[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 212 (Friday, November 1, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66674-66677]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-27991]
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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
ACTION: Notice of a new routine use of records for PBGC-6, Plan
Participant and Beneficiary Data--PBGC.
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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is proposing a new
routine use of records for a system of records maintained pursuant to
the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, entitled PBGC-6, Plan Participant
and Beneficiary Data--PBGC. The new routine use permits PBGC to
disclose to the Department of Treasury and the Department of Labor
[[Page 66675]]
the names, addresses, social security numbers, and dates of birth of
eligible PBGC pension recipients to implement the income tax credit for
health insurance costs and to implement the program for advance payment
of the tax credit under the Trade Act of 2002, Pub. L. 107-210, 116
Stat. 933, 954 (Aug. 6, 2002).
DATES: Comments on the new routine use must be received by December 2,
2002. The new routine use will become effective December 3, 2002,
without further notice, unless comments result in a contrary
determination and a notice is published to that effect.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to the Office of the General Counsel,
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington,
DC 20005-4026, or delivered to Suite 340 at the above address. Comments
also may be sent by Internet e-mail to [email protected]. Copies of
comments may be obtained by writing to the PBGC's Communications and
Public Affairs Department at Suite 240 at the above address or by
visiting that office or calling 202-326-4040 during normal business
hours.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: D. Bruce Campbell, Attorney, Office of
the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4016, 202-326-4020 (extension 3672).
(TTY/TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-
877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4020.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Trade Act of 2002 amended the Internal
Revenue Code to create an income tax credit for health insurance costs
of eligible individuals. Pub. L. 107-210, sec. 201, 116 Stat. 933, 954
(Aug. 6, 2002) (to be codified at 26 U.S.C. 35). The legislation also
requires the Department of Treasury to establish a program for making
advance payment to eligible individuals of the income tax credit. Pub.
L. No. 107-210, sec. 202, 116 Stat. at 960 (to be codified at 26 U.S.C.
7527). The income tax credit and advance payment program are open to,
among others, any individual who is an ``eligible PBGC pension
recipient.'' 26 U.S.C. 35(c) and 26 U.S.C. 7527(d)(2). An eligible PBGC
pension recipient is defined to mean, with respect to any month, an
individual ``who has attained age 55 as the first day of such month,
and * * * is receiving a benefit for such month any portion of which is
paid by the (PBGC).'' 26 U.S.C. 35(c)(4).
The income tax credit and advance payment program are also open to
any individual who is an ``eligible TAA recipient'' 26 U.S.C. 35(c) and
26 U.S.C. 7527(d)(2). The term eligible TAA recipient is defined to
include, for any month, an individual who is receiving ``a trade
readjustment allowance under * * * the Trade Act of 1974.'' The
Department of Labor, with the states, is responsible for implementing
the trade readjustment assistance program for eligible workers. 19
U.S.C. 2271-2296. The Trade Act of 2002 also amended the Workforce
Investment Act of 1988 to permit a state to use funds made available by
the Department of Labor to provide qualified health insurance
assistance to eligible individuals and to pay the administrative
expenses associated with implementing the income tax credit and advance
payment program. Pub. L. 107-210, sec. 203, 116 Stat. 933, 963 (to be
codified at 29 U.S.C. 2918(a) and (f)).
The new routine use permits the PBGC to disclose the names,
addresses, social security numbers, and dates of birth of eligible PBGC
pension recipients to the Department of Treasury and the Department of
Labor to implement the income tax credit for health insurance costs and
the advance payment program for eligible individuals.
For the convenience of the public, PBGC-6, as amended, is published
in full below with new routine 14 italicized.
Issued in Washington, DC, this 30th day of October, 2002.
Steven A. Kandarian,
Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
PBGC-6
System name:
Plan Participant and Beneficiary Data--PBGC.
Security classification:
Not applicable.
System location:
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20005-4026 and/or field benefit administrator, plan
administrator, and paying agent worksites.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Participants and beneficiaries in terminating and terminated
pension plans covered by Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974, as amended (``ERISA'').
