[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 158 (Thursday, August 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56065-56067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17727]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No: SSA-2023-0031]


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, 
Fax: 202-395-6974, Email address: [email protected].
    Submit your comments online referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2023-
0031].
    (SSA) Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance 
Director, Mail Stop 3253 Altmeyer, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 
21235, Fax: 833-410-1631, Email address: [email protected].
    Or you may submit your comments online through https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-
2023-0031].
    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 
October 16, 2023. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by writing to the above email address.
    Application for a Social Security Number (SSN) Card, the Social 
Security Number Application Process (SSNAP), and Internet SSN 
Replacement Card (iSSNRC) Application--20 CFR 422.103--422.110--0960-
0066. SSA collects information on the SS-5 (used in the United States) 
and SS-5-FS (used outside the United States) to issue original or 
replacement Social Security cards. SSA also enters the application data 
into the SSNAP application when issuing a card via telephone or in 
person. In addition, hospitals collect the same information on SSA's 
behalf for newborn children through the Enumeration at Birth (EAB) 
process. In this process, parents of newborns provide hospital birth 
registration clerks with information required to register these 
newborns. Hospitals send this information to State Bureaus of Vital 
Statistics (BVS), and they send the information to SSA's National 
Computer Center. SSA then uploads the data to the SSA mainframe along 
with all other enumeration data, and we assign the newborn a Social 
Security number (SSN) and issue a Social Security card. The vast 
majority of applications for original SSN cards utilize EAB.
    In addition, the iSSNRC internet application collects information 
similar to the paper SS-5 for no-change replacement SSN cards for adult 
U.S. citizens. The iSSNRC modality allows certain applicants for SSN 
replacement cards to complete the internet application and submit the 
required evidence online rather than completing a paper Form SS-5.
    Finally, oSSNAP collects information similar to that which we 
collect on the paper SS-5 for no change situations, with the exception 
of name change, new or replacement SSN cards for U.S. Citizens (adult 
and minor children), and replacement cards only for non-U.S. citizens. 
oSSNAP allows these applicants for new or replacement SSN cards to 
start the application process on-line, receive a list of evidentiary 
documents, and then submit the application data to SSA for further 
processing by SSA employees. Applicants then visit a local SSA office 
to complete the application process.
    In some instances, SSA collects race and ethnicity information as 
part of the SSN card application process. Response to the race and 
ethnicity questions is voluntary. SSA plans to expand the EAB process 
to include SSA receipt of race and ethnicity information for the 
newborn and parent(s) when the parent(s) consent to release of this 
voluntary information. Obtaining parental consent for this new data 
will require States and Jurisdictions to add questions to collect a 
newborn's race and ethnicity information. This will also require BVS to 
electronically share the race and ethnicity of parent(s) and newborn, 
for instances when the record shows the state or jurisdiction obtained 
parental consent, consistent with the EAB process. The respondents for 
this information collection are applicants for original and replacement 
Social Security cards, or individuals who wish to change information in 
their SSN records, who use any of the modalities described above.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                           Average
                                                                       Average burden     Estimated      theoretical    Average wait      Total annual
         Application scenario             Number of     Frequency of    per response    total annual     hourly cost    time in field   opportunity cost
                                         respondents      response        (minutes)    burden (hours)      amount          office        (dollars) ***
                                                                                                         (dollars) *    (minutes) **
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                                                                      EAB Modality
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Hospital staff who relay the State          3,759,517               1               5         313,293        * $24.49            ** 0     *** $7,672,546
 birth certificate information to the
 BVS and SSA through the EAB process.
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[[Page 56066]]

