[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 192 (Wednesday, October 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49965-49969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21539]
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No: SSA-2018-0053]
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 extensions and 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-2018-0053].
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
December 3, 2018. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection
instruments by writing to the above email address.
[[Page 49966]]
1. Response to Notice of Revised Determination--20 CFR 404.913-
404.914, 404.992(b), 416.1413-416.1414, and 416.1492(d)--0960-0347.
When SSA determines: (1) Claimants for initial disability benefits do
not actually have a disability; or (2) current disability recipients'
records show their disability ceased, SSA notifies the disability
claimants, or recipients of this decision. In response to this notice,
the affected claimants and disability recipients have the following
recourse: (1) They may request a disability hearing to contest SSA's
decision; and (2) they may submit additional information or evidence
for SSA to consider. Disability claimants, recipients, and their
representatives use Form SSA-765 to accomplish these two actions. If
respondents request the first option, SSA's Disability Hearings Unit
uses the form to schedule a hearing; ensure an interpreter is present,
if required; and ensure the disability recipients or claimants, and
their representatives, receive a notice about the place and time of the
hearing. If respondents choose the second option, SSA uses the form and
other evidence to reevaluate the claimant's or recipients' case, and
determine if the new information or evidence will change SSA's
decision. The respondents are disability claimants, current disability
recipients, or their representatives.
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-765..................................... 1,925 1 30 963
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2. Site Review Questionnaire for Volume and Fee-for-Service Payees
and Beneficiary Interview Form--20 CFR 404.2035, 404.2065, 416.665,
416.701, and 416.708--0960-0633. SSA asks organizational representative
payees to complete Form SSA-637, the Site Review Questionnaire for
Volume and Fee-for-Service Payees, to provide information on how they
carry out their responsibilities, including how they manage beneficiary
funds. SSA then obtains information from the beneficiaries these
organizations represent via Form SSA-639, Beneficiary Interview Form,
to corroborate the payees' statements. Due to the sensitivity of the
information, SSA employees always complete the forms based on the
answers respondents give during the interview. The respondents are
individuals; State and local governments; non-profit and for-profit
organizations serving as representative payees; and the beneficiaries
they serve.
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-637......................................... 4,924 1 120 9,848
SSA-639......................................... 21,772 1 10 3,629
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Totals...................................... 26,696 .............. .............. 13,477
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II. SSA submitted the information collections below to OMB for
clearance. Your comments regarding these 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 November 2, 2018. Individuals can obtain copies of
the OMB clearance packages by writing to [email protected].
1. Medical Source Opinion of Patient's Capability to Manage
Benefits --20 CFR 404.2015 and 416.615--0960-0024. SSA appoints a
representative payee in cases where we determine beneficiaries are not
capable of managing their own benefits. In these instances, we require
medical evidence to determine the beneficiaries' capability of managing
or directing their benefit payments. SSA collects medical evidence on
Form SSA-787 to: (1) Determine beneficiaries' capability or inability
to handle their own benefits; and (2) assist in determining the
beneficiaries' need for a representative payee. The respondents are the
beneficiary's physicians, or medical officers of the institution in
which the beneficiary resides.
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-787..................................... 131,556 1 20 43,852
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2. Work Activity Report--Employee--20 CFR 404.1520(b), 404.1571-
404.1576, 404.1584-404.1593, and 416.971-404.976 --0960-0059. SSA uses
the SSA-821-BK to obtain work information during the initial claims
process; the continuing disability review process; post-adjudicative
work issue actions; and for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
claims involving work issues. SSA reviews and evaluates the data to
determine if the applicant or recipient meets the disability
requirements of the law. The respondents are applicants and
[[Page 49967]]
recipients of Title II Social Security and Title XVI SSI disability
payments.
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-821-BK.................................. 300,000 1 30 150,000
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3. State Supplementation Provisions: Agreement; Payments--20 CFR
416.2095-416.2099--0960-0240. Section 1618 of the Social Security Act
(Act) requires those states administering their own supplementary
income payment program(s) to demonstrate compliance with the Act by
passing Federal cost-of-living increases on to individuals who are
eligible for state supplementary payments, and informing SSA of their
compliance. In general, states report their supplementary payment
information annually by the maintenance-of-payment levels method.
However, SSA may ask them to report up to four times in a year by the
total-expenditures method. Regardless of the method, the states confirm
their compliance with the requirements, and provide any changes to
their optional supplementary payment rates. SSA uses the information to
determine each state's compliance or noncompliance with the pass-along
requirements of the Act to determine eligibility for Medicaid
reimbursement. If a state fails to keep payments at the required level,
it becomes ineligible for Medicaid reimbursement under Title XIX of the
Act. Respondents are state agencies administering supplemental
programs.
