[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 149 (Wednesday, August 2, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47523-47524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-19513]


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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for 
public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad 
Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data 
collection.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information 
collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; 
(b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection 
of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize 
the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, 
including the use of automated collection techniques for other forms of 
information technology.
    Title and purpose of information collection:
    Application for Survivor Insurance Annuities: OMB 3220-0030
    Under Section 2(d) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), monthly 
survivor

[[Page 47524]]

annuities are payable to surviving widow(er)s, parents, unmarried 
children, and in certain cases, divorced wives (husbands), mothers 
(fathers), remarried widow(er)s, and grandchildren of deceased railroad 
employees. The collection obtains the information required by the RRB 
to determine entitlement to and amount of the annuity applied for.
    The RRB currently utilizes Form(s), AA-17, Application for 
Widow(ers) Annuity, AA-17b Applications for Determination of Widow(er) 
Disability, AA-18, Application for Mother's/Father's and Child's 
Annuity, AA-19, Application for Child's Annuity, AA-19a, Application 
for Determination of Child Disability, and AA-20, Application for 
Parent's Annuity to obtain the necessary information. One response is 
requested of each respondent. Completion is required to obtain 
benefits. The RRB is proposing no changes to any of the forms currently 
in the information collection.
    The RRB is proposing the addition of an electronic equivalent of 
Forms AA-17, AA-18, AA-19, and AA-20 to the collection. The 
information, which will be collected electronically by RRB field office 
staff, will mirror that obtained on manual forms AA-17, AA-18, AA-19, 
and AA-20. Upon completion of the electronic AA-17, AA-18, AA-19, and 
AA-20 application process, the applicant will receive Form AA-17cert, 
Application Summary and Certification, which will summarize all of the 
information provided by/or verified by the applicant. Implementation of 
the AA-17cert will largely eliminate the need for the manual versions 
of the AA-17, AA-18, AA-19, and AA-20. However, the RRB will still use 
the manual form in instances where the RRB representative is unable to 
contact the applicant in person or by telephone. For example, the 
applicant lives in another country. The RRB has no plans to collect 
Form AA-17b and AA-19a information electronically at the present time. 
One response will be requested of each respondent. Completion will be 
required to obtain benefits.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

    The estimated annual respondent burden is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Annual                    Burden
            Form Nos.               responses   Time  (min)     (hrs)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AA-17 (manual, without                     150           45          113
 assistance).....................
AA-17b (with assistance).........          380           40          253
AA-17b (without assistance)......           20           50           17
AA-17cert........................        3,265           20        1,088
AA-18 (manual, without                      12           45            9
 assistance).....................
AA-19 (manual, without                       9           45            7
 assistance).....................
AA-19a (with assistance).........          285           45          214
AA-19a (without assistance)......           15           65           16
AA-20 (manual, without                       1           45            1
 assistance).....................
------------------------------------------------------------------------


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS: To request more information or to 
obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms, and/
or supporting material, please call the RRB Clearance Officer at (312) 
751-3363. Comments regarding the information collection should be 
addressed to Ronald J. Hodapp, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 N. Rush 
Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092. Written comments should be 
received within 60 days of this notice.

Chuck Mierzwa,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 00-19513 Filed 8-1-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-M