[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 63 (Friday, April 2, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16874-16876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7468]


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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:
    RUIA Investigations and Continuing Entitlement; OMB 3220-0025.
    Under Section 1(k) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act 
(RUIA), unemployment and sickness benefits are not payable for any day 
with respect to which remuneration is payable or accrues to the 
claimant. Also Section 4(a-1) of the RUIA provides that unemployment or 
sickness benefits are not payable for any day the claimant receives the 
same benefits under any law other than the RUIA. Under Railroad 
Retirement Board (RRB) regulations, 20 CFR 322.4(a), a claimant's 
certification or statement on an RRB provided claim form that he or she 
did not work on any day claimed and did not receive income such as 
vacation pay or pay for time lost shall constitute sufficient evidence 
unless there is conflicting evidence. Further,

[[Page 16875]]

under 20 CFR 322.4(b), when there is question raised as to whether or 
not remuneration is payable or has accrued to a claimant with respect 
to a claimed day or days, investigation shall be made with a view to 
obtaining information sufficient for a finding. The RRB utilizes the 
following four forms to obtain information from railroad employers, 
nonrailroad employers and claimants, that are needed to determine 
whether a claimed days or days of unemployment or sickness were 
improperly or fraudulently claimed: Form ID-5I, Letter to Non-Railroad 
Employers on Employment and Earnings of a Claimant; Form ID-5R(SUP), 
Report of Employees Paid RUIA Benefits for Every Day in Month Reported 
as Month of Creditable Service; Form ID-49R, Letter to Railroad 
Employer for Payroll Information; and Form UI-48, Claimant's Statement 
Regarding Benefit Claim for Days of Employment. Completion is 
voluntary. One response is requested of each respondent.
    To qualify for unemployment or sickness benefits payable under 
Section 2 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), a railroad 
employee must have certain qualifying earnings in the applicable base 
year. In addition, to qualify for extended or accelerated benefits 
under Section 2 of the RUIA, a railroad employee who has exhausted his 
or her rights to normal benefits must have at least 10 years of 
railroad service (under certain conditions, military service may be 
credited as months of railroad service). Accelerated benefits are 
unemployment or sickness benefits that are payable to a railroad 
employee before the regular July 1 beginning date of a benefit year if 
an employee has 10 or more years of service and is not qualified for 
benefits in the current benefit year.
    During the RUIA claims review process, the RRB may determine that 
unemployment or sickness benefits cannot be awarded because RRB records 
show insufficient qualifying service and/or compensation. When this 
occurs, the RRB allows the claimant the opportunity to provide 
additional information if they believe that the RRB service and 
compensation records are incorrect.
    Depending on the circumstances, the RRB provides the following 
form(s) to obtain information needed to determine if a claimant has 
sufficient service or compensation to qualify for unemployment or 
sickness benefits. Form UI-9, Applicant's Statement of Employment and 
Wages, Form UI-23, Claimant's Statement of Service for Railroad 
Unemployment Insurance Benefits, Form UI-44, Claim for Credit for 
Military Service (RUIA), Form ID-4F, Advising of Ineligibility for RUIA 
Benefits, Form ID-4U, Advising of Service/Earnings Requirements for 
RUIA Benefits, Form ID-4X, Advising of Service/Earnings Requirements 
for Sickness Benefits, Form ID-4Y, Advising of Ineligibility for 
Sickness Benefits, Form ID-20-1, Advising that Normal Unemployment 
Benefits Are About to Be Exhausted, Form ID-20-2, Advising the Normal 
Sickness Benefits Are About to Be Exhausted, and Form ID-20-4, Advising 
That Normal Sickness Benefits Are About to Be Exhausted/Non-
Entitlement. Completion of these forms is required to obtain or retain 
a benefit. One response is required of each respondent.
    The RRB proposes no changes to any of the forms in the information 
collection.
    The burden associated with the information collection is estimated 
as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Completion
                            Form No.                                  Annual           time        Burden hours
                                                                     responses       (Minutes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ID-5I...........................................................           9,100              15           2,275
ID-5R(SUP)......................................................           1,200              10             200
ID-49R..........................................................               5              15               3
UI-48...........................................................               5              12               1
UI-9............................................................             100              10               8
UI-23...........................................................               5               5              50
UI-44...........................................................               5               5               1
ID-4F...........................................................              25               5               2
ID-4U...........................................................              30               5               3
ID-4X...........................................................              25               5               2
ID-4Y...........................................................               5               5               1
ID-20-1.........................................................              90               5               8
ID-20-2.........................................................             100               5               8
ID-20-4.........................................................               5               5               1
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................          10,700  ..............           2,512
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Title and purpose of information collection:
    Application to Act as Representative Payee; OMB 3220-0052.
    Under Section 12 of the Railroad Retirement Act, the Railroad 
Retirement Board (RRB) may pay benefits to a representative payee when 
an employee, spouse or survivor annuitant is incompetent or is a minor. 
A representative payee may be a court-appointed guardian, a statutory 
conservator or an individual selected by the RRB. The procedures 
pertaining to the appointment and responsibilities of a representative 
payee are prescribed in 20 CFR part 266.
    The forms furnished by the RRB to apply for representative payee 
status, and for securing the information needed to support the 
application follow. RRB Form AA-5, Application for Substitution of 
Payee, obtains information needed to determine the selection of a 
representative payee who will serve in the best interest of the 
beneficiary. RRB Form G-478, Statement Regarding Patient's Capability 
to Manage Payments, obtains information about an annuitant's capability 
to manage payments. The form is completed by the annuitant's personal 
physician or by a medical officer, if the annuitant is in an 
institution. It is not required when a court has appointed an 
individual or institution to manage the annuitant's funds or, in the 
absence of such appointment, when the annuitant is a minor. The RRB 
also provides representative payees with a booklet at the time of their 
appointment. The booklet, RRB Form RB-5, Your Duties as Representative 
Payee-Representative Payee's Record, advises representative

[[Page 16876]]

payees of their responsibilities under 20 CFR 266.9 and provides a 
means for the representative payee to maintain records pertaining to 
the receipt and use of RRB benefits. The booklet is provided for the 
representative payee's convenience. The RRB also accepts records that 
were kept by representative payee's as part of a common business 
practice.
    Completion is voluntary. One response is requested of each 
respondent. The RRB is proposing non-burden impacting editorial changes 
to Forms AA-5 and G-478. No changes are proposed for the Booklet RB-5. 
The estimated completion time(s) is estimated at 17 minutes for Form 
AA-5, 6 minutes for Form G-478 and 60 minutes for Booklet RB-5. The RRB 
estimates that approximately 3,000 Form AA-5's, 2,000 Form G-478's and 
15,300 RB-5's are completed 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 or send an e-mail request to [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 send an e-mail to 
[email protected]. Written comments should be received within 
60 days of this notice.

Charles Mierzwa,
RRB Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-7468 Filed 4-1-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P