[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 122 (Thursday, June 25, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 34674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16933]
[[Page 34674]]
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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program Between the Office
of Personnel Management and the Social Security Administration
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
ACTION: Notice of a computer matching program between OPM and the
Social Security Administration (SSA) for comment.
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SUMMARY: OPM is publishing notice of its computer matching program with
SSA to meet the reporting and publication requirements of Public Law
100-503, the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988. The
purpose of this match is to identify beneficiaries who have remarried
and not reported the remarriages to OPM. Generally, remarriage
terminates benefits for survivor annuitants 55 years of age or younger.
A recent amendment creates an exception based on a marriage that lasted
30 years or more. In this match, OPM will provide SSA with surnames,
dates of birth, and Social Security Numbers to identify survivor
beneficiaries who have not reported remarriages to OPM and are
improperly receiving benefits under the Civil Service Retirement and
Federal Employees' Retirement Systems (CSRS and FERS). The match will
be conducted with SSA's Numident file, a source of beneficiaries'
current surnames.
DATES: This proposed action will become effective 40 days after the
agreements by the parties participating in the match have been
submitted to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB),
unless either the Congress or OMB objects thereto. Any public comment
on this matching program must be submitted within the 30-day public
notice period, which begins on the publication date of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Any interested party may submit written comments to Kathleen
M. McGettigan, Assistant Director for Systems, Finance, and
Administration, Retirement and Insurance Service, Office of Personnel
Management, Room 4316, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20415.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marc Flaster, (202) 606-2115.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OPM and SSA have concluded an agreement to
conduct a computer matching program between the two agencies. The
purpose of this agreement is to establish the conditions under which
SSA agrees to the disclosure of information from the Numident file to
OPM. The legal authority for this matching program can be found in 5
U.S.C. sections 8341, 8347, 8442 and 8461.
Office of Personnel Management.
Janice R. Lachance
Director.
Report of Computer Matching Agreement Between the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM) and the Social Security Administration
(SSA)
A. Participating Agencies
OPM and SSA.
B. Purpose of the Matching Program
Chapters 83 and 84 of title 5, United States Code (U.S.C.) provide
the basis for paying a survivor annuity to widows, widowers, former
spouses, or children. The purpose of this match is to identify
beneficiaries who have remarried and not reported the remarriage to
OPM. A surviving widow, widower, or former spouse loses entitlement to
a survivor annuity upon remarrying before becoming 55 years of age. OPM
has been required to terminate the survivor annuity. A recent amendment
creates an exception to the termination requirement, under certain
conditions, for marriages that have lasted 30 or more years. This
allows eligibility for a survivor annuity based on a 30-or-more-year
marriage to continue, and terminate only upon the death of the survivor
annuitant (or in the case of a former spouse, as specified by the terms
of the court order).
In this match, OPM will provide SSA with surnames, dates of birth,
and Social Security Numbers for a sample of beneficiaries to identify
survivor beneficiaries who have not reported remarriages to OPM and are
improperly receiving benefits under the Civil Service Retirement and
Federal Employees Retirement Systems (CSRS and FERS). The match will be
conducted with SSA's Numident file, a source of beneficiaries' current
surnames.
C. Authority for Conducting the Matching Program
5 U.S.C., Sections 8341, 8347, 8442, 8461 and 552a (Privacy Act).
D. Categories of Records and Individuals Covered by the Match
The SSA file used in the match is contained in SSA System of
Records 09-60-0058, Master Files of Social Security Number holders,
last published at 60 FR 2144, January 6, 1995. OPM's records consist of
annuity data from its system of records entitled OPM.Central-1-Civil
Service Retirement and Insurance Records, last published in the Federal
Register at 60 FR 63075, December 8, 1995.
E. Description of Matching Program
OPM will disclose to SSA the Social Security Numbers, dates of
birth, sex codes, and names of beneficiaries under CSRS and FERS whose
benefits could be affected by remarriage. SSA will identify and provide
OPM with an extract of the Numident record for each record that SSA
matches. OPM will only use those data elements pertinent to the purpose
of the match.
F. Inclusive Dates of the Matching Program
This computer matching program is subject to review by the Congress
and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OPM's report to these
parties must be at least 40 days prior to the initiation of any
matching activity. If no objections are raised by either Congress or
OMB, and the mandatory 30-day public notice period for comment for this
Federal Register notice expires, with no significant receipt of adverse
public comments resulting in a contrary determination, then this
computer matching program becomes effective. By agreement between OPM
and SSA, the matching program will be in effect and continue for 18
months with an option to renew for 12 additional months under the terms
set forth in 5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(2)(D).
[FR Doc. 98-16933 Filed 6-24-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-P