Summary Plan Description Requirements Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as Amended

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
1210-0039 SPD SS- 8-7-23 (clean).docx Supporting Statement A	2023-08-07
Supplemental Tables-2023.rtf Supplementary Document	2023-06-16

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
13335	Summary Plan Description Requirements Under ERISA	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1210-0039	ICR Reference No: 202306-1210-005
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202003-1210-004
Agency/Subagency: DOL/EBSA	Agency Tracking No: 1210-AB10(Final)
Title: Summary Plan Description Requirements Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as Amended
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: 08/08/2023

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	08/31/2023
Responses	117,968,000	112,733,000
Time Burden (Hours)	1,397,000	162,956
Cost Burden (Dollars)	88,872,000	235,556,141

---

Abstract: The Department has promulgated regulations governing the content and furnishing of SPDs, SMMs, and SMRs at 29 CFR 102-2 (Style and Format of Summary Plan Descriptions); 29 CFR 2520.102-3 (Contents of Summary Plan Descriptions); 29 CFR 2520.102-4 (Option for Different Summary Plan Descriptions); 29 CFR 2520.2520.104b-1 (Disclosure); 29 CFR 2520.104b-2 (Summary Plan Descriptions); 29 CFR 104b-3 (Summary of Material Modifications to the Plan and Changes in the Information Required to be Included in the Summary Plan Description); and 29 CFR 104(b)-(4) (Alternative Methods of Compliance for Furnishing the Summary Plan Description and Summaries of Material Modifications of a Pension Plan to a Retired Participant, a Separated Participant, and a Beneficiary Receiving Benefits). These regulations set standards for the content of these disclosure documents, the methods of furnishing that will satisfy the statutory disclosure requirements, and alternative methods of compliance. In particular, regulations at 29 CFR 2520.104b-1(c) specifically describe the circumstances under which the administrator of an employee benefit plan may furnish required disclosure documents, including the SPD/SMM/SMR, through electronic media. The Department's regulations contain information collections that constitute mandatory third-party disclosure requirements applicable to the majority of Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)-covered pension and welfare benefit plans. The Department has determined that these information collections are necessary in order to ensure the participants and beneficiaries in employee benefit plans covered under ERISA receive adequate information about the benefits due to them and their rights under the plans.

---

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 29 USC 1022 Name of Law: Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
   US Code: 29 USC 1024 Name of Law: Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

---

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

---

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 53524	08/08/2023
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

---

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

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Summary Plan Description Requirements Under ERISA

---

ICR Summary 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	117,968,000	112,733,000	0	0	5,235,000	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	1,397,000	162,956	0	0	1,234,044	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	88,872,000	235,556,141	0	0	-146,684,141	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 preparation by the service provider was previously accounted for as a cost included in Question 13. In this ICR, this cost has been accounted for in the hour burden in Question 12. As a result, the number of responses has increased by 5,235,000, the hour burden has increased by 1,234,044 hours, and the cost burden has decreased by $146,684,141.

---

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

---

Common Form ICR:  No

---

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: 08/08/2023

---