Railroad Retirement Board July 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents
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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 collection of information to determine (1) the practical utility of the collection; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden of the collection; (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. Title and purpose of information collection: Repayment of Debt; OMB 3220-0169. When the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) determines that an overpayment of Railroad Retirement Act or Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act benefits has occurred, it initiates prompt action to notify the annuitant of the overpayment and to recover the money owed the RRB. To effect payment of a debt by credit card, the RRB utilizes Form G-421F, Repayment by Credit Card. The RRB's procedures pertaining to benefit overpayment determinations and the recovery of such benefits are prescribed in 20 CFR 255 and 340. One form is completed by each respondent. Completion is voluntary. Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the initial 60-day notice (81 FR 28907 on May 10, 2016) required by 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.
Proposed Collection; Comment Request
In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data collections. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Title and purpose of information collection: Application for Employee Annuity Under the Railroad Retirement Ac; OMB 3220-0002. Section 2a of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) 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. The RRB recently received short-term approval of a Request for Emergency Clearance from the Office of Management and Budget for this information collection. In response to that request the RRB received comments from 3 railroad labor organizations commenting on the RRB's action. The comments centered on the collection of information associated with the following issues: The relinquishment of seniority rights; The reporting of volunteer and social/recreational activities as part of the adjudication of an application for disability; Whether an applicant had filed or expected to file a lawsuit or claim against a person or company for a personal injury that resulted in the payment of sickness benefits by the RRB; and The use of facilitators who assist disability applicants in the completion of their applications. RRB staff thoroughly evaluated the comments received and responded to the railroad labor organizations. In response to those comments, the RRB proposes the following changes to Forms AA-1 and AA-1d: deletion of Item 35a-d from Form AA-1, regarding the relinquishment of seniority rights; the relocation of current Items 52-53 from Form AA-1d to proposed Items 48a-b on Form AA-1, regarding whether an applicant had filed or expected to file a lawsuit or claim against a person or company for a personal injury that resulted in the payment of sickness benefits by the RRB, as the potential for uncollected sickness benefits can apply to both a disability applicant as well as an applicant qualified for an age and service annuity. Comparable revisions to electronic equivalent forms (AA-1cert and AA-1sum) are also being proposed. The RRB proposes no changes to Form G-204. One response is requested of each respondent. Completion of the forms is required to obtain/retain a benefit.
Proposed Collection; Comment Request
In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data collections. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 1. Title and purpose of information collection: Medical Reports; OMB 3220-0038. Under sections 2(a)(1)(iv) and 2(a)(1)(v) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), annuities are payable to qualified railroad employees whose physical or mental condition makes them unable to (1) work in their regular occupation (occupational disability) or (2) work at all (total disability). The requirements for establishing disability and proof of continuing disability under the RRA are prescribed in 20 CFR 220. Annuities are also payable to (1) qualified spouses and widow(ers) under sections 2(c)(1)(ii)(C) and 2(d)(1)(ii) of the RRA who have a qualifying child who became disabled before age 22; (2) surviving children on the basis of disability under section 2(d)(1)(iii)(C), if the child's disability began before age 22; and (3) widow(er)s on the basis of disability under section 2(d)(1)(i)(B). To meet the disability standard, the RRA provides that individuals must have a permanent physical or mental condition that makes them unable to engage in any regular employment. Under section 2(d)(1)(v) of the RRA, annuities are also payable to remarried widow(er)s and surviving divorced spouses on the basis of, among other things, disability or having a qualifying disabled child in care. However, the disability standard in these cases is that found in the Social Security Act. That is, individuals must be unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment. The RRB also determines entitlement to a Period of Disability and entitlement to early Medicare based on disability for qualified claimants in accordance with Section 216 of the Social Security Act. When making disability determinations, the RRB needs evidence from acceptable medical sources. The RRB currently utilizes Forms G-3EMP, Report of Medical Condition by Employer; G-197, Authorization to Disclose Information to the Railroad Retirement Board; G-250, Medical Assessment; G-250A, Medical Assessment of Residual Functional Capacity; G-260, Report of Seizure Disorder; RL-11B, Disclosure of Hospital Medical Records; RL-11D, Disclosure of Medical Records from a State Agency; and RL-250, Request for Medical Assessment, to obtain the necessary medical evidence. The RRB proposes no revisions to these forms. In support of the RRB's Disability Program Improvement Project to enhance/improve disability case processing and overall program integrity, the RRB proposes the addition of proposed Form RL-11D1, Request for Medical Evidence from Employers, to the information collection. Form RL-11D1 will be mailed by an RRB field office to railroad and nonrailroad employers to obtain any medical evidence regarding the employee's disability that they may have acquired within the last 18 months. A copy of the employee signed Form G-197 will be enclosed with the RL-11D1. The employer will return the RL-11D1 to RRB Headquarters certifying that they either have submitted the requested medical evidence or that they have no medical evidence to submit. One response is requested of each respondent. Completion is voluntary.
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