[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 122 (Friday, June 23, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39208-39209]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15921]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment
Request; Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Submitted to the PBGC
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
[[Page 39209]]
ACTION: Notice of request for extension of OMB approval.
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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is requesting
that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend approval, under
the Paperwork Reduction Act, of the collection of information (OMB
control number 1212-0054; expires July 31, 2000) relating to model
forms contained in the PBGC booklet, Divorce Orders & PBGC. The booklet
provides guidance on how to submit a proper qualified domestic
relations order (a ``QDRO'') to the PBGC. This notice informs the
public of the PBGC's request and solicits public comment on the
collection of information.
DATES: Comments should be submitted by July 24, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, Attention:
Desk Officer for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Washington, DC
20503. Copies of the request for extension (including the collection of
information) may be obtained by writing the Communications and Public
Affairs Department, suite 240, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC
20005-4026, or visiting that office between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on
business days.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James L. Beller, Attorney, Office of
the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, 202-326-4024. (For TTY and TDD,
call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and request
connection to 202-326-4024.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A defined benefit pension plan that does not
have enough money to pay benefits may be terminated if the employer
responsible for the plan faces severe financial difficulty, such as
bankruptcy, and is unable to maintain the plan. In such an event, the
PBGC becomes trustee of the plan and pays benefits, subject to legal
limits, to plan participants and beneficiaries.
The benefits of a pension plan participant generally may not be
assigned or alienated. Title I of ERISA provides an exception for
domestic relations orders that relate to child support, alimony
payments, or marital property rights of an alternate payee (a spouse,
former spouse, child, or other dependent of a plan participant). The
exception applies only if the domestic relations order meets specific
legal requirements that make it a qualified domestic relations order.
When the PBGC is trustee of a plan, it reviews submitted domestic
relations orders to determine whether the order is qualified before
paying benefits to an alternate payee. For several years the PBGC has
provided the public with model QDROs (and accompanying guidance) in the
booklet, Divorce Orders & PBGC, that attorneys and other professionals
who are preparing QDROs for plans trusteed by the PBGC may submit to
the PBGC after receiving court approval. The models and the guidance
assist parties by making it easier to comply with ERISA's QDRO
requirements in plans trusteed by the PBGC.
Before providing the model forms and the QDRO booklet, the PBGC
received many inquiries on the requirements for QDROs. Furthermore,
many domestic relations orders, both in draft and final form, did not
meet the applicable requirements. The PBGC worked with practitioners on
a case-by-case basis to ensure that their orders were amended to meet
applicable requirements. This process was time-consuming for
practitioners and for the PBGC.
Since making the booklet and the model forms available, the PBGC
has experienced a decrease in (1) the number of inquiries about QDRO
requirements, (2) the number of orders that do not meet the applicable
requirements, and (3) the amount of time practitioners and the PBGC
need to spend to ensure that the orders meet the applicable
requirements.
The requirements for submitting a QDRO are established by statute.
The model QDROs and accompanying guidance do not create any additional
requirements and will result in a reduction of the statutory burden.
The PBGC estimates that it will receive 300 QDROs each year from
prospective alternate payees; that the average burden of preparing a
QDRO with the assistance of the guidance and model QDROs in PBGC's
booklet will be \1/4\ hour of the alternate payee's time and $400 in
professional fees if the alternate payee hires an attorney or other
professional to prepare the QDRO, or 10 hours of the alternate payee's
time if the alternate payee prepares the QDRO without hiring an
attorney or other professional; and that the total annual burden will
be 104.25 hours and $118,800.
The PBGC is requesting a three-year extension of the paperwork
approval relating to model forms contained in the PBGC booklet, Divorce
Orders & PBGC. The collection of information has been approved through
July 31, 2000, by OMB under control number 1212-0054. An agency may not
conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
Issued in Washington, D.C., this 20th day of June, 2000.
Stuart Sirkin,
Director, Corporate Policy and Research Department, Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 00-15921 Filed 6-22-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P