[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 93 (Friday, May 14, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 26472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-12171]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Emergency Consideration 
Request

    In compliance with Pub. L. 104-13, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, SSA is providing notice of its information collections that 
require submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). SSA is 
requesting emergency consideration from OMB by May 21, 1999 of the 
information collection listed below.
    Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants 
with Deferred Benefits, Schedule SSA--0960-NEW (1999 edition). Schedule 
SSA is a form filed annually by pension plan administrators as part of 
a series of pension plan documents required by section 6057 of the IRS 
Code. SSA maintains the information until a claim for Social Security 
benefits has been approved. At that time, SSA notifies the beneficiary 
of his/her potential eligibility for payments from private pension 
plans.
    On September 3, 1997, the Pension and Welfare Benefits 
Administration (PWBA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the 
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) collectively published a 
notice requesting comments on the burden hour estimates and the 
methodologies used to estimate burden for preparing and filing Form 
5500 and its schedules, including Schedule SSA. The comments generally 
indicated that the estimates were too low. In an effort to respond to 
those comments, an evaluation of the burden estimation methodologies 
has been undertaken for the purpose of developing a revised, uniform 
methodology. The evaluation has not yet been completed. Therefore, for 
the purposes of this notice, SSA is providing burden estimates using 
the current methodology. A decision regarding the burden methodology to 
be used is expected to be made by the end of May 1999. SSA will modify 
these burden estimates based on a revised methodology.
    Number of Respondents: 107,174.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Average Burden Per Response: 17 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 69,842 hours.
    A computerized processing system (the ERISA filing and Acceptance 
System, or EFAST) is being developed to simplify and expedite the 
processing of the Form 5500 series, including Schedule SSA, by relying 
on computer scannable forms and electronic filing technologies. A 
Federal Register notice will be published announcing the opportunity to 
comment on the electronic filing options and computer scannable forms 
designed as part of the EFAST project. The final computer scannable 
version of the forms, which will be required to be used for 1999 plan 
years, will be published in the Federal Register following the 
evaluation of public comments.
    PWBA, IRS and PBGC have obtained OMB clearance for the 1999 Form 
5500 and their respective schedules. It is essential that Schedule SSA 
be on the same timeline as the Form 5500 and other schedules so that 
there is a coordinated effort in making changes in burden methodology 
and in the format and processing of the forms. Therefore, we are 
requesting emergency consideration for Schedule SSA.
    You can obtain a copy of the collection instrument and/or OMB 
clearance package by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer on (410) 
965-4145, or by writing to him.

(SSA Address)
Social Security Administration, DCFAM, Attn: Frederick W. Brickenkamp, 
6401 Security Blvd., 1-A-21 Operations Bldg., Baltimore, MD 21235

    Date: May 7, 1999.
Frederick W. Brickenkamp,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-12171 Filed 5-13-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4190-29-U