Consent to Receive Employee
Benefit Plan Disclosures Electronically
Extension without change of a currently approved collection
No
Regular
08/16/2023
Requested
Previously Approved
36 Months From Approved
08/31/2023
55,055,864
82,853,832
982,079
1,567,541
3,101,381
21,441,854
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.
US Code:
29
USC 1024(b) Name of Law: Employee Income Security Act of
1974
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.
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.
1210-0121 SS 8-7-23 (clean).docx
Consent To Receive Employee Benefit Plan Disclosures Electronically