[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 97 (Monday, May 21, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28540-28543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-9712]


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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 new information collections, approval of existing information 
collections, 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, faxed or e-mailed to the 
individuals at the addresses and fax numbers listed below:

(OMB), Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA. 
Fax: 202-395-6974. E-mail address: [email protected].
(SSA), Social Security Administration, DCFAM, Attn: Reports Clearance 
Officer, 1333 Annex Building, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235. 
Fax: 410-965-6400. E-mail address: [email protected].
    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. eData Registration/Account Modification--20 CFR 401.45--0960-NEW

Collection Background

    Section 5 U.S.C. 552a, (e)(10) of the Privacy Act of 1974 requires 
agencies to establish appropriate administrative, technical, and 
physical safeguards to ensure the security and confidentiality of 
records. Also, Section (f)(2) & (3) requires agencies to establish 
requirements for identifying an individual who requests a record or 
information pertaining to that individual and to establish procedures 
for disclosure of personal information. SSA promulgated Privacy Act 
rules in the Code of Federal Regulations, Subpart B. Procedures for 
verifying identity are at 20 CFR 401.45.

Collection Description

    The eData Services Web site allows various external organizations 
to submit files to a variety of SSA systems and in some cases receive 
return files. The users include State/local government agencies, other 
Federal agencies, and some nongovernmental business entities. The SSA 
systems that process data transferred via eData include, but are not 
limited to, systems responsible for disability processing and benefit 
determination or termination. The information collected on form SSA-118 
(Government to Government Services Online Web site Registration Form) 
to register organizations is used exclusively to maintain the identity 
of the requester within eData. The requestor is already a known entity 
to a sponsor within SSA. The SSA sponsor completes the registration 
forms and the information is submitted to SSA's User Interface Team 
(UIT). Once this is completed, SSA provides the requestor

[[Page 28541]]

with their new password, and conducts a walkthrough of the eData 
website as necessary. The organization also can make modifications to 
their online account (e.g., address change) by completing an online 
form, SSA-119 (Government to Government Service Online Web site Account 
Modification/Deletion Form).
    Type of Request: Collection in use without OMB Control Number.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average
                                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per       Estimated
              Collection instrument                   annual         response        response     annual  burden
                                                    respondents                      (minutes)         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-118.........................................             925               1              15             231
SSA-119.........................................           1,575               1              15             394
 
    Totals......................................           2,500  ..............  ..............             625
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Certificate of Election for Reduced Widow(er)'s Benefits--20 CFR, 
Subpart D, 404.335--0960-NEW

    Section 202(q) of the Social Security Act provides for the 
authority to reduce benefits under certain conditions when elected by a 
beneficiary. However, reduced benefits are not payable to an already 
entitled spouse (or divorced spouse) who:
     Is at least age 62 and under full retirement age in the 
month of the number holder's death; and
     Is receiving both reduced spouse's (or divorced spouse's) 
benefits and either retirement or disability benefits in the month 
before the month of the number holder's death.
    In order to elect reduced widow(er) benefits, a beneficiary must 
complete form SSA-4111. SSA uses the information collected on Form SSA-
4111 to determine eligibility for and pay a qualified dually entitled 
widow(er) (or surviving divorced spouse) reduced benefits. The 
respondents are qualified dually entitled widow(er)s (or surviving 
divorced spouse) who elect to receive a reduced widow(er) benefit.
    Type of Request: Collection in use without OMB Control Number.
    Number of Respondents: 30,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 2 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 1,000 hours.

3. Proof of Age Study--20 CFR 404.715--0960-NEW

Background

    Through the information obtained from this study, the Agency hopes 
to obtain data that will allow benefit award processes to be 
streamlined in anticipation of the significant workload increases as 
the ``baby boomers'' (those persons born between 1946 and 1964) attain 
retirement age. The information collected will be used to determine the 
extent to which a claimant's allegation of date of birth agrees with 
the date of birth in SSA's records and to estimate the program costs 
associated with using alleged dates of birth as proof of age (POA) to 
adjudicate claims without obtaining birth certificates or other 
evidence of age or citizenship.

