Proposed Collection; Comment Request
| Published date | 06 March 2024 |
| Record Number | 2024-04725 |
| Citation | 89 FR 16038 |
| Court | Railroad Retirement Board |
| Section | Notices |
Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 45 (Wednesday, March 6, 2024)
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16038-16040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04725]
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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
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
[[Page 16039]]
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: Statement Regarding
Contributions and Support; OMB 3220-0099.
Under section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. 231a),
dependency on an employee for one-half support at the time of the
employee's death can affect (1) entitlement to a survivor annuity when
the survivor is a parent of the deceased employee; (2) the amount of
spouse and survivor annuities; and (3) the Tier II restored amount
payable to a widow(er) whose annuity was reduced for receipt of an
employee annuity, and who was dependent on the railroad employee in the
year prior to the employee's death. One-half support may also negate
the public service pension offset in Tier I for a spouse or widow(er).
The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) utilizes Form G-134, Statement
Regarding Contributions and Support, to secure information needed to
adequately determine if the applicant meets the one-half support
requirement. One response is completed by each respondent. Completion
is required to obtain benefits. The RRB proposes a minor editorial
changes to Form G-134 to change the date under section 1 ``General
Instructions''.
Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
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Annual
Form No. responses Time (minutes) Burden (hours)
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G-134
With Assistance............................................. 11 147 27
Without assistance.......................................... 4 180 12
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Total................................................... 15 .............. 39
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2. Title and purpose of information collection: Financial
Disclosure Statement; OMB 3220-0127.
Under section 10 of the Railroad Retirement Act and section 2(d) of
the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 231i), the RRB may
recover overpayments of annuities, pensions, death benefits,
unemployment benefits, and sickness benefits that were made
erroneously. An overpayment may be waived if the beneficiary was not at
fault in causing the overpayment and recovery would cause financial
hardship. The regulations for the recovery and waiver of erroneous
payments are contained in 20 CFR 255 and CFR 340.
The RRB utilizes Form DR-423, Financial Disclosure Statement, to
obtain information about the overpaid beneficiary's income, debts, and
expenses if that person indicates that (s)he cannot make restitution
for the overpayment. The information is used to determine if the
overpayment should be waived as wholly or partially uncollectible. If
waiver is denied, the information is used to determine the size and
frequency of installment payments. The beneficiary is made aware of the
overpayment by letter and is offered a variety of methods for recovery.
One response is requested of each respondent. Completion is voluntary.
However, failure to provide the requested information may result in a
denial of the waiver request. The RRB proposes no changes to Form DR-
423.
Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual
Form No. responses Time (minutes) Burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR-423....................................................... 1,200 85 1,700
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3. Title and purpose of information collection: collection:
Representative Payee Monitoring; OMB 3220-0151.
Under section 12 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) (45 U.S.C.
231k), the RRB may pay annuity benefits to a representative payee when
an employee, spouse, or survivor annuitant is incompetent or a minor.
The RRB is responsible for determining if direct payment to an
annuitant or a representative payee would best serve the annuitant's
best interest. The accountability requirements authorizing the RRB to
conduct periodic monitoring of representative payees, including a
written accounting of benefit payments received, are prescribed in 20
CFR 266.7. The RRB utilizes the following forms to conduct its
representative payee monitoring program.
Form G-99a, Representative Payee Report, is used to obtain
information needed to determine whether the benefit payments certified
to the representative payee have been used for the annuitant's current
maintenance and personal needs and whether the representative payee
continues to be concerned with the annuitant's welfare. RRB Form G-99c,
Representative Payee Evaluation Report, is used to obtain more detailed
information from a representative payee who fails to complete and
return Form G-99a or in situations when the returned Form G-99a
indicates the possible misuse of funds by the representative payee.
Form G-99c contains specific questions concerning the representative
payee's performance and is used by the RRB to determine whether or not
the representative payee should continue in that capacity. The RRB
proposes no changes to Form G-99a or Form G-99c.
Form G-106, Statement of Care and Responsibility to Annuitant is
used in cases where the representative payee does not have custody of
the annuitant. Form G-106 is used to solicit information about the
representative
[[Page 16040]]
payee's performance and the annuitant's well-being from the custodian
of the annuitant. The form contains specific questions concerning the
representative payee's performance and is used by the RRB to determine
whether or not the representative payee should continue in that
capacity. Completion of the forms in this collection is required to
retain benefits.
The RRB proposes the following changes for Form G-106:
Add a drop-down box `Second Request' at the top of the
form to when the RRB needs to follow-up with a Third-Party Custodian
who did not respond to the initial request.
Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
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Annual
Form No. responses Time (minutes) Burden (hours)
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G-99a (legal and all other, excepting parent for child)......... 5,300 18 1,590
G-99c (Parts I and II).......................................... 300 24 120
G-99c (Parts I, II, and III).................................... 120 31 62
G-106........................................................... 500 10 83
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Total....................................................... 6,220 .............. 1,855
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4. Title and purpose of information collection: Earnings
Information Request; OMB 3220-0184.
Under section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. 231a), an
annuity is not payable, or is reduced for any month(s) in which the
beneficiary works for a railroad or earns more than prescribed amounts.
The provisions relating to the reduction or non-payment of annuities by
reason of work are prescribed in 20 CFR 230.
The RRB utilizes Form G-19-F, Earnings Information Request, to
obtain earnings information that either had not been previously
reported or erroneously reported by a beneficiary. Currently the
claimant is asked to enter the date they stopped working, if
applicable. If a respondent fails to complete the form, the RRB may be
unable to pay them benefits. One response is requested of each
respondent. The RRB proposes no changes to the Form G-19-F.
Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
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Annual
Form No. responses Time (minutes) Burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-19-F.......................................................... 700 8 93
Total....................................................... 700 .............. 93
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Additional Information or Comments: To request more information or
to obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms,
and/or supporting material, contact Kennisha Money at (312) 469-2591 or
[email protected]. Comments regarding the information collection
should be addressed to Brian Foster, Railroad Retirement Board, 844
North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-1275 or emailed to
[email protected]. Written comments should be received within 60
days of this notice.
Brian Foster,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-04725 Filed 3-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P
