[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 230 (Wednesday, November 30, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86374-86376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28822]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No: SSA-2016-0062]


Agency Information Collection Activities: 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 and one extension 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-2016-0062].
    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 December 30, 2016. 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 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for tax 
purposes, and separately to SSA for retirement and disability coverage 
purposes. Employers should report the same figures to SSA and the IRS; 
however, each year some of the employer wage reports SSA receives show 
wage amounts lower than those 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 total
           Modality of completion                Number of       Frequency of     per response    annual burden
                                                 responses         response        (minutes)         (hours)
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SSA-95-SM and SSA-97-SM (and accompanying            360,000                1               30          180,000
 cover letters SSA-L93, L94)................
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    2. Application for Supplemental Security Income--20 CFR 416.305-
416.335, Subpart C--0960-0444. SSA uses Form SSA-8001-BK to determine 
an applicant's eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and 
SSI payment amounts. SSA employees also collect this information during 
interviews with members of the public who wish to file for SSI. SSA 
uses the information for two purposes: (1) To formally deny SSI for 
non-medical reasons when information the applicant provides results in 
ineligibility; or (2) to establish a disability claim, but defer the 
complete development of non-medical issues until SSA approves the 
disability. The respondents are applicants for SSI.

    Note: This is a correction notice: SSA published the incorrect 
burden information for this collection at 81 FR 81224, on 11/17/16. 
We are correcting this error here.

    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                      Average        Estimated
                                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per     total  annual
             Modality of completion                 respondents      response        response         burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
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MSSICS/Signature Proxy..........................         537,207               1              20         179,069
iClaim/MSSICS...................................         162,945               1              20          54,315
SSA-8001-BK (Paper Version).....................           1,033               1              20             344
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................         701,185  ..............  ..............         233,728
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    3. Incorporation by Reference of Oral Findings of Fact and 
Rationale in Wholly Favorable Written Decisions (Bench Decision 
Regulation)--20 CFR 404.953 and 416.1453--0960-0694. If an 
administrative law judge (ALJ) makes a

[[Page 86375]]

wholly favorable oral decision, including all the findings and 
rationale for the decision for a claimant of Title II or Title XVI 
payments, at an administrative appeals hearing, the ALJ sends a Notice 
of Decision (Form HA-82), as the records from the oral hearing preclude 
the need for a written decision. We call this the incorporation-by-
reference process. In addition, the regulations for this process state 
that if the involved parties want a record of the oral decision, they 
may submit a written request for these records. SSA collects 
identifying information under the aegis of Sections 20 CFR 404.953 and 
416.1453 of the Code of Federal Regulations to determine how to send 
interested individuals written records of a favorable incorporation-by-
reference oral decision made at an administrative review hearing. Since 
there is no prescribed form to request a written record of the 
decision, the involved parties send SSA their contact information and 
reference the hearing for which they would like a record. The 
respondents are applicants for Disability Insurance Benefits and SSI 
payments, or their representatives, to whom SSA gave a wholly favorable 
oral decision under the regulations cited above.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                 Average burden  Estimated total
           Modality of collection                Number of       Frequency of     per response    annual burden
                                                respondents        response        (minutes)         (hours)
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HA-82.......................................           2,500                1                5              208
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    4. Request for Waiver of Special Veterans Benefits (SVB) 
Overpayment Recovery or Change in Repayment Rate--20 CFR 408.900-
408.950--0960-0698. Title VIII of the Social Security Act requires SSA 
to pay a monthly benefit to qualified World War II veterans who reside 
outside the United States. When an overpayment in this SVB occurs, the 
beneficiary can request a waiver of recovery of the overpayment or a 
change in the repayment rate. SSA uses the SSA-2032-BK to obtain the 
information necessary to establish whether the claimant meets the 
waiver of recovery provisions of the overpayment, and to determine the 
repayment rate if we do not waive repayment. Respondents are SVB 
beneficiaries who have overpayments on their Title VIII record and wish 
to file a claim for waiver of recovery or change in repayment rate.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                 Average burden  Estimated total
           Modality of completion                Number of       Frequency of     per response    annual burden
                                                respondents        response        (minutes)         (hours)
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SSA-2032-BK.................................             450                1              120              900
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    5. Consent Based Social Security Number Verification Process--20 
CFR 400.100--0960-0760. The Consent Based Social Security Number 
Verification (CBSV) process is a fee-based automated Social Security 
number (SSN) verification service available to private businesses and 
other requesting parties. To use the system, private businesses and 
requesting parties must register with SSA and obtain valid consent from 
SSN holders prior to verification. We collect the information to verify 
if the submitted name and SSN match the information in SSA records. 
After completing a registration process and paying the fee, the 
requesting party can use the CBSV process to submit a file containing 
the names of number holders who gave valid consent, along with each 
number holder's accompanying SSN and date of birth (if available) to 
obtain real-time results using a web service application or SSA's 
Business Services Online (BSO) application. SSA matches the information 
against the SSA master file of SSNs, using SSN, name, date of birth, 
and gender code (if available). The requesting party retrieves the 
results file from SSA, which indicates only a match or no match for 
each SSN submitted. Under the CBSV process, the requesting party does 
not submit the consent forms of the number holders to SSA. SSA requires 
each requesting party to retain a valid consent form for each SSN 
verification request. The requesting party retains the consent forms in 
either electronic or paper format.
    SSA added a strong audit component to ensure the integrity of the 
CBSV process. At the discretion of the agency, we require audits 
(called ``compliance reviews'') with the requesting party paying all 
audit costs. Independent certified public accountants (CPAs) conduct 
these reviews to ensure compliance with all the terms and conditions of 
the party's agreement with SSA, including a review of the consent 
forms. CPAs conduct the reviews at the requesting party's place of 
business to ensure the integrity of the process. In addition, SSA 
reserves the right to perform unannounced onsite inspections of the 
entire process, including review of the technical systems that maintain 
the data and transaction records. The respondents to the CBSV 
collection are the participating companies; members of the public who 
consent to the SSN verification; and CPAs who provide compliance review 
services.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

