The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice includes revisions of OMB-approved information collections.
SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Mail, email, or fax your comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following addresses or fax numbers.
(OMB)
Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, Fax: 202-395-6974, Email address: OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov.
(SSA)
Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance Director, 3100 West High Rise, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235, Fax: 410-966-2830, Email address: OR.Reports.Clearance@ssa.gov,
Or you may submit your comments online through www.regulations.gov,, referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2016-0003].
I. The information collections below are pending at SSA. SSA will submit them to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than April 18, 2016. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection instruments by writing to the above email address.
1. Request to be Selected as a Payee—20 CFR 404.2010-404.2055, 416.601-416.665—0960-0014. SSA requires an individual applying to be a representative payee for a Social Security beneficiary or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient to complete Form SSA-11-BK. SSA obtains information from applicant payees regarding their relationship to the beneficiary; personal qualifications; concern for the beneficiary's well-being; and intended use of benefits if appointed as payee. The respondents are individuals; private sector businesses and institutions; and State and local government institutions and agencies applying to become representative payees.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB approved information collection.
Individuals and Households (90%):
| Modality of completion | Number of responses | Frequency of response | Average burden per response (minutes) | Estimated total annual burden (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representative Payee System (RPS) | 1,438,200 | 1 | 11 | 263,670 |
| Paper Version | 91,800 | 1 | 11 | 16,830 |
| Total | 1,530,000 | 280,500 |
Private Sector (9%):
| Modality of completion | Number of responses | Frequency of response | Average burden per response (minutes) | Estimated total annual burden (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representative Payee System (RPS) | 149,940 | 1 | 11 | 27,489 |
| Paper Version | 3,060 | 1 | 11 | 561 |
| Total | 153,000 | 28,050 |
State/Local/Tribal Government (1%):
| Modality of completion | Number of responses | Frequency of response | Average burden per response (minutes) | Estimated total annual burden (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representative Payee System (RPS) | 16,660 | 1 | 11 | 3,054 |
| Paper Version | 340 | 1 | 11 | 62 |
| Total | 17,000 | 3,116 | ||
| Grand Total | 1,700,000 | 311,666 |
2. Application for Benefits Under the Italy-U.S. International Social Security Agreement—20 CFR 404.1925—0960-0445. As per the November 1, 1978 agreement between the United States and Italian Social Security agencies, residents of Italy filing an application for U.S. Social Security benefits directly with one of the Italian Social Security agencies must complete Form SSA-2528. SSA uses Form SSA-2528 to establish age, relationship, citizenship, marriage, death, military service, or to evaluate a family bible or other family record when determining eligibility for benefits. The Italian Social Security agencies assist applicants in completing Form SSA-2528, and then forward the application to SSA for processing. The respondents are individuals living in Italy who wish to file for U.S. Social Security benefits.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.
| Modality of completion | Number of responses | Frequency of response | Average burden per response (minutes) | Estimated total annual burden (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSA-2528 | 300 | 1 | 20 | 100 |
3. Child Care Dropout Questionnaire—20 CFR 404.211(e)(4)—0960-0474. If individuals applying for Title II disability benefits care for their own or their spouse's children under age 3, and have no steady earnings during the time they care for those children, they may exclude that period of care from the disability computation period. We call this the child-care dropout exclusion. SSA uses the information from Form SSA-4162 to determine if an individual qualifies for this exclusion. Respondents are applicants for Title II disability benefits.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.
| Modality of completion | Number of responses | Frequency of response | Average burden per response (minutes) | Estimated total annual burden (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSA-4162 | 2,000 | 1 | 5 | 167 |
4. Certification of Contents of Document(s) or Record(s)—20 CFR 404.715—0960-0689. SSA established procedures for individuals to provide the evidence necessary to establish their rights to Social Security benefits. Examples of such evidence categories include age, relationship, citizenship, marriage, death, and military service. Form SSA-704 allows SSA employees; State record custodians; and other custodians of evidentiary documents to certify and record information from original documents and records under their custodial ownership to establish these types of evidence. SSA uses Form SSA-704 in situations where individuals cannot produce the original evidentiary documentation required to establish benefits eligibility. The respondents are State record custodians and other custodians of evidentiary documents.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.
