[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 76 (Wednesday, April 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18408-18409]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9180]


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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 
collections.
    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 or other forms of 
information technology.
    1. 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 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 the 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-17cert, Application Summary and Certification, 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. The RRB proposes no changes to the 
forms in the information collection. One response is requested of each 
respondent. Completion is required to obtain benefits.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

    The estimated annual respondent burden is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Annual       Time       Burden
             Form No.(s)               responses     (min)       (hrs)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AA-17 (manual, without assistance)..         100          47          78
AA-17b (with assistance)............         280          40         187
AA-17b (without assistance).........          20          50          17
AA-17cert...........................       3,000          20       1,000
AA-18 (manual, without assistance)..          12          47           9
AA-19 (manual, without assistance)..           9          47           7
AA-19a (with assistance)............         285          45         214
AA-19a (without assistance).........          15          65          16
AA-20 (manual, without assistance)..           1          47           1
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 18409]]

    2. Title and purpose of information collection: Employer's Deemed 
Service Month Questionnaire; OMB 3220-0156.
    Section 3 (i) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), as amended by 
Public Law 98-76, provides that the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), 
under certain circumstances, may deem additional months of service in 
cases where an employee does not actually work in every month of the 
year, provided the employee satisfies certain eligibility requirements, 
including the existence of an employment relation between the employee 
and his or her employer. The procedures pertaining to the deeming of 
additional months of service are found in the RRB's regulations at 20 
CFR Part 210, Creditable Railroad Service.
    The RRB utilizes Form GL-99, Employers Deemed Service Months 
Questionnaire, to obtain service and compensation information from 
railroad employers needed to determine if an employee can be credited 
with additional deemed months of railroad service.
    The RRB proposes non-burden impacting, editorial and formatting 
changes to Form GL-99. Completion is mandatory. One response is 
required for each RRB inquiry. The completion time for Form GL-99 is 
estimated at 2 minutes per response. The RRB estimates that 
approximately 4,000 responses are received annually.
    3. Title and purpose of information collection: Statement of 
Claimant or Other Person; OMB 3220-0083.
    To support an application for an annuity under Section 2 of the 
Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) or for unemployment benefits under 
Section 2 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), pertinent 
information and proofs must be furnished for the RRB to determine 
benefit entitlement. Circumstances may require an applicant or other 
person(s) having knowledge of facts relevant to the applicant's 
eligibility for an annuity or benefits to provide written statements 
supplementing or changing statements previously provided by the 
applicant. Under the railroad retirement program these statements may 
relate to changes in annuity beginning date(s), dates for marriage(s), 
birth(s), prior railroad or non-railroad employment, an applicants 
request for reconsideration of an unfavorable RRB eligibility 
determination for an annuity or various other matters. The statements 
may also be used by the RRB to secure a variety of information needed 
to determine eligibility to unemployment and sickness benefits. 
Procedures related to providing information needed for RRA annuity or 
RUIA benefit eligibility determinations are prescribed in 20 CFR parts 
217 and 320 respectively.
    The RRB utilizes Form G-93, Statement of Claimant or Other Person, 
to obtain the supplemental or corrective information from applicants or 
other persons needed to determine applicant eligibility for an RRA 
annuity or RUIA benefits. The RRB proposes no changes to Form G-93. 
Completion is voluntary. One response is requested of each respondent. 
The completion time for Form G-93 is estimated at 15 minutes per 
response. The RRB estimates that approximately 900 responses are 
received annually.
    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 North 
Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092. Written comments should be 
received within 60 days of this notice.

Charles Mierzwa,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-9180 Filed 4-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P