Collection of Information

    SSA will mail up to 3,000 appointment letters to a random sample of 
number holders (NH) with the expectation of being able to arrange 2,000 
one-time telephone interviews. (Some letters will be returned for no 
address or there will be no response from the NHs.)
    Appointment letters will be sent to the NHs to explain the purpose 
of the study; request a phone number; and establish a convenient time 
to conduct the phone interview.
    The phone interviewers will obtain an alleged date of birth, place 
of birth, and parent's names. If the NH's alleged date of birth agrees 
with the Numident date of birth, SSA will obtain POA (birth 
certificates if available) from the custodians to determine the impact 
of using the alleged date as POA. If the alleged date of birth is 
materially different than the date of birth on the Numident, POA 
evidence will not be obtained from the custodian. If a birth 
certificate is obtained a proof code will be annotated to the Numident 
to prevent unnecessary development if subsequently a claim is filed on 
the account. If the POA development establishes a different date of 
birth than the Numident/alleged date of birth, SSA will estimate the 
potential error dollars involved. Study data will be compiled and 
findings reported to SSA's Executive Staff.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Number of Respondents: 2,000.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 1,334 hours.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average
                                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per       Estimated
                    Form name                       respondents      response        response      annual burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appointment Letter and Response.................           2,000               1              15             500
SSA-8510 (Authorization to the SSA to Obtain               2,000               1               5             167
 Personal Information)..........................
Phone Questionnaire.............................           2,000               1              20             667
Collection of POA Evidence from Record Custodian           \1\52             \2\              15             490
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................            6052  ..............  ..............           1,824
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 1960 total responses
\2\ Varies.

    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 
packages by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-965-0454 
or by writing to the address listed above.

[[Page 28542]]

1. SSI Monthly Wage Reporting System--20 CFR 416.701-732--0960-0715

Collection Background

    SSI recipients are required to report changes in their income, 
resources and living arrangements that may affect eligibility or 
payment amount. Currently, SSI recipients report changes on Form SSA-
8150, Reporting Events--SSI, or to an SSA teleservice representative 
through SSA's toll-free telephone number, or they visit their local 
Social Security office.
    Wages have, historically, been the source of SSI's highest error 
rate largely due to non-reporting by beneficiaries, deemors, and 
representative payees. Failure to report changes in wages timely 
accounts for approximately $400 million in overpayments each year. 
Consequently, SSA is evaluating methods for increasing reporting. SSA 
has tested and determined that given an easily accessible automated 
format, individuals will increase compliance with reporting 
responsibilities. Increased timely reporting has resulted in a decrease 
in improper payments. One of the methods tested, described below, is 
the SSI Wage Reporting System.

Collection Description

    Participants who need to report a change in monthly wages (Comment: 
There are other forms of earned income that the phone line does not 
support) will call SSA's toll-free telephone number to report the 
change. The participants will access SSA's system using knowledge-based 
authentication (providing name, SSN and date of birth). Participants 
will speak their report (voice recognition technology) and/or key in 
the information using the telephone key pad. This automated system will 
then directly update our records and issue receipts in compliance with 
Section 202 of the Social Security Protection Act of 2004.
    We are requesting permanent authorization of the existing wage 
reporting system to continue providing an alternative, and more 
efficient, means by which beneficiaries, their representative payees, 
and deemors can report wages via a toll-free telephone number. We 
believe this permanent authorization is necessary to effectively 
implement national usage of the system and substantially increase the 
number of reports received via this collection method. Without 
permanent authorization, we are concerned that an interruption in 
reporting would prove detrimental to our earlier efforts to recruit and 
train reporters, would damage the current regularity of reporting, and 
would considerably mitigate SSA's potential to reduce improper payments 
resulting from erroneous, or deficient, wage reports. Respondents to 
this collection are SSI recipients, deemors and representative payees 
of recipients who agree to participate in the program.
    Type of Request: Revision of OMB approval.
    Number of Respondents: 50,000.
    Frequency of Response: 12.
    Average Burden Per Response: 4 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 40,000 hours.

