[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 177 (Thursday, September 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48203-48204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19678]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No. SSA-2019-0039]


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 one new collection.
    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-2019-0039].
    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 
November 12, 2019. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by writing to the above email address.

[[Page 48204]]

The Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 
2018, Section 103(b) Questionnaire--0960-NEW.

Background

    SSA pays monthly benefits to members of the public who qualify 
under the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program 
and who are eligible for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 
program. Some claimants who qualify for monthly payments under these 
programs are unable to manage their benefit payments. When SSA 
determines program participants incapable of managing or directing the 
management of their benefits, SSA sends the payments to a 
representative payee on the beneficiary's behalf. The representative 
payee is a person or organization designated by SSA to manage OASDI or 
SSI payments to meet the individual's basic needs, such as food, 
clothing, and shelter.

Explanation of Proposed Information Collection Tool

    To help ensure that appointed representatives are acting in the 
best interests of the claimants whom they represent, Section 103(b) of 
the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act 
(SPSSBA), Public Law 115-165, requires SSA to assess the administrative 
feasibility of improving information sharing with State agencies that 
provide Adult Protective Services about claimants with representative 
payees. Specifically, Section 103(b) of the SPSSBA asks us to evaluate 
the following:
     The assessment of an individual's need for a 
representative payee in connection with benefits to which the 
individual is entitled under Title II or Title XVI of the Social 
Security Act; and
     Oversight of the individuals and organizations who are 
serving as representative payees.
    To conduct this evaluation, SSA created the Strengthening 
Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018, Section 
103(b) Questionnaire. The Questionnaire will assess the representative 
payee data available from each State and determine if the State is 
willing to share the data it collects. We will email this one-time 
questionnaire to State agencies or non-governmental entities that 
provide Adult Protective Services, and will let them know that 
participation in the questionnaire is voluntary. We estimate we will 
receive one response per respondent, with one respondent per agency 
completing the questionnaire on the agency's behalf. Our goal is to 
complete this study by June 30, 2022, so we can submit the required 
report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate in 
accordance with the SPSSBA's mandates. The Respondents are State 
agencies and non-governmental entities that provide Adult Protective 
Services to disability claimants under our OASDI and SSI programs.
    Type of Request: This is a new information collection.

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                                                                                                                                           Total annual
                                                       Number of       Frequency of   Average  burden  Estimated total  Average  hourly    opportunity
              Modality of completion                  respondents        response      per  response    annual burden    wage (dollars)   cost (dollars)
                                                                                         (minutes)         (hours)             *                **
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Emailed Questionnaire.............................              57                1               12               11           $12.15          $133.65
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* We based this figure on average State Governmental Information Clerks hourly salary, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
  these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
  respondents to complete the questionnaire.


    Date: September 9, 2019.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2019-19678 Filed 9-11-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P