[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 64 (Monday, April 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19538-19539]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06946]



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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    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.
    1. Title and purpose of information collection: Employee 
Representative's Status and Compensation Reports; OMB 3220-0014.
    Under Section 1(b)(1) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) (45 
U.S.C. 231b), the term ``employee'' includes an individual who is an 
employee representative. As defined in Section 1(c) of the RRA, an 
employee representative is an officer or official representative of a 
railway labor organization other than a labor organization included in 
the term ``employer,'' as defined in the RRA, who before or after 
August 29, 1935, was in the service of an employer under the RRA and 
who is duly authorized and designated to represent employees in 
accordance with the Railway Labor Act, or, any individual who is 
regularly assigned to or regularly employed by such officer or official 
representative in connection with the duties of his or her office. The 
requirements relating to the application for employee representative 
status and the periodic reporting of the compensation resulting from 
such status is contained in 20 CFR 209.10.
    The RRB utilizes Form DC-2, Employee Representative's Report of 
Compensation, to obtain the information needed to determine employee 
representative status and to maintain a record of creditable service 
and compensation resulting from such status. Completion is required to 
obtain or retain a benefit. One response is requested of each 
respondent. The RRB proposes no changes to Form DC-2.

                                      Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Annual
                            Form No.                                 responses    Time (minutes)  Burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DC-2............................................................              82              30              41
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................              82  ..............              41
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Title and purpose of information collection: Application for 
Survivor Insurance Annuities; OMB 3220-0030.
    Under Section 2(d) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) (45 U.S.C. 
231a), 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 no changes to forms AA-17b, AA-17cert, AA-17sum, 
AA-19a.

                                      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:

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    (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
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    3. Title and purpose of information collection: Nonresident 
Questionnaire; OMB 3220-0145.
    Under Public Laws 98-21 (42 U.S.C. 410) and 98-76 (45 U.S.C. 231t), 
benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act payable to annuitants living 
outside the United States may be subject to taxation under United 
States income tax laws. Whether the social security equivalent and non-
social security equivalent portions of Tier I, Tier II, vested dual 
benefit, or supplemental annuity payments are subject to tax 
withholding, and whether the same or different rates are applied to 
each payment, depends on a beneficiary's citizenship and legal 
residence status, and whether exemption under a tax treaty between the 
United States and the country in which the beneficiary is a legal 
resident has been claimed. To affect the required tax withholding, the 
Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) needs to know a nonresident's 
citizenship and legal residence status.
    To secure the required information, the RRB utilizes Form RRB-1001, 
Nonresident Questionnaire, as a supplement to an application as part of 
the initial application process, and as an independent vehicle for 
obtaining the needed information when an annuitant's residence or tax 
treaty status changes. Completion is voluntary. One response is 
requested of each respondent.
    The RRB proposes no changes to Form RRB-1001:

                                      Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Annual
                            Form No.                                 responses    Time (minutes)  Burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RRB-1001 (Initial filing).......................................             300              30             250
RRB-1001 (Tax renewal)..........................................           1,000              30             400
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................           1,300  ..............             650
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Additional Information or Comments: To request more information or 
to obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms, 
and/or supporting material, contact Kennisha Tucker at (312) 469-2591 
or [email protected]. 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,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2022-06946 Filed 4-1-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P