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 Spouse

Annuity Under the Railroad Retirement Act; OMB 3220-0042.

Section 2(c) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), provides for the

payment of annuities to spouses of railroad retirement annuitants who

meet the requirements under the RRA. The age requirements for a spouse

annuity depend on the employee's age and date of retirement and the

employee's years of railroad service. The requirements relating to the

annuities are prescribed in 20 CFR 216, 218, 219, 232, and 295.

The RRB uses Form AA-3, Application for Spouse/Divorced Spouse

Annuity, to obtain the information needed to determine an applicant's

entitlement to an annuity and the amount of the annuity. Completion is

required to obtain a benefit. One response is requested of each

respondent.

The RRB proposes to revise Form AA-3 to add items that secure

information pertaining to the direct deposit of benefits and Medicare

processing and delete items no longer required. Language required by

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, will be added as well as other

minor cosmetic and editorial changes. The RRB estimates that 10,800 AA-

3's are completed annually at an estimated completion time of 33 to 58

minutes per response. Total respondent burden is estimated at 5,982

hours.

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. 96-27518 Filed 10-25-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7905-01-M