 
                                                                     iSSNRC Modality
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Adult U.S. Citizens requesting a            3,002,698               1               5         250,225         * 29.76            ** 0      *** 7,447,589
 replacement card with no changes
 through the iSSNRC..................
Adult U.S. Citizens requesting a                1,312               1               5             109         * 29.76            ** 0          *** 3,244
 replacement card with a name change
 through iSSNRC......................
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                                                                     oSSNAP Modality
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Adult U.S. Citizens providing                 822,104               1               5          68,509         * 29.76           ** 24     *** 11,825,136
 information to receive a replacement
 card through the oSSNAP\+\..........
Adult U.S. Citizens providing                  37,323               1               5           3,110         * 29.76           ** 24        *** 536,841
 information to receive an original
 card through the oSSNAP\+\..........
Adult Non-U.S. Citizens providing             204,081               1               5          17,007         * 29.76           ** 24      *** 2,935,497
 information to receive an original
 card through the oSSNAP\+\..........
Adult Non-U.S. Citizens providing              84,635               1               5           7,053         * 29.76           ** 24      *** 1,217,392
 information to receive a replacement
 card through the oSSNAP\+\..........
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                                                                   SSNAP/SS-5 Modality
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Respondents who do not have to              6,973,505               1               9       1,046,026         * 29.76           ** 24    *** 114,142,337
 provide parents' SSNs...............
Respondents whom we ask to provide            207,521               1               9          31,128         * 29.76           ** 24      *** 3,396,717
 parents' SSNs (when applying for
 original SSN cards for children
 under age 12).......................
Applicants age 12 or older who need         1,113,144               1              10         185,524         * 29.76           ** 24     *** 18,772,072
 to answer additional questions so
 SSA can determine whether we
 previously assigned an SSN..........
Applicants asking for a replacement             6,703               1              60           6,703         * 29.76           ** 24        *** 279,268
 SSN card beyond the allowable limits
 (i.e., who must provide additional
 documentation to accompany the
 application)........................
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                                                               Enumeration Quality Review
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Authorization to SSA to obtain                    500               1              15             125         * 29.76           ** 24          *** 9,672
 personal information cover letter...
Authorization to SSA to obtain                    500               1              15             125         * 29.76           ** 24          *** 9,672
 personal information follow-up cover
 letter..............................
                                      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand Total..........................
                                      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals...........................      16,213,543  ..............  ..............       1,928,937  ..............  ..............    *** 168,247,983
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\+\The number of respondents for this modality is an estimate based on google analytics data for the SS-5 form downloads from SSA.Gov.
* We based this figure on average Hospital Records Clerks (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes292098.htm), and average U.S. worker's hourly wages
  (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm) as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
** We based this figure on the average FY 2021 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.

    II. 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 September 18, 2023. Individuals can obtain copies of this 
OMB clearance package by writing to the [email protected].
    Missing and Discrepant Wage Reports Letter and Questionnaire--26 
CFR 31.6051-2--0960-0432. Each year employers report the wage amounts 
they paid their employees to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for tax 
purposes, and separately to SSA for retirement and disability coverage 
purposes. Employers should report the same figures to SSA and the IRS; 
however, each year some of the employer wage reports SSA receives show 
wage amounts lower than those employers report to the IRS. SSA uses 
Forms SSA-L93-SM, SSA-L94-SM, SSA-95-SM, and SSA-97-SM to ensure 
employees receive full credit for their wages. SSA is also creating the 
online IRS/SSA Reconciliation which is a streamlined version of the 
SSA-95-SM and the SSA-97-SM. The IRS/SSA Reconciliation will guide 
employers to the appropriate solutions and will link the users to on-
line tools to correct issues. The respondents are employers who 
reported lower wage amounts to SSA than they reported to the IRS.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

[[Page 56067]]



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                                                                                                                           Average
                                                                                       Average burden     Estimated      theoretical      Total annual
           Modality of completion for forms               Number of     Frequency of    per response    total annual     hourly cost    opportunity cost
                                                         respondents      response        (minutes)    burden (hours)      amount         (dollars) **
                                                                                                                         (dollars) *
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SSA-95-SM and SSA-97-SM (and accompanying cover               356,800               1              30         178,400        * $29.76      ** $5,309,184
 letters SSA-L93, L94) (paper version)...............
IRS/SSA Reconciliation (online version)..............          89,200               1              30          44,600         * 29.76       ** 1,327,296
                                                      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals...........................................         446,000  ..............  ..............         223,000  ..............          6,636,480
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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.


    Dated: August 14, 2023.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-17727 Filed 8-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P