[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 19 (Friday, January 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5233-5235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1924]


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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 requiring clearance by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice 
includes revisions to 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 ways to minimize burden 
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. Mail, e-mail, or fax your 
comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the 
OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following 
addresses or fax numbers.

(OMB) Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA. Fax: 
202-395-6974. E-mail address: [email protected].
(SSA) Social Security Administration, DCBFM, 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 below are pending at SSA. SSA will 
submit them to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be 
sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than 
March 29, 2011. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-965-
8783 or by writing to the above e-mail address.
    1. Statement Regarding the Inferred Death of an Individual by 
Reason of Continued and Unexplained Absence--20 CFR 404.720-721--0960-
0002. Section 202(d)-(i) of the Social Security Act (Act) provides for 
the payment of various monthly survivor benefits and a lump sum death 
payment to certain survivors upon the death of an individual who dies 
while fully or currently insured. In cases where insured wage earners 
have been absent from their homes for at least seven years, and there 
is no evidence these individuals are alive, SSA may presume they are 
deceased and pay their survivors the appropriate benefits. SSA uses the 
information from Form SSA-723 to determine if we may presume a missing 
wage earner is deceased, and if so, establish a date of presumed death. 
The respondents are relatives, friends, neighbors, or acquaintances of 
the presumed deceased wage earner or the person who is filing for 
survivors benefits.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 3,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 1,500 hours.
    2. Questionnaire for Children Claiming SSI Benefits--20 CFR 
416.912(a)--0960-0499. Section 1631(d)(2) of the Act allows SSA to 
collect information to determine the eligibility of an applicant's 
claim for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. Parents or legal 
guardians seeking to obtain or retain SSI eligibility for their 
children use Form SSA-3881-BK to provide SSA with the addresses of non-
medical sources such as schools, counselors, agencies, organizations, 
or therapists who would have information about a child's functioning. 
SSA uses this information to help determine a child's claim or 
continuing eligibility for SSI. The respondents are applicants who 
appeal SSI childhood disability decisions or recipients undergoing a 
continuing disability review.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 253,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 126,500 hours.
    3. Electronic Benefit Verification Information (BEVE)--20 CFR 
401.40--0960-0595. The electronic proof of income (POI) verification 
Internet service, BEVE, provides SSI recipients, Social Security 
beneficiaries, and Medicare beneficiaries the convenience of requesting 
a POI statement through the Internet. Beneficiaries and SSI recipients 
often require POI to obtain housing, food stamps, or other public 
services. After verifying the requestor's identity, SSA uses the 
information from BEVE to provide the POI statement. The respondents are 
Social Security beneficiaries, Medicare beneficiaries, and SSI 
recipients.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 870,958.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 5 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 72,580 hours.
    II. SSA submitted the information collections listed below to OMB 
for clearance. Your comments on the information collections would be 
most useful if OMB and SSA receive them within 30 days from the date of 
this publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive 
them no later than February 28, 2011. You can obtain a copy of the OMB 
clearance packages by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-
965-8783 or by writing to the above e-mail address.
    1. Advanced Notice of Termination of Child's Benefits & Student's 
Statement Regarding School Attendance--20 CFR 404.350-404.352, 404.367-
404.368--0960-0105. SSA collects information on Forms SSA-1372-BK and 
SSA-1372-BK-FC to determine whether children of an insured worker meet 
the eligibility requirements for student benefits. The data we collect 
allows SSA to determine student entitlement and decide whether to 
terminate benefits. The respondents are student claimants for Social 
Security benefits, their respective schools, and in some cases, their 
representative payees.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    SSA-1372-BK:

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                                                                                  Average burden   Total annual
               Type of  respondent                   Number of     Frequency of    per response       burden
                                                    respondents      response        (minutes)        (hours)
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Individuals/Households..........................          99,850               1               8          13,313

[[Page 5234]]

 
State/Local/Tribal Government...................          99,850               1               3           4,993
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................         199,700  ..............  ..............          18,306
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    SSA-1372-BK-FC:

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                                                                                  Average burden   Total annual
               Type of  respondent                   Number of     Frequency of    per response       burden
                                                    respondents      response        (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individuals/Households..........................             150               1               8              20
State/Local/Tribal Government...................             150               1               3               8
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................             300  ..............  ..............              28
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    Total Burden: 18,334 hours.
    2. Agreement to Sell Property--20 CFR 416.1240-416.1245--0960-0127. 
Individuals or couples who are otherwise eligible for SSI payments, but 
whose resources exceed the allowable limit, may receive conditional 
payments if they agree to dispose of the excess non-liquid resources 
and (in the case of current recipients) return excess SSI payments. SSA 
uses Form SSA-8060-U3 to document this agreement and to ensure the 
individuals understand their obligations. Respondents are applicants 
for and recipients of SSI payments who agree to dispose of excess non-
liquid resources and return excess SSI payments.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 20,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 3,333 hours.
    3. Reporting Events--SSI--20 CFR 416.701-.732--0960-0128. SSI 
applicants, recipients, or their representative payees must report any 
change in circumstances that could affect eligibility for SSI payments 
or the payment amount. SSA uses Form SSA-8150 for this purpose. The 
information assists us in determining if we should continue SSI 
payments or change a payment amount. The respondents are applicants for 
or recipients of SSI payments, or their representative payees.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 27,320.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 5 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 2,277 hours.
    4. Modified Benefit Formula Questionnaire--0960-0395. Sections 
215(a)(7) and 215(d)(3) of the Act specify how SSA computes benefits 
for retired and disabled workers receiving employment pensions not 
covered by Social Security. This is the Windfall Elimination Provision 
(WEP), which removes an unintended advantage in computing Social 
Security benefits for persons with substantial pensions from non-
covered employment. SSA collects information on Form SSA-150 to 
determine the correct formula to use in computing the Social Security 
benefits for pensions subject to WEP. The respondents are applicants 
for title II benefits who have pensions from non-covered employment.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 90,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 8 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 12,000 hours.
    5. Epidemiological Research Report--20 CFR 401.165--0960-0701. 
Section 311 of the Social Security Independence and Program 
Improvements Act of 1994 directs SSA to provide support to health 
researchers involved in epidemiological research. Specifically, when we 
determine a study contributes to a national health interest, SSA 
furnishes information to determine whether a study subject appears in 
SSA administrative records as alive or deceased (vital status). SSA 
charges a small fee per request for providing this information. Web-
posted questions solicit the information SSA needs to provide the data 
and to collect the fees. The requestors are scientific researchers who 
are applying to receive vital status information about individuals from 
Social Security administrative data records.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                  Average burden   Total annual
               Type of  respondent                   Number of     Frequency of    per response       burden
                                                    respondents      response        (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State & Local Government........................              15               1             120              30
Private Entities................................              13               1             120              26
Federal Entities................................               2               1             120               4
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................              30  ..............  ..............              60
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[[Page 5235]]

Cost Burden

    Average annual cost per respondent (based on SSA data): $3,665.
    Total estimated annual cost burden: $109,950.

    Dated: January 25, 2011.
Faye Lipsky,
Reports Clearance Officer, Center for Reports Clearance, Social 
Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-1924 Filed 1-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P