Proposed Collection; Comment Request

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

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-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.

In order to implement a presumed Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

policy, a new section that requests information about an applicant's

financial institution is being proposed to Form AA-21. A similar

section is being proposed to Form G-273a in order to allow for EFT

payments directly to the funeral director's financial institution.

Additional changes being proposed to the G-273a include the addition of

a clarification question related to billing by the responsible funeral

home, the deletion of two questions deemed to be no longer necessary,

and some reformatting of questions remaining from the current approved

version. In addition, minor editorial changes are being proposed to all

of the forms in order to incorporate language required by the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

The estimated annual respondent burden is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Annual Time Burden

Form Nos. responses (minutes) (hours)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

AA-11a........................... 400 10 67

AA-21 (with assistance).......... 6,000 32 3,200

AA-21 (without assistance)....... 6,000 42 4,200

G-131............................ 600 5 50

G-273a........................... 9,600 12 1,920

--------------------------------------

Total...................... 22,600 ........... 9,437

------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 37500]]

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)

751-3363. 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. 96-18225 Filed 7-17-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7905-01-M