Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted
for Public Comment; Final Rule on Plan Loans to Participants and
Beneficiaries
[06/18/2007]
Volume 72, Number 116, Page 33536-33537
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted
for Public Comment; Final Rule on Plan Loans to Participants and
Beneficiaries
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)),
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to
comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This
helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection
requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps
the public understand the Department's information collection
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The
Employee Benefits Security Administration is soliciting comments on the
proposed extension of the information collection provisions of its
regulation relating to loans to plan participants and beneficiaries who
are parties in interest with respect to the plan (29 CFR 2550.408b-1).
A copy of the information collection request (ICR) may be obtained by
contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
ICRs also are available at reginfo.gov (http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain
).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the
ADDRESSES section on or before August 17, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Joseph S. Piacentini, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20210, (202) 693-8410, FAX (202) 693-4745 (these are not toll-free
numbers).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)
prohibits a plan fiduciary from causing the plan to engage in a
transaction if he knows or should know that such transaction
constitutes direct or indirect loan or extension of credit between the
plan and a party in interest. ERISA section 408(b)(1) exempts from this
prohibition loans from a plan to parties in interest who are
participants and beneficiaries of the plan, provided that certain
requirements are satisfied. In final regulations published in the
Federal Register on July 20, 1989 (54 FR 30520), the Department
provided additional guidance on section 408(b)(1)(C), which requires
that loans be made in accordance with specific provisions in the plan.
This ICR therefore relates to the provisions plan documents must
include in order that a plan may make loans to participants.
II. Current Actions
This notice requests public comment on the Department's request for
extension of OMB approval of the information collection contained in
its final rule at 29 CFR 2550.408b-1. After considering all the
responses to this notice, the Department intends to submit an ICR to
OMB for continuing approval. The Department is not proposing any
changes to the existing ICR at this time. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information
collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. A summary of
the ICR and the current burden estimates follows:
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Regulation Relating to Loans to Plan Participants and
Beneficiaries who are Parties in Interest with Respect to the Plan.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210-0076.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; businesses or other
for-profit entities; not-for-profit institutions.
Total Respondents: 1,700.
Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
Responses: 1,700.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 0.
Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $428,000.
III. Desired Focus of Comments
The Department of Labor (Department) is particularly interested in
comments that:
Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the agency, including whether
the information will have practical utility;
[[Page 33537]]
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's burden estimate in
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 suggestions for appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., by
permitting responses to be submitted electronically.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and possibly included in the ICR for OMB approval of the extension of
the information collection; they will also become a matter of public
record.
Dated: June 8, 2007.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security
Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-11668 Filed 6-15-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P
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