Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request
Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and Party in Interest
[12/21/2005]
Volume 70, Number 244, Page 75834-75835
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request
Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and Party in Interest
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA
95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), the Department of Labor (the Department)
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. This program helps to ensure
that the data the Department gathers can be provided in the desired
format, that the reporting burden on the public (time and financial
resources) is minimized, that the public understands the Department's
collection instruments, and that the Department can accurately assess
the impact of collection requirements on respondents.
By this notice, the Department is soliciting comments concerning
the information collection provisions of two similar prohibited
transaction class exemptions, PTE 94-71 and PTE 03-39. Both of these
class exemptions concern transactions undertaken pursuant to settlement
agreements between an employee benefit plan and a party in interest to
that plan. 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 February 21, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments
regarding the information collection request and burden estimates to:
Susan G. Lahne, Office of Policy and Research, U.S. Department of
Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Room N-5647, Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-
8410; Fax: (202) 219-4745. These are not toll-free numbers. Comments
may also be submitted electronically to ebsa.opr@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 94-71, entitled Class
Exemption to Permit Certain Transactions Authorized Pursuant to
Settlement Agreements Between the U.S. Department of Labor and Plans,
which was published in final form on October 7, 1994 (59 FR 60837),
exempts from the prohibitions of sections 406 and 407(a) of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) transactions
that are specifically authorized by a settlement agreement resulting
from an investigation of an employee benefit plan by the Department
pursuant to the authority of section 504(a) of ERISA. The availability
of the exemption is conditioned on providing certain notices and
disclosures. Specifically, the person seeking to rely on the exemption
must provide notice to the affected participants and beneficiaries, at
least 30 days prior to entering into the settlement agreement with the
Department, in a manner approved by the Department that is reasonably
calculated to result in actual receipt. The notice must include an
objective description of the transaction, the approximate date on which
it will occur, the address of the office of the Department that
negotiated the settlement, and a statement apprising participants and
beneficiaries of their right to provide comments to that office.
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 03-39, entitled Class
Exemption For Release of Claims and Extensions of Credit in Connection
With Litigation, which was published in final form on December 31, 2003
(68 FR 75632), exempts from the prohibitions of sections 406 and 407(a)
of ERISA certain transactions engaged in by a
[[Page 75835]]
plan in connection with the settlement of litigation. Exempted
transactions must involve either release by the plan or by a plan
fiduciary of a legal or equitable claim against a party in interest in
exchange for consideration given by, or on behalf of, a party in
interest to the plan in partial or complete settlement of the plan's or
the fiduciary's claim, or an extension of credit by the plan or by a
plan fiduciary to a party in interest in connection with a settlement
whereby the party in interest agrees to repay, over time, an amount
owed to the plan in settlement of a legal or equitable claim by the
plan or a plan fiduciary against the party in interest. Among other
conditions, the exemption requires that the terms of the settlement be
specifically described in a written agreement or consent degree and
that the fiduciary entering into the settlement on behalf of the plan
acknowledge in writing its fiduciary status. The exemption also
requires the plan to maintain, for a period of six years, the records
necessary to enable specified interested person to determine whether
the exemption's conditions were met.
Because of the similarity of these two exemptions, the Department
submitted a combined ICR for the information collections in both
exemptions to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and
clearance at the time that PTE 03-39 was published as a proposal in the
Federal Register (February 11, 2003, 68 FR 6953). The ICR for the
information collections in both class exemptions was approved under OMB
control number 1210-0091. The approval for the ICRs included in the two
exemptions will expire on April 30, 2006.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
Evaluate whether the collections of information are
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 collections 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
The Department is requesting an extension of the currently approved
ICR for Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and Party in Interest. The
Department is not proposing or implementing changes to the two
exemptions or to the existing ICR. A summary of the ICR and the current
burden estimates follows:
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Title: Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and Party in Interest.
OMB Number: 1210-0091.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 4.
Frequency of Response: One-time.
Responses: 1080.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 40.
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: December 14, 2005.
Susan G. Lahne,
Senior Pension Law Specialist, Office of Policy and Research, Employee
Benefits Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-24278 Filed 12-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P
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