Categories of records in the system:
Names, addresses, telephone numbers, sex, social security numbers
and other Social Security Administration information, dates of birth,
dates of hire, salary, marital status, domestic relations orders, time
of plan participation, eligibility status, pay status, benefit data,
health-related information, insurance information where plan benefits
are provided by private insurers, initial and final PBGC determinations
(29 CFR Sec. 4003.21 and 4003.59). The records listed herein are
included only as pertinent or applicable to the individual plan
participant or beneficiary.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
29 U.S.C. 1055, 1056(d)(3), 1302, 1321, 1322, 1322a, 1341, 1342 and
1350.
Purpose(s):
This system of records is maintained for use in determining whether
participants and beneficiaries are eligible for benefits under plans
covered by Title IV of ERISA, the amounts of benefits to be paid,
making benefit payments, and collecting benefit overpayments. Names,
addresses, and telephone numbers are used to survey customers to
measure their satisfaction with the PBGC 's benefit payment services
and to track (for follow up) those who do not respond to surveys.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
1. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to third
parties, such as banks, insurance companies, or trustees, to make
benefit payments to plan participants and beneficiaries.
2. A record from this system of records may be disclosed, in
furtherance of proceedings under Title IV of ERISA, to a contributing
sponsor (or other employer who maintained the plan), including any
predecessor or successor, and any member of the same controlled group.
3. A record from this system of records may be disclosed, upon
request for a purpose authorized under Title IV of ERISA, to an
official of a labor organization recognized as the collective
bargaining representative of the individual about whom a request is
made.
4. Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of participants and
beneficiaries and information pertaining to debts owed by such
participants and beneficiaries to the PBGC may be disclosed to a debt
collection agency or firm to collect a claim. Disclosure shall be made
only under a contract that binds any such contractor or employee of
such contractor to the criminal penalties of the Privacy Act. The
[[Page 66676]]
information so disclosed shall be used exclusively pursuant to the
terms and conditions of such contract and shall be used solely for the
purposes prescribed therein. The contract shall provide that the
information so disclosed shall be returned at the conclusion of the
debt collection effort.
5. The name and social security number of a participant employed or
formerly employed as a pilot by a commercial airline may be disclosed
to the Federal Aviation Administration (``FAA'') to obtain information
relevant to the participant's eligibility or continued eligibility for
disability benefits.
6. Names and social security numbers of plan participants and
beneficiaries may be disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service
(``IRS'') to obtain current addresses from tax return information and
to the Social Security Administration (``SSA'') to obtain current
addresses. Such information will be disclosed only if the PBGC has no
address for an individual or if mail sent to the individual at the last
known address is returned as undeliverable.
7. Names and last known addresses may be disclosed to an official
of a labor organization recognized as the collective bargaining
representative of participants for posting in union halls or for other
means of publication to obtain current addresses of participants and
beneficiaries. Such information will be disclosed only if the PBGC has
no address for an individual or if mail sent to the individual at the
last known address is returned as undeliverable.
8. Names, social security numbers, last known addresses, and dates
of birth and death may be disclosed to private firms and agencies that
provide locator services, including credit reporting agencies and debt
collection firms or agencies, to locate participants and beneficiaries.
Such information will be disclosed only if the PBGC has no address for
an individual or if mail sent to the individual at the last known
address is returned as undeliverable. Disclosure shall be made only
under a contract that binds the firm or agency providing the service
and its employees to the criminal penalties of the Privacy Act. The
information so disclosed shall be used exclusively pursuant to the
terms and conditions of such contract and shall be used solely for the
purposes prescribed therein. The contract shall provide that the
information so disclosed shall be returned at the conclusion of the
locating effort.
9. Names and last known addresses may be disclosed to licensees of
the United States Postal Service (``USPS'') to obtain current addresses
under the USPS's National Change of Address Program. Such information
will be disclosed only if the PBGC has no address for an individual or
if mail sent to the individual at the last known address is returned as
undeliverable. Disclosure shall be made only under a contract that
binds the licensee of the Postal Service and its employees to the
criminal penalties of the Privacy Act. The information so disclosed
shall be used exclusively pursuant to the terms and conditions of such
contract and shall be used solely for the purposes prescribed therein.
