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 extensions and 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: OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov.

(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: OR.Reports.Clearance@ssa.gov.

Or you may submit your comments online through www.regulations.gov,, referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2018-0053].

I. 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 December 3, 2018. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection instruments by writing to the above email address.

1. Response to Notice of Revised Determination—20 CFR 404.913-404.914, 404.992(b), 416.1413-416.1414, and 416.1492(d)—0960-0347. When SSA determines: (1) Claimants for initial disability benefits do not actually have a disability; or (2) current disability recipients' records show their disability ceased, SSA notifies the disability claimants, or recipients of this decision. In response to this notice, the affected claimants and disability recipients have the following recourse: (1) They may request a disability hearing to contest SSA's decision; and (2) they may submit additional information or evidence for SSA to consider. Disability claimants, recipients, and their representatives use Form SSA-765 to accomplish these two actions. If respondents request the first option, SSA's Disability Hearings Unit uses the form to schedule a hearing; ensure an interpreter is present, if required; and ensure the disability recipients or claimants, and their representatives, receive a notice about the place and time of the hearing. If respondents choose the second option, SSA uses the form and other evidence to reevaluate the claimant's or recipients' case, and determine if the new information or evidence will change SSA's decision. The respondents are disability claimants, current disability recipients, or their representatives.

Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.

2. Site Review Questionnaire for Volume and Fee-for-Service Payees and Beneficiary Interview Form—20 CFR 404.2035, 404.2065, 416.665, 416.701, and 416.708—0960-0633. SSA asks organizational representative payees to complete Form SSA-637, the Site Review Questionnaire for Volume and Fee-for-Service Payees, to provide information on how they carry out their responsibilities, including how they manage beneficiary funds. SSA then obtains information from the beneficiaries these organizations represent via Form SSA-639, Beneficiary Interview Form, to corroborate the payees' statements. Due to the sensitivity of the information, SSA employees always complete the forms based on the answers respondents give during the interview. The respondents are individuals; State and local governments; non-profit and for-profit organizations serving as representative payees; and the beneficiaries they serve.

Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.

II. SSA submitted the information collections below to OMB for clearance. Your comments regarding these information collections 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 November 2, 2018. Individuals can obtain copies of the OMB clearance packages by writing to OR.Reports.Clearance@ssa.gov.

1. Medical Source Opinion of Patient's Capability to Manage Benefits —20 CFR 404.2015 and 416.615—0960-0024. SSA appoints a representative payee in cases where we determine beneficiaries are not capable of managing their own benefits. In these instances, we require medical evidence to determine the beneficiaries' capability of managing or directing their benefit payments. SSA collects medical evidence on Form SSA-787 to: (1) Determine beneficiaries' capability or inability to handle their own benefits; and (2) assist in determining the beneficiaries' need for a representative payee. The respondents are the beneficiary's physicians, or medical officers of the institution in which the beneficiary resides.

Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.

2. Work Activity Report—Employee—20 CFR 404.1520(b), 404.1571-404.1576, 404.1584-404.1593, and 416.971-404.976 —0960-0059. SSA uses the SSA-821-BK to obtain work information during the initial claims process; the continuing disability review process; post-adjudicative work issue actions; and for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims involving work issues. SSA reviews and evaluates the data to determine if the applicant or recipient meets the disability requirements of the law. The respondents are applicants and recipients of Title II Social Security and Title XVI SSI disability payments.

Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.

3. State Supplementation Provisions: Agreement; Payments—20 CFR 416.2095-416.2099—0960-0240. Section 1618 of the Social Security Act (Act) requires those states administering their own supplementary income payment program(s) to demonstrate compliance with the Act by passing Federal cost-of-living increases on to individuals who are eligible for state supplementary payments, and informing SSA of their compliance. In general, states report their supplementary payment information annually by the maintenance-of-payment levels method. However, SSA may ask them to report up to four times in a year by the total-expenditures method. Regardless of the method, the states confirm their compliance with the requirements, and provide any changes to their optional supplementary payment rates. SSA uses the information to determine each state's compliance or noncompliance with the pass-along requirements of the Act to determine eligibility for Medicaid reimbursement. If a state fails to keep payments at the required level, it becomes ineligible for Medicaid reimbursement under Title XIX of the Act. Respondents are state agencies administering supplemental programs.

Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information collection.

4. Appointment of Representative—20 CFR 404.1707, 404.1720, 408.1101, 416.1507, and 416.1520—0960-0527. Individuals claiming rights or benefits under the Act must notify SSA in writing when they appoint an individual to represent them in dealing with SSA. In addition, SSA requires representatives to sign the notice of appointment, or submit the equivalent in writing, if the representative is not an attorney. Recipients use Form SSA-1696-U4 to appoint a representative to handle their claim before SSA, and their appointed representative uses the SSA-1696-U4 to indicate whether they will charge a fee, and to show their eligibility for direct fee payment. In addition, representatives also use the SSA-1696-U4 to inform SSA of their disbarment; suspension from a court or bar in which they previously admitted to practice; or their disqualification from participating in or appearing before a Federal program or agency. Finally, SSA requires non-attorney appointed representatives to sign the SSA-1696-U4, or an equivalent written statement. SSA uses the information on the SSA-1696-U4 to document the appointment of the representative. Respondents are applicants for, or recipients of, Social Security disability benefits (SSDI) or SSI payments who are notifying SSA they have appointed a person to represent them in their dealings with SSA, and their non-attorney representatives who need to sign the form.

Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.

5. Representative Payee Report of Benefits and Dedicated Account —20 CFR 416.546, 416.635, 416.640, and 416.665—0960-0576. SSA requires representative payees (RPs) to submit a written report accounting for the use of money paid to Social Security or SSI recipients, and to establish and maintain a dedicated account for these payments. SSA uses Form SSA-6233 to: (1) Ensure the RPs use the payments for the recipient's current maintenance and personal needs; and (2) confirm the expenditures of funds from the dedicated account remain in compliance with the law. Respondents are RPs for SSI and Social Security recipients.

Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.

6. Testimony by Employees and the Production of Records and Information in Legal Proceedings—20 CFR 403.100-403.155 —0960-0619. Regulations at 20 CFR 403.100-403.155 of the Code of Federal Regulations establish SSA's policies and procedures for an individual; organization; or government entity to request official agency information, records, or testimony of an agency employee in a legal proceeding when the agency is not a party. The request, which respondents submit in writing to SSA, must: (1) Fully set out the nature and relevance of the sought testimony; (2) explain why the information is not available by other means; (3) explain why it is in SSA's interest to provide the testimony; and (4) provide the date, time, and place for the testimony. Respondents are individuals or entities who request testimony from SSA employees in connection with a legal proceeding.

Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information collection.

7. Certification of Prisoner Identity Information—20 CFR 422.107—0960-0688. Inmates of Federal, State, or local prisons may need a Social Security card as verification of their Social Security Number (SSN) for school or work programs, or as proof of employment eligibility upon release from incarceration. Before SSA can issue a replacement Social Security card, applicants must show SSA proof of their identity. People who are in prison for an extended period typically do not have current identity documents. Therefore, under formal written agreement with the correctional institution, SSA allows prison officials to verify the identity of certain incarcerated U.S. citizens who need replacement Social Security cards. Information prison officials provide comes from the official prison files, sent on correctional facility letterhead. SSA uses this information to establish the applicant's identity in the replacement Social Security card process. The respondents are prison officials who certify the identity of prisoners applying for replacement Social Security cards.

Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved Information Collection.

8. Notification of a Social Security Number (SSN) to an Employer for Wage Reporting—20 CFR 422.103(a)—0960-0778. Individuals applying for employment must provide a SSN, or indicate they have applied for one. However, when an individual applies for an initial SSN, there is a delay between the assignment of the number and the delivery of the SSN card. At an individual's request, SSA uses Form SSA-132 to send the individual's SSN to an employer. Mailing this information to the employer: (1) Ensures the employer has the correct SSN for the individual; (2) allows SSA to receive correct earnings information for wage reporting purposes; and (3) reduces the delay in the initial SSN assignment and delivery of the SSN information directly to the employer. It also enables SSA to verify the employer as a safeguard for the applicant's personally identifiable information. The majority of individuals who take advantage of this option are in the United States with exchange visitor and student visas; however, we allow any applicant for an SSN to use the SSA-132. The respondents are individuals applying for an initial SSN who ask SSA to mail confirmation of their application or the SSN to their employers.

Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.