[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 63 (Monday, April 5, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17664-17666]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06962]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No: SSA-2020-0012]


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 a revision of an OMB-approved information 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-2020-0012].
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 May 5, 2021.

[[Page 17665]]

Individuals can obtain copies of this OMB clearance package by writing 
to [email protected].
Electronic Consent Based Social Security Number Verification--20 CFR 
400.100--0960-0817. The electronic Consent Based Social Security Number 
Verification (eCBSV) is a fee-based Social Security Number (SSN) 
verification service that allows permitted entities (a financial 
institution as defined by Section 509 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. 42 
U.S.C. 405b(b)(4), Public Law 115-174, Title II, 215(b)(4), or service 
provider, subsidiary, affiliate, agent, subcontractor, or assignee of a 
financial institution), to verify that an individual's name, date of 
birth (DOB), and SSN match our records based on the SSN holder's 
signed--including electronic--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 created this service due to section 215 of the Economic Growth, 
Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 (Banking Bill), 
Public Law 115-174. Permitted entities are able to submit an SSN, name, 
and DOB of the number holder in connection with a credit transaction or 
any circumstances described in Section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting 
Act 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 SSN, name and DOB matches, or does 
not match, the data contained in our records. After obtaining number 
holders' consents, a permitted entity submits the names, DOBs, and SSNs 
of number holders 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 number holder died). SSA does 
not provide specific information on what data elements did not match, 
nor does SSA provide any SSNs or other identifiable information. The 
verification does not authenticate the identity of the number holders 
or conclusively prove the number holders we verify are who they are 
claiming to be.

Consent Requirements

    Under the eCBSV process, the permitted entity does not submit the 
number holder's consent forms to SSA. SSA requires each permitted 
entity to retain a valid consent for each SSN verification request 
submitted for a period of 5 years. The agency permits the permitted 
entity to retain the consent in an electronic format.
    SSA requires a wet or electronic signature on the consent. A 
permitted entity may request verification of a number holder's SSN on 
behalf of a financial institution pursuant to the terms of the Banking 
Bill, the user agreement between SSA and the permitted entity, and the 
SSN Holder's consent. In this case, the permitted entity ensures that 
the financial institution agrees to the terms in the user agreement, 
which require the SSN verification be used only for the purpose stated 
in the consent, and prohibits entities from further using or disclosing 
the SSN verification. This relationship is subject to the terms in the 
user agreement between SSA and the permitted entity.

Compliance Review

    SSA requires each permitted entity to undergo compliance reviews. 
An SSA approved certified public accountant (CPA) conducts the 
compliance reviews. The compliance reviews are designed to ensure that 
the permitted entities meet all terms and conditions of the user 
agreement, including that the permitted entities obtain valid consent 
from number holders. The permitted entity pays all compliance review 
costs through the eCBSV fees. In general, we request annual reviews 
with additional reviews as necessary. The CPA follows review standards 
established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants 
and contained in the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards 
(GAGAS).
    This information collection request is for the expanded rollout of 
eCBSV. The previous eCBSV clearance was for an initial rollout to 10 
selected permitted entities. During the initial rollout, we wanted to 
troubleshoot the service and make any necessary adjustments prior to 
opening eCBSV to all permitted entities. The respondents to the eCBSV 
information collection are the permitted entities; members of the 
public who consent to SSN verifications; and CPAs who provide 
compliance review services.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                                          Average
                                                                                  Average burden    Estimated total     theoretical      Total annual
                 Requirement                       Number of       Frequency of    per response      annual burden      hourly cost    opportunity cost
                                                  respondents        response        (minutes)          (hours)           amount         (dollars) **
                                                                                                                        (dollars) *
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(a) Complete eCBSV enrollment process ***...                 113               1             120                 226        * $37.56           ** $8,489
(a) Configure customer system for ability to                 113               1           2,400               4,520         * 37.56          ** 169,771
 send in verification requests..............
(a) People whose SSNs SSA will verify--            1,100,000,000               1               3          55,000,000         * 10.95      ** 602,250,000
 Reading and Signing........................
(a) Sending in the verification request,           1,100,000,000               1               1          18,333,333         * 37.56      ** 688,599,987
 calling our service, getting a response....
(b) Follow SSA requirements to configure                     113               1           4,800               9,040         * 37.56          ** 339,542
 application program interface..............
(c) CPA Compliance Review and Report ****...                 113               1           4,800               9,040         * 38.23          ** 345,599
                                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 17666]]

 
    Totals..................................       2,200,000,452  ..............  ..............          73,356,159  ..............    ** 1,291,713,388
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* We based these figures on average Business and Financial operations occupations (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes130000.htm), and Accountants and
  Auditors hourly salaries (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes132011.htm), as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and average DI payments, as
  reported in SSA's disability insurance payment data (https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/2021FactSheet.pdf).
** 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 is automated within the eCBSV Customer Connection, and entails providing consent for SSA to verify the EIN, electronically
  signing the eCBSV User Agreement and the permitted entity certification, selecting their annual tier level, and linking to pay.gov to make payment for
  services.
**** There will be one CPA firm respondent (an SSA-approved contractor) to conduct compliance reviews and prepare written reports of findings on the 113
  permitted entities.

Cost Burden

    The public cost burden is dependent upon the number of permitted 
entities using the service and the 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 123 
participating permitted entities in FY 2021 submitting an anticipated 
volume of 1,100,000,000 transactions. The total cost for developing the 
service is $45,000,000, and SSA will recover the cost over a five-year 
period, assuming projected enrollments and transaction volumes 
materialize.

                         eCBSV Tier Fee Schedule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Tier                 Annual volume threshold         Annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1....................  Up to 1,000..........................        $400
2....................  Up to 10,000.........................       3,030
3....................  Up to 200,000........................      14,300
4....................  Up to 50 million.....................     276,500
5....................  Up to 2 billion......................     860,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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. Fees are calculated 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 revise the tier fee schedule accordingly. We will 
notify companies of the tier fee schedule in effect at the renewal of 
eCBSV user agreements and via notice in the Federal Register; companies 
have the opportunity to cancel the agreement or renew service according 
to the new tier fee schedule.

    Dated: March 31, 2021.
Eric Lowman,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Office of Legislative Development and 
Operations, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-06962 Filed 4-2-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P