[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 211 (Wednesday, November 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66480-66482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21820]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and 
Comment Request

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages that will require clearance by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Pub. L. 104-
13, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. The 
information collection packages that may be included in this notice are 
for new information collections, revisions to OMB-approved information 
collections, and extensions (no change) 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 on ways to minimize 
burden on respondents, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Written comments 
and recommendations regarding the information collection(s) should be 
submitted to the OMB Desk Officer and the SSA Reports Clearance 
Officer. The information can be mailed

[[Page 66481]]

and/or faxed to the individuals at the addresses and fax numbers listed 
below:
    (OMB) Office of Management and Budget, Fax: 202-395-6974.
    (SSA) Social Security Administration, DCFAM, Attn: Reports 
Clearance Officer, 1333 Annex Building, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, 
MD 21235; Fax: 410-965-6400.
    I. The information collections listed below are pending at SSA and 
will be submitted to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. 
Therefore, your comments should be submitted to SSA within 60 days from 
the date of this publication. You can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-965-
0454 or by writing to the address listed above.

1. Employee Verification Service (EVS)--0960-0669

Background

    Under Internal Revenue Service regulations, employers are required 
to provide wage and tax data to SSA using form W-2, Wage and Tax 
Statement or its electronic equivalent. As part of this process, the 
employer must furnish the employee's name and Social Security Number 
(SSN). This information must match SSA's records in order for the 
employee's wage and tax data to be properly posted to the Earnings 
Record. Information that is incorrectly provided to the Agency must be 
corrected by the employer using an amended reporting form, which is a 
labor-intensive and time-consuming process for both SSA and the 
employer. Therefore, to help ensure that employers provide accurate 
name and SSN information on their wage reports, SSA is offering the EVS 
service whereby employers can verify, via magnetic tape, cartridge, 
diskette, paper, and telephone, if the reported name and SSN of their 
employee matches SSA's records.
EVS Collection
    SSA will use the information collected through the EVS to verify 
that the employee name and SSN information, provided by employers, 
matches SSA records. SSA will respond to the employer informing them 
only of matches and mismatches of submitted information. Respondents 
are employers who provide wage and tax data to SSA who elect to use EVS 
to verify their employees' names and SSNs.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-Approved Information 
Collection.
    Number of Respondents: 50,000.
    Frequency of Response: 12.
    Average Burden Per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 100,000 hours.

2. Partnership Questionnaire--20 CFR 404.1080-.1082--0960-0025

    Form SSA-7104 is used to establish several aspects of eligibility 
for Social Security benefits, including the accuracy of reported 
partnership earnings, the veracity of a retirement, and lag earnings 
where they are needed for insured status. The respondents are 
applicants for Social Security Old Age, Survivors, and Disability 
Insurance Benefits.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 12,350.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 6,175 hours.

3. Letter to Employer Requesting Information About Wages Earned by a 
Beneficiary--20 CFR 404.703 and 404.801--0960-0034

    Form SSA-L725 is used by SSA to establish the exact wages earned by 
a Social Security beneficiary in situations where SSA has incomplete or 
questionable wage data. In turn, this information is used to determine 
if the beneficiary's current SSA payments are accurate. The respondents 
are employers of wage earners whose earnings records are incomplete or 
have been questioned.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 150,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 40 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 100,000 hours.
    II. The information collections listed below have been submitted to 
OMB for clearance. Your comments on the information collections would 
be most useful if received by OMB and SSA within 30 days from the date 
of this publication. You can obtain a copy of the OMB clearance package 
by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-965-0454, or by 
writing to the address listed above.

1. Application To Collect a Fee for Payee Services--0960-NEW

    Information requested on form SSA-445 will be provided by the fee 
for payee services applicant. SSA will be the only user of this 
information. By using form SSA-445, SSA will be able to determine 
whether the applicant meets the requirements to become a fee for 
service organizational payee, and if the applicant has provided all the 
information and documentation required. Based on the information 
provided on form SSA-445, SSA will issue a determination authorizing or 
denying permission to collect fees for payee services.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Number of Respondents: 100.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 3 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 5 hours.

2. Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants 
With Deferred Benefits, Schedule SSA--0960-0606

    Schedule SSA is a form filed annually as part of a series of 
pension plan documents required by section 6057 of the IRS Code. 
Administrators of pension benefit plans are required to report specific 
information on future plan benefits for those participants who left 
plan coverage during the year. SSA maintains the information until a 
claim for Social Security benefits has been approved. At that time, SSA 
notifies the beneficiary of his/her potential eligibility for payments 
from the private pension plan. The respondents are administrators of 
pension benefit plans or their service providers employed to prepare 
the schedule SSA on behalf of the pension benefit plan. Below are the 
estimates of the cost and hour burdens for completing and filing 
schedule SSA(s). We have used an average to estimate the hour burden. 
However, the burden may be greater or smaller depending on whether the 
respondent is a large or small pension benefit plan and how many 
schedule SSA's are filed in a given year.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 88,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 2.5 hours.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 220,000 hours.
    Estimated Annual Cost Burden for all Respondents: $12,194,400.

3. Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security 
(PABSS)--0960-NEW

Background

    In August of 2004, SSA announced its intention to award grants to 
establish community-based protection and advocacy projects in every 
State and U.S. Territory, as authorized under section 1150 of the 
Social Security Act. Potential awardees were protection and

[[Page 66482]]

advocacy organizations established under Title I of the Developmental 
Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act which submitted a timely 
application conforming to the requirements in the notice. The projects 
funded under this grant are part of SSA's strategy to increase the 
number of beneficiaries who return to work and achieve self-sufficiency 
as the result of receiving advocacy or other services. The overall goal 
of the program is to provide information and advice about obtaining 
vocational rehabilitation and employment services and to provide 
advocacy or other services that a beneficiary with a disability may 
need to secure, maintain, or regain gainful employment.

Collection Activities

    The PABSS project collects identifying information from the project 
sites and benefits specialists. In addition, data are collected from 
the beneficiaries on background, employment, training, benefits, and 
work incentives. SSA uses the information to manage the program, with 
particular emphasis on contract administration, budgeting, and 
training.
    SSA also uses the information to evaluate the efficacy of the 
program and to ensure that those dollars appropriated for PABSS 
services are being spent on SSA beneficiaries. The project data will be 
valuable to SSA in its analysis of and future planning for the Social 
Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income 
programs.
    Type of Request: New information collection.

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                                                    Number of                    Average burden     Estimated
              Title of collection                    annual       Frequency of    per response    annual burden
                                                    responses       response         (min.)           hours
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Site...........................................              57               5             1.8              8.6
Specialist.....................................             225               5             1.8             33.8
Beneficiary....................................          60,000               1             5.3          5,300
                                                -----------------
    Total Estimated Annual Burden..............  ..............  ..............  ..............          5,342
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4. SSI Monthly Wage Reporting Phase 2 Pilot--20 CFR 416.701-732-0960-
NEW

    Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients are required to 
report changes in their income, resources and living arrangements that 
may affect eligibility or payment amount. Currently, SSI recipients 
report changes on Form SSA-8150, Reporting Events--SSI, or to an SSA 
teleservice representative through SSA's toll-free telephone number, or 
they visit their local Social Security office.
    The SSI wage reporting program area has the highest error rate 
largely due to non-reporting, which accounts for approximately $500 
million in overpayments each year. Consequently SSA is evaluating 
methods for increasing reporting. SSA will conduct a pilot to test an 
additional method for individuals to report wages for the SSI program. 
We are testing to determine if, given an easily accessible automated 
format, individuals will increase compliance with reporting 
responsibilities. Increased timely reporting could result in a decrease 
in improper payments. SSA will also be testing the use of knowledge-
based authentication to determine if this is an effective method of 
accessing SSA's system.
    During the pilot, participants who need to report a change in 
earned income will call an SSA toll-free telephone number to report the 
change. The participants will access SSA's system using knowledge-based 
authentication (providing name, SSN and date of birth). Participants 
will either speak their report (voice recognition technology) or key in 
the information using the telephone key pad. SSA will issue receipts to 
disabled recipients who report wages using this method. Respondents to 
this collection are SSI recipients, deemors and representative payees 
of recipients who agree to participate in the pilot.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Number of Respondents: 600.
    Frequency of Response: 6.
    Average Burden Per Response: 5 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 300 hours.

    Dated: October 26, 2005.
Elizabeth A. Davidson,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-21820 Filed 11-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P