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[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 238 (Thursday, December 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79536-79539]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27099]

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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

Agency Forms Submitted for OMB Review, Request for Comments

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is forwarding an 
Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Our 
ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. 
Review and approval by OIRA ensures that we impose appropriate 
paperwork burdens.
    The RRB invites comments on the proposed collections of information 
to determine (1) the practical utility of the collections; (2) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden of the collections; (3) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information that is 
the subject of collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of 
collections on respondents, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments to the 
RRB or OIRA must contain the OMB control number of the ICR. For proper 
consideration of your comments, it is best if the RRB and OIRA receive 
them within 30 days of the publication date.
    1. Title and purpose of information collection: Application for 
Employee Annuity Under the Railroad Retirement Ac; OMB 3220-0002.
    Section 2(a) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) (45 U.S.C. 231a) 
provides for payments of age and service, disability, and supplemental 
annuities to qualified employees. An annuity cannot be paid until the 
employee stops working for a railroad employer. In addition, the age 
and service employee must relinquish any rights held to such jobs. A 
disabled employee does not need to relinquish employee rights until 
attaining Full Retirement Age, or if earlier, when their spouse is 
awarded a spouse annuity. Benefits become payable after the employee 
meets certain other requirements, which depend on the type of annuity 
payable. The requirements for obtaining the annuities are prescribed in 
20 CFR 216 and 220.
    To collect the information needed to help determine an applicant's 
entitlement to, and the amount of, an employee retirement annuity the 
RRB uses Forms AA-1, Application for Employee Annuity; AA-1d, 
Application for Determination of Employee Disability; G-204, 
Verification of Workers Compensation/Public Disability Benefit 
Information, and electronic Forms AA-1cert, Application Summary and 
Certification, and AA-1sum, Application Summary.
    The AA-1 application process obtains information from an applicant 
about their marital history, work history, military service, benefits 
from other governmental agencies, railroad pensions and Medicare 
entitlement for either an age and service or disability annuity. An RRB 
representative interviews the applicant either at a field office, 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 on-line 
information system generates Form AA-1cert, Application Summary and 
Certification, or Form AA-1sum, Application Summary, a summary of the 
information that was provided for the applicant to review and approve. 
Form AA-1cert documents approval using the traditional pen and ink 
``wet'' signature, and Form AA-1sum documents approval using the 
alternative signature method called Attestation. 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 Form AA-1 is used.
    Form AA-1d, Application for Determination of Employee's Disability, 
is completed by an employee who is filing for a disability annuity 
under the RRA, or a disability freeze under the Social Security Act, 
for early Medicare based on a disability. Form G-204, Verification of 
Worker's Compensation/Public Disability Benefit Information, is used to 
obtain and verify information concerning a worker's compensation or a 
public disability benefit that is or will be paid by a public agency to 
a disabled railroad employee.

[[Page 79537]]

    One response is requested of each respondent. Completion of the 
forms is required to obtain/retain a benefit.
    Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the 
initial 60-day notice (85 FR 62775 on October 5, 2020) required by 44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.

Information Collection Request (ICR)

    Title: Application for Employee Annuity Under the Railroad 
Retirement Act.
    OMB Control Number: 3220-0002.
    Form(s) submitted: AA-1, AA-1cert, AA-1d, AA-1sum and G-204.
    Type of request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected public: Individuals or Households.
    Abstract: The Railroad Retirement Act provides for payment of age, 
disability and supplemental annuities to qualified employees. The 
application and related forms obtain information about the applicant's 
family work history, military service, disability benefits from other 
government agencies and public or private pensions. The information is 
used to determine entitlement to and the amount of the annuity applied 
for.
    Changes proposed: The RRB proposes no changes to Form AA-1 and Form 
AA-1 (internet). The RRB propose a minor editorial change to Form AA-1d 
to change the date under Section 1 ``General Instructions''. The RRB 
propose the following change to Form G-204: Update the title in the 
Paperwork Reduction Act and Privacy Act Notices to Associate Chief 
Information Officer for Policy and Compliance.
    The burden estimate for the ICR is as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Annual           Time           Burden
                            Form No.                                 responses       (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AA-1 (without assistance).......................................              35              62              36
AA-1cert (with assistance)......................................           7,050              30           3,525
AA-1sum (with assistance).......................................           2,415              29           1,166
AA-1 (Internet) (without assistance)............................           3,220              45           2,415
AA-1d (with assistance).........................................           2,600              60           2,600
AA-1d (without assistance)......................................               5              85               7
G-204...........................................................              20              15               5
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................          15,345  ..............           9,754
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Title and purpose of information collection: Certification of 
Termination of Service and Relinquishment of Rights; OMB 3220-0016.
    Under Section 2(e)(2) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) (45 
U.S.C. 231a), an age and service annuity, spouse annuity, or divorced 
spouse annuity cannot be paid unless the Railroad Retirement Board 
(RRB) has evidence that the applicant has ceased railroad employment 
and relinquished rights to return to the service of a railroad 
employer. Under Section 2(f)(6) of the RRA, earnings deductions are 
required for each month an annuitant works in certain non-railroad 
employment termed Last Pre-Retirement Non-Railroad Employment.
    Normally, the employee, spouse, or divorced spouse relinquishes 
rights and certifies that employment has ended as part of the annuity 
application process. However, this is not always the case. In limited 
circumstances, the RRB utilizes Form G-88, Certification of Termination 
of Service and Relinquishment of Rights, to obtain an applicant's 
report of termination of employment and relinquishment of rights. One 
response is required of each respondent. Completion is required to 
obtain or retain benefits.
    Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the 
initial 60-day notice (85 FR 62776 on October 5, 2020) required by 44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.

