Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and a Party in Interest

Forms and Documents

Forms and supporting documents for this ICR

Document	Type	Status	Availability
PC_202501-1210-006_042925_122649_1.pdf	Public Comments	Uploaded 2025-04-29	Repair queued
1210-0091 PTE 94-71 and PTE 2003-39 05.15.2025.docx	Supporting Statement A	Uploaded 2025-05-15	Repair queued
1210-0091 PTE 94-71 and PTE 2003-39 (250207).docx	Supporting Statement A	Uploaded 2025-02-07	Repair queued

IC Document Collections

Information collection document groups

IC ID	Collection	Type	Status	Form
13416	Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and Party in Interest	Other-PTE 94-71	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1210-0091	ICR Reference No: 202501-1210-006
Status: Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 202201-1210-005
Agency/Subagency: DOL/EBSA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and a Party in Interest
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved with change	Conclusion Date: 05/20/2025
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 04/14/2025
Terms of Clearance:

table that charts list comparision

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	05/31/2028	36 Months From Approved	05/31/2025
Responses	567	0	810
Time Burden (Hours)	5	0	16
Cost Burden (Dollars)	17	0	214

---

Abstract: This information collection request relates to two prohibited transaction class exemptions (PTEs) that the Department has granted, both of which involve settlement agreements. These two exemptions are described below. PTE 94-71 exempts from certain restrictions of ERISA and certain taxes imposed by the Code, a transaction or activity that is authorized, prior to the execution of the transaction or activity, by a settlement agreement, to which the Department is a party, resulting from an investigation of an employee benefit plan conducted by the Department. The following information collections are among the conditions for the exemption: (1) A party engaging in a settlement agreement arising out of a Department investigation must provide written notice to the affected participants and beneficiaries of the plan at least 30 days prior to entry into the settlement agreement. The notice must contain an objective description of the transaction or activity, the approximate date on which the transaction will occur, the address of the regional or district office of the Department that negotiated the settlement agreement, and a statement informing participants and beneficiaries of their right to forward their comments to such office. (2) A copy of the notice and a description of the method by which it will be distributed must be approved in advance by the regional or district office of the Department which negotiated the settlement. PTE 2003-39 exempts from certain restrictions of ERISA and certain taxes imposed by the Code, transactions arising out of the settlement of litigation that involve: the release by the plan or a plan fiduciary of legal claims against parties in interest in exchange for payment given by or on behalf of the party in interest to the plan; an extension of credit by a plan to a party interest in connection with a settlement; and the plan's acquisition, holding, and disposition of employer securities received in settlement of litigation. The relief is granted provided certain conditions are met, such as the requirement of an independent fiduciary who has no relationship to, or interest in, any parties in the litigation to authorize the settlement and the settlement terms of the agreement and any extension of credit are reasonable and no less favorable than comparable arm's length agreement. The other conditions include the following information collections: (1) The terms of the settlement must be specifically described in a written agreement or consent decree. (2) The fiduciary acting on behalf of the plan must acknowledge in writing that the person is a fiduciary with respect to the settlement of the litigation. (3) The plan fiduciary must maintain records of the transaction for six years and must disclose the records on request to the Department and other interested persons.

---

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 29 USC 1108 Name of Law: ERISA
  

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:
	89 FR 56416	07/09/2024
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	90 FR 15589	04/14/2025
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

---

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

table that charts list of burden

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and Party in Interest

---

ICR Summary of Burden

table that charts list of burden

	Total Approved	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	567	810	0	0	-243	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	5	16	0	0	-11	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	17	214	0	0	-197	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 burden estimates reflect a decrease in the number of participants in each plan, an increase in wage rates, an increase in postage rates, and an update to the estimated electronic disclosure rate. As a result, the number of responses has decreased by 243 responses, the hour burden has decreased by 11 hours, and the cost burden has decreased by $197.

---

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: 04/14/2025

---