[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 117 (Friday, June 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36568-36569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13028]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No SSA-2022-0027]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed 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 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.

    Comments: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Submit your 
comments online referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2022-0027].

(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-
2022-0027].
    I. The information collection below is pending at SSA. SSA will 
submit it 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 
August 16, 2022. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection 
instrument by writing to the above email address.

The National Beneficiary Survey (NBS)--0960-NEW Background

    SSA's Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental 
Security Income (SSI) programs provide a crucial and necessary safety 
net for working-aged people with disabilities. By improving employment 
outcomes for SSDI beneficiaries and SSI recipients, SSA supports the 
effort to reduce the reliance of people with disabilities on these 
programs. SSA previously conducted seven rounds of the National 
Beneficiary Survey (NBS) in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2015, 2017, and 
2019. Conducting the prior rounds of the NBS provided SSA with an 
important understanding of the work interests and experiences of SSI 
recipients and SSDI beneficiaries, and helped SSA gain information 
about their impairments; health; living arrangements; family structure; 
pre-disability occupation; and use of non-SSA programs (e.g., the 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). The prior rounds of NBS 
data are available to researchers and the public. SSA contracted with 
Mathematica to conduct the NBS data collection.

NBS Project Description

    The primary purpose of the new NBS is to: (1) assess beneficiary 
well-being and interest in work; (2) learn about beneficiary work 
experiences (successful and unsuccessful); and (3) to identify factors 
that promote or restrict long-term work success. As with the previous 
NBS rounds, the current NBS will collect information on factors such as 
health; living arrangements; family structure; current occupation; use 
of non-SSA programs; knowledge of SSDI and SSI work incentive programs; 
obstacles to work; and beneficiary interest and motivation to return to 
work. SSA is requesting clearance to administer Round 8 of the NBS in 
2023. The information we will collect is not something we can obtain 
from SSA administrative data or other sources. In the Round 8 NBS, the 
sample design is similar to the ones we used for the prior NBS. The 
sample includes the nationally representative beneficiary samples (RBS) 
of adult SSDI and SSI disability program participants, as well as the 
successful worker sample (SWS) which includes beneficiaries who worked 
above the substantial gainful activity for at least three consecutive 
months during the six months preceding their NBS interview. SSA plans 
to complete 8,000 interviews: 5,000 from a cross-sectional sample of 
active beneficiaries (SSI and SSDI) and 3,000 from a successful worker 
sample, and will conduct the survey interviews primarily by telephone. 
We will send a letter in advance informing the beneficary that an 
interviewer will contact them to conduct, or schedule a date and time 
for the survey. The beneficiary can also contact the 800 number we 
provide in the sample letter to schedule the interview or take the 
survey with an interviewer. We will send follow-up letters and 
postcards reminding the beneficiary to contact us, if they have not 
already done so, and we will also send postcard messages about 
establishing the best time for the beneficiary to take the survey.
    In addition to the Round 8 NBS, we propose to conduct an 
experimental web and a paper-based data collection effort to test if 
these modes are feasible methods to collect data from nonrespondents. 
SSA will conduct this

[[Page 36569]]

experiment during the administration of the Round 8 NBS, and we will 
include a shorter version of the instrument for web and paper 
administration designed to collect critical data from nonrespondents to 
the telephone interview modality. We will mail the abbreviated 
experimental paper version survey to the beneficiaries to complete and 
send back to Mathematica.
    We will pull the sample for the experimental web and paper 
administration of the NBS from Round 8 SWS nonrespondents. Respondent 
participation in the NBS is voluntary and the decision to participate 
has no impact on current or future receipt of payments or benefits. 
Respondents are current SSDI beneficiaries and SSI recipients.
    Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.

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                                                                                                                           Average wait
                                                                                                              Average      time in field   Total annual
                                             Number of     Frequency of   Average burden     Estimated      theoretical    office or for    opportunity
         Modality of completion             respondents      response      per response    total annual     hourly cost     teleservice   cost (dollars)
                                                                             (minutes)    burden (hours)      amount          centers           ***
                                                                                                            (dollars) *      (minutes)
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Representative Beneficiary Sample.......           5,000               1              60           5,000        $11.70 *            5 **     $63,379 ***
Successful Worker Sample................           3,000               1              70           3,500         11.70 *            5 **      45,829 ***
Successful Worker Sample web-based                   125  ..............              25              52         11.70 *  ..............         608 ***
 experiment.............................
Successful Worker Sample, paper-based                100  ..............              25              42         11.70 *  ..............         491 ***
 experiment respondent..................
                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............................           8,225  ..............  ..............           8,594  ..............  ..............      110,307 **
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* We based this figure on the average DI payments based on SSA's current FY 2022 data (https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/2022factsheet.pdf).
** We based this figure by averaging the average FY 2022 wait times for field offices and teleservice centers, 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: June 13, 2022.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-13028 Filed 6-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P