[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 32 (Thursday, February 18, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8323-8326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03380]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No: SSA-2016-0003]


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],

Or you may submit your comments online through www.regulations.gov, 
referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2016-0003].
    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 
April 18, 2016. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by writing to the above email address.
    1. Request to be Selected as a Payee--20 CFR 404.2010-404.2055, 
416.601-416.665--0960-0014. SSA requires an individual applying to be a 
representative payee for a Social Security beneficiary or Supplemental 
Security Income (SSI) recipient to complete Form SSA-11-BK. SSA obtains 
information from applicant payees regarding their relationship to the 
beneficiary; personal qualifications; concern for the beneficiary's 
well-being; and intended use of benefits if appointed as payee. The 
respondents are individuals; private sector businesses and 
institutions; and State and local government institutions and agencies 
applying to become representative payees.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB approved information 
collection.
    Individuals and Households (90%):

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average        Estimated
                                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per     total annual
             Modality of completion                  responses       response        response         burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Representative Payee System (RPS)...............       1,438,200               1              11         263,670
Paper Version...................................          91,800               1              11          16,830
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................       1,530,000  ..............  ..............         280,500
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Private Sector (9%):

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average        Estimated
                                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per     total annual
             Modality of completion                  responses       response        response         burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Representative Payee System (RPS)...............         149,940               1              11          27,489
Paper Version...................................           3,060               1              11             561
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................         153,000  ..............  ..............          28,050
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    State/Local/Tribal Government (1%):

[[Page 8324]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average        Estimated
                                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per     total annual
             Modality of completion                  responses       response        response         burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Representative Payee System (RPS)...............          16,660               1              11           3,054
Paper Version...................................             340               1              11              62
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................          17,000  ..............  ..............           3,116
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
        Grand Total.............................       1,700,000  ..............  ..............         311,666
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Application for Benefits Under the Italy-U.S. International 
Social Security Agreement--20 CFR 404.1925--0960-0445. As per the 
November 1, 1978 agreement between the United States and Italian Social 
Security agencies, residents of Italy filing an application for U.S. 
Social Security benefits directly with one of the Italian Social 
Security agencies must complete Form SSA-2528. SSA uses Form SSA-2528 
to establish age, relationship, citizenship, marriage, death, military 
service, or to evaluate a family bible or other family record when 
determining eligibility for benefits. The Italian Social Security 
agencies assist applicants in completing Form SSA-2528, and then 
forward the application to SSA for processing. The respondents are 
individuals living in Italy who wish to file for U.S. Social Security 
benefits.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average        Estimated
                                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per     total annual
             Modality of completion                  responses       response        response         burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-2528........................................             300               1              20             100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Child Care Dropout Questionnaire--20 CFR 404.211(e)(4)--0960-
0474. If individuals applying for Title II disability benefits care for 
their own or their spouse's children under age 3, and have no steady 
earnings during the time they care for those children, they may exclude 
that period of care from the disability computation period. We call 
this the child-care dropout exclusion. SSA uses the information from 
Form SSA-4162 to determine if an individual qualifies for this 
exclusion. Respondents are applicants for Title II disability benefits.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                Average  burden  Estimated total
           Modality of completion                Number of       Frequency of    per  response    annual burden
                                                 responses         response        (minutes)         (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-4162....................................           2,000                1                5              167
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4. Certification of Contents of Document(s) or Record(s)--20 CFR 
404.715--0960-0689. SSA established procedures for individuals to 
provide the evidence necessary to establish their rights to Social 
Security benefits. Examples of such evidence categories include age, 
relationship, citizenship, marriage, death, and military service. Form 
SSA-704 allows SSA employees; State record custodians; and other 
custodians of evidentiary documents to certify and record information 
from original documents and records under their custodial ownership to 
establish these types of evidence. SSA uses Form SSA-704 in situations 
where individuals cannot produce the original evidentiary documentation 
required to establish benefits eligibility. The respondents are State 
record custodians and other custodians of evidentiary documents.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                Average  burden  Estimated total
           Modality of completion                Number of       Frequency of    per  response    annual burden
                                                 responses         response        (minutes)         (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-704.....................................             176                1               10               29
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    5. Supplemental Security Income Wage Reporting (Telephone and 
Mobile)--20 CFR 416.701-732--0960-0715. SSA requires SSI recipients to 
report changes which could affect their eligibility for, and the amount 
of, their SSI payments, such as changes in income, resources, and 
living arrangements. SSA's SSI Telephone Wage Reporting (SSITWR) and 
SSI Mobile Wage Reporting (SSIMWR) enable SSI recipients to meet these 
requirements via an automated mechanism to report their monthly wages 
by telephone and mobile application, instead of contacting their local 
field offices. The SSITWR allows callers to report their wages by 
speaking their responses through voice recognition technology, or by 
keying in responses using a telephone key pad. The SSIMWR allows 
recipients to report their wages through the mobile wage reporting 
application on their

