Social Security Administration February 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are giving notice that an agreement coordinating the United States (U.S.) and Icelandic social security programs will go into force effective on March 1, 2019. The Agreement with Iceland, which was signed on September 27, 2016, is similar to U.S. social security agreements already in force with 29 other countriesAustralia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea (South), Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. Section 233 of the Social Security Act authorizes agreements of this type.

In accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act, as amended, this notice announces a new matching program with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The agreement between SSA and OPM sets forth the terms, conditions, and safeguards under which OPM will disclose civil service benefit and payment data to SSA. SSA is legally required to offset specific benefits by a percentage of civil service benefits received (Spousal and Survivors benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, and Retirement and Disability Insurance Benefits are offset by a percentage of the recipients own Federal Government pension benefits). SSA administers the Old Age, Survivors, Disability Insurance (OASDI), SSI, and Special Veterans' Benefits (SVB) programs. SSA will use the match results under this agreement to meet its civil service benefit offset obligations. Appendices A, B, C, and D of this agreement contain specific information on the matching programs that SSA will conduct under this agreement. SSA's Office of the Chief Actuary (OCA) will also use OPM's data for statistical and research purposes in tracking the size of, and impact on, subpopulations of government annuitants affected by the Government Pension Offset (GPO), the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), and in cost estimates of proposals to change the two provisions.