[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 60 (Tuesday, March 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15754-15755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6220]
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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
Agency Forms Submitted for OMB Review, Request for Comments
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is forwarding
two (2) Information Collection Requests (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 RRB or
OIRA must contain the OMB control number of the ICR. For proper
consideration of your comments, it is best if RRB and OIRA receive them
within 30 days of publication date.
1. Title and Purpose of Information Collection:
Application for Employee Annuity Under the Railroad Retirement Act;
3220-0002
Section 2 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, their spouse files for 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.
The RRB uses the electronic AA-1cert, Application Summary and
Certification process and the following forms to collect the
information needed for determining entitlement to and the amount of, an
employee retirement annuity: Form AA-1, Application for Employee
Annuity Under the Railroad Retirement Act, Form AA-1d, Application for
Determination of Employee Disability, and Form G-204, Verification of
Workers Compensation/Public Disability Benefit Information.
The AA-1cert process obtains information from an applicant for
either an age and service, or disability annuity by means of an
interview with an RRB field-office representative. It obtains
information about an applicant's marital history, work history,
military service, benefits from other governmental agencies and
railroad pensions. During the interview, the field-office
representative enters the information obtained into an on-line
information system. Upon completion of the interview, the applicant
receives Form AA-1cert, Application Summary and Certification, which
summarizes the information that was provided by/or verified by the
applicant, for review and signature. The RRB also uses a manual
version, RRB Form AA-1, in instances where the RRB representative is
unable to contact the applicant in-person or by telephone, i.e., the
applicant lives in another country.
Form AA-1d, Application for Determination of Employee 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
Workers Compensation/Public Disability Benefit Information, is used to
obtain and verify information concerning worker's compensation or
public disability benefits that are or will be paid by a public agency
to a disabled railroad employee.
All of the forms require completion to obtain a benefit. One or
more response is requested of each respondent.
Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the
initial 60-day notice (75 FR 4944 on January 28, 2010) required by 44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.
Title: Application for Employee Annuity Under the Railroad
Retirement Act.
OMB Control Number: 3220-0002.
Form(s) submitted: AA-1, Application for Employee Annuity; AA-
1cert, Application Summary and Certification; AA-1d, Application for
Determination of Employee's Disability; and G-204, Verification of
Worker's Compensation/Public Disability Benefit Information.
Type of request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected public: Individuals or households, State or local
government.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Abstract: The Railroad Retirement Act provides for payment of age,
disability, and supplemental annuities to qualified employees. The
application and related forms obtain information about the applicant's
family work history, military service, disability benefits from other
government agencies and public or private pensions. The information is
[[Page 15755]]
used to determine entitlement to and the amount of the annuity applied
for.
Changes Proposed:Non-burden impacting editorial changes intended to
provide clarification and specificity to several current responses as
well as the deletion of several items that are no longer needed are
proposed to Form AA-1. Non-burden impacting clarifying editorial
changes are proposed to Form AA-1(cert). No changes are proposed to
Form(s) AA-1d and G-204.
The burden estimate for this ICR is proposed as follows:
Estimated annual number of respondents: 14,120.
Total annual responses: 17,825.
Total annual reporting hours: 9,271.
2. Title and Purpose of Information Collection:
Voluntary Customer Surveys in Accordance With E.O 12862; 3220-0192
In accordance with Executive Order 12862, the Railroad Retirement
Board (RRB) conducts a number of customer surveys designed to determine
the kinds and quality of services our beneficiaries, claimants,
employers and members of the public want and expect, as well as their
satisfaction with existing RRB services. The information collected is
used by RRB management to monitor customer satisfaction by determining
to what extent services are satisfactory and where and to what extent
services can be improved. The surveys are limited to data collections
that solicit strictly voluntary opinions, and do not collect
information which is required or regulated. The information collection,
which was first approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
in 1997, provides the RRB with a generic clearance authority. This
generic authority allows the RRB to submit a variety of new or revised
customer survey instruments (needed to timely implement customer
monitoring activities) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
expedited review and approval. Our ICR describes the information we
seek to collect from the public.
Information Collection Request (ICR)
Title: Voluntary Customer Surveys in Accordance with E.O. 12862.
OMB Control Number 3220-0192.
Form(s) submitted: G-201, Customer Assessment Survey.
Type of request: Extension without change of a currently approved
collection.
Affected public: Individuals or households, Business-or-other-for
profit.
Obligation to Respond: Voluntary.
Abstract: The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) utilizes voluntary
customer surveys to ascertain customer satisfaction with the RRB in
terms of timeliness, appropriateness, access, and other measures of
quality service. Surveys involve individuals that are direct or
indirect beneficiaries of RRB services as well as railroad employers
who must report earnings.
Changes Proposed: The RRB proposes no changes to the information
collection.
The burden estimate for this ICR is unchanged as follows:
Estimated annual number of respondents: 1,750.
Total annual responses: 1,750.
Total annual reporting hours: 735.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the form and supporting
documents can be obtained from Charles Mierzwa, the agency clearance
officer at (312-751-3363) or [email protected].
Comments regarding the information collection should be addressed
to Patricia A. Henaghan, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush
Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092 or [email protected] and
to the OMB Desk Officer for the RRB, at the Office of Management and
Budget, Room 10230, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC
20503.
Charles Mierzwa,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-6220 Filed 3-29-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P