[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 120 (Thursday, June 21, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33274-33275]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-15638]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted
for Public Comment and Recommendations
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor 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 of approval of the Form 5500, Annual Return/Report
of Employee Benefit Plan. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published
its preclearance notice related to the Form 5500 and schedules on April
13, 2001 (66 FR 19287). A copy of the proposed information collection
request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in
the addresses section of this notice. Although the 2001 Form 5500 is
not yet available, it is not expected at this time to differ
substantively or materially from the 2000 Form 5500. The Agencies are
considering certain modifications to the existing Form 5500 to address
processing issues arising from implementation of the ERISA Filing
Acceptance System (EFAST) and incorporate statutory or regulatory
changes that have occurred.
Informational copies of the 2000 Form 5500 and schedules, as well
as the 2001 Form 5500 and schedules when they are finalized, are
available for downloading and viewing on the EFAST website:
www.efast.dol.gov. Official hand print forms are also made available as
part of the annual mailing of the Form 5500 package. The hand print
forms, schedules and instructions will also be available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week by calling: 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
addresses section below on or before August 20, 2001.
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. Fax:
(202) 219-4745 (these are not toll-free numbers). All comments will be
shared between the Agencies.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The purpose of this notice is to seek comments from the public
prior to submission to OMB for continued approval of the Form 5500 in
accordance with the provisions of PRA 95. The existing approval will
expire on August 31, 2001. We are providing this detailed background
information to summarize the numerous changes that have occurred for
the Form 5500 and processing system since the OMB's most recent prior
action to approve the ICR, and to provide context for the comments
requested at this time.
Under Titles I and IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
as amended (the Code), pension and other employee benefit plans are
generally required to file annual returns/reports concerning, among
other things, the financial condition and operations of the plan. These
annual reporting requirements can be satisfied generally by filing the
Form 5500 in accordance with its instructions and related regulations.
The Form 5500 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 the IRS, 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.
On September 3, 1997, the Agencies and IRS published a Notice of
Proposed Revision of Annual Information Return/Reports (September 3
Notice) in the Federal Register (62 FR 46556) as part of the effort to
streamline and simplify the Form 5500, Annual Report/Return of Employee
Benefit Plan. The Agencies and the IRS proposed the replacement of the
Form 5500, Form 5500-C and Form 5500-R with one Form 5500 intended to
streamline the report and the methods by which it is filed. Concurrent
with the development of the new forms, the Agencies and the IRS
initiated the development of a new computerized system to process the
Form 5500 (EFAST). EFAST is designed to simplify and expedite the
receipt and processing of the new Form 5500 by relying on computer
scannable forms and electronic filing technologies. The development of
the forms in conjunction with the EFAST system was intended to
streamline and improve the
[[Page 33275]]
Form 5500 and lower the administrative burdens and costs incurred by
the more than 1 million employee benefit plans that file the Form 5500
each year.
A public hearing on the proposed forms revisions was held on
November 17, 1997, and written comments on the proposal were received
until the public record was closed on December 3, 1997. After
considering public comments received in connection with the September 3
Notice and the public hearing, the Agencies and the IRS made various
adjustments to the proposed forms and instructions where consistent
with the purposes of the Form 5500 and the objectives of the
streamlining project. A revised Form 5500 was submitted to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval under the Paperwork
Reduction Act, and a Notice was published in the Federal Register on
June 24, 1998 (63 FR 34493) that provided a 30-day opportunity to
submit comments to OMB on the new Form 5500 submission.
On August 26, 1998, OMB approved the data elements of the revised
Form 5500 through August 31, 2001. OMB's approval was conditioned on
the Agencies and IRS making certain minor technical adjustments that
were completed in September of 1998,\1\ and their solicitation of
additional public comments on the computer scannable formats of the
Form 5500 being developed in connection with the EFAST project.
Accordingly, when draft computer scannable formats were developed, the
Agencies and the IRS published a Federal Register notice on June 28,
1999 (64 FR 34686) soliciting public comments on the draft versions of
the new form developed by two vendors who were competing for the
contract to install the EFAST system. The Agencies subsequently
selected the vendor to process the final scannable version of the new
Form 5500. Although the reformatting of the form approved by OMB on
August 26, 1998 to a computer scannable format affected the appearance
and length of the new form, the actual number of data elements was not
affected. The final hand print versions of the Form 5500 were published
as part of the Agencies' and IRS's Notice of Adoption of Revised Forms
on February 2, 2000 (65 FR 5026). Except for filers who file
electronically, the use of the scannable Form 5500 is mandatory for
1999 and all later plan year filings.
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\1\ Information concerning these technical changes may be found
in the footnote at 65 FR 5027 in the Agencies' Notice of Adoption of
Revised Forms published in the Federal Register on February 2, 2000.
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The 1999 and later Forms 5500 are available in two different
formats. Both have the same data elements, but provide filers with a
choice of formats for preparing the form. The formats are referred to
as ``machine print'' and ``hand print.'' EFAST is designed to accept
only approved machine print and hand print forms. The Agencies expect
vendors to offer EFAST-approved computer software that may be used to
complete the 2000 and later versions of either the machine print or the
hand print Form 5500. Filers completing the Form 5500 by hand or
typewriter must use the official government-produced hand print forms
because the EFAST system uses optical character recognition technology
to scan the data entries on the specially designed forms that enable
the computer to read the forms.
The hand print forms can be filed only on paper by mail or approved
private delivery services. The machine print forms may be printed out
and filed on paper by mail or approved private delivery service,
transmitted on-line via modem, or transferred to floppy disks, tapes,
or CD-ROMs and filed via mail or approved private delivery service.
Electronic filers submitting via modem must use approved EFAST
transmitters. Additional information concerning EFAST filing
requirements may be found on the EFAST website, or by calling 1-866-
463-3278 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
In conjunction with the implementation of EFAST, the Department of
Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA) assumed the
administrative responsibility for accepting the Form 5500 and Form
5500-EZ \2\ filings of plan year 1999 and all future plan years. These
forms had previously been filed with the IRS.
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\2\ This preclearance notice does not pertain to the information
collection request related to the Form 5500-EZ.
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II. Desired Focus of Comments
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;
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 Actions
The Agencies intend to request an extension of the currently
approved ICR. Although the 2001 Form 5500 Series is not yet available,
the Agencies will not be making changes that would be substantive or
material for purposes of PRA 95. A limited number of technical
modifications and clarifications of the forms and instructions are
being considered at this time to address EFAST-related processing
issues and recognize certain regulatory adjustments.
Agencies: Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits
Administration; Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
Title: Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan.
Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collections.
OMB Numbers: 1210-0110 (PWBA); 1212-0057 (PBGC).
Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit; not-for-profit institutions.
Form Number: Form 5500.
Total Respondents: 863,682.
Total Responses: 863,682.
Frequency of Response: Annually.
Estimated Burden Hours: 1,847,163 for PWBA; 3,859 for PBGC.
Estimated Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $546,789,000 for
PWBA; $2,554,000 for PBGC.
Comments submitted in response to this 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, 2001.
Gerald B. Lindrew,
Deputy Director, Office of Policy and Research, Pension and Welfare
Benefits Administration.
Stuart A. Sirkin,
Director, Corporate Policy and Research Department, Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 01-15638 Filed 6-20-01; 8:45 am]
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