[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71734-71736]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25620]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No: SSA-2022-0059]


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 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

[[Page 71735]]

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-2022-0059].

(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-
2022-0059].
    The information collections below are pending at SSA. SSA will 
submit them 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 
January 23, 2023. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by writing to the above email address.
    1. Incorporation by Reference of Oral Findings of Fact and 
Rationale in Wholly Favorable Written Decisions (Bench Decision 
Regulation)--20 CFR 404.953 and 416.1453--0960-0694. If a judge makes a 
wholly favorable oral decision, including all the findings and 
rationale for the decision for a claimant of Title II or Title XVI 
payments, at an administrative appeals hearing, the judge sends a 
Notice of Decision (Form HA-82), as the records from the oral hearing 
preclude the need for a written decision. We call this the 
incorporation-by-reference process. In addition, as part of the 
information we include on the HA-82, if the involved parties want a 
record of the oral decision, they may submit a written request for 
these records. As explained to the respondent on the HA-82, SSA 
collects identifying information under the aegis of sections 20 CFR 
404.953 and 416.1453 of the Code of Federal Regulations to determine 
how to send interested individuals written records of a favorable 
incorporation-by-reference oral decision made at an administrative 
review hearing. Since SSA did not create a form for the public to use 
to request a written record of the decision, the involved parties send 
SSA their contact information and reference the hearing for which they 
would like a record to the hearings office indicated on the HA-82. SSA 
employees collect this information only once. The respondents are 
applicants for Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security 
Income (SSI) payments based on disability, or their representatives as 
applicable, who receive a fully favorable oral decision under the 
regulations cited above, and who choose to request a copy of the 
records for this decision.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                                            Average
                                                                                      Average  burden     Estimated       theoretical      Total annual
              Modality of completion                   Number of       Frequency of    per  response     total annual     hourly cost      opportunity
                                                      respondents        response        (minutes)     burden  (hours)       amount      cost  (dollars)
                                                                                                                          (dollars) *           **
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HA-82.............................................           2,500                1                5              208         $11.70 *        $2,434 **
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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).
** 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. Request for Waiver of Special Veterans Benefits (SVB) 
Overpayment Recovery or Change in Repayment Rate--20 CFR 408.900-
408.950--0960-0698. Title VIII of the Social Security Act (Act) 
requires SSA to pay a monthly benefit to qualified World War II 
veterans who reside outside the United States. When SSA notes an 
overpayment in this SVB, we inform the beneficiary. As part of the 
information we send, SSA explains how the beneficiary can request a 
waiver of recovery of the overpayment or a change in the repayment 
rate. SSA requests the respondent to submit Form SSA-2032-BK via mail 
to ensure SSA obtains the information necessary to establish whether 
the claimant meets the waiver of recovery provisions of the 
overpayment, and to determine the repayment rate if we do not waive 
repayment. Respondents are SVB beneficiaries who have overpayments on 
their Title VIII record and wish to file a claim for waiver of recovery 
or change in repayment rate.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                                            Average
                                                                                      Average  burden     Estimated       theoretical      Total annual
              Modality of completion                   Number of       Frequency of    per  response     total annual     hourly cost      opportunity
                                                      respondents        response        (minutes)     burden  (hours)       amount      cost  (dollars)
                                                                                                                          (dollars) *           **
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-2032-BK.......................................              34                1              120               68         $28.01 *        $1,905 **
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* We based this figure on the average U.S. worker's hourly wages, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.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.

    3. Methods for Conducting Personal Conferences When Waiver of 
Recovery of a Title II or Title XVI Overpayment Cannot Be Approved--20 
CFR 404.506 & 416.557--0960-0769. SSA conducts personal conferences 
when we cannot approve a waiver of recovery of a Title II or Title XVI 
overpayment. The Act and our regulatory citations require SSA to give 
overpaid Social Security beneficiaries and SSI recipients the right to 
request a waiver of recovery and

[[Page 71736]]

automatically schedule a personal conference if we cannot approve their 
request for waiver of overpayment. We conduct these conferences face-
to-face, via telephone, or through video teleconferences. Social 
Security beneficiaries and SSI recipients or their representatives may 
provide documents to demonstrate they are without fault in causing the 
overpayment and do not have the ability to repay the debt. They may 
submit these documents by completing Form SSA-632, Request for Waiver 
of Overpayment Recovery (OMB No. 0960-0037); Form SSA-795, Statement of 
Claimant or Other Person (OMB No. 0960-0045); or through a personal 
statement submitted by mail, telephone, personal contact, or other 
suitable method, such as fax or email. This information collection 
satisfies the requirements for request for waiver of recovery of an 
overpayment and allows individuals to pursue further levels of 
administrative appeal via personal conference. Respondents are Social 
Security Title II beneficiaries and Title XVI SSI recipients or their 
representatives seeking reconsideration of an SSA waiver decision.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                                           Average wait
                                                                              Average        Estimated        Average      time in field   Total annual
                                             Number of     Frequency of     burden per     total annual     theoretical    office or for    opportunity
         Modality of completion             respondents      response        response         burden        hourly cost     teleservice        cost
                                                                             (minutes)        (hours)         amount          centers      (dollars) ***
                                                                                                            (dollars) *    (minutes) **
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Title II, Personal Conference, 404.506:           23,410               1              45          17,558        * $11.70           ** 21    *** $301,298
 submittal of documents, additional
 mitigating financial information, and
 verifications for consideration at
 personal conferences...................
Title XVI, Personal Conference, 416.557:          34,190               1              45          25,643        * $11.70           ** 21    *** $440,037
 submittal of documents, additional
 mitigating financial information, and
 verifications at personal conferences..
                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............................          57,600  ..............  ..............          43,201  ..............  ..............     *** 741,335
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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: November 18, 2022.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-25620 Filed 11-22-22; 8:45 am]
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