Supporting Statement--0686[1]

Supporting Statement for the SSA-1199-(Country)

International Direct Deposit

31 CFR 210

OMB No. 0960-0686

1. Justification

1. 31 CFR 210, Federal Government Participation in the Automated Clearing House authorizes the Social Security Administration (SSA) to use the SSA-1199- (Country) to gather information for directly depositing benefit payments into the beneficiary’s account at a financial institution outside the U.S. Although the form contains the same generic information for all countries, the bank data varies slightly for each country. Therefore, the form is geared to each specific country for which International Direct Deposit (IDD) is available. It is named according to the country, such as “SSA-1199-Austria.” It always contains the same basic request for information. There are currently 44 countries where IDD is available, and we will be expanding to other countries as expeditiously as possible. Attached to this request are a list of the countries/languages and a list of the variable information.

2. The information on the form is used by SSA to enroll beneficiaries residing abroad in IDD. This form is a variation of the SF-1199 A, Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form, which can be used to enroll a beneficiary in direct deposit to a U.S. financial institution. We now have over 80% of all Title II beneficiaries on direct deposit. Although SSA does not require the use of a form to sign up for direct deposit either in the U.S. or abroad, we use the SSA-1199-(Country) form to notify all check receivers in a given country that IDD is available and offers a safe way to receive their benefits. There are currently 49 versions of the form (5 countries have 2 versions – their native language and English). For the purposes of this clearance, we are attaching a copy of a model form, SSA-199-Country, to illustrate the basic information we collect, and a copy of an English language form used in Canada, an actual form that will be used. The respondents are Social Security beneficiaries living abroad.

3. The SSA-1199-(Country) is not currently available electronically, as SSA prioritizes the collections which will become electronic, and higher volume collections as well as those that are legally mandated take precedence to this one. However, SSA does offer the option of enrolling in the International Direct Deposit program through Quick$tart (0960‑0564) which is cleared under a separate OMB control number.

4. The nature of the information being collected and the manner in which it is collected preclude duplication. There is no other collection instrument used by SSA that collects data similar to that collected here.

5. This collection does not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small businesses or other small entities.

6. If this information were not collected, then SSA would be unable to offer a direct deposit option to beneficiaries living abroad. Since the collection of this information is voluntary, it cannot be collected less frequently. There are no legal or technical obstacles that prevent burden reduction.

7. There are no special circumstances that would cause this information to be conducted in a manner that is not consistent with 5 CFR 1320.5.

8. The 60-day advance Federal Register Notice was published on January 17, 2007, at 72 FR 2081, and SSA has received no public comments. The second Notice was published on March 23, 2007 at 72 FR 13851, and there have been no outside consultations with members of the public.

9. SSA provides no payments or gifts to the respondents.

10. The information requested is protected and held confidential in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1306, 20 CFR 401 and 402, 5 U.S.C. 552 (Freedom of Information Act), 5 U.S.C. 552a (Privacy Act of 1974) and OMB Circular No. A-130.

11. The information collection does not contain any questions of a sensitive nature.

12. We estimate that 5,000 respondents per year will spend 5 minutes each, which gives a total of 417 total hours. The total burden is reflected as burden hours, and no separate cost burden has been calculated.

13. There is no known cost burden to the respondents.

14. The annual cost to the Federal Government is approximately $7,700. This estimate is a projection of the costs for printing and distributing the collection instrument and for collecting the information.

15. There are no changes in the public reporting burden.

16. The results of the information collection will not be published.

17. OMB has granted SSA an exemption from the requirement that the expiration date for OMB approval be printed on its program forms. SSA produces millions of public-use forms, many of which have a life cycle longer than that of an OMB approval. SSA does not periodically revise and reprint its public–use forms (e.g., on an annual basis). This exemption was granted so that otherwise usable editions of forms would not be taken out of circulation because the expiration date had been reached. In addition, Government waste has been avoided because stocks of forms will not have to be destroyed and reprinted.

18. SSA is not requesting an exception to the certification requirements at 5 CFR 1320.9 and related provisions at 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

Statistical methods are not used for this information collection.

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