[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