[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13967-13969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04807]
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No. SSA-2020-0011]
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 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-2020-0011].
SSA submitted the information collection below to OMB for
clearance. Your comments regarding this information collection 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 April 9, 2020. Individuals can obtain copies of the OMB
clearance package by writing to [email protected].
Electronic Consent Based Social Security Number Verification--20
CFR 400.100--0960-NEW. The electronic Consent Based Social Security
Number Verification (eCBSV) is a fee-based Social Security Number (SSN)
verification service that will allow permitted entities (a financial
institution or service provider, subsidiary, affiliate, agent,
subcontractor, or assignee of a financial institution as defined by
Section 509 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 42
[[Page 13968]]
U.S.C.A. 405b(b)(4), Pub. L. 115-174, Title II, 215(b)(4)) to verify an
individual's SSN based on the SSN holder's signed consent in connection
with a credit transaction or any circumstance described in section 604
of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b).
Background
We are creating this system due to section 215 of the Economic
Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 (Banking
Bill), Public Law 115-174. Permitted entities will be able to submit an
SSN, name, and date of birth (DOB) to SSA for verification via an
application programming interface. The purpose of the information
collection is for SSA to verify for the permitted entity that the
submitted name, DOB, and SSN matches, or does not match, the data
contained in our records. After completing the enrollment process,
paying for services, and obtaining SSN holder consent, the permitted
entity submits the names, DOBs, and SSNs of number holders who gave
valid consents to the eCBSV service. SSA matches the information
against our Master File, using SSN, name, and DOB. The eCBSV Service
will respond in real time with a match/no match indicator (and an
indicator if our records show that the SSN Holder died). SSA does not
provide specific information on what data elements did not match, nor
does SSA provide any SSNs or other identifying information. In
addition, the verification does not authenticate the identity of
individuals or conclusively prove the individuals we verify are who
they claim to be.
Consent Requirements
Under eCBSV, the permitted entity does not submit the number
holder's consent documents to SSA. SSA requires each permitted entity
to retain a valid consent for each SSN verification request for a
period of five years from the date of receipt of the consent form. The
Banking Bill permits a Financial Institution's service provider,
subsidiary, affiliate, agent, subcontractor, or assignee to seek
verification of the SSN Holder's SSN on behalf of a financial
institution pursuant to the terms of the SSN Holder's consent. In this
case, the permitted entity shall ensure that the Financial Institution
use the verification only for the purposes stated in the consent, and
make no further use or disclosure of the verified SSN. The relationship
will be subject to the contractual obligations as specified in the User
Agreement with which the permitted entity must concur.
Compliance Review
SSA requires each permitted entity to undergo compliance reviews to
ensure the permitted entities obtained valid consent from number
holders. An SSA approved certified public accountant (CPA) firm will
conduct the compliance reviews. The reviews will ensure the permitted
entities meet all terms and conditions of the User Agreement. The eCBSV
fee will include all compliance review costs. In general, all eCBSV
users will be subject to an audit within the first three years after
they begin using the system, with subsequent additional reviews to be
conducted periodically afterward. The CPA follows review standards
established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
and contained in the Generally Accepted Government Audit Standards
(GAGAS). At any time, SSA may conduct onsite inspections of the
requester's site, including a systems review, to ensure they adhered to
the applicable requirements associated with collection and maintenance
of consent forms, and to assess systems security overall.
The respondents to the eCBSV collection are the permitted entities;
members of the public who consent to the SSN verification; and CPAs who
provide compliance review services.
Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.
Note: Anyone who wishes to see revised versions of the draft ICR
collection instruments, an explanation of the changes SSA made to
these draft instruments, and all other ICR documents (including the
Supporting Statement and summary of public comments) may do so at
https://www.ssa.gov/dataexchange/eCBSV/index.html beginning from the
morning of publication of this notice.
Time Burden
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Average
Average burden Estimated theoretical Total annual
Requirement Number of Frequency of per response total annual hourly cost Opportunity cost
respondents response (minutes) burden (hours) amount (dollars) (dollars) **
*
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(a) Complete eCBSV enrollment process ***......... 10 1 120 20 * $36.98 ** $740
(a) Configure customer system for ability to send 10 1 2,400 400 * 36.98 ** 14,792
in verification requests.........................
(a) People whose SSNs SSA will verify--Reading and 307,000,000 1 3 15,350,000 * 10.22 ** 156,877,000
Signing..........................................
(a) Sending in the verification request, calling 307,000,000 1 1 5,116,667 * 36.98 ** 189,214,346
our system, getting a response...................
(b) Follow SSA requirements to configure 10 1 4,800 800 * 36.98 ** 29,584
application program interface....................
(c) CPA Compliance Review and Report ****......... 10 1 4,800 800 * 33.89 ** 27,112
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Totals........................................ 614,000,040 .............. .............. 20,468,687 ................. ** 346,163,574
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* We based these figures on average Business and Financial operations occupations and Certified Public Accountants' hourly salaries, as reported by
Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and per average Disability Insurance (DI) payments, as reported in SSA's DI payment 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 application.
*** The enrollment process entails reviewing and completing eCBSV User Agreement and financial requirements package; visiting the Department of the
Treasury's Pay.gov to make payment for services; and submitting a permitted entity certification via email.
[[Page 13969]]
**** There will be one CPA firm respondent (an SSA-approved contractor) to conduct compliance reviews and prepare written reports of findings on the 10
permitted entities.
Cost Burden
The public cost burden is dependent upon the number of permitted
entities and annual transaction volume. In FY 2019, 10 companies
enrolled out of 123 applications received to participate in eCBSV. We
based the cost estimates below on 10 participating permitted entities
in FY 2020 submitting an anticipated volume of 307,000,000
transactions. The Banking Bill requires that we collect at least 50
percent of the start-up costs (i.e., that we collect $9.2 million)
before we may begin development of the eCBSV verification system. SSA
will recover the remaining development costs over three years using the
following tier fee schedule:
eCBSV Tier Fee Schedule
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Tier Volume threshold Annual fee
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(1........................... 1-1,000 $400
(2........................... 1,001-10,000 3,030
(3........................... 10,001-200,000 14,300
(4........................... 200,001-50 million 276,500
(5........................... 50,000,001-2 billion 860,000
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Each enrolled permitted entity will be required to remit the above
tier based subscription fee for the 365-day agreement period and the
appropriate administrative fee. We will charge newly enrolled entities
a startup administrative fee of $3,693. After the initial year, we will
charge the entities a renewal administrative fee of $1,691 each time
the agreement is renewed or amended. We calculated the fees based on
forecasted systems and operational expenses; agency oversight, overhead
and CPA audit contract costs.
In addition, SSA will periodically recalculate costs to provide
eCBSV services and adjust the fees charged as needed. We will notify
companies of a fee adjustment at the renewal of the eCBSV User
Agreement and via notice in the Federal Register; companies have the
opportunity to cancel the agreement or continue service using the new
fee.
Dated: March 5, 2020.
Faye I. Lipsky,
Director, Office of Regulations and Reports, Clearance, Social Security
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-04807 Filed 3-9-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P