Section 105(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which is administered by DOL, requires administrators of ERISA-covered individual account plans to automatically furnish periodic benefit statements to participants and beneficiaries. The Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (DOL-EBSA) is requesting approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct a survey and an experiment on participants in an existing household Internet panel called the American Life Panel (ALP) and to conduct four focus groups of non-panel members. The survey and focus groups are exploring whether information contained in sample benefit statements can be presented in a way that improves recipients' understanding of the statements and helps them better plan for retirement. This project is funded by DOL-EBSA. DOL has contracted with the RAND Corporation, a non-profit research institute, to conduct this study.
Specifically, the data will be collected through the following methods:
⢠Four focus groups that will pretest the model benefits statements, each containing slightly different information.
⢠A survey of 2,900 respondents from the American Life Panel
US Code:
29 USC 105(a)
Name of Law: Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)
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:
(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;
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.