[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 116 (Friday, June 17, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35330-35332]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-11974]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and 
Comment Request

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages that will require clearance by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Pub. L. 104-
13, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. The 
information collection packages that may be included in this notice are 
for revisions to OMB-approved information collections and extensions 
(no change) 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 on ways to minimize 
burden on respondents, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Written comments 
and recommendations regarding the information collection(s) should be 
submitted to the OMB Desk Officer and the SSA Reports Clearance 
Officer. The information can be mailed

[[Page 35331]]

and/or faxed to the individuals at the addresses and fax numbers listed 
below:
    (OMB), Office of Management and Budget, Fax: 202-395-6974. (SSA), 
Social Security Administration, DCFAM, Attn: Reports Clearance Officer, 
1333 Annex Building, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235, Fax: 
410-965-6400.
    I. The information collections listed below are pending at SSA and 
will be submitted to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. 
Therefore, your comments should be submitted to SSA within 60 days from 
the date of this publication. You can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-965-
0454 or by writing to the address listed above.
    1. Marriage Certification--20 CFR 404.725--0960-0009. When the 
worker and spouse are not filing concurrently, the Social Security 
Administration uses Form SSA-3-F6 to record any changes/additions to 
the worker's marital history since the worker's claim was adjudicated. 
The marital history of the claimant's wife or husband, when compared to 
the worker's marital history (as supplemented by Form SSA-3-F6), 
enables the fact finder to determine if the claimant has the necessary 
relationship to the worker. In cases where the spouse and worker were 
ceremonially married, the worker's statement on his/her marital history 
that he/she was ceremonially married to the claimant's spouse and the 
claimant's spouse's statement that he/she was ceremonially married to 
the worker generally constitute evidence of a ceremonial marriage in 
lieu of obtaining a marriage certificate.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 180,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 5 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 15,000 hours.
    2. Request To Be Selected As Payee--20 CFR 404.2025 and 416.625--
0960-0014. The information established by the form SSA-11-BK is 
necessary to determine the proper payee for a Social Security 
beneficiary and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient. The form 
is designed to aid in the investigation of a payee applicant. The use 
of the form will establish the applicant's relationship to the 
beneficiary/recipient, his/her justification and his/her concern for 
the beneficiary/recipient, as well as the manner in which the benefits 
will be used. The respondents are applicants for representative payee.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 2,121,686.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 10.5 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 371,295 hours.
    3. Statement for Determining Continuing Eligibility for 
Supplemental Security Income Payments--Adult, Form SSA-3988; Statement 
for Determining Continuing Eligibility for Supplemental Security Income 
Payments--Child, Form SSA-3989-20 CFR Subpart B--416.204--0960-NEW.

Background

    The Social Security Act mandates periodic redeterminations of non-
medical factors relating to SSI recipient's continuing eligibility for 
SSI payments. SSA studies have indicated that as many as two-thirds of 
these scheduled redeterminations, which are completed with the 
assistance of an SSA employee, do not result in any change in 
circumstances that affects the recipients payment. SSA has conducted 
extensive testing of both of the SSA-3988 and SSA-3989, under OMB 
control number 0960-0643, and has validated that these redetermination 
formats result in significant operational savings and a decrease in 
recipient inconvenience while still obtaining timely, accurate data to 
determine continuing eligibility through the process.

The Collection

    Forms SSA-3988 and SSA-3989 will be used to determine whether SSI 
recipients have met and continue to meet all statutory and regulatory 
non-medical requirements for SSI eligibility, and whether they have 
been and are still receiving the correct payment amount. The SSA-3988 
and SSA-3989 are designed as self-help forms that will be mailed to 
recipients or to their representative payees for completion and return 
to SSA. The respondents are recipients of SSI payments or their 
representatives.
    Type of Request: New information collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Average burden     Estimated
                      Forms                         Respondents    Frequency of    per response    annual burden
                                                                     response        (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-3988........................................         650,000               1              26         281,667
SSA-3989........................................          65,000               1              26          28,167
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4. Denial of Title II Benefits to Fugitive Felons--0960-New. 
Specifically, Section 203 of the SSPA prohibits payment of title II 
benefits:
     To persons fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody or 
confinement after conviction, under the laws of the place from which 
the person flees, for a crime, or an attempt to commit a crime, which 
is a felony under the laws of the place from which the person flees; or
     In jurisdictions that do not define crimes as felonies, 
where the crime is punishable by death or imprisonment for a term 
exceeding 1 year regardless of the actual sentence imposed; and
     To persons violating a condition of probation or parole 
imposed under Federal or State law.
    To identify claimants who should not be receiving benefits, the 
Commissioner directed that we add specific questions to title II 
applications that solicit information about any outstanding felony 
warrants or warrants for parole/probation violations.
    In addition, SSA will collect supplemental information if a 
claimant responds affirmatively to either or both of the two fugitive 
felon questions on title II applications, thereby indicating that they 
have an unsatisfied warrant. Answers to these questions will be used to 
verify that a warrant is still outstanding. An SSA claims 
representative will contact beneficiaries by telephone to collect the 
information. Respondents will be claimants for benefits who indicated 
on their application that they have an unsatisfied warrant.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Number of Respondents: 10,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 8 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 1,333 hours.

