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PBGC Seeks OMB Nod on Revised Data Collection

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Dec. 23 sent the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for its approval of a revision to its collection of information on locating and paying plan participants. OMB’s approval of the current procedures expires on Dec. 31, 2015.

The PBGC conducts such information collections in order to locate and pay participants and beneficiaries who may be entitled to pension benefits under a defined benefit plan that has terminated. The collection consists of information that participants and beneficiaries are asked to provide when applying for benefits.

In some instances, as part of a search for participants and beneficiaries who may be entitled to benefits, the PBGC also asks individuals to provide identifying information that the individual would provide as part of an initial contact with PBGC.

My Pension Benefit Account (My PBA), an application on the PBGC website through which plan participants and beneficiaries may conduct electronic transactions with PBGC, is another means by which the PBGC collects information.

All requested information is needed to enable the PBGC to determine benefit entitlements and to make appropriate payments, or to provide respondents with specific information about their pension plan so they may obtain rough estimates of their benefits.

The PBGC will add one new form to the information collection, Form 717, Benefit Inquiry & Questionnaire, and will send this form to individuals who contact the PBGC to inquire whether
it is holding any benefits to which they are entitled. The questionnaire will request information that PBGC needs to determine whether the individual is owed benefits and, if so, the benefit amount.

The PBGC will accept public comments on the revised collection of information for 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register. Comments can be sent electronically to The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, at [email protected]. Comments also can be sent by fax to 202-395-6974.