02-30787. Proposed Collection; Comment Request

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 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.

Title and purpose of information collection: Application for Survivor Death Benefits: OMB 3220-0031.

Under section 6 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), lump-sum death benefits are payable to surviving widow and widowers, children and certain other dependents. Lump-sum death benefits are payable after the death of a railroad employee only if there are no qualified survivors of the employee immediately eligible for annuities. With the exception of the residual death benefit, eligibility for survivor benefits depend on whether the employee was “insured” under the RRA at the time of death. If a deceased employee was not so insured, jurisdiction of any survivor benefits payable is transferred to the Social Security Administration and survivor benefits are paid by that agency instead of the RRB. The collection obtains the information required by the RRB to determine entitlement to and amount of the survivor death benefits applied for.

The RRB currently utilizes form(s) AA-11a (Designation for Change of Beneficiary for Residual Lump-Sum), AA-21cert, (Application Summary and Certification), AA-21 (Application for Lump-Sum Death Payment and Annuities Unpaid at Death), G-131 (Authorization of Payment and Release of All Claims to a Death Benefit or Accrued Annuity Payment), and G-273a (Funeral Director's Statement of Burial Charges), to obtain the necessary information. One response is requested of each respondent. Completion is required to obtain benefits.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

The estimated annual respondent burden is as follows:

Form #(s)	Annual responses	Time (min)	Burden (hrs)
AA-11a	400	10	67
AA-21cert (with assistance)	9,700	20	3,233
AA-21 manual (without assistance)	300	40	200
G-131	600	5	50
G-273a	9,600	10	1,600
Total	20,600		5,150

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 [phone]. 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.