Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended; Minor Changes to a System of Records, 49354-49357 [05-16633]

Agencies

• Social Security Administration

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 23, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49354-49357]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16633]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION


Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended; Minor Changes to a System of 
Records

AGENCY: Social Security Administration (SSA).

ACTION: Notice of minor changes to an existing system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)), we 
are issuing public notice of our intent to make housekeeping changes to 
the system of records entitled, Recovery of Overpayments, Accounting 
and Reporting (ROAR) SSA/OTSO, 60-0094, to more accurately describe the 
records maintained in this system of records. The housekeeping changes 
make the Privacy Act notice of the ROAR system of records accurate and 
up to date. We invite public comment on this proposal.

DATES: This notice is effective upon publication.

ADDRESSES: Interested individuals may comment on this publication by 
writing to the Deputy Executive Director, Office of Public Disclosure, 
Office of the General Counsel, Social Security Administration, Room 3-
A-6 Operations Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 
21235-6401. All comments received will be available for public 
inspection at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Ms. Tracie Jennings, Social 
Insurance Specialist, Disclosure Policy Team, Office of Public 
Disclosure, Office of the General Counsel, Social Security 
Administration, Room 3-A-6 Operations Building, 6401 Security 
Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401, telephone 410-965-2902, e-
mail: tracie.jennings@ssa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 49355]]

I. Minor Housekeeping Changes to the ROAR System of Records

    The ROAR system of records is SSA's debt collection system for the 
recovery of program debts for Title II Retirement, Survivors, and 
Disability Insurance program debt, Title XVI Supplemental Security 
Income program debt recovered from Title II benefits, and Title XVIII 
health insurance program debt recovered from Title II benefits. The 
ROAR system of records also controls misuse funds cases, cases in which 
a former representative payee is asked to return conserved funds, and 
Civil Monetary Penalty cases. We are making the changes discussed below 
to make the Privacy Act notice of the ROAR system of records accurate 
and up to date. We have not made any substantive changes to the ROAR 
system of records.

A. Revision to Name of the ROAR System of Records

    We are changing the current name of this system of records from 
Recovery of Overpayments, Accounting and Reporting System to Recovery 
of Overpayments, Accounting and Reporting System/Debt Management System 
(ROAR/DMS) SSA/OTSO. The new name of the system of records more 
accurately reflects the purposes for which the system of records was 
established.

B. Revision to the System Location Section of the ROAR/DMS Notice

    The System location section of the ROAR/DMS notice currently states 
that all Social Security field offices maintain ``lists of overpaid 
individuals'' (i.e. individuals who owe SSA program debt). Such lists 
are no longer maintained in these offices and we have revised this 
section accordingly. We have also revised the address information for 
SSA Program Service Centers.

C. Revision to the Categories of Individuals Covered by the ROAR/DMS 
Notice

    The ROAR/DMS system of records historically has always maintained 
information about representative payees when those payees have received 
excess benefits for the individuals for whom they serve as payees. This 
is not clear from the current description of the categories of 
individuals covered by the system of records. We have clarified the 
language in this section to state that such individuals are covered by 
the ROAR/DMS system of records.

D. Revision to the Purpose Section of the ROAR/DMS Notice

    The ROAR/DMS system has always encompassed SSA's DMS, which is 
SSA's automated system for recording, classifying, and summarizing 
information on SSA's program debt collection activities, but this is 
not evident from the current description of the Purpose(s) section of 
the ROAR/DMS notice. Thus, we have revised the Purpose(s) section of 
the ROAR/DMS notice to more accurately describe SSA's program debt 
collection activities.

E. Revision to the Language in Routine Use 3 in the ROAR/DMS 
Notice

    Routine use 3 in the ROAR/DMS Notice provides for 
disclosure of information to third party contacts to assist SSA in 
recovering program debts. The routine use currently cites examples of 
non-governmental and governmental entities to which SSA may disclose 
information for this purpose. We have revised the routine use to 
include reference to the Department of the Treasury as another example 
of a third party contact to which SSA may disclose information from the 
ROAR/DMS system of records for program debt collection purposes.

