2019-10529. Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review: Application for Accrued Amounts Due a Deceased Beneficiary

AGENCY:

Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden and it includes the actual data collection instrument.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before June 20, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

Submit written comments on the collection of information through www.Regulations.gov,, or to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attn: VA Desk Officer; 725 17th St. NW, Washington, DC 20503 or sent through electronic mail to [e-mail]. Please refer to “OMB Control No. 2900-0216” in any correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Danny S. Green at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1521.

Title: Application for Accrued Amounts Due a Deceased Beneficiary, VA Form 21P-601.

OMB Control Number: 2900-0216.

Type of Review: Extension without change of a currently approved collection.

Abstract: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through its Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), administers an integrated program of benefits and services established by law for veterans, service personnel, and their dependents and/or beneficiaries. Information is requested by this form under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 5121, which provides the eligibility criteria for the payment of accrued benefits. VA regulated the eligibility criteria 38 CFR 3.1000 through 3.1010.

VA Form 21P-601 is used to gather the information necessary to determine a claimant's entitlement to accrued benefits. Accrued benefits are amounts of VA benefits due, but unpaid, to a beneficiary at the time of his or her death. Benefits are paid to eligible survivors based on the priority described in 38 U.S.C. 5121(a). When there are no eligible survivors entitled to accrued benefits based on their relationship to the deceased beneficiary, the person or persons who bore the expenses of the beneficiary's last illness and burial may claim reimbursement for these expenses from accrued amounts.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on this collection of information was published at 84 FR 7183 on March 1, 2019, pages 7183 and 7184.

Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

Estimated Annual Burden: 7,920 hours.

Estimated Average Burden per Respondent: 30 minutes.

Frequency of Response: One time.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 15,840.

By direction of the Secretary.

Danny S. Green,

VA Interim Clearance Officer, Office of Quality, Performance, and Risk, Department of Veterans Affairs.