[Federal Register: October 30, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 210)]
[Proposed Rules]               
[Page 58335-58336]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30oc98-33]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration

29 CFR Parts 2520 and 2560

RIN 1210-AA69
RIN 1210-AA61

 
Summary Plan Descriptions; Claims Procedures; Notice of Extension 
of Comment Period

AGENCY: Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, Department of 
Labor.

ACTION: Notice of extension of comment periods.

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SUMMARY: This document extends the comment period regarding the 
proposed regulations under section 102(b) of Title I of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) (relating to the content 
of the Summary Plan Description required to be furnished to employee 
benefit plan participants and beneficiaries covered under ERISA) and 
under section 503 of ERISA (relating to claims procedures of employee 
benefit plans covered under ERISA). The proposed regulations were set 
forth in separate notices of proposed rulemaking published in the 
Federal Register on September 9, 1998.

DATES: The comment periods are extended through December 9, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted with a signed original 
and three copies to the Office of Regulations and interpretations, 
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue 
N.W., Room N-5669, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20210, and 
marked ATTENTION: Proposed SPD Content Regulations or Benefit Claims 
Regulation, whichever is appropriate. All submissions will be available 
for public inspection in the Public Documents Room, Pension and Welfare 
Benefits Administration, Room N-5507, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20210 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeffrey J. Turner, Office of Regulations and Interpretations, Pension 
and Welfare Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 
telephone (202) 219-8671. This is not a toll-free number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 9, 1998, the Department of 
Labor (the Department) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the 
Federal Register (63 FR 48376) containing proposed amendments to the 
regulations governing the content of the Summary Plan Description (SPD) 
required to be furnished to employee benefit plan participants and 
beneficiaries covered under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act (ERISA). On that same date, the Department also published 
a notice of proposed rulemaking revising the minimum requirements for 
benefit claims procedures of employee benefit plans covered by ERISA 
(63 FR 48390). In those notices, the Department invited all interested 
persons to submit written comments concerning the proposed regulations 
on or before November 9, 1998.
    The Department has received requests from some members of the 
public for additional time to prepare comments on the proposed claims 
procedure regulation due to the complexity of the issues involved in 
that proposed regulation, and the Department believes that it is 
appropriate to grant such additional time. Accordingly, this notice 
extends the comment period during which comments on the proposed claims 
procedure regulation will received through December 9, 1998. Moreover, 
although no requests for extensions have been received regarding the 
proposed SPD content regulation, this notice also extends through 
December 9, 1998, the comment period for that rulemaking in order to 
ensure that persons interested in both proposed regulations, which are 
related in content, will have sufficient time to prepare comments.

Notice of Extension of Public Comment Periods

    Notice is hereby given that the period of time for the submission 
of public comments on the proposed regulation relating to the content 
of the SPD required to be furnished to employee benefit plan 
participants and beneficiaries covered under ERISA (proposed at 63 FR 
48376) and the proposed regulation relating to the claims procedures of 
employee benefit plans covered under ERISA (proposed at 63 FR 48390), 
is hereby extended through December 9, 1998.


[[Page 58336]]


    Signed at Washington, DC, this 27th day of October, 1998.
Meredith Miller,
Deputy Assistant Secretary For Policy, Pension and Welfare Benefits 
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 98-29173 Filed 10-29-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-M