VFCP 60-day Federal Register Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 28, 2009 / Notices
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
March 30, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are
invited to submit written comments
regarding the information collection
request and burden estimates to: G.
Christopher Cosby, 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

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Section 306(b)(1) of the SOA amended
section 101 of ERISA to add a new
subsection (i), requiring that
administrators of individual account
plans provide notice to affected
participants and beneficiaries in
advance of the commencement of any
blackout period. For purposes of this
notice requirement, a blackout period
generally includes any period during
which the ability of participants or
beneficiaries to direct or diversify assets
credited to their accounts, to obtain
loans from the plan or to obtain
distributions from the plan will be
temporarily suspended, limited or
restricted. As required by section
306(b)(2) of SOA, the Department of
Labor (Department) issued rules
necessary to implement the SOA
amendments. The Department’s
regulation at 29 CFR 2520.101–3
specifies when, how, and to whom a
blackout notice must be provided and
provides model notices to meet the
requirements of the regulation.
The Department submitted the
information collection provisions of
§ 2520.101–3 in an ICR to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance at the time of
publication of the interim final rule,
which was published in the Federal
Register on October 21, 2002 (67 FR
64766). OMB approved the ICR under
OMB control number 1210–0122. This
approval is scheduled to expire on May
31, 2009.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
The Department is particularly
interested in comments that:
• Evaluate whether the collections of
information are necessary for the proper

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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 the Final Rule Relating to Notice of
Blackout Periods to Participants and
Beneficiaries. The Department is not
proposing or implementing changes to
the regulation 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: Final Rule Relating to Blackout
Notices to Participants and
Beneficiaries.
OMB Number: 1210–0122.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; business or other for-profit;
not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 85,150.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Responses: 5,400,000.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
187,686.
Total Annual Cost (Operating and
Maintenance): $1,407,000.
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: January 22, 2009.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research,
Employee Benefits Security Administration.
[FR Doc. E9–1785 Filed 1–27–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–29–P

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4979

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security
Administration
Proposed Extension of Information
Collection; Comment Request;
Voluntary Fiduciary Compliance
Program
ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the
Department), 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) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
This helps to ensure that requested data
can be provided in the desired format,
reporting burden (time and financial
resources) is minimized, collection
instruments are clearly understood, and
the impact of collection requirements on
respondents can be properly assessed.
Currently, the Employee Benefits
Security Administration is soliciting
comments concerning the information
collection request (ICR) incorporated in
the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction
Program (the VFC Program) and the
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption
(the Exemption) that is used in
connection with the VFC Program. The
ICR is currently approved under OMB
Number 1210–0118 and is scheduled to
expire on May 31, 2009. 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
March 30, 2009.
ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby,
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)
219–5333. These are not toll-free
numbers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background
The VFC Program is an enforcement
program intended to encourage the full
correction of certain breaches of
fiduciary responsibility and the
restoration of losses resulting from those
breaches to participants and
beneficiaries in employee benefit plans.
For certain eligible breaches that have

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 28, 2009 / Notices

been corrected according to the terms
and conditions of the VFC Program, the
Department will issue a ‘‘no action’’
letter, thereby releasing the applicant
from possible civil penalties under
section 502(l) of ERISA. The VFC
Program provides applicants with
information both on identifying eligible
transactions for correction and on the
means for achieving fully acceptable
corrections. The information collection
consists of an application, description of
the transaction and correction, and
other appropriate supporting
documentation.
The Exemption, used only in
conjunction with the VFC Program,
permits applicants to the VFC Program
to make full correction of certain
eligible transactions without incurring
sanctions in the form of excise taxes
imposed under sections 4975(a) and (b)
of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code)
by reason of sections 4975(c)(1)(A)
through (E) of the Code. For those
fiduciaries wishing to take advantage of
the Exemption, the information
collection for the VFC Program also
includes notification to interested
persons, generally participants and
beneficiaries, that an application has
been submitted under the VFC Program.
A copy of the notice must also be
furnished to a Regional Office of the
Employee Benefits Security
Administration.

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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., permitting electronic submission of
responses.
III. Current Action
This notice requests comments on the
extension of the ICR included in the
VFC Program and the Exemption. The
Department is not proposing or

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implementing changes to the existing
ICR at this time.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection of
information.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: Voluntary Fiduciary Correction
Program and Prohibited Transaction
Class Exemption.
OMB Number: 1210–0118.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; Business or other for-profit;
Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 1,250.
Frequency of Response: Annually.
Responses: 11,790.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 5,625.
Total Burden Cost (Operating and
Maintenance): $109,000.
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: January 22, 2009.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research,
Employee Benefits Security Administration.
[FR Doc. E9–1786 Filed 1–27–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–29–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security
Administration
Proposed Extension of Information
Collection; Comment Request ERISA
Advisory Opinion Procedure 76–1
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) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This 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.
Currently, the Employee Benefits
Security Administration (EBSA) is

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soliciting comments concerning an
extension of the information collection
provisions incorporated in ERISA
Advisory Opinion Procedure 76–1. A
copy of the information collection
request (ICR) can be obtained by
contacting the office shown in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted to the office shown in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice on or
before March 30, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are
invited to submit written comments
regarding the information collection
request and burden estimates to: G.
Christopher Cosby, Office of Policy and
Research, Employee Benefits Security
Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693–8410,
FAX (202) 693–4745 (these are not tollfree numbers). Comments may also be
submitted electronically to
ebsa.opr@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Under the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 as
amended, (ERISA), the Secretary of
Labor is responsible for administration
and enforcement of reporting,
disclosure, fiduciary, and other
standards established for pension and
welfare benefit plans. These
responsibilities have been delegated
within the Department to EBSA. ERISA
Advisory Opinion Procedure 76–1
describes the administrative procedures
through which the public may request a
written interpretation of ERISA from
EBSA to resolve issues arising out of
specific actual transactions or
circumstances. The procedure is
designed to promote efficient handling
of such inquiries and to facilitate
prompt responses. The Procedure
requires requesters seeking advisory
opinions or information letters to
submit certain information that EBSA
has determined is essential for
determining the nature of a request for
interpretation and EBSA’s response.
EBSA has previously submitted the
information collection provisions of
Advisory Opinion Procedure 76–1 to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review in an ICR and
received approval from OMB under
OMB Control No. 1210–0066. The
current ICR approval is scheduled to
expire on May 31, 2009.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
The Department of Labor
(Department) is particularly interested
in comments that:

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