EBSA Press Release: Department Of Labor Publishes Notice To Remove Obsolete ERISA Regulations From Federal Code [04/03/1996]

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The U.S. Department of Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration today announced the publication of a notice proposing to eliminate from the Code of Federal Regulations a number of obsolete regulations issued under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

"This action is being undertaken as part of the department's response to the president's executive order directing federal agencies to identify and eliminate unnecessary regulations," said Olena Berg, assistant secretary of the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration.

The obsolete regulations proposed for removal from the Code of Federal Regulations include a number of provisions which provided transitional relief and guidance for plan sponsors, fiduciaries and others shortly after ERISA was enacted in 1974. Also included in the notice is the proposed removal of paragraph (b) of Interpretive Bulletin No. 75-2, which no longer has any force or effect following the Supreme Court's 1993 decision in John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. Harris Trust & Savings Bank.

All written comments on the proposal should be sent to the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, Office of Regulations and Interpretations, Room N-5669, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington D.C. 20010. This notice and all comments received will be available for public inspection in the Public Disclosure Room, PWBA, Rm. N-5638, at the above address.

The proposal is scheduled to be published in the April 3 Federal Register. The proposal will also be available on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/dol/pwba, see "What's New in PWBA."