View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 1545-2095	ICR Reference No: 201409-1545-027
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201402-1545-039
Agency/Subagency: TREAS/IRS	Agency Tracking No:
Title: 26 US Code § 430 and 436
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Emergency	Approval Requested By: 09/10/2014
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 09/11/2014
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 09/10/2014
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	03/31/2015	6 Months From Approved	09/30/2017
Responses	156,600	0	80,000
Time Burden (Hours)	158,000	0	120,000
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Abstract: Regulations under sections 430(d), 430(g), 430(h)(2), and 430(i) provide guidance on the determination of benefit liabilities and the valuation of plan assets for purposes of the funding requirements that apply to single employer defined benefit plans pursuant to changes made by the Pension Protection Act of 2006. In order to implement the statutory provisions under section 430(h)(2), the regulations provide for the sponsor of a defined benefit plan to make any of several elections related to the interest rate used for minimum funding purposes and require written notification of any such election to be provided to the plan's enrolled actuary. These final regulations provide for the sponsor of a defined benefit pension plan to make any of several elections.

Emergency Justfication: The Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 (HATFA), Pub. L. No.113-159, was enacted on August 8, 2014, and was effective retroactively for single employer defined benefit pension plans, optional for plan years beginning in 2013 and mandatory for plan years beginning in 2014. Guidance is needed for plan sponsors to make decisions affecting minimum required contribution due as early as September 15, 2014, how to apply the changes in funding-based benefit restrictions potentially affecting distributions in 2013 and 2014 and make any necessary corrections to past distributions, and to know how to report the resulting minimum funding requirements under section 6059 of the Internal Revenue Code. Under the draft notice, plan sponsors will have to make a number of irrevocable decisions requiring a substantial amount of analysis, by December 31, 2014. Accordingly, we respectfully request emergency clearance of this notice because the collection of information is necessary for plan sponsors who wish to elect to take advantage of various options available in connection with changes in the minimum funding requirements and application of benefit restrictions due to changes in interest rates under HATFA. The agency cannot reasonably comply with the normal clearance procedures because (1) the HATFA provisions were effective retroactively upon enactment, (2) plan sponsors need to make funding decisions for contributions that are due as early as September 15, 2014, and (3) annual Form 5500 filings for affected plan years are due as early as October 15, 2014. Accordingly, until the guidance necessary to make these decisions is issued, a large number of plan sponsors will not know the contribution amounts necessary to meet minimum funding requirements. For a number of plans, the minimum funding requirements reported on Form 5500s will need to be adjusted after the guidance is issued, and retroactive corrections will need to be made to distributions made to participants. This potentially causes harm to the plan sponsors and to the participants of affected plans, and disrupts the collection of information required under section 6059 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 44 USC 3507(d) Name of Law: Payments to be treated of withholding & FICA taxes
PL: Pub.L. 109 - 280 2003 Name of Law: Pension protection Act of 2006

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: PL: Pub.L. 113 - 159 2003 Name of Law: Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Minimum funding Standards and Limits on Benefits

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute
Annual Number of Responses	156,600	80,000	76,600
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	158,000	120,000	38,000
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: This request for emergency clearance will increase the burden by 76,600 responses and 38,000 burden hours due to new statutory requirements of the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 (HATFA). Guidance is provided in Notice 2014-XX on the changes to the funding stabilization rules for single-employer pension plans under the Code and ERISA that were made by the section 2003 of HATFA.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $0

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Is the Supporting Statement intended to be a Privacy Impact Assessment required by the E-Government Act of 2002? No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

Agency Contact: Lauson Green 202 622-6090 lauson.c.green@irscounsel.treas.gov

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion