[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 67 (Friday, April 9, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18583-18585]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-07266]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No: SSA-2021-0009]


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 revisions of OMB-approved information collections.
    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, 
Comments: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Submit your 
comments online referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2021-0009].
    (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 https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, referencing Docket 
ID Number [SSA-2021-0009].
    I. The information collection below is pending at SSA. SSA will 
submit it to OMB within 60 days from the date of

[[Page 18584]]

this notice. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive them 
no later than June 8, 2021. Individuals can obtain copies of the 
collection instrument by writing to the above email address.
    Social Security Number Verification Services--20 CFR 401.45--0960-
0660. Internal Revenue Service regulations require employers to provide 
wage and tax data to SSA using Form W-2, or its electronic equivalent. 
As part of this process, the employer must furnish the employee's name 
and Social Security number (SSN). In addition, the employee's name and 
SSN must match SSA's records for SSA to post earnings to the employee's 
earnings record, which SSA maintains. SSA offers the Social Security 
Number Verification Service (SSNVS), which allows employers to verify 
the reported names and SSNs of their employees match those in SSA's 
records. SSNVS is a cost-free method for employers to verify employee 
information via the internet. The respondents are employers who need to 
verify SSN data using SSA's records.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                                            Average
                                                                                       Average burden  Estimated total    theoretical      Total annual
      Modality of completion          Number of       Frequency of      Number of       per response    annual burden     hourly cost      opportunity
                                     respondents        response        responses        (minutes)         (hours)           amount       cost (dollars)
                                                                                                                          (dollars) *           **
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SSNVS............................          44,891               60        2,693,460                5          224,455         * $38.23    ** $8,580,915
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* We based this figure on the average hourly wage for Accountants and Auditors, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes132011.htm).
** 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.

    II. SSA submitted the information collections below to OMB for 
clearance. Your comments regarding these information collections 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 10, 2021. Individuals can obtain copies of these 
OMB clearance packages by writing to [email protected].
    1. Statement of Living Arrangements, In-Kind Support, and 
Maintenance--20 CFR 416.1130-416.1148--0960-0174. SSA determines 
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment amounts based on applicants' 
and recipients' needs. We measure individuals' needs, in part, by the 
amount of income they receive, including in-kind support and 
maintenance in the form of food and shelter provided by other persons. 
SSA uses Form SSA-8006-F4 to determine if in-kind support and 
maintenance exists for SSI applicants and recipients. This information 
also assists SSA in determining the income value of in-kind support and 
maintenance SSI applicants and recipients receive. The respondents are 
individuals who apply for SSI payments, or who complete an SSI 
eligibility redetermination.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                              Average
                                                                          Average burden     Estimated      theoretical    Average wait    Total annual
         Modality of completion              Number of     Frequency of    per response    total annual     hourly cost    time in field    opportunity
                                            respondents      response        (minutes)    burden (hours)      amount          office      cost (dollars)
                                                                                                            (dollars) *    (minutes) **         ***
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Intranet version (SSI Claims System)....         109,436               1               7          12,768        * $10.95  ..............    *** $139,810
Paper version...........................          12,160               1               7           1,419         * 10.95           ** 24      *** 68,799
                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............................         121,596  ..............  ..............          14,187  ..............  ..............     *** 208,609
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* We based this figure on average DI payments based on SSA's current FY 2021 data (https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/2021FactSheet.pdf).
** We based this figure on the average FY 2020 wait times for field offices, based on SSA's current management information 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.

    2. Modified Benefit Formula Questionnaire--Foreign Pension--0960-
0561. SSA applies the Windfall Elimination Provision, a modified 
benefit formula used to compute U.S. Social Security benefits for 
people entitled to both a pension or annuity based on employment after 
1956 not covered by U.S. Social Security (that is, a `non-covered 
pension) and a U.S. Social Security retirement or disability insurance 
benefit. A non-covered pension is a pension paid by an employer that 
does not withhold Social Security taxes from the employee's salaries; 
these are typically state and local governments or foreign country 
employers. SSA uses the information collected on Form SSA-308 to 
determine exactly how much (if any) of a foreign pension we may use to 
reduce the amount of Title II Social Security retirement or disability 
benefits under the modified benefit formula. Respondents complete Form 
SSA-308 during the initial claims process if they indicate they will 
receive a foreign pension. A claimant who later receives a foreign 
pension must notify SSA and complete the SSA-308 again. The respondents 
are applicants for Title II Social Security, or disability benefits who 
are first eligible for a foreign pension after 1985, and who are 
entitled, or will be entitled, to a foreign pension based on an 
application filed with the appropriate foreign agency or employer.
    This is a correction notice: SSA published the incorrect burden 
information for this collection at 86 FR 7447, on 1/28/21. We are 
providing the correct burden here.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

[[Page 18585]]



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                                                                                                           Average
                                                                      Average burden  Estimated total    theoretical      Average wait     Total annual
      Modality of completion          Number of       Frequency of     per response    annual burden     hourly cost     time in field     opportunity
                                     respondents        response        (minutes)         (hours)           amount           office       cost (dollars)
                                                                                                         (dollars) *      (minutes) **         ***
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-308..........................           2,465                1               10              411         * $10.95            ** 24      *** $15,297
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* We based this figure on average DI payments based on SSA's current FY 2021 data (https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/2021FactSheet.pdf).
** We based this figure on the average FY 2020 wait times for field offices, based on SSA's current management information 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.


    Dated: April 5, 2021.
Eric Lowman,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Office of Legislative Development and 
Operations, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-07266 Filed 4-8-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P