[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]


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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.

[[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