[[Page 35332]]

    II. The information collections listed below have been submitted to 
OMB for clearance. Your comments on the information collections would 
be most useful if received by OMB and SSA within 30 days from the date 
of this publication. You can obtain a copy of the OMB clearance package 
by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-965-0454, or by 
writing to the address listed above.
    Social Security Benefits Application--20 CFR Subpart D, 404.310-
404.311 and 20 CFR Subpart F, 404.601-404.603--0960-0618. One of the 
requirements for obtaining Social Security benefits is the filing of an 
application so that a determination may be made on the applicant's 
eligibility for monthly benefits. In addition to the traditional paper 
application, SSA has developed various options for the public to add 
convenience and operational efficiency to the application process. The 
total estimated number of respondents to all application collection 
formats is 3,874,369 with a cumulative total of 1,008,180 burden hours. 
The respondents are applicants for retirement insurance benefits (RIB), 
disability insurance benefits (DIB), and/or spouses' benefits.
    Please note that burden hours for applications taken through the 
Modernized Claims System (MCS) are accounted for in the hardcopy 
collection formats. Guided by the MCS collection screens, an SSA 
representative interviews the applicant and inputs the information 
directly into the SSA's application database. MCS offers the 
representative prompts based on the type of application being filed and 
the circumstances of the applicant. These prompts facilitate a more 
complete initial application, saving both the agency and applicant 
time. MCS also propagates identity and similar information within the 
application, which saves additional time.

Internet Social Security Benefits Application (ISBA)

    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection. (ISBA collection only)
    ISBA, which is available through SSA's Internet site, is one method 
that an individual can choose to file an application for benefits. 
Individuals can use ISBA to apply for RIB, DIB and spouse's insurance 
benefits based on age. SSA gathers only information relevant to the 
individual applicant's circumstances and will use the information 
collected by ISBA to entitle individuals to RIB, DIB, and/or spouse's 
benefits. The respondents are applicants for RIB, DIB, and/or spouse's 
benefits.
    Number of Respondents: 200,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 21.9 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 73,000 hours.

Paper Application Forms

Application for Retirement Insurance Benefits (SSA-1)

    Form SSA-1 is used by SSA to determine an individual's entitlement 
to RIB. In order to receive Social Security retirement insurance 
benefits, an individual must file an application with SSA. Form SSA-1 
is one application that the Commissioner of Social Security prescribes 
to meet this requirement. The information that SSA collects will be 
used to determine entitlement to retirement benefits. The respondents 
are individuals who choose to apply for Social Security retirement 
insurance.
    Number of Respondents: 1,460,692.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 10.5 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 255,621 hours.

Application for Wife's or Husband's Insurance Benefits (SSA-2)

    SSA uses the information collected on Form SSA-2 to determine if an 
applicant (including a divorced applicant) can be entitled to benefits 
as the spouse of the worker and the amount of the spouse's benefits. 
The respondents are applicants for wife's or husband's benefits, 
including those who are divorced.
    Number of Respondents: 700,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 15 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 175,000 hours.

Application for Disability Insurance Benefits (SSA-16)

    Form SSA-16-F6 obtains the information necessary to determine 
whether the provisions of the Act have been satisfied with respect to 
an applicant for disability benefits, and detects whether the applicant 
has dependents who would qualify for benefits based on his or her 
earnings record. The information collected on form SSA-16-F6 helps to 
determine eligibility for Social Security disability benefits. The 
respondents are applicants for Social Security disability benefits.
    Number of Respondents: 1,513,677.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 20 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 504,559 hours.

    Dated: June 13, 2005.
Elizabeth A. Davidson,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-11974 Filed 6-16-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P