[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 20 (Thursday, January 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5014-5015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01828]
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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 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 ways to minimize burden
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology. Mail, email, 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, Email address: [email protected].
(SSA), Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance
Director, 3100 West High Rise, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD
21235, Fax: 410-966-2830, Email address: [email protected].
I. The information collection below is pending at SSA. SSA will
submit it 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 31, 2014. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection
instruments by writing to the above email address.
Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount--Life-Changing
Event Form--0960-0784. Federally mandated reductions in the Federal
Medicare Part B and prescription drug coverage subsidies result in
selected Medicare recipients paying higher premiums with income above a
specific threshold. The amount of the premium subsidy reduction is an
income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA). The Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) transmits income tax return data to SSA for SSA to
determine the IRMAA. SSA uses the Form SSA-44 to determine if a
recipient qualifies for a reduction in the IRMAA. If affected Medicare
recipients believe SSA should use more recent tax data because a life-
changing event that significantly reduces their income, they can report
these changes to SSA and ask for a new initial determination of their
IRMAA. The respondents are Medicare Part B and prescription drug
coverage recipients and enrollees with modified adjusted gross income
over a high-income threshold who experience one of the eight
significant life-changing events.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information
collection.
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Average burden Estimated
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of per response total annual
respondents response (minutes) burden (hours)
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Personal Interview (SSA field office)........... 147,000 1 30 73,500
SSA-44 Paper Form............................... 39,000 1 45 29,250
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Totals...................................... 186,000 102,750
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II. SSA submitted the information collections below to OMB for
clearance. Your comments regarding the information collections would be
most useful if OMB and SSA receive them 30 days from the date of this
publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive them
no later than March 3, 2014. Individuals can obtain copies of the OMB
clearance packages by writing to [email protected].
1. Missing and Discrepant Wage Reports Letter and Questionnaire--26
CFR 31.6051-2--0960-0432. Each year employers report the wage amounts
they paid their employees to the IRS for tax purposes, and separately
to SSA for retirement and disability coverage purposes. The same
figures should be reported to SSA and the IRS. However, each year some
employer wage reports SSA receives are less than the wage amounts
employers report to the IRS. SSA uses Forms SSA-L93-SM, SSA-L94-SM,
SSA-95-SM, and SSA-97-SM to ensure employees receive full credit for
their wages. Respondents are employers who reported lower wage amounts
to SSA than they reported to the IRS.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information
collection.
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Average burden Estimated
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of per response total annual
respondents response (minutes) burden (hours)
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SSA-95-SM and SSA-97-SM (and accompanying cover 360,000 1 30 180,000
letters SSA-L93, L94)..........................
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[[Page 5015]]
2. Benefit Offset National Demonstration--0960-0785. SSA is
undertaking the Benefit Offset National Demonstration (BOND)--a
demonstration and evaluation of policy changes and services on the
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program--in an effort to
produce strong evidence about the effectiveness of potential solutions
that would improve the historically very low rate of return to work
among SSDI beneficiaries. Under current law, Social Security
beneficiaries lose their SSDI benefit if they have earnings or work
activity above the threshold of Substantial Gainful Activity. The
benefit-offset component of this demonstration reduces benefits by $1
for each $2 in earnings above the BOND threshold, resulting in a
gradual reduction in benefits as earnings increase. The experimental
design for BOND tests a benefit offset alone and in conjunction with
enhanced work incentives counseling. The central research questions
include:
What is the effect of the benefit offset alone on
employment and other outcomes?
What is the effect of the benefit offset in combination
with enhanced work incentives counseling on employment and other
outcomes?
The public survey data collections have four components--an impact
study, a cost-benefit analysis, a participation analysis, and a process
study. The data collections are a primary source for data to measure
the effects of a more generous benefit offset and the provision of
enhanced work incentives counseling on SSDI beneficiaries' work efforts
and earnings. Ultimately, these data will benefit researchers, policy
analysts, policy makers and the United States Congress in a wide range
of program areas. The effects of BOND on the well-being of SSDI
beneficiaries could manifest themselves in many dimensions and could be
relevant to an array of other public programs. This project offers the
first opportunity to obtain reliable measures of these effects based
upon a nationally representative sample. The long-term indirect
benefits of this research are therefore likely to be substantial.
Respondents are SSDI beneficiaries and concurrent SSDI beneficiaries
and Supplemental Security Income recipients who we randomly assign to
the study (Stage 1), and SSDI beneficiaries who agree to participate in
the study (Stage 2).
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information
collection.
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Average burden Estimated
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of Number of per response total annual
respondents response responses (minutes) burden (hours)
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Participation Agreement......... 12,954 1 12,954 20 4,318
Baseline Survey................. 12,954 1 12,954 41 8,852
Stage 2, 12-month Interim Survey 10,363 1 10,363 29 5,009
Stage 1, 36-month Survey........ 8,000 1 8,000 49 6,533
Stage 2, 36-month Survey........ 10,363 1 10,363 60 10,363
Enhanced Work Incentives 3,089 1 3,089 35 1,802
Assessment.....................
Key Informant Interviews........ 100 7 700 60 700
Stage 2, Participant Focus 600 1 600 90 900
Groups.........................
Stage 1, First Contact Letter 500 1 500 3 25
Survey.........................
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Totals...................... 89,923 59,523 38,502
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Dated: January 27, 2014.
Faye Lipsky,
Reports Clearance Director, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-01828 Filed 1-29-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P