Supporting Statement for the SSA-1199-(Country)
International Direct Deposit
31 CFR 210
OMB No. 0960-0686
Justification
Introduction/Authoring Laws and Regulations - The Code of Federal Regulations, Section 31 CFR 210, 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 United States. Although the form contains the same generic information for all countries, the bank data varies slightly for each country. Therefore, we gear the form to each specific country for which International Direct Deposit (IDD) is available. We name each form according to the country, such as “SSA-1199-Austria.” Each form 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. The only authorization needed is the permission from the beneficiary to allow SSA to deposit their monthly checks electronically into the bank. Attached to this request, as a supplementary document, is a list of the countries/languages and the variable information.
Description of Collection – SSA uses the information on the form to enroll beneficiaries residing abroad in IDD. This form is a variation of the SF-1199A, Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form, used to enroll a beneficiary in direct deposit to a U.S. financial institution. We now have over 80 percent 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. The beneficiary mails the completed form to the SSA office listed on the form. 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-1199-(Country), to illustrate the basic information we collect, and a copy of an English language form used in Canada, an actual form that is in use. The respondents are Social Security beneficiaries living abroad.
Use of Information Technology to Collect the Information - 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 beneficiaries the option of enrolling to the International Direct Deposit program through Quick$tart which is cleared under a separate OMB control number (0960‑0564).
Why We Cannot Use Duplicate Information - The nature of the information we are collecting and the manner in which we are collecting it preclude duplication. SSA does not use another collection instrument to obtain similar data.
Minimizing Burden on Small Respondents - This collection does not affect small businesses or other small entities.
Consequence of Not Collecting Information or Collecting it Less Frequently - If SSA did not collect this information, we would be unable to offer a direct deposit option to beneficiaries living abroad. Since the collection of this information is voluntary, we cannot collect it less frequently. There are no legal or technical obstacles that prevent burden reduction.
Special Circumstances - There are no special circumstances that would cause SSA to conduct this information collection in a manner that is not consistent with 5 CFR 1320.5.
Solicitation of Public Comment and Other Consultations with the Public - SSA published the 60-day advance Federal Register Notice on December 21, 2009, at 74 FR 67945, and received no public comments. We published the 30-day advance Federal Register Notice on March 4, 2010 at 75 FR 9992. 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.
Payment of Gifts to Respondents - SSA provides no payments or gifts to the respondents.
Assurances of Confidentiality – SSA protects and holds confidential the information it collects 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.
Justification for Sensitive Questions - The information collection does not contain any questions of a sensitive nature.
Estimates of Public Reporting Burden - We estimate that 5,000 respondents per year will spend 5 minutes each, which gives a total of 417 total hours. The total burden reflects burden hours, and we did not calculate a separate cost burden. All respondents are individuals/households.
Annual Cost to the Respondents - There is no known cost burden to the respondents.
Annual Cost to the Federal Government - 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.
Program Changes or Adjustments to the Information Collection Request - There are no changes in the public reporting burden.
Plans for Publication Information Collection Results - SSA will not publish the results of the information collection.
Displaying the OMB Approval Expiration Date - OMB granted SSA an exemption from the requirements to print the OMB expiration date on its program forms. SSA produces millions of public-use forms with life cycles exceeding those of an OMB approval. Since SSA does not periodically revise and reprint its public-use forms (e.g., on an annual basis), OMB granted this exemption so SSA would not have to destroy stocks of otherwise useable forms with expired OMB approval dates, avoiding Government waste.
Exception 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 did not use statistical methods for this information collection.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | International Direct Deposit |
| Author | 318413 |
| Last Modified By | 013319 |
| File Modified | 2010-03-04 |
| File Created | 2010-01-04 |