Supporting Statement 0960-0547

Supporting Statement for

Wage Reports and Pension Information

20 CFR 422.122(b)

OMB No. 0960-0547

A. Justification

1. Introduction/Authoring Laws and Regulations

Pension plan administrators annually file pension plan information with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), who then forwards the information to the Social Security Administration (SSA). SSA maintains and organizes this information by plan number, plan participant name, and Social Security number. Under Section 1131(a) of the Social Security Act (Act), pension plan participants are entitled to request this information from SSA. The Wage Reports and Pension Information Regulation, 20 CFR 422.122(b), of the Code of Federal Regulations, stipulates that before SSA disseminates this information, the requester must first submit a written request with identifying information to SSA.

2. Description of Collection

SSA uses the identifying information the requesters supply to verify they are the individuals to whom the requested pension plan information pertains; and to locate the information needed to respond to inquiries. Once we confirm the requester’s identity, we investigate the inquiry and furnish a response. The respondents are requestors of pension plan information.

3. Use of Information Technology to Collect the Information

Government regulations require us to provide Wage Reports and Pension Information to authorized individuals upon request. There is no standardized form for these inquiries. Because most requesters write or telephone their local SSA field office for this information, SSA currently has no plans to begin receiving these requests electronically under the Government Paperwork Elimination Plan Act.

3. Why We Cannot Use Duplicate Information

The nature of the information SSA collects and the manner in which we collect it preclude duplication. SSA does not use another collection instrument to obtain similar data.

5. Minimizing Burden on Small Respondents

This collection does not significantly affect small businesses or other small entities.

6. Consequence of Not Collecting Information or Collecting It Less Frequently

If we did not collect this information, we would have no way of confirming the individuals requesting pension plan information are entitled to receive it. Eliminating this information collection could result in: a) individuals receiving information to which they are not entitled, leading to potential fraud; or b) SSA not providing pension plan information to requesters, thus failing to meet our legal obligations. Since we can only provide the information to those individuals who request it and furnish appropriate identifiers, we cannot collect it less frequently. There are no technical or legal obstacles to burden reduction.

7. Special Circumstances

There are no special circumstances that would cause SSA to conduct this information collection in a manner inconsistent with 5 CFR 1320.5.

8. Solicitation of Public Comment and Other Consultations with the Public

SSA published the 60-day advance Federal Register Notice on December 3, 2015 at 80 FR 75484, and we received no public comments. We published the 30-day Notice on February 18, 2016 at 81 FR 8323. If we receive any comments in response to the 30-day Notice, we will forward them to OMB. We did not consult with members of the public.

Note: The first Federal Register Notice shows incorrect burden information for the Wage Reports and Pension Information. We have corrected for this in the second Notice, in #12 below, and on ROCIS.

9. Payment or Gifts to Respondents

SSA provides no payment or gifts to the individuals furnishing the collected information.

10. Assurances of Confidentiality

SSA protects and holds confidential the information we collect 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. Justification for Sensitive Questions

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

12. Estimates of Public Reporting Burden

Approximately 580 respondents request pension plan information per year. We estimate it takes about 30 minutes for them to request the information and furnish appropriate identifiers, for 290 burden hours:

Modality of Collection	Number of Respondents	Frequency of Response	Average Burden per Response (minutes)	Estimated Total Annual Burden (hours)
Requests for pension plan information	580	1	30	290

The total burden for this ICR is 290 hours. This figure represents burden hours, and we did not calculate a separate cost burden.

13. Annual Cost to the Respondents

This collection does not impose a known cost burden on the respondents.

14. Annual Cost to the Federal Government

The annual cost to the Federal Government is approximately $6,000. This estimate is a projection of the costs for collecting the information and processing the request.

15. Program Changes or Adjustments to the Information Collection Request

The increase in burden hours stems from an increase in the number of requests for pension plan information from the public.

16. Plans for Publication Information Collection Results

SSA will not publish the results of the information collection.

16. Displaying the OMB Approval Expiration Date

SSA is not requesting an exception to publishing the OMB expiration date. (Because this information collection relates to unsolicited correspondence we receive from the public, displaying the OMB approval expiration date does not apply.)

16. Exceptions to Certification Statement

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

SSA does not use statistical methods for this information collection.

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