[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66323-66325]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27914]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
[[Page 66324]]
1. Title and purpose of information collection: Application for
Survivor Insurance Annuities; OMB 3220-0030.
Under Section 2(d) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), monthly
survivor annuities are payable to surviving widow(er)s, parents,
unmarried children, and in certain cases, divorced spouses, mothers
(fathers), remarried widow(er)s, and grandchildren of deceased railroad
employees if there are no qualified survivors of the employee
immediately eligible for an annuity. The requirements relating to the
annuities are prescribed in 20 CFR 216, 217, 218, and 219.
To collect the information needed to help determine an applicant's
entitlement to, and the amount of, a survivor annuity the RRB uses
Forms AA-17, Application for Widow(er)'s Annuity; AA-17b, Applications
for Determination of Widow(er)'s Disability; AA-18, Application for
Mother's/Father's and Child's Annuity; AA-19, Application for Child's
Annuity; AA-19a, Application for Determination of Child's Disability;
AA-20, Application for Parent's Annuity, and electronic Forms AA-
17cert, Application Summary and Certification and AA-17sum, Application
Summary.
The on-line automated survivor annuity application (Forms AA-17,
AA-18, AA-19, and AA-20) process obtains information about an
applicant's marital history, work history, benefits from other
government agencies, and Medicare entitlement for a survivor annuity.
An RRB representative interviews the applicant either at a field office
(preferred), an itinerant point, or by telephone. During the interview,
the RRB representative enters the information obtained into an on-line
information system. Upon completion of the interview, the system
generates, for the applicant's review, either Form AA-17cert or AA-
17sum, which provides a summary of the information that the applicant
provided or verified. Form AA-17cert, Application Summary and
Certification, requires a tradition pen and ink ``wet'' signature. Form
AA-17sum, Application Summary, documents the alternate signing method
called ``Attestation,'' which is an action taken by the RRB
representative to confirm and annotate in the RRB records (1) the
applicant's intent to file an application; (2) the applicant's
affirmation under penalty of perjury that the information provided is
correct; and (3) the applicant's agreement to sign the application by
proxy. When the RRB representative is unable to contact the applicant
in person or by telephone, for example, the applicant lives in another
country, a manual version of the appropriate form is used. One response
is requested of each respondent. Completion of the forms is required to
obtain a benefit.
The RRB proposes significant changes to Form AA-17b in support of
the RRB's Disability Program Improvement Plan (DPIP) to enhance and
improve disability case processing and overall program integrity as
recommended by the RRB's Office of Inspector General and the Government
Accountability Office. Proposed changes to Form AA-17b include the
addition of questions regarding the applicant's attempt to go back to
work; education and training; additional scheduled medical care; daily
activities, including any social and recreational activities and
volunteer work; and possible use of a facilitator or attorney to either
complete or aid in the completion of the application. Clarification of
existing items and other non-burden impacting editorial and formatting
changes to make the AA-17b consistent with other DPIP forms
enhancements are also being proposed.
Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual
Form No. responses Time (minutes) Burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AA-17 Application Process:
AA-17cert................................................... 900 20 300
AA-17sum.................................................... 2,100 19 665
AA-17b:
(With assistance)........................................... 250 45 188
(Without assistance)........................................ 20 55 18
AA-19a:
(With assistance)........................................... 200 45 150
(Without assistance)........................................ 15 65 16
-----------------------------------------------
Total................................................... 3,485 .............. 1,337
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Title and purpose of information collection: Application for
Spouse Annuity under the Railroad Retirement Act; OMB 3220-0042.
Section 2(c) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), provides for the
payment of annuities to spouses of railroad retirement annuitants who
meet the requirements under the RRA. The age requirements for a spouse
annuity depend on the employee's age, date of retirement, and years of
railroad service. The requirements relating to the annuities are
prescribed in 20 CFR 216, 218, 219, 232, 234, and 295.
To collect the information needed to help determine an applicant's
entitlement to, and the amount of, a spouse annuity the RRB uses non-
OMB Form AA-3, Application for Spouse/Divorced Spouse Annuity, and
electronic OMB Forms AA-3cert, Application Summary and Certification,
and AA-3sum, Application Summary.
The AA-3 application process gathers information from an applicant
about their marital history, work history, benefits from other
government agencies, and Medicare entitlement for a spouse annuity. An
RRB representative interviews the applicant either at a field office
(preferred), an itinerant point, or by telephone. During the interview,
the RRB representative enters the information obtained into an on-line
information system. Upon completion of the interview, the system
generates, for the applicant's review, either Form AA-3cert or AA-3sum,
which is a summary of the information that the applicant provided or
verified. Form AA-3cert, Application Summary and Certification,
requires a traditional pen and ink ``wet'' signature. Form AA-3sum,
Application Summary, documents an alternate signing method called
``Attestation,'' which is an action taken by the RRB representative to
confirm and annotate in the RRB records (1) the applicant's intent to
file an application; (2) the applicant's affirmation under penalty of
perjury that the information provided is correct; and (3) the
applicant's agreement to sign the application by proxy. When the RRB
[[Page 66325]]
representative is unable to contact the applicant in person or by
telephone, for example, the applicant lives in another country, a
manual version of Form AA-3 is used. One response is requested of each
respondent. Completion of the form is required to obtain a benefit.
The RRB proposes no changes to the forms in the information
collection.
Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual Time Burden
Form No. responses (minutes) (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Form AA-3cert (Ink Signature)................................... 6,400 30 3,200
Form AA-3sum (Attestation)...................................... 4,600 29 2,223
-----------------------------------------------
Total....................................................... 11,000 .............. 5,423
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional Information or Comments: To request more information or
to obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms,
and/or supporting material, contact Brian Foster at (312) 751-4826.
Comments regarding the information collection should be addressed to
Brian Foster, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street,
Chicago, Illinois 60611-1275 or emailed to [email protected].
Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.
Brian D. Foster,
Records Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-27914 Filed 12-21-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P