F. Revision to the System Manager Section of the ROAR/DMS Notice

    We have revised the ``System manager'' section of the ROAR/DMS 
notice to denote that the system of records has co-managers; a manager 
for the ROAR portion of the system of records and a manager for the DMS 
portion of the system of records.

G. Revision of the Notification Procedure Section of the ROAR/DMS 
Notice

    This section of the ROAR/DMS notice previously stated that an 
individual could find out if the ROAR/DMS system of records contained a 
record about him or her by contacting the appropriate processing 
center, the most convenient Social Security office, or writing to the 
system manager of the ROAR/DMS system of records. We have revised this 
section by stating that individuals can determine if the ROAR/DMS 
system of records contains a record about them by contacting the most 
convenient Social Security office or by writing to the system managers.

H. Revision to the Record Access Procedures Section of the ROAR/DMS 
Notice

    We have revised the information in this section to state that 
individuals may access some information about their program debt via 
the Internet when SSA has authorized such access using a personal 
identification number and password.

I. Editorial/Grammatical Changes to the ROAR/DMS Notice

    In addition to the changes discussed in items A-H above, we have 
made editorial and grammatical changes throughout the ROAR/DMS notice 
to make the notice accurate and up to date.

II. Effect of the Proposed Housekeeping Changes to the ROAR/DMS System 
of Records

    When operating the ROAR/DMS system of records, we adhere to all 
applicable statutory requirements, including those under the Social 
Security Act and the Privacy Act, in carrying out our program debt 
collection responsibilities. Therefore, we do not anticipate that the 
housekeeping changes will have an unwarranted adverse effect on the 
rights of individuals.

    Dated: August 12, 2005.
Jo Anne B. Barnhart,
Commissioner.
SYSTEM NUMBER:
     60-0094.

System name:
    Recovery of Overpayments, Accounting and Reporting /Debt Management 
System (ROAR/DMS) SSA/OTSO.

Security classification:
    None.

System location:
    Social Security Administration, Office of Telecommunications and 
Systems Operations, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235.
    Program Service Centers (Contact the system manager(s) for PSC 
address information).
    Social Security Administration, Office of Central Operations, 1500 
Woodlawn Drive, Baltimore, MD 21241.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Social Security beneficiaries, former beneficiaries, and 
representative payees who may have received excess benefits; persons 
holding conserved (accumulated) funds received on behalf of a Social 
Security beneficiary; and persons who received Social Security payments 
in error or on behalf of a beneficiary and are suspected to have 
misused those payments.

Categories of records in the system:
    Identifying characteristics of each program debt or instance of 
misused or

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conserved funds (e.g., name, Social Security number (SSN) and address 
of the individual(s) involved, recovery efforts made and the date of 
each action, and planned future actions).

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    Section 204(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 404(a)).