Type of Request: Extension 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 respondents (minutes) burden (hours)
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Total Expenditures.............. 7 4 28 60 28
Maintenance of Payment Levels... 26 1 26 60 26
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Total....................... 33 .............. 54 .............. 54
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4. Appointment of Representative--20 CFR 404.1707, 404.1720,
408.1101, 416.1507, and 416.1520--0960-0527. Individuals claiming
rights or benefits under the Act must notify SSA in writing when they
appoint an individual to represent them in dealing with SSA. In
addition, SSA requires representatives to sign the notice of
appointment, or submit the equivalent in writing, if the representative
is not an attorney. Recipients use Form SSA-1696-U4 to appoint a
representative to handle their claim before SSA, and their appointed
representative uses the SSA-1696-U4 to indicate whether they will
charge a fee, and to show their eligibility for direct fee payment. In
addition, representatives also use the SSA-1696-U4 to inform SSA of
their disbarment; suspension from a court or bar in which they
previously admitted to practice; or their disqualification from
participating in or appearing before a Federal program or agency.
Finally, SSA requires non-attorney appointed representatives to sign
the SSA-1696-U4, or an equivalent written statement. SSA uses the
information on the SSA-1696-U4 to document the appointment of the
representative. Respondents are applicants for, or recipients of,
Social Security disability benefits (SSDI) or SSI payments who are
notifying SSA they have appointed a person to represent them in their
dealings with SSA, and their non-attorney representatives who need to
sign the form.
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-1696-U4................................. 800,000 1 13 173,333
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5. Representative Payee Report of Benefits and Dedicated Account --
20 CFR 416.546, 416.635, 416.640, and 416.665--0960-0576. SSA requires
representative payees (RPs) to submit a written report accounting for
the use of money paid to Social Security or SSI recipients, and to
establish and maintain a dedicated account for these payments. SSA uses
Form SSA-6233 to: (1) Ensure the RPs use the payments for the
recipient's current maintenance and personal needs; and (2) confirm the
expenditures of funds from the dedicated account remain in compliance
with the law. Respondents are RPs for SSI and Social Security
recipients.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information
collection.
[[Page 49968]]
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Average burden Estimated total
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of per response annual burden
respondents response (minutes) (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-6233.................................... 36,228 1 20 12,076
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6. Testimony by Employees and the Production of Records and
Information in Legal Proceedings--20 CFR 403.100-403.155 --0960-0619.
Regulations at 20 CFR 403.100-403.155 of the Code of Federal
Regulations establish SSA's policies and procedures for an individual;
organization; or government entity to request official agency
information, records, or testimony of an agency employee in a legal
proceeding when the agency is not a party. The request, which
respondents submit in writing to SSA, must: (1) Fully set out the
nature and relevance of the sought testimony; (2) explain why the
information is not available by other means; (3) explain why it is in
SSA's interest to provide the testimony; and (4) provide the date,
time, and place for the testimony. Respondents are individuals or
entities who request testimony from SSA employees in connection with a
legal proceeding.
Type of Request: Extension 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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20 CFR 403.100-403.155...................... 100 1 60 100
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7. Certification of Prisoner Identity Information--20 CFR 422.107--
0960-0688. Inmates of Federal, State, or local prisons may need a
Social Security card as verification of their Social Security Number
(SSN) for school or work programs, or as proof of employment
eligibility upon release from incarceration. Before SSA can issue a
replacement Social Security card, applicants must show SSA proof of
their identity. People who are in prison for an extended period
typically do not have current identity documents. Therefore, under
formal written agreement with the correctional institution, SSA allows
prison officials to verify the identity of certain incarcerated U.S.
citizens who need replacement Social Security cards. Information prison
officials provide comes from the official prison files, sent on
correctional facility letterhead. SSA uses this information to
establish the applicant's identity in the replacement Social Security
card process. The respondents are prison officials who certify the
identity of prisoners applying for replacement Social Security cards.
Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved Information
Collection.
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Average burden Estimated total
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of Number of per response annual burden
respondents response responses (minutes) (hours)
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Verification of Prisoner Identity Statements....................... 1,000 200 200,000 3 10,000
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8. Notification of a Social Security Number (SSN) to an Employer
for Wage Reporting--20 CFR 422.103(a)--0960-0778. Individuals applying
for employment must provide a SSN, or indicate they have applied for
one. However, when an individual applies for an initial SSN, there is a
delay between the assignment of the number and the delivery of the SSN
card. At an individual's request, SSA uses Form SSA-132 to send the
individual's SSN to an employer. Mailing this information to the
employer: (1) Ensures the employer has the correct SSN for the
individual; (2) allows SSA to receive correct earnings information for
wage reporting purposes; and (3) reduces the delay in the initial SSN
assignment and delivery of the SSN information directly to the
employer. It also enables SSA to verify the employer as a safeguard for
the applicant's personally identifiable information. The majority of
individuals who take advantage of this option are in the United States
with exchange visitor and student visas; however, we allow any
applicant for an SSN to use the SSA-132. The respondents are
individuals applying for an initial SSN who ask SSA to mail
confirmation of their application or the SSN to their employers.
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-132..................................... 326,000 1 2 10,867
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[[Page 49969]]
Dated: September 28, 2018.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2018-21539 Filed 10-2-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P