[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 89 (Thursday, May 8, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26469-26470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10531]


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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.
    Title and purpose of information collection: Statement of Authority 
to Act for Employee; OMB 3220-0034.
    Under Section 5(a) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act 
(RUIA), claims for benefits are to be made in accordance with such 
regulations as the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) shall prescribe. The 
provisions for claiming sickness benefits as provided by Section 2 of 
the RUIA are prescribed in 20 CFR 335.2. Included in these provisions 
is the RRB's acceptance of forms executed by someone else on behalf of 
an employee if the RRB is satisfied that the employee is sick or 
injured to the extent of being unable to sign forms.
    The RRB utilizes Form SI-10, Statement of Authority to Act for 
Employee, to provide the means for an individual to apply for authority 
to act on behalf of an incapacitated employee and also to obtain the 
information necessary to determine that the delegation should be made. 
Part I of the form is completed by the applicant for the authority and 
Part II is completed by the employee's doctor. One response is 
requested of each respondent. Completion is required to obtain 
benefits. The RRB proposes no changes to Form SI-10.

                                      Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Annual
                           Form No.                               responses     Time  (minutes)  Burden  (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SI-10........................................................             250                6               25
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    2. Title and purpose of information collection: Statement Regarding 
Contributions and Support; OMB 3220-0099.
    Under Section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act, dependency on an 
employee for one-half support at the time of the employee's death can 
affect (1) entitlement to a survivor annuity when the survivor is a 
parent of the deceased employee; (2) the amount of spouse and survivor 
annuities; and (3) the Tier II restored amount payable to a widow(er) 
whose annuity was reduced for receipt of an employee annuity, and who 
was dependent on the railroad employee in the year prior to the 
employee's death. One-half support may also negate the public service 
pension offset in Tier I for a spouse or widow(er). The Railroad 
Retirement Board (RRB) utilizes Form G-134, Statement Regarding 
Contributions and Support, to secure information needed to adequately 
determine if the applicant meets the one-half support requirement. One 
response is completed by each respondent. Completion is required to 
obtain benefits. The RRB proposes no changes to Form G-134.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

    The estimated annual respondent burden is as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Annual           Time           Burden
                            Form No.                                 responses       (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-134:
    With Assistance.............................................              75             147             184
    Without assistance..........................................              25             180              75
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
        Total...................................................             100  ..............             259
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Title and purpose of information collection: Employee Non-
Covered Service Pension Questionnaire; OMB 3220-0154.
    Section 215(a)(7) of the Social Security Act provides for a 
reduction in social security benefits based on employment not covered 
under the Social Security Act or the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA). 
This provision applies a different social security benefit formula to 
most workers who are first eligible after 1985 to both a pension based 
in whole or in part on non-covered employment and a social security 
retirement or disability benefit. There is a guarantee provision that 
limits the reduction in the social security benefit to one-half of the 
portion of the pension based on non-covered employment after 1956. 
Section 8011 of Pub. L. 100-647 changed the effective date of the onset 
from the first month of eligibility to the first month of

[[Page 26470]]

concurrent entitlement to the non-covered service benefit and the RRA 
benefit.
    Section 3(a)(1) of the RRA provides that the Tier I benefit of an 
employee annuity shall be equal to the amount (before any reduction for 
age or deduction for work) the employee would receive if entitled to a 
like benefit under the Social Security Act. The reduction for a non-
covered service pension also applies to a Tier I portion of the 
employee annuity under the RRA when the annuity or non-covered service 
pension begins after 1985. Since the amount of a spouse's Tier I 
benefit is one-half of the employee's Tier I, the spouse annuity is 
also affected.
    Form G-209, Employee Non-Covered Service Pension Questionnaire, is 
used by the RRB to obtain needed information (1) from a railroad 
employee who while completing Form AA-1, Application for Employee 
Annuity (OMB No. 3220-0002), indicates entitlement to or receipt of a 
pension based on employment not covered under the Railroad Retirement 
Act or the Social Security Act; or (2) from a railroad employee when an 
independently-entitled divorced spouse applicant believes the employee 
to be entitled to a non-covered service pension. However, this 
development is unnecessary if RRB records indicate the employee has 30 
or more years of coverage; or (3) from an employee annuitant who 
becomes entitled to a pension based on employment not covered under the 
Railroad Retirement Act or the Social Security Act. One response is 
requested of each respondent. Completion is required to obtain or 
retain benefits. The RRB proposes no changes to Form G-209.

                                      Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
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                                                                      Annual           Time
                            Form No.                                 responses       (minutes)    Burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-209 (Partial Questionnaire)...................................              50               1               1
G-209 (Full Questionnaire)......................................             100               8              13
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................             150  ..............              14
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    Additional Information or Comments: To request more information or 
to obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms, 
and/or supporting material, contact Dana Hickman at (312) 751-4981 or 
[email protected]. Comments regarding the information collection 
should be addressed to Charles Mierzwa, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 
North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092 or emailed to 
[email protected]. Written comments should be received within 60 
days of this notice.

Charles Mierzwa,
Chief of Information Resources Management.
[FR Doc. 2014-10531 Filed 5-7-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P