[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 62 (Thursday, March 31, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17978-17979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-7591]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Emergency Clearance 
Request

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice 
includes a new collection.
    SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden 
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to 
enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden 
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. Mail, e-mail, or fax your 
comments and recommendations on the information collection to the OMB 
Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer to the following 
addresses or fax numbers.

(OMB), Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, 
Fax: 202-395-6974, E-mail address: [email protected].
(SSA), Social Security Administration, DCBFM, Attn: Reports Clearance 
Officer, 1333 Annex Building, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235, 
Fax: 410-965-6400, E-mail address: [email protected].

    SSA submitted the information collection below to OMB for Emergency 
Clearance. SSA is requesting Emergency Clearance from OMB no later than 
April 5, 2011. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection 
instrument by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-965-8783 
or by writing to the above e-mail address.

[[Page 17979]]

Statement of Claimant or Other Person-Medical Resident Federal 
Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) Refund Claims--20 CFR 404.702 and 
416.570--0960-NEW

Background

    A recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruling allows doctors who 
worked as medical residents from 1993 through 2005 to consider their 
residencies to be student training, not employment. Accordingly, these 
doctors may request a FICA refund from IRS for those years. However, if 
they choose this option, SSA will remove their earnings for those years 
from their earnings records, ultimately reducing their Social Security 
benefits.

Information Collection Description

    SSA will conduct outreach with those medical residents (or their 
survivors, next of kin, representative payees, etc.) who (1) meet the 
above criteria, (2) are currently entitled to Social Security benefits, 
and (3) will experience a reduction of their benefits if they request 
the FICA refund. SSA will call the affected beneficiaries, and explain 
how accepting the refund would affect their Social Security benefits. 
We will then mail form SSA-795-OP2 and ask them to confirm or change 
their decision to receive the FICA refund and have SSA reduce their 
earnings records accordingly. If SSA cannot first reach the respondents 
by phone, we will mail them an explanatory letter together with form 
SSA-795-OP2.
    The respondents for this collection are beneficiaries who served as 
medical residents from 1993 through 2005 and who filed a request with 
IRS for a FICA refund for those years. The collection is voluntary; if 
SSA does not receive a response, IRS will assume the original request 
for a FICA refund stands.

Emergency Clearance

    Because IRS is holding the FICA refund payments until we receive 
confirmation from the respondents of their decision, we are requesting 
emergency OMB approval for this collection. We will undergo the 
standard OMB clearance process after receiving emergency approval.
    Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.
    Number of Respondents: 496.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 4 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 33 hours.

    Dated: March 28, 2011.
Faye Lipsky,
Reports Clearance Officer, Center for Reports Clearance, Social 
Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-7591 Filed 3-30-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P