The contract shall provide that the information so disclosed shall be
returned at the conclusion of the locating effort.
10. Names and last known addresses may be disclosed to other
participants in, and beneficiaries under, a pension plan to obtain the
current addresses of individuals. Such information will be disclosed
only if the PBGC has no address for an individual or if mail sent to
the individual at the last known address is returned as undeliverable.
11. Names and last known addresses of participants and
beneficiaries, and the names and addresses of participants' former
employers, may be disclosed to the public to obtain current addresses
of the individuals. Such information will be disclosed to the public
only if the PBGC is unable to make benefit payments to the participants
and beneficiaries because the address it has does not appear to be
current or correct.
12. The name of a participant's pension plan, the actual or
estimated amount of a participant's benefit under Title IV of ERISA,
the form(s) in which the benefit is payable, and whether the
participant is currently receiving benefit payments under the plan or
(if not) the earliest date(s) such payments could commence may be
disclosed to the participant's spouse, former spouse, child, or other
dependent solely to obtain a qualified domestic relations order under
29 U.S.C. 1056(d) and 26 U.S.C. 414(p). The PBGC will disclose the
information only upon the receipt of a notarized, written request by a
prospective alternate payee that describes the requester's relationship
to the participant and states that the information will be used solely
to obtain a qualified domestic relations order under state domestic
relations law. The PBGC will notify the participant of any information
disclosed to a prospective alternate payee under this routine use. Any
person who knowingly and willfully requests or obtains any record
concerning an individual under false pretenses is subject to a criminal
penalty under 5 U.S.C. 552a(i)(3).
13. Information from a participant's initial determination under 29
CFR 4003.1(b) (excluding the participant's address, telephone number,
social security number, and any sensitive medical information) may be
disclosed to a participant's spouse, former spouse, child, or other
dependent who is an alternate payee under a qualified domestic
relations order issued pursuant to 29 U.S.C. 1056(d) and 26 U.S.C.
414(p) to explain how the PBGC determined the benefit due the alternate
payee so that the alternate payee can pursue an administrative appeal
of the benefit determination under 29 CFR 4003.51. The PBGC will notify
the participant of the information disclosed to an alternate payee
under this routine use.
14. The names, addresses, social security numbers, and dates of
birth of eligible PBGC pension recipients may be disclosed to the
Department of Treasury and the Department of Labor to implement the
income tax credit for health insurance costs under 26 U.S.C. 35 and the
program for advance payment of the tax credit under 26 U.S.C. 7527.
General Routine Uses G1 and G4 through G7 (see Prefatory Statement
of General Routine Uses) apply to this system of records.
Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
Information may be disclosed to a consumer reporting agency in
accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3711(f) (5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12)).
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining,
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Records are maintained in paper and electronic form.
Retrievability:
Records are indexed by plan and participant and/or beneficiary
name. Customer satisfaction survey responses are aggregated for
statistical purposes after they have been received by the PBGC and are
not retrievable by a participant or beneficiary's name or other
assigned identifier.
Safeguards:
Paper records are kept in file folders in areas of restricted
access that are locked after office hours. Electronic records are
stored on computer networks and protected by assigning user
identification numbers to individuals needing access to the records and
by passwords set by authorized users that must be changed periodically.
[[Page 66677]]
Retention and disposal:
Records for plan participants are transferred to the Washington
National Federal Records Center 6 months after either the final payment
to a participant and/or beneficiary or the PBGC's final determination
that a participant or beneficiary is not entitled to any benefits and
are destroyed 7 years after such payment or determination.
System manager(s) and address:
Director, Insurance Operations Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026.
Notification procedure:
Procedures are detailed in the PBGC's regulations: 29 CFR part
4902.
Record access procedures:
Same as notification procedure.
Contesting records procedure:
Same as notification procedure.
Record source categories:
Plan administrators, participants and beneficiaries, the FAA, the
SSA, labor organization officials, firms or agencies providing locator
services, and USPS licensees.
Exemptions claimed for the system:
None.
[FR Doc. 02-27991 Filed 10-31-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P