[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 60 (Tuesday, March 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15754-15755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6220]


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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD


Agency Forms Submitted for OMB Review, Request for Comments

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is forwarding 
two (2) Information Collection Requests (ICR) to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB). Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from 
the public. Review and approval by OIRA ensures that we impose 
appropriate paperwork burdens.
    The RRB invites comments on the proposed collections of information 
to determine (1) the practical utility of the collections; (2) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden of the collections; (3) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information that is the 
subject of collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of 
collections on respondents, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments to RRB or 
OIRA must contain the OMB control number of the ICR. For proper 
consideration of your comments, it is best if RRB and OIRA receive them 
within 30 days of publication date.
    1. Title and Purpose of Information Collection:

Application for Employee Annuity Under the Railroad Retirement Act; 
3220-0002

    Section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) provides for 
payments of age and service, disability, and supplemental annuities to 
qualified employees. An annuity cannot be paid until the employee stops 
working for a railroad employer. In addition, the age and service 
employee must relinquish any rights held to such jobs. A disabled 
employee does not need to relinquish employee rights until attaining 
Full Retirement Age, or if earlier, their spouse files for a spouse 
annuity. Benefits become payable after the employee meets certain other 
requirements, which depend on the type of annuity payable. The 
requirements for obtaining the annuities are prescribed in 20 CFR 216, 
and 220.
    The RRB uses the electronic AA-1cert, Application Summary and 
Certification process and the following forms to collect the 
information needed for determining entitlement to and the amount of, an 
employee retirement annuity: Form AA-1, Application for Employee 
Annuity Under the Railroad Retirement Act, Form AA-1d, Application for 
Determination of Employee Disability, and Form G-204, Verification of 
Workers Compensation/Public Disability Benefit Information.
    The AA-1cert process obtains information from an applicant for 
either an age and service, or disability annuity by means of an 
interview with an RRB field-office representative. It obtains 
information about an applicant's marital history, work history, 
military service, benefits from other governmental agencies and 
railroad pensions. During the interview, the field-office 
representative enters the information obtained into an on-line 
information system. Upon completion of the interview, the applicant 
receives Form AA-1cert, Application Summary and Certification, which 
summarizes the information that was provided by/or verified by the 
applicant, for review and signature. The RRB also uses a manual 
version, RRB Form AA-1, in instances where the RRB representative is 
unable to contact the applicant in-person or by telephone, i.e., the 
applicant lives in another country.
    Form AA-1d, Application for Determination of Employee Disability, 
is completed by an employee who is filing for a disability annuity 
under the RRA, or a disability freeze under the Social Security Act for 
early Medicare based on a disability. Form G-204, Verification of 
Workers Compensation/Public Disability Benefit Information, is used to 
obtain and verify information concerning worker's compensation or 
public disability benefits that are or will be paid by a public agency 
to a disabled railroad employee.
    All of the forms require completion to obtain a benefit. One or 
more response is requested of each respondent.
    Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the 
initial 60-day notice (75 FR 4944 on January 28, 2010) required by 44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.
    Title: Application for Employee Annuity Under the Railroad 
Retirement Act.
    OMB Control Number: 3220-0002.
    Form(s) submitted: AA-1, Application for Employee Annuity; AA-
1cert, Application Summary and Certification; AA-1d, Application for 
Determination of Employee's Disability; and G-204, Verification of 
Worker's Compensation/Public Disability Benefit Information.
    Type of request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected public: Individuals or households, State or local 
government.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    Abstract: The Railroad Retirement Act provides for payment of age, 
disability, and supplemental annuities to qualified employees. The 
application and related forms obtain information about the applicant's 
family work history, military service, disability benefits from other 
government agencies and public or private pensions. The information is

[[Page 15755]]

used to determine entitlement to and the amount of the annuity applied 
for.
    Changes Proposed:Non-burden impacting editorial changes intended to 
provide clarification and specificity to several current responses as 
well as the deletion of several items that are no longer needed are 
proposed to Form AA-1. Non-burden impacting clarifying editorial 
changes are proposed to Form AA-1(cert). No changes are proposed to 
Form(s) AA-1d and G-204.
    The burden estimate for this ICR is proposed as follows:
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 14,120.
    Total annual responses: 17,825.
    Total annual reporting hours: 9,271.
    2. Title and Purpose of Information Collection:

Voluntary Customer Surveys in Accordance With E.O 12862; 3220-0192

    In accordance with Executive Order 12862, the Railroad Retirement 
Board (RRB) conducts a number of customer surveys designed to determine 
the kinds and quality of services our beneficiaries, claimants, 
employers and members of the public want and expect, as well as their 
satisfaction with existing RRB services. The information collected is 
used by RRB management to monitor customer satisfaction by determining 
to what extent services are satisfactory and where and to what extent 
services can be improved. The surveys are limited to data collections 
that solicit strictly voluntary opinions, and do not collect 
information which is required or regulated. The information collection, 
which was first approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
in 1997, provides the RRB with a generic clearance authority. This 
generic authority allows the RRB to submit a variety of new or revised 
customer survey instruments (needed to timely implement customer 
monitoring activities) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
expedited review and approval. Our ICR describes the information we 
seek to collect from the public.

Information Collection Request (ICR)

    Title: Voluntary Customer Surveys in Accordance with E.O. 12862.
    OMB Control Number 3220-0192.
    Form(s) submitted: G-201, Customer Assessment Survey.
    Type of request: Extension without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Affected public: Individuals or households, Business-or-other-for 
profit.
    Obligation to Respond: Voluntary.
    Abstract: The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) utilizes voluntary 
customer surveys to ascertain customer satisfaction with the RRB in 
terms of timeliness, appropriateness, access, and other measures of 
quality service. Surveys involve individuals that are direct or 
indirect beneficiaries of RRB services as well as railroad employers 
who must report earnings.
    Changes Proposed: The RRB proposes no changes to the information 
collection.
    The burden estimate for this ICR is unchanged as follows:
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 1,750.
    Total annual responses: 1,750.
    Total annual reporting hours: 735.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the form and supporting 
documents can be obtained from Charles Mierzwa, the agency clearance 
officer at (312-751-3363) or [email protected].
    Comments regarding the information collection should be addressed 
to Patricia A. Henaghan, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush 
Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092 or [email protected] and 
to the OMB Desk Officer for the RRB, at the Office of Management and 
Budget, Room 10230, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 
20503.

Charles Mierzwa,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-6220 Filed 3-29-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P