[Federal Register: April 14, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 72)]
[Notices]
[Page 19544-19545]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14ap06-90]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request;
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 90-1, Pooled Separate Accounts
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections
of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA 95). This program helps to ensure that the Department can properly
assess the impact of its information collection requirements on
respondents and minimize the reporting burden (time and financial
resources) on the public and that the public can understand the
Department's collection instruments and provide the requested data in
the desired format. Currently, the Employee Benefits Security
Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments on a proposed extension of
the information collection request (ICR) incorporated in Prohibited
Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 90-1, Pooled Separate Accounts. A
copy of the ICR may be obtained by contacting the office listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the
ADDRESSES section below on or before June 13, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Susan G. Lahne, Office of
Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-5718,
Washington, DC 20210, (210) 693-8410, FAX (202) 219-4745 (the foregoing
are not toll-free numbers). Comments may also be submitted
electronically to the following Internet e-mail address:
ebsa.opr@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
PT E 90-1 provides an exemption from certain provisions of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) relating to
transactions involving insurance company pooled separate accounts in
which employee benefit plans participate. Without the
[[Page 19545]]
exemption, sections 406 and 407(a) of ERISA and section 4975(c)(1) of
the Internal Revenue Code might prohibit a party in interest to a plan
from furnishing goods or services to an insurance company pooled
separate account in which the plan has an interest, or prohibit
engaging in other transactions. Under the exemption, persons who are
parties in interest to a plan that invests in a pooled separate
account, such as a service provider, may engage in otherwise prohibited
transactions with the separate account if the plan's participation in
the separate account does not exceed specified limits and other
conditions are met. These other conditions include a requirement that
the party in interest not be the insurance company, or an affiliate
thereof, that holds the plan assets in its pooled separate account or
other separate account. The terms of the transaction to which the
exemption is applied must be at least as favorable to the pooled
separate account as those that would be obtained in a separate arms-
length transaction with an unrelated party, and the insurance company
must maintain records of any transaction to which the exemption applies
for a period of six years. This ICR covers this recordkeeping
requirement.
The Department previously submitted this information collection to
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in an ICR that was approved
under the OMB Control Number 1210-0083. The current approval is
scheduled to expire on July 31, 2006.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
Minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., by
permitting electronic submission of responses.
III. Current Action
This notice requests comments on the proposed extension of the ICR
included in PTE 90-1. The Department is not proposing or implementing
changes to the existing ICR at this time. The following summarizes the
ICR and the current burden estimates:
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: PTE 90-1--Pooled Separate Accounts.
OMB Number: 1210-0083.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 130.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Responses: 130.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 12.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the information
collection request; they will also become a matter of public record.
Dated: April 10, 2006.
Susan G. Lahne,
Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security
Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-5566 Filed 4-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P