Information Collection Request (ICR)

    Title: Certification of Termination of Service and Relinquishment 
of Rights.
    OMB Control Number: 3220-0016.
    Form(s) submitted: G-88.
    Type of request: Extension without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Affected public: Individuals or Households.
    Abstract: Under Section 2(e)(2) of the Railroad Retirement Act, the 
Railroad Retirement Board must have evidence that an annuitant for an 
age and service, spouse, or divorced spouse annuity has ceased railroad 
employment and relinquished their rights to return to the service of a 
railroad employer. The collection provides the means for obtaining this 
evidence.
    Changes proposed: The RRB proposes no changes to Form G-88.
    The burden estimate for the ICR is as follows:

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                                                                      Annual           Time           Burden
                            Form No.                                 responses       (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-88............................................................           3,600               6             360
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    3. Title and Purpose of information collection: Statement of 
Authority to Act for Employee; OMB 3220-0034.
    Under Section 5(a) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act 
(RUIA) (45 U.S.C. 355), claims for benefits are to be made in 
accordance with such regulations as the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) 
shall prescribe. The provisions for claiming sickness benefits as 
provided by Section 2 of the RUIA are prescribed in 20 CFR 335.2. 
Included in these provisions is the RRB's acceptance of forms executed 
by someone else on behalf of an employee if the RRB is satisfied that 
the employee is sick or injured to the extent of being unable to sign 
forms.
    The RRB utilizes Form SI-10, Statement of Authority to Act for 
Employee, to provide the means for an individual to apply for authority 
to act on behalf of an incapacitated employee and also to obtain the 
information necessary to determine that the delegation should be made. 
Part I of the form is completed by the applicant for the authority and 
Part II is completed by the employee's doctor. One response is 
requested of each respondent.

[[Page 79538]]

Completion is required to obtain benefits.
    Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the 
initial 60-day notice (85 FR 62777 on October 5, 2020) required by 44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.

Information Collection Request (ICR)

    Title: Statement of Authority to Act for Employee.
    OMB Control Number: 3220-0034.
    Form(s) submitted: SI-10.
    Type of request: Extension without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Affected public: Individuals or Households.
    Abstract: Under 20 CFR 335.2, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) 
accepts claims for sickness benefits by other than the sick or injured 
employees, provided the RRB has the information needed to satisfy 
itself that the delegation should be made.
    Changes proposed: The RRB proposes no changes to Form SI-10.
    The burden estimate for the ICR is as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Annual           Time           Burden
                            Form No.                                 responses       (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SI-10...........................................................              30               6               3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4. Title and Purpose of information collection: Employee Non-
Covered Service Pension Questionnaire; OMB 3220-0154
    Section 215(a)(7) of the Social Security Act provides for a 
reduction in social security benefits based on employment not covered 
under the Social Security Act or the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA). 
This provision applies a different social security benefit formula to 
most workers who are first eligible after 1985 to both a pension based 
in whole or in part on non-covered employment and a social security 
retirement or disability benefit. There is a guarantee provision that 
limits the reduction in the social security benefit to one-half of the 
portion of the pension based on non-covered employment after 1956. 
Section 8011 of Public Law 100-647 changed the effective date of the 
onset from the first month of eligibility to the first month of 
concurrent entitlement to the non-covered service benefit and the RRA 
benefit.
    Section 3(a)(1) of the RRA (45 U.S.C. 231b) provides that the Tier 
I benefit of an employee annuity shall be equal to the amount (before 
any reduction for age or deduction for work) the employee would receive 
if entitled to a like benefit under the Social Security Act. The 
reduction for a non-covered service pension also applies to a Tier I 
portion of the employee annuity under the RRA when the annuity or non-
covered service pension begins after 1985. Since the amount of a 
spouse's Tier I benefit is one-half of the employee's Tier I, the 
spouse annuity is also affected.
    Form G-209, Employee Non-Covered Service Pension Questionnaire, is 
used by the RRB to obtain needed information (1) from a railroad 
employee who while completing Form AA-1, Application for Employee 
Annuity (OMB No. 3220-0002), indicates entitlement to or receipt of a 
pension based on employment not covered under the Railroad Retirement 
Act or the Social Security Act; or (2) from a railroad employee when an 
independently-entitled divorced spouse applicant believes the employee 
to be entitled to a non-covered service pension. However, this 
development is unnecessary if RRB records indicate the employee has 30 
or more years of coverage; or (3) from an employee annuitant who 
becomes entitled to a pension based on employment not covered under the 
Railroad Retirement Act or the Social Security Act. One response is 
requested of each respondent. Completion is required to obtain or 
retain benefits.
    Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the 
initial 60-day notice (85 FR 62777 on October 5, 2020) required by 44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.

Information Collection Request (ICR)

    Title: Employee Non-Covered Service Pension Questionnaire.
    OMB Control Number: 3220-0154.
    Form(s) submitted: G-209.
    Type of request: Extension without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Affected public: Individuals or Households.
    Abstract: Under Section 3 of the Railroad Retirement Act, the Tier 
I portion of an employee annuity may be subjected to a reduction for 
benefits received based on work not covered under the Social Security 
Act or Railroad Retirement Act. The questionnaire obtains the 
information needed to determine if the reduction applies and the amount 
of such reduction.
    Changes proposed: The RRB proposes no changes to Form G-209.
    The burden estimate for the ICR is as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Annual           Time           Burden
                            Form No.                                 responses       (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-209 (Partial Questionnaire)...................................              50               1               1
G-209 (Full Questionnaire)......................................             100               8              13
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................             150  ..............              14
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Additional Information or Comments: Copies of the forms and 
supporting documents can be obtained from 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 
[email protected].
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information 
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open

[[Page 79539]]

for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

Brian Foster,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-27099 Filed 12-9-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P
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