| Modality of completion | Number of responses | Frequency of response | Average burden per response (minutes) | Estimated total annual burden (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSA-704 | 176 | 1 | 10 | 29 |
5. Supplemental Security Income Wage Reporting (Telephone and Mobile)—20 CFR 416.701-732—0960-0715. SSA requires SSI recipients to report changes which could affect their eligibility for, and the amount of, their SSI payments, such as changes in income, resources, and living arrangements. SSA's SSI Telephone Wage Reporting (SSITWR) and SSI Mobile Wage Reporting (SSIMWR) enable SSI recipients to meet these requirements via an automated mechanism to report their monthly wages by telephone and mobile application, instead of contacting their local field offices. The SSITWR allows callers to report their wages by speaking their responses through voice recognition technology, or by keying in responses using a telephone key pad. The SSIMWR allows recipients to report their wages through the mobile wage reporting application on their smartphone. SSITWR and SSIMWR systems collect the same information and send it to SSA over secure channels. To ensure the security of the information provided, SSITWR and SSIMWR ask respondents to provide information SSA can compare against our records for authentication purposes. Once the system authenticates the identity of the respondents, they can report their wage data. The respondents are SSI recipients, deemors, or their representative payees.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.
| Modality of completion | Number of responses | Frequency of response | Average burden per response (minutes) | Estimated total annual burden (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Training/Instruction* | 79,000 | 1 | 35 | 46,083 |
| SSITWR | 37,000 | 12 | 5 | 37,000 |
| SSIMWR | 42,000 | 12 | 3 | 25,200 |
| Total | 79,000 | 108,283 | ||
| * The same 79,000 respondents complete the training as well as one modality of collection, therefore the actual total number of respondents remains 79,000. |
II. SSA submitted the information collections below to OMB for clearance. Your comments regarding the information collections would be most useful if OMB and SSA receive them 30 days from the date of this publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than March 21, 2016. Individuals can obtain copies of the OMB clearance packages by writing to OR.Reports.Clearance@ssa.gov.
1. Application for Widow's or Widower's Insurance Benefits—20 CFR 404.335-404.338, & 404.603—0960-0004. Section 2029(e) and 202(f) of the Social Security Act (Act) set forth the requirements for entitlement to widow(er)'s benefits, including the requirements to file an application. For SSA to make a formal determination for entitlement to widow(er)'s benefits, we use the Form SSA-10-BK to determine whether an applicant meets the statutory and regulatory conditions for entitlement to widow(er)'s Title II benefits. SSA employees interview individuals applying for benefits either face-to-face or via telephone and enter the information on the paper form or into the Modernized Claims System (MCS). The respondents are applicants for widow(er)'s benefits.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.
| Modality of completion | Number of responses | Frequency of response | Average burden per response (minutes) | Estimated total annual burden (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSA-10-BK paper version | 2,045 | 1 | 15 | 511 |
| SSA-10-BK MCS version | 453,509 | 1 | 14 | 105,819 |
| Totals | 455,554 | 106,330 |
2. Employer Verification of Records for Children Under Age Seven—20 CFR 404.801-404.803, 404.821-404.822—0960-0505. SSA discovered as many as 70 percent of the wage reports we receive for children under age seven are actually the earnings of someone other than the child. To ensure we credit the correct person with the reported earnings, SSA verifies wage reports for children under age seven with the children's employers before posting to the earnings record. SSA uses Form SSA-L3231-C1, Request for Employer Information, for this purpose. The respondents are employers who report earnings for children under age seven.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.
| Modality of completion | Number of responses | Frequency of response | Average burden per response (minutes) | Estimated total annual burden (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSA-L3231-C1 | 20,000 | 1 | 10 | 3,333 |
3. Wage Reports and Pension Information—20 CFR 422.122(b)—0960-0547. Pension plan administrators annually file plan information with the Internal Revenue Service, which then forwards the information to SSA. SSA maintains and organizes this information by plan number, plan participant's name, and Social Security number. Under section 1131(a) of the Act, pension plan participants are entitled to request this information from SSA. The Wage Reports and Pension Information regulation, under 20 CFR 422.122(b) of the Code of Federal Regulations, stipulates that before SSA disseminates this information, the requestor must first submit a written request with identifying information to SSA. The respondents are requestors of pension plan information.
This is a correction notice: SSA published the incorrect burden, information for this collection at 80 FR 75484, on 12/2/15. We are correcting this error here.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.
| Modality of completion | Number of responses | Frequency of response | Average burden per response (minutes) | Estimated total annual burden (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Requests for pension plan information | 580 | 1 | 30 | 290 |
Dated: February 12, 2016.
Naomi R. Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-03380 Filed 2-17-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P