pension plan
termination insurance program under
Title IV of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
Pension plans covered by Title IV must
pay premiums to PBGC. Section 4006 of
ERISA deals with premium rates.
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
(Pub. L. 109–171) (DRA 2005) amended
section 4006 of ERISA. DRA 2005
changed the per-participant flat
premium rate for plan years beginning
in 2006 from $19 to $30 for singleemployer plans and from $2.60 to $8 for
multiemployer plans and provided for
inflation adjustments to the flat rates for
future years. The adjustments are based
on changes in the national average wage
index as defined in section 209(k)(1) of
the Social Security Act, with a two-year
lag—for example, for 2009, the 2006
index is compared to the baseline (the
2004 index). The provisions were
written in such a way that the premium
rate can never go down; if the change in
the national average wage index is
negative, the premium rate remains the
same as in the preceding year. Also,
premium rates are rounded to the
nearest whole dollar.

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The baseline national average wage
index, the 2004 index, was $35,648.55.
The 2007 index was $40,405.48. The
ratio of the 2007 index to the 2004 index
is 1.133440. Multiplying this ratio by
$30.00 gives $34.00. Multiplying the
ratio by $8.00 gives $9.07, which rounds
to $9.00. Thus, the 2009 flat premium
rates for PBGC’s two insurance
programs will be $34.00 per participant
for single-employer plans and $9.00 per
participant for multiemployer plans.
The PBGC will publish the flat
premium rates annually for the
convenience of the public.
Issued in Washington, DC, on this 21st day
of November 2008.
Vincent K. Snowbarger,
Deputy Director for Operations, Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. E8–28411 Filed 11–28–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709–01–P

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT
[OMB Control No. 3206–0215; RI 25–49]

Proposed Information Collection;
Request for Comments on an Existing
Information Collection

SUMMARY: In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.
L. 104–13, May 22, 1995), this notice
announces that the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) intends to submit to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) a request for review of an
existing information collection. This
information collection, ‘‘Verification of
Full-Time School Attendance’’ (OMB
Control No. 3206–0215; form RI 25–49),
is used to verify that adult student
annuitants are entitled to payments.
OPM must confirm that a full-time
enrollment has been maintained.
Comments are particularly invited on
whether this collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
functions of the Office of Personnel
Management, and whether it will have
practical utility; whether our estimate of
the public burden of this collection is
accurate and based on valid
assumptions and methodology; and
ways in which we can minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on those who are to respond through
use of the appropriate technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Approximately 10,000 RI 25–49 forms
are completed annually. This form will

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Office of Personnel Management.
Howard Weizmann,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. E8–28441 Filed 11–28–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325–38–P

Office of Personnel
Management.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

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take approximately 60 minutes to
complete. The annual estimated burden
is 10,000 hours.
For copies of this proposal, contact
Cyrus S. Benson by telephone at (202)
606–4808, by FAX (202) 606–0910, or
by e-mail at [email protected].
Please include a mailing address with
your request.
DATES: Comments on this proposal
should be received within 60 calendar
days of the date of this publication.
ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments
to: Ronald W. Melton, Deputy Assistant
Director, Retirement Services Program,
Center for Retirement and Insurance
Services, U.S. Office of Personnel
Management, 1900 E Street, NW., Room
3305, Washington, DC 20415–3500.
For information regarding
Administrative Coordination contact:
Cyrus S. Benson, Team Leader,
Publications Team, RIS Support
Services/Support Group, U.S. Office of
Personnel Management, 1900 E Street,
NW., Room 4H28, Washington, DC
20415, (202) 606–0623.

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT
[OMB Control No. 3206–0141; OPM Form
2809]

Proposed Information Collection;
Request for Comments on an Existing
Information Collection
Office of Personnel
Management.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.
L. 104–13, May 22, 1995), this notice
announces that the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) intends to submit to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) a request for review of an
existing information collection. This
information collection, ‘‘Health Benefits
Election Form’’ (OMB Control No.
3206–0141; OPM Form 2809), is used by
annuitants and former spouses to elect,
cancel, suspend, or change health
benefits enrollment during periods other
than open season.
Comments are particularly invited on:
whether this information is necessary
for the proper performance of functions
of the Office of Personnel Management,
and whether it will have practical
utility; whether our estimate of the

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 231 / Monday, December 1, 2008 / Notices
public burden of this collection of
information is accurate, and based on
valid assumptions and methodology;
and ways in which we can minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on those who are to respond, through
the use of appropriate technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
There are approximately 30,000
changes to health benefits coverage per
year. Of these, 20,000 are submitted on
OPM Form 2809 and 10,000 verbally or
in written correspondence. Each form
takes approximately 45 minutes to
complete; data collection by telephone
or mail takes approximately 10 minutes.
The annual burden for the form is
15,000 hours; the burden not using the
form is 1,667 hours. The total burden is
16,667 hours.
For copies of this proposal, contact
Cyrus S. Benson on (202) 606–4808,
FAX (202) 606–0910 or via E-mail to
[email protected]. Please include
a mailing address with your request.
DATES: Comments on this proposal
should be received within 60 calendar
days from the date of this publication.
ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments
to—Ronald W. Melton, Deputy Assistant
Director, Retirement Services Program,
Center for Retirement and Insurance
Services, U.S. Office of Personnel
Management, 1900 E Street, NW., Room
3305, Washington, DC 20415–3500.
For Information Regarding
Administrative Coordination—Contact:
Cyrus S. Benson, Team Leader,
Publications Team, RIS Support
Services/Support Group, (202) 606–
0623.
Office of Personnel Management.
Howard Weizmann,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. E8–28442 Filed 11–28–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325–38–P

