Section 105(a) of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which is
administered by DOL, requires administrators of ERISA-covered
individual account plans to automatically furnish periodic benefit
statements to participants and beneficiaries. The Department of
Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (DOL-EBSA) is
requesting approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
to conduct a survey and an experiment on participants in an
existing household Internet panel called the American Life Panel
(ALP) and to conduct four focus groups of non-panel members. The
survey and focus groups are exploring whether information contained
in sample benefit statements can be presented in a way that
improves recipients' understanding of the statements and helps them
better plan for retirement. This project is funded by DOL-EBSA. DOL
has contracted with the RAND Corporation, a non-profit research
institute, to conduct this study. Specifically, the data will be
collected through the following methods: • Four focus groups that
will pretest the model benefits statements, each containing
slightly different information. • A survey of 2,900 respondents
from the American Life Panel
US Code:
29
USC 105(a) Name of Law: Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974 (ERISA)
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.