Consent to Receive Employee Benefit Plan Disclosures Electronically

Forms and Documents

Forms and supporting documents for this ICR

Document	Type	Status	Availability
1210-0121 SS 8-7-23 (clean).docx	Supporting Statement A	Uploaded 2023-08-08	Available

IC Document Collections

Information collection document groups

IC ID	Collection	Type	Status	Form
13499	Consent To Receive Employee Benefit Plan Disclosures Electronically		Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1210-0121	ICR Reference No: 202304-1210-003
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202003-1210-002
Agency/Subagency: DOL/EBSA	Agency Tracking No: 1210-AB10(Final)
Title: Consent to Receive Employee Benefit Plan Disclosures Electronically
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 08/16/2023

table that charts list comparision

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	08/31/2023
Responses	55,055,864	82,853,832
Time Burden (Hours)	982,079	1,567,541
Cost Burden (Dollars)	3,101,381	21,441,854

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Abstract: On January 28, 1999, the Department published a notice of proposed rulemaking on electronic disclosure and recordkeeping issues (64 FR 4506). Where, previously, only group health plans had specifically been provided with a safe harbor for electronic disclosure, the proposal expanded the use of electronic disclosure to include all pension and welfare benefit plans covered by Title I of ERISA. In addition, the proposal added summary annual reports to the list of disclosure documents included in the safe harbor provisions. On April 9, 2002, the Department published a notice of final rulemaking on electronic disclosure and recordkeeping issues (67 FR 17264) to establish a “safe harbor” for the use of electronic media to satisfy the general furnishing requirement. In 2020, the Department issued a final rule providing a new safe harbor (Notice-and-Access Safe Harbor) for plan administrators who wish to satisfy ERISA's delivery requirements for retirement plan documents by posting them on a website and notifying workers of the online availability of such documents (85 FR 31884). This information collection contains a third-party disclosure. The consent serves to demonstrate to the plan administrator that an individual has the ability to access information in the electronic form that will be used for disclosure purposes. Such confirmation will ensure the compatibility of the hardware and software between the individual and the plan and will also serve to demonstrate that the administrator has taken appropriate and necessary measures reasonably calculated to ensure that the system for furnishing documents results in actual receipt, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Where applicable, the consent provides a means for the individual to provide the plan with the correct email address to facilitate the efficiencies that may arise from the use of electronic technologies where appropriate. Retirement plan administrators may satisfy their obligation to furnish ERISA-required disclosures by making the information accessible online and furnishing a notice of internet availability of these disclosures to covered individuals. The notice of internet availability must be sent to the electronic address of the participant, for example to the participant's email address and include, among other things, a brief description of the document being posted online, a website address where the document is posted, and instructions for requesting a free paper copy or electing paper delivery in the future. It must be sent each time a retirement plan disclosure is posted to the internet website. To prevent “email overload,” the 2019 final rule allows a notice of internet availability to incorporate or combine other notices of internet availability in limited circumstances. The Department has received approval from OMB for this ICR under OMB Control No. 1210-0121. The current approval is scheduled to expire on August 31, 2023.

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

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	88 FR 8317	02/08/2023
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	88 FR 55723	08/16/2023
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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

table that charts list of burden

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Consent To Receive Employee Benefit Plan Disclosures Electronically

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ICR Summary of Burden

table that charts list of burden

	Total Request	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	55,055,864	82,853,832	0	0	-27,797,968	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	982,079	1,567,541	0	0	-585,462	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	3,101,381	21,441,854	0	0	-18,340,473	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: The number of plans and participants have been updated. Wages, postage costs, the percent of Americans with an internet subscription, the percent of plans without a website, and electronic disclosure rates were also updated. Additionally, one-time costs have been removed. As a result, the number of respondents increased by 51,058, the number of responses decreased by 27,797,968, and the cost burden increased by $18,340,473. The hour burden decreased by 585,462.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $0

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

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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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: 08/16/2023

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