[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 188 (Friday, September 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79328-79330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22178]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No: SSA-2024-0033]


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 a request for a 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

You may submit your comments online through https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2024-0033].

(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: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f6b9a4d8a4938699848285d8b59a93978497989593b6858597d8919980"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7d322f532f180d120f090e533e11181c0f1c131e183d0e0e1c531a120b">[email protected]</span></a>

Or you may submit your comments online through https://www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAmain by clicking on Currently under Review--Open for 
Public Comments and choosing to click on one of SSA's published items. 
Please reference Docket ID Number [SSA-2024-003] in your submitted 
response.

    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 
November 26, 2024. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by writing to the above email address.
    1. Developing Opportunities for ABLE Owners (DO-ABLE)--0960-NEW.

Background

    SSA is requesting clearance to collect data necessary to evaluate 
the Developing Opportunities for ABLE Owners (DO-ABLE) under the 
Interventional Cooperative Agreement Program (ICAP). On May 6, 2021, 
the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a new funding 
opportunity, the Interventional Cooperative Agreement Program (ICAP), 
in the Federal Register, 86 FR 24427. ICAP allows SSA to partner with 
various non-federal groups and organizations to advance interventional 
research connected to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social 
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs. On September 28, 2023, 
SSA awarded a cooperative agreement to the University of Chicago's 
Inclusive Economy Lab (IEL) through the Interventional Cooperative 
Agreement Program (ICAP). Through the cooperative agreement, IEL will 
conduct the Developing Opportunities for Achieving a Better Life 
Experience Owners (DO-ABLE) demonstration project.

[[Page 79329]]

DO-ABLE Project Description

    DO-ABLE intends to promote take-up and use of ABLE accounts among 
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients in Illinois and Wisconsin 
through a three-phased randomized controlled trial (RCT). ABLE accounts 
are tax-advantaged savings accounts, which offer people with 
disabilities the opportunity to accumulate assets and use funds for a 
broad range of expenses without threatening SSI benefits eligibility. 
Up to $100,000 saved in an ABLE account is exempt from the SSI resource 
limit.\1\ Regardless of the benefits ABLE accounts offer to SSI 
recipients, very few people have accounts. To be eligible for ABLE, one 
must have a disability that (1) meets SSA's definition of disability; 
and (2) started before age 26. Our study will therefore include current 
adult SSI recipients in Illinois and Wisconsin who are ages 18 to 59 
who first received SSI before age 26, all of whom are eligible for ABLE 
accounts. We will exclude existing ABLE account owners from the study.
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    \1\ SSI cash benefits are suspended if ABLE account balances 
exceed this $100,000 threshold; however, ABLE account balances do 
not affect Medicaid eligibility.
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    The DO-ABLE evaluation uses a three-phased randomized controlled 
trial (RCT) to promote take-up and use of ABLE accounts. We designed 
each of the three phases of the proposed RCT to address and engage with 
a key barrier identified through our previous research as preventing 
uptake of ABLE accounts: (1) limited knowledge of the program; (2) 
administrative burden associated with opening and using the accounts; 
(3) limited resources to save. To collect this information, we will 
first send letters to approximately 85,000 of the roughly 100,000 
eligible SSI recipients in Illinois and Wisconsin. Eligible SSI 
recipients are those actively receiving SSI payments who are ages 18 to 
59 who first received SSI before age 26. This outreach will be Phase 1 
of the intervention. In addition to providing information encouraging 
people to sign up for an ABLE account, these letters will invite people 
to participate in an intake survey. For people who agree to 
participate, we will collect three different types of data:
    <bullet> Intake Survey: We will send a link to this online survey 
in the initial letter we send. This survey will contain four parts:
    [cir] Consent Form: This form will ask respondents for their 
consent to participate in the study.
    [cir] Program-specific Modules: These will gather information on 
participants' perceptions of ABLE accounts and will also cover metrics 
related to employment intentions and financial well-being.
    [cir] Short Informational Video: This video will highlight the 
advantages of ABLE accounts for SSI recipients and will include closed 
captions for those who require them.
    [cir] Random Assignment for Second Phase: After people complete the 
consent form, we will randomly assign them to either a seeding group 
(in which case they would be eligible for $250 to be placed into a 
newly opened ABLE account) or the no seeding group. At the end of the 
survey, we will inform people to which group they are assigned.
    <bullet> Follow-up Survey: The DO-ABLE evaluation team will 
administer a follow-up survey to everyone who provided informed consent 
(regardless of whether they completed the full intake survey, and 
regardless of their assignment status for phases two and three) two 
years after their enrollment date. The survey will collect information 
about similar topics as the intake survey to allow us to assess changes 
over time, as well as more comprehensive measures of work activity and 
general well-being. These data will help offer a comprehensive 
assessment of how the intervention and participation in ABLE affects 
participants' self-sufficiency and well-being.
    <bullet> Qualitative Interviews: To offer additional context on the 
overall process, we will conduct two waves of semi-structured 
qualitative interviews. Each round will include 40 unique individuals, 
including a mix of people with disabilities and their supporters, 
caregivers, and loved ones. We expect the interviews to last about 45 
minutes, and will explore respondents' planned use of their ABLE 
accounts, including contributions and uses of funds. We will also 
explore key facilitators and barriers to opening and using ABLE 
accounts that are difficult to assess through surveys and 
administrative data. In addition, for individuals who did not sign up 
for an account, we will examine the barriers that prevented them from 
opening an account and what would need to change for them to sign up. 
We expect these interviews will assess participants' initial 
expectations of the value of ABLE accounts in promoting employment, 
independence, and well-being, and explore how these expectations 
compare to the participants' actual experience of using ABLE accounts.
    SSA is partnering with the University of Chicago's IEL and the 
Illinois State Treasurer's Office (ILSTO) to implement and evaluate DO-
ABLE. The evaluation will provide empirical evidence on (1) the 
barriers that currently prevent people from opening ABLE accounts; and 
(2) the impacts of opening and saving money in an ABLE account. We are 
primarily interested in impacts on financial security, self-
sufficiency, and, ultimately, employment. The respondents are current 
SSI recipients (or their guardians) who are ages 18 to 59 who first 
received SSI before age 26, and who are thus eligible to open an ABLE 
account.
    Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.

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                                                                                                           Average      Average  wait
                                                                       Average burden     Estimated      theoretical      time for        Total annual
        Modality of completion            Number of     Frequency of    per response    total annual     hourly cost     teleservice    opportunity cost
                                         respondents      response        (minutes)    burden (hours)      amount          centers       (dollars) ***
                                                                                                         (dollars) *    (minutes) **
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Intake survey--Online................           4,760               1              15           1,190        * $31.48  ..............        *** $37,461
Intake survey--Telephone.............           2,040               1              15             510         * 31.48           ** 19         *** 36,391
Follow-up survey--Online.............           2,856               1              15             714         * 31.48  ..............         *** 22,477
Follow-up survey--Telephone..........           1,224               1              15             306         * 31.48           ** 19         *** 21,847
Qualitative interviews...............              80               1              45              60         * 31.48           ** 19          *** 2,676
                                      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals...........................          10,960  ..............  ..............           2,780  ..............  ..............        *** 120,852
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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).
** We based this figure by averaging the average FY 2024 wait times for 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.



[[Page 79330]]

    Dated: September 24, 2024.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024-22178 Filed 9-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P


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