Purpose(s):
    The ROAR/DMS system of records controls the recovery and collection 
activity of:
     Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance (RSDI), 
Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Health Insurance (HI) program 
debt when refund is requested or adjustment is proposed;
     SSI, and HI program debt recovered from RSDI accounts;
     Misused funds cases;
     Conserved funds cases;
     Civil Monetary Penalty cases; and
     Program debts created by fraudulent acts.
    The ROAR/DMS system of records encompasses SSA's automated system 
for recording, classifying, and summarizing information on SSA's 
program debt collection responsibilities. The users of this system are 
employees of the Social Security field offices, as well as selected 
personnel of SSA's 8 Processing Centers, Regional and Area offices, and 
Teleservice Centers. The data are used to maintain control of program 
debt, and misused or conserved funds, from the time of discovery to the 
final resolution, and for the proper adjustments of payment and refund 
amounts. The DMS front-end screens, object programs, and other 
processes are used to create transaction records that are used to 
establish and update the ROAR/DMS system of records, update the Master 
Beneficiary Record, and update the Supplemental Security Income Record 
and Special Veterans Benefits System. These transaction record data 
produce accounting and statistical reports at specified intervals.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    Disclosure may be made for routine uses as indicated below. 
However, disclosure of any information constituting ``returns or return 
information'' within the scope of the Internal Revenue Code will not be 
disclosed unless disclosure is authorized by that statute.
    (1) To a congressional office in response to an inquiry from that 
office made at the request of the subject of a record.
    (2) To the Office of the President for the purpose of responding to 
an individual pursuant to an inquiry received from that individual or a 
third party on his/her behalf.
    (3) To third party contacts such as private collection agencies and 
credit reporting agencies under contract with SSA and other agencies, 
including the Veterans Administration, the Armed Forces, the Department 
of the Treasury, and State motor vehicle agencies, for the purpose of 
their assisting SSA in recovering program debt.
    (4) Information may be disclosed to contractors and other Federal 
agencies, as necessary, for the purpose of assisting SSA in the 
efficient administration of its programs. We contemplate disclosing 
information under this routine use only in situations in which SSA may 
enter a contractual or similar agreement with a third party to assist 
in accomplishing an agency function relating to this system of records.
    (5) Non-tax return information which is not restricted from 
disclosure by Federal law may be disclosed to the General Services 
Administration (GSA) and the National Archives and Records 
Administration (NARA) for the purpose of conducting records management 
studies with respect to their duties and responsibilities under 44 
U.S.C. 2904 and 2906, as amended by NARA Act of 1984.
    (6) To the Department of Justice (DOJ), a court or other tribunal, 
or another party before such tribunal when:
    (a) SSA, or any component thereof; or
    (b) any SSA employee in his/her official capacity; or
    (c) any SSA employee in his/her individual capacity where DOJ (or 
SSA where it is authorized to do so) has agreed to represent the 
employee; or
    (d) the United States or any agency thereof where SSA determines 
that the litigation is likely to affect the operations of SSA or any of 
its components, is a party to litigation or has an interest in such 
litigation, and SSA determines that the use of such records by DOJ, the 
court or other tribunal is relevant and necessary to the litigation, 
provided, however, that in each case, SSA determines that such 
disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the records were 
collected.
    Wage and other information which are subject to the disclosure 
provisions of the IRC (26 U.S.C. 6103) will not be disclosed under this 
routine use unless disclosure is expressly permitted by the IRC.
    (7) To student volunteers and other workers, who technically do not 
have the status of Federal employees, when they are performing work for 
SSA as authorized by law, and they need access to personally 
identifiable information in SSA records in order to perform their 
assigned Agency functions.
    (8) To employers to assist SSA in the collection of debts owed by 
former beneficiaries and representative payees of Social Security 
payments who received an overpayment and owe a delinquent debt to the 
SSA. Disclosure under this routine use is authorized under the Debt 
Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-134) and implemented 
through administrative wage garnishment provisions of this Act (31 
U.S.C. 3720D).

Disclosure to Consumer Reporting Agencies:
    Disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12) may be made to consumer 
reporting agencies as defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681a(f)) or the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 as 
amended (31 U.S.C. 3701, et seq.) or the Social Security Domestic 
Employment Reform Act of 1994, Pub. L. 103-387, 42 U.S.C. 404(f). The 
purpose of this disclosure is to aid in the collection of outstanding 
program debts owed to the Federal government, typically, to provide an 
incentive for debtors to repay delinquent Federal government program 
debts by making these part of their credit records. Disclosure of 
records is limited to the individual's name, address, SSN, and other 
information necessary to establish the individual's identity; the 
amount, status, and history of the claim and the agency or program 
under which the claim arose. The disclosure will be made only after the 
procedural requirements of 31 U.S.C. 3711(e) have been followed.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Records are, or have been, maintained in magnetic cartridges, 
microfiche and paper form.