[[Page 8325]]

smartphone. SSITWR and SSIMWR systems collect the same information and 
send it to SSA over secure channels. To ensure the security of the 
information provided, SSITWR and SSIMWR ask respondents to provide 
information SSA can compare against our records for authentication 
purposes. Once the system authenticates the identity of the 
respondents, they can report their wage data. The respondents are SSI 
recipients, deemors, or their representative payees.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average        Estimated
                                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per     total annual
             Modality of completion                  responses       response        response         burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Training/Instruction*...........................          79,000               1              35          46,083
SSITWR..........................................          37,000              12               5          37,000
SSIMWR..........................................          42,000              12               3          25,200
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................          79,000  ..............  ..............         108,283
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The same 79,000 respondents complete the training as well as one modality of collection, therefore the actual
  total number of respondents remains 79,000.

    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 21, 2016. Individuals can obtain copies of the OMB 
clearance packages by writing to [email protected].
    1. Application for Widow's or Widower's Insurance Benefits--20 CFR 
404.335-404.338, & 404.603--0960-0004. Section 2029(e) and 202(f) of 
the Social Security Act (Act) set forth the requirements for 
entitlement to widow(er)'s benefits, including the requirements to file 
an application. For SSA to make a formal determination for entitlement 
to widow(er)'s benefits, we use the Form SSA-10-BK to determine whether 
an applicant meets the statutory and regulatory conditions for 
entitlement to widow(er)'s Title II benefits. SSA employees interview 
individuals applying for benefits either face-to-face or via telephone 
and enter the information on the paper form or into the Modernized 
Claims System (MCS). The respondents are applicants for widow(er)'s 
benefits.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average        Estimated
                                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per     total annual
             Modality of completion                  responses       response        response         burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-10-BK paper version.........................           2,045               1              15             511
SSA-10-BK MCS version...........................         453,509               1              14         105,819
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................         455,554  ..............  ..............         106,330
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Employer Verification of Records for Children Under Age Seven--
20 CFR 404.801-404.803, 404.821-404.822--0960-0505. SSA discovered as 
many as 70 percent of the wage reports we receive for children under 
age seven are actually the earnings of someone other than the child. To 
ensure we credit the correct person with the reported earnings, SSA 
verifies wage reports for children under age seven with the children's 
employers before posting to the earnings record. SSA uses Form SSA-
L3231-C1, Request for Employer Information, for this purpose. The 
respondents are employers who report earnings for children under age 
seven.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                Average  burden  Estimated total
           Modality of completion                Number of       Frequency of    per  response    annual burden
                                                 responses         response        (minutes)         (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-L3231-C1................................          20,000                1               10            3,333
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Wage Reports and Pension Information--20 CFR 422.122(b)--0960-
0547. Pension plan administrators annually file plan information with 
the Internal Revenue Service, which then forwards the information to 
SSA. SSA maintains and organizes this information by plan number, plan 
participant's name, and Social Security number. Under section 1131(a) 
of the Act, pension plan participants are entitled to request this 
information from SSA. The Wage Reports and Pension Information 
regulation, under 20 CFR 422.122(b) of the Code of Federal Regulations, 
stipulates that before SSA disseminates this information, the requestor 
must first submit a written request with identifying information to 
SSA. The respondents are requestors of pension plan information.
    This is a correction notice: SSA published the incorrect burden, 
information for this collection at 80 FR 75484, on 12/2/15. We are 
correcting this error here.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

[[Page 8326]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Average        Estimated
                                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per     total annual
             Modality of completion                  responses       response        response         burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requests for pension plan information...........             580               1              30             290
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dated: February 12, 2016.
Naomi R. Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-03380 Filed 2-17-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P