Ri 20-080 Ss

OMB SUPPORTING STATEMENT

RI 20-80 – Alternative Annuity Election

1. Justification

1. Title 5, U. S. Code, Chapter 83, section 8343a and Chapter 84, section 8420a, as amended, provide that certain retiring employees may elect a reduced monthly annuity along with a lump-sum payment of the employee’s retirement contributions (“alternative form of annuity”). Effective October 1, 1994, the alternative annuity may be elected only by persons who are not retiring on a disability, but who have a life-threatening medical condition. RI 20-80 is designed to explain the choices available and to provide an election form the respondent may use to inform the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) of his or her decision.

2. RI 20-80 is produced by OPM’s data processing system so that each annuitant’s individual circumstances are accurately described. This election letter is mailed to the eligible annuitant before final adjudication of the application for retirement is completed. OPM could not comply with title 5 if this information were not collected. The Public Burden Statement meets the requirement of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

2. New methods of information technology would do little to reduce the burden on the respondents. They must make a personal, financial decision and certify the facts to the best of their knowledge.

2. Elections are filed individually. Similar information certified by the respondent is not available. Duplication is minimized.

2. Information is not collected from small businesses.

2. The collection of this information is conducted as needed to determine entitlement and to authorize payment on individual retirement claims. Less frequent collection would subvert the intent of the law.

2. This information collection is consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.6, except that the election must be returned within 30 days so that adjudication of the claim may be completed and the correct annuity authorized.

2. A notice of proposed information collection was published in the Federal Register on September 22, 2008, giving persons outside the agency an opportunity to comment on the form. No comments were received.

2. No payment or gift is provided to these respondents.

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2. This information collection is protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 and OPM regulations (5 CFR 831.106). The routine uses for disclosure appear in the Federal Register for OPM/Central-1 (73 FR 15013, et seq., March 20, 2008).

2. This information collection does not include questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.

2. Approximately 200 forms RI 20-80 will be completed per year. The form requires 20 minutes to fill out. The annual burden is 67 hours.

2. There is no cost to the respondent.

2. The annualized cost to the Federal government is $1,675. This cost includes employee salary hours devoted to the program, forms cost, and overhead.

2. There is no change to the respondent burden.

2. The results of this information collection are not published.

2. It is not cost-effective to reprint the whole supply of forms to change the OMB clearance expiration date. Therefore, we seek approval not to display the date on the form.

2. There are no exceptions to the certification statement.