Federal Register: November 21, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 225)
DOCID: FR Doc 01-29053
RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
Railroad Retirement Board
NOTICE: NOTICES
ACTION: Agency information collection activities:
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Proposed Collection; Comment Request
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
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 Retirement Board (RRB) will public 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
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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.
Title and purpose of information collection:
Application for Spouse Annuity Under the Railroad Retirement Act; OMB 32200042 section 2(c) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), provides for the payment of annuities to spouses of railroad retirement annuitants who meet the requirements under the RRA. The age requirements for a spouse annuity depend on the employee's age and date of retirement and the employee's years of railroad service. The requirements relating to the annuities are prescribed in 20 CFR parts 216, 218, 219, 232, 234, and 295.
The RRB currently uses Form AA3, Application for Spouse/Divorced Spouse Annuity, to obtain the information needed to determine an applicant's entitlement to an annuity and the amount of the annuity.
The RRB is proposing the addition of an electronic equivalent of Form AA3 of the collection. The information collected will include all information obtained on the current manual form AA3. The electronic equivalent, which will be available for completion over the Internet, will also, depending on circumstances, incorporate information currently collected on RRB Form AA6, Employee Application for Medicare, Form AA7, Spouse/Divorce Spouse Application for Medicare, and Form AA8, Widow/Widower Application for Medicare (OMB approved 32200082), Form G19L, Annual Earnings Questionnaire, Last Pre Retirement NonRailroad Employment (OMB approved 32200179), and Form G208, Public Service Pension Questionnaire (OMB approved 32200136). Future plans will include the incorporation of information currently collected on RRB Form AA4, SelfEmployment and Substantial Service Questionnaire (OMB approved 32200138).
Upon completion of the electronic AA3 process, the applicant will receive proposed Form AA3cert, Application Summary and Certification for review and signature. The proposed AA3cert will summarize information provided by/or verified by the applicant during the application process. Implementation of the AA3cert will largely eliminate the need for the manual version of AA3. However, the RRB will continue to use the manual version of the form 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 and/or does not wish to use the Internet.
The RRB estimates the burden for the collection as follows: Estimated burden Estimated Estimated Estimated Form # annual completion time annual burden responses (per response) (hours) AA3 manual (without assistance)............................. 100 58 97 AA3cert (Internet without assistance)....................... 400 58 387 AA3cert (with assistance)................................... 8,000 35 4,667
Total.................................................... 8,500 ............... 5,151
No changes are proposed to manual Form AA3. Completion is required to obtain a benefit. One response is requested of each respondent. Additional Information or Comments
To request more information or to obtain a copy of the information
collection justification, forms, and/or supporting material, please
call the RRB Clearance Officer at (312) 7513363. Comments regarding
the information collection should be addressed to Ronald J. Hodapp,
Railroad Retirement Board, 844 N. Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611
2092. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.
Chuck Mierzwa,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 0129053 Filed 112001; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 790501M
SUMMARY:
Proposed collection; comment request,