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES

Actuarial Advisory Committee With
Respect to the Railroad Retirement
Account; Notice of Public Meeting
Notice is hereby given in accordance
with Public Law 92–463 that the
Actuarial Advisory Committee will hold
a meeting on December 16, 2008, at
12:30 p.m. at the office of the Chief
Actuary of the U.S. Railroad Retirement
Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago,
Illinois, on the conduct of the 24th
Actuarial Valuation of the Railroad
Retirement System. The agenda for this
meeting will include a discussion of the
assumptions to be used in the 24th
Actuarial Valuation. A report containing

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recommended assumptions and the
experience on which the
recommendations are based will have
been sent by the Chief Actuary to the
Committee before the meeting.
The meeting will be open to the
public. Persons wishing to submit
written statements or make oral
presentations should address their
communications or notices to the RRB
Actuarial Advisory Committee, c/o
Chief Actuary, U.S. Railroad Retirement
Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago,
Illinois 60611–2092.
Dated: November 20, 2008.
Beatrice Ezerski,
Secretary to the Board.
[FR Doc. E8–28440 Filed 11–28–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
Proposed Collection; Comment
Request
Upon Written Request, Copies Available
From: Securities and Exchange
Commission, Office of Investor
Education and Advocacy,
Washington, DC 20549–0213.
Extension:
Rule 17f–2, SEC File No. 270–233, OMB
Control No. 3235–0223.

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant
to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the
‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments
on the collection of information
summarized below. The Commission
plans to submit this existing collection
of information to the Office of
Management and Budget for extension
and approval.
Rule 17f–2 (17 CFR 270.17f–2) under
the Investment Company Act of 1940
(the ‘‘Act’’) (15 U.S.C. 80a–1) is entitled:
‘‘Custody of Investments by Registered
Management Investment Company.’’
Rule 17f–2 establishes safeguards for
arrangements in which a registered
management investment company
(‘‘fund’’) is deemed to maintain custody
of its own assets, such as when the fund
maintains its assets in a facility that
provides safekeeping but not custodial
services. The rule includes several
recordkeeping or reporting
requirements. The fund’s directors must
prepare a resolution designating not
more than five fund officers or
responsible employees who may have
access to the fund’s assets. The
designated access persons (two or more
of whom must act jointly when
handling fund assets) must prepare a

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72871

written notation providing certain
information about each deposit or
withdrawal of fund assets, and must
transmit the notation to another officer
or director designated by the directors.
Independent public accountants must
verify the fund’s assets at least three
times a year and two of the
examinations must be unscheduled.
The requirement that directors
designate access persons is intended to
ensure that directors evaluate the
trustworthiness of insiders who handle
fund assets. The requirements that
access persons act jointly in handling
fund assets, prepare a written notation
of each transaction, and transmit the
notation to another designated person
are intended to reduce the risk of
misappropriation of fund assets by
access persons, and to ensure that
adequate records are prepared, reviewed
by a responsible third person, and
available for examination by the
Commission’s examination staff. The
requirement that auditors verify fund
assets without notice twice each year is
intended to provide an additional
deterrent to the misappropriation of
fund assets and to detect any
irregularities.
The Commission staff estimates that
each fund makes 941 responses and
spends and average of 271 hours
annually in complying with the rule’s
requirements.1 Commission staff
estimates that on an annual basis it
takes: (i) 0.5 hours of fund accounting
personnel at a total cost of $75.50 to
draft director resolutions; 2 (ii) 0.5 hours
of the fund’s board of directors at a total
cost of $1000 to adopt the resolution;
(iii) 263 hours for the fund’s accounting
personnel at a total cost of $60,864 to
prepare written notations of
transactions; 3 and (iv) 7 hours for the
fund’s accounting personnel at a total
cost of $1057 to assist the independent
public accountants when they perform
1 The 941 responses are: 1 (one) response to draft
and adopt the resolution and 940 notations.
Estimates of the number of hours are based on
conversations with individuals in the mutual fund
industry. The actual number of hours may vary
significantly depending on individual fund assets.
2 This estimate is based on the following
calculation: 0.5 (burden hours per fund) × $151
(fund senior accountant’s hourly rate) = $75.50.
3 Respondents estimated that each fund makes
941 responses on an annual basis and spent a total
of 0.28 hours per response. The fund personnel
involved are Fund Payable Manager ($156 hourly
rate), Fund Operations Manager ($252 hourly rate)
and Fund Accounting Manager ($285 hourly rate).
The weighted hourly rate of these personnel is
$231. The estimated cost of preparing notations is
based on the following calculation: 941 × 0.28 ×
$231 = $60,863.88.

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