Railroad Retirement Board February 28, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 collections of information to determine (1) the practical utility of the collections; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden of the collections; (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. 1. Title and purpose of information collection: Application for Survivor Insurance Annuities; OMB 3220-0030. Under Section 2(d) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), monthly survivor annuities are payable to surviving widow(er)s, parents, unmarried children, and in certain cases, divorced spouses, mothers (fathers), remarried widow(er)s, and grandchildren of deceased railroad employees if there are no qualified survivors of the employee immediately eligible for an annuity. The requirements relating to the annuities are prescribed in 20 CFR 216, 217, 218, and 219. To collect the information needed to help determine an applicant's entitlement to, and the amount of, a survivor annuity the RRB uses Forms AA-17, Application for Widow(er)'s Annuity; AA-17b, Applications for Determination of Widow(er)'s Disability; AA-18, Application for Mother's/Father's and Child's Annuity; AA-19, Application for Child's Annuity; AA-19a, Application for Determination of Child's Disability; AA-20, Application for Parent's Annuity, and electronic Forms AA- 17cert, Application Summary and Certification and AA-17sum, Application Summary. The on-line automated survivor annuity application (Forms AA-17, AA-18, AA-19, and AA-20) process obtains information about an applicant's marital history, work history, benefits from other government agencies, and Medicare entitlement for a survivor annuity. An RRB representative interviews the applicant either at a field office (preferred), 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 system generates, for the applicant's review, either Form AA-17cert or AA- 17sum, which provides a summary of the information that the applicant provided or verified. Form AA-17cert, Application Summary and Certification, requires a tradition pen and ink ``wet'' signature. Form AA-17sum, Application Summary, documents the alternate signing method called ``Attestation,'' which is an action taken by the RRB representative to confirm and annotate in the RRB records (1) the applicant's intent to file an application; (2) the applicant's affirmation under penalty of perjury that the information provided is correct; and (3) the applicant's agreement to sign the application by proxy. 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 the appropriate form is used. One response is requested of each respondent. Completion of the forms is required to obtain a benefit. Previous requests for comments: The RRB has already published the initial 60-day notice (83 FR 66323 on December 26, 2018) required by 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.