Retrievability:
    Records are retrieved by SSN.

Safeguards:
    System security for automated records has been established in 
accordance with the Systems Security Handbook. This includes 
maintaining automated records in a secured building, the SSA National 
Computer Center, and limiting access to the building to employees who 
have a need to enter in the performance of their official duties. Paper 
and other non-ADP records are protected through standard

[[Page 49357]]

security measures (e.g., maintenance of the records in buildings which 
are manned by armed guards).

Retention and disposal:
    Magnetic cartridges are updated daily and retained for 75 days. The 
magnetic cartridges produced in the last operation of the month are 
retained in security storage for a period of 75 days, after which the 
tapes are erased and returned to stock. The microfiche records are 
normally updated monthly, retained for 3 years after the month they are 
produced, and then destroyed by application of heat.

System manager(s) and address:
    Director, Office of Retirement and Survivors Insurance System, 
Division of Title II Payments and Accounting, Social Security 
Administration, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland, 21235, is 
the system manager for ROAR.
    Director, Office of Financial Policy and Systems Design, Social 
Security Administration, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland, 
21235, is the system manager for DMS.

Notification procedure:
    An individual can determine if this system contains a record about 
him/her by contacting the most convenient Social Security field office 
and providing his/her name, SSN or other information that may be in the 
system of records that will identify him/her. An individual requesting 
notification of records in person should provide the same information, 
as well as provide an identity document, preferably with a photograph, 
such as a driver's license or some other means of identification, such 
as a voter registration card, credit card, etc. If an individual does 
not have any identification documents sufficient to establish his/her 
identity, the individual must certify in writing that he/she is the 
person claimed to be and that he/she understands that the knowing and 
willful request for, or acquisition of, a record pertaining to another 
individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense.
    If notification is requested by telephone, an individual must 
verify his/her identity by providing identifying information that 
parallels the record to which notification is being requested. If it is 
determined that the identifying information provided by telephone is 
insufficient, the individual will be required to submit a request in 
writing or in person. If an individual is requesting information by 
telephone on behalf of another individual, the subject individual must 
be connected with SSA and the requesting individual in the same phone 
call. SSA will establish the subject individual's identity (his/her 
name, SSN, address, date of birth and place of birth along with one 
other piece of information such as mother's maiden name) and ask for 
his/her consent in providing information to the requesting individual.
    If a request for notification is submitted by mail, an individual 
must include a notarized statement to SSA to verify his/her identity or 
must certify in the request that he/she is the person claimed to be and 
that he/she understands that the knowing and willful request for, or 
acquisition of, a record pertaining to another individual under false 
pretenses is a criminal offense. These procedures are in accordance 
with SSA Regulations (20 CFR 401.40).

Record access procedures:
    Same as notification procedures. Also, requesters should reasonably 
specify the record contents they are seeking. An individual may also 
have access to certain program debt management data via Internet 
queries when he or she is authorized by SSA to conduct business 
transactions electronically using a personal identification number 
(PIN) and password. Using a PIN and password individuals may obtain 
information such as the reason for the program debt, the amount owed on 
the debt, how much has been withheld from the last check to cover the 
debt, and the same information about their next check. These procedures 
are in accordance with SSA Regulations (20 CFR 401.40(c)).

Contesting record procedures:
    Same as notification procedures. Requesters should also reasonably 
identify the record, specify the information they are contesting and 
state the corrective action sought, and the reasons for the correction, 
with supporting justification showing how the record is untimely, 
incomplete, inaccurate or irrelevant. These procedures are in 
accordance with SSA Regulations (20 CFR 401.65(a)).

Record source categories:
    The information for the computer files is received directly from 
beneficiaries, from Social Security field offices, and as the result of 
earnings enforcement operations. The paper listings are updated as a 
result of the computer operations.

Systems exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act:
    None.
[FR Doc. 05-16633 Filed 8-22-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P