Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; Proposed Extension/ Reinstatement of Information Collection Request Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; Proposed Extension/

Reinstatement of Information Collection Request Submitted for Public

Comment and Recommendations

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and the

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the Agencies), as part of their

continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conduct a

preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and

other 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 program

helps to ensure that requested data is 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. By

this notice, the Agencies are soliciting comments concerning the

proposed extension/reinstatement of approval of this collection of

information--the Form 5500 Series, Annual Return/Report of Employee

Benefit Plan--for the 1998 plan year. A copy of the proposed

information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the

office listed below in the addressee section of this notice. Although

the 1998 Form 5500 Series is not yet available, it is not expected at

this time to differ materially from the 1997 Form 5500 Series.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the

addressee section below on or before August 24, 1998. The Agencies are

particularly interested in comments that:

Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is

necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agencies,

including whether the information will have practical utility;

Evaluate the accuracy of the agencies' estimate of the

burden of the proposed collection of information, including the

validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

[[Page 34488]]

Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected;

Comment on estimates of capital or startup costs and costs

of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide

information; 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.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments

regarding the collection of information. Send comments to Mr. Gerald B.

Lindrew, Office of Policy and Research, U.S. Department of Labor,

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue,

NW, Room N-5647, Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 219-4782 (this

is not a toll-free number). All comments will be shared among the

Agencies.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

On September 3, 1997, the Agencies published a Notice of Proposed

Revision of Annual Information Return/Reports (September 3 Notice) in

the Federal Register (62 FR 46556) to streamline and simplify the

annual return/report forms filed for pension, welfare and fringe

benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of

1974, as amended (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as

amended (the Code).

The Agencies anticipate that the revision of the annual return/

report form (Form 5500 Series) will be finalized and available for use

for plan years which begin in 1999 (see the Agencies' notice concerning

their submission of the revised Form 5500 Series to OMB for review and

approval, also published in today's Federal Register). OMB approval for

the existing Form 5500 Series will expire prior to implementation of

the proposal to revise the Form 5500 Series. As a result, the Agencies

are requesting an extension/reinstatement of the current ICR through

the filing period for the 1998 Form 5500 Series.

The Form 5500 Series is the primary source of information

concerning the operation, funding, assets and investments of pension

and other employee benefit plans. In addition to being an important

disclosure document for plan participants and beneficiaries, the Form

5500 is a compliance and research tool for the Agencies, and a source

of information for use by other federal agencies, Congress, and the

private sector in assessing employee benefit, tax, and economic trends

and policies.

The Agencies solicited comments on the ICR included in the

September 3 Notice, and specifically requested comments on the

Agencies' estimates of burden hours and burden estimation

methodologies. The Agencies received comments indicating that estimates

of the time required to collect the information and prepare the forms

and related schedules were unrealistically low. In an effort to respond

to those comments, the Agencies are currently in the process of

evaluating the existing burden estimation methodologies to develop a

revised and uniform burden estimation methodology. However, the burden

hour estimates in this Notice are based on the methodologies described

in the September 3 Notice, pending the availability of revised burden

estimates.

To avoid unnecessary duplication of public comments, the

supplementary Paperwork Reduction Act information published in the

September 3 Notice is incorporated herein by this reference in its

entirety, and comments submitted thereon addressing the Agencies'

burden estimates will be treated as comments on this Notice of Proposed

Extension/Reinstatement of Information Collection Request.

II. Current Actions

The Agencies intend to request an extension/reinstatement of the

currently approved ICR through the filing period for the 1998 Form 5500

Series because the new forms are not scheduled to be implemented until

1999 plan years.

Although the 1998 Form 5500 Series is not yet available, it is not

expected at this time to differ materially from the 1997 Form 5500

Series. However, the following limited changes have been made to the

1997 Form 5500 Series as of the date of this notice.

Schedule B: Technical revisions to reflect requirements for 1998

plan years (e.g., elimination of the box for ``condition code'' on line

12a in Part II of Schedule B, resulting from an amendment to the Code).

Schedule F: The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 amended Code section

6039D to include adoption assistance programs. As a result, a checkbox

was added to line 2 of Schedule F to indicate that the fringe benefit

plan is an adoption assistance program.

Agencies: Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration (DOL, PWBA); Department of the Treasury, Internal

Revenue Service (IRS); Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).

Title: Form 5500, Form 5500-C/R and Schedules.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection for

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and Internal Revenue

Service; reinstatement without change of an expired collection for

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

OMB Numbers: 1210-0016 (Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration); 1545-0710 (Internal Revenue Service); 1212-0026

(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation).

Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-

profit; Not-for-profit institutions.

Form Number: Form 5500, Form 5500-C/R and Schedules.

Total Respondents: 801,934 for PWBA and PBGC; 901,400 for IRS.

Total Responses: 801,934 for PWBA and PBGC; 901,400 for IRS.

Frequency of Response: Annually.

Estimated Burden Hours, Total Annual Burden: 1.68 million burden

hours (using the PWBA methodology) to 56.4 million burden hours (using

the IRS methodology) for preparing the Form 5500 Series and filing it

with the government. This total burden is shared among the Agencies.

See the September 3 Notice for detailed information on the burden

estimation methodology.

Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be

summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and

Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also

become a matter of public record.

Dated: June 18, 1998.

Gerald B. Lindrew,

Deputy Director, Office of Policy and Research, Pension and Welfare

Benefits Administration.

Garrick R. Shear,

IRS Reports Clearance Officer.

Stuart A. Sirkin,

Director, Corporate Policy and Research Department, Pension Benefit

Guaranty Corporation.

[FR Doc. 98-16790 Filed 6-23-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510-29-P