Time Burden

                                             Participating Companies
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                                                                                                       Total
                                     Number of     Frequency of      Number of    Average burden     estimated
           Requirement              respondents      response        responses     per response    annual burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Registration process for new                * 13               1              13             120              26
 participating companies........

[[Page 86376]]

 
Creation of file with SSN holder              90          ** 251          22,590              60          22,590
 identification data;
 maintaining required
 documentation/forms............
Using the system to upload                    90             251          22,590               5           1,883
 request file, check status, and
 download results file..........
Storing Consent Forms...........              90             251          22,590              60          22,590
Activities related to compliance              90             251          22,590              60          22,590
 review.........................
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    Total.......................  ..............  ..............          90,373  ..............          69,679
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* One-time registration process/approximately 14 new participating companies per year.
** Please note there are 251 Federal business days per year on which a requesting party could submit a file.


                     Participating Companies Who Opt for External Testing Environment (ETE)
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                                                                                                       Total
                                     Number of     Frequency of      Number of    Average burden     estimated
           Requirement              respondents      response        responses     per response    annual burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ETE Registration Process                      20               1               1             180              60
 (includes reviewing and
 completing ETE User Agreement).
Web Service Transactions........              20               1               1              50              17
Reporting Issues Encountered on               20               1               1              50              17
 Web service testing (e.g.,
 reports on application's
 reliability)...................
Reporting changes in users'                   20               1               1              60              20
 status (e.g., termination or
 changes in users' employment
 status; changes in duties of
 authorized users)..............
Cancellation of Agreement.......              20               1               1              30              10
Dispute Resolution..............              20               1               1             120              40
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    Total.......................              20  ..............             104  ..............             164
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                                        People Whose SSNs SSA Will Verify
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                                                                                      Average
                                     Number of     Frequency of      Number of      burden per       Estimated
           Requirement              respondents      response        responses       response      annual burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
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Reading and signing                    2,800,000               1       2,800,000               3         140,000
 authorization for SSA to
 release SSN verification.......
Responding to CPA                          5,750               1           5,750               5             479
 re[dash]contact................
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    Total.......................       2,805,750  ..............       2,805,750  ..............         140,479
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    There is one CPA respondent conducting compliance reviews and 
preparing written reports of findings. The average burden per response 
is 4,800 minutes for a total burden of 7,200 hours annually.

Cost Burden

    The public cost burden is dependent upon the number of companies 
and transactions. SSA based the cost estimates below upon 90 
participating companies submitting a total 2.8 million transactions per 
year.
    One-Time Per Company Registration Fee--$5,000.
    Estimated per SSN Transaction Fee--$1.40.\1\
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    \1\ The annual costs associated with the transaction to each 
company are dependent upon the number of SSN transactions submitted 
to SSA by the company on a yearly basis. For example, if a company 
anticipates submitting 1 million requests to SSA for the year, its 
total transaction cost for the year would be $1.40 x 1,000,000, or 
$1,400,000. Periodically, SSA will calculate our costs to provide 
CBSV services and adjust the fee charged as needed. SSA notifies 
companies in writing and via Federal Register Notice of any changes 
and companies have the opportunity to cancel the agreement or 
continue service using the new transaction fee.
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    Estimated per Company Cost to Store Consent Forms--$300.

    Date: November 25, 2016.
Naomi R. Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-28822 Filed 11-29-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4191-02-