2. Cost Reimbursable Research Request--0960-NEW

Background

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) is responsible for 
administering two cash benefit programs, notably the Old-Age, 
Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) and SSI programs. To carry 
out this task, SSA maintains a number of files with detailed 
information on individuals and their characteristics, such as 
demographics, employment, earnings, assets, disability diagnosis, 
location, and other information. While designed for SSA to carry out 
its administrative tasks, the data files offer great informational 
depth to researchers interested in SSA's programs and other research 
areas. As a result, SSA provides qualified researchers needing agency 
administrative data for a variety of projects.
    SSA's data files are governed by strict confidentiality 
restrictions and are not publicly accessible. Therefore, SSA has 
charged the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (ORES) as 
the primary interface for researchers, either within SSA or outside of 
it, who seek access to SSA's program files. To safeguard the 
information and the public trust, ORES has established comprehensive 
unified application process procedures for obtaining program data for 
research use.

The Cost Reimbursable Research Request

    To request SSA program data for research, the researcher must 
submit a completed research application for SSA's evaluation. In the 
application, the requesting researcher must provide required basic 
project information and describe the way in which the proposed project 
will further SSA's mission to promote the economic security of the 
nation's people through its administration of the OASDI programs, and/
or the SSI program. Depending on the type of research data needed, the 
requesting researchers may be required to provide SSA with up to 14 
prescribed project information elements to properly assess their data 
request.
    Once the application is reviewed and approved by ORES, a 
Reimbursable Conditions of Use Agreement is signed with the requestor 
which outlines the conditions and safeguards agreed to for the research 
project data exchange. The requestor may use the data for research and 
statistical purposes only. This is a reimbursable service and SSA 
recovers all expenses incurred in providing this information. The 
respondents to this information collection are the qualified 
researchers that request SSA administrative data for a variety of 
projects. These applicants include but are not limited to Federal and 
State government agencies and/or their contractors, private entities, 
and colleges/universities.
    Type of Request: Collection in use without OMB Control Number.
    Number of Respondents: 15.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 240 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 60 hours.
    The total average annual cost for all respondents to use this 
service is approximately $112,500 or an average of $7,500 to complete a 
single request. This cost projection is an estimate of SSA's 
administrative and systems costs to analyze and provide the requested 
research data. Since this is a reimbursable service, all associated 
costs are borne by the requesters.

3. Authorization To Release Medical Report to Physician--20 CFR 401.55 
& 401.100--0960-NEW

    If the claimant, his or her court appointed representative, or a 
parent of a minor child wants the consultative examination (CE) report 
sent to the claimant's treating physician, he or she will complete the 
information requested on Form SSA-91 and send it to SSA for processing. 
SSA will use the information collected to send the CE report to the 
authorized physician. Respondents are applicants for disability claims.
    Type of Request: Collection in Use Without an OMB Number.
    Number of Respondents: 7,922.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 5 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 660 hours.

[[Page 28543]]

4. Claimant Travel Reimbursement Request--20 CFR 404.999a-d--0960-NEW

    The claimants have the right to be reimbursed for their travel 
expenses to and from a consultative examination (CE). In order to be 
reimbursed, the claimants must submit an itemized list of what they 
spent to travel round trip to the CE. The SSA-104 is sent to the 
claimants with the CE appointment notice. If the claimants want to be 
reimbursed for their travel expenses, they must complete, sign and 
return the SSA-104 to SSA. SSA uses the information collected on this 
form to determine the amount of reimbursement. Respondents are 
applicants for disability claims.
    Type of Request: Collection in Use without an OMB Number.
    Number of Respondents: 11,092.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 1,849 hours.

    Dated: May 15, 2007.
Elizabeth A. Davidson,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
 [FR Doc. E7-9712 Filed 5-18-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P