Supporting Statement for Form SSA-2118-U2
Request for Documents or Information
20 CFR 404.701 and 404.703
A. Justification
Introduction/Authoring Laws and Regulations
Section 20 CFR 404.701 and 404.703 of the Code of Federal Regulations provides the authority for claimants to apply for Social Security benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. The Social Security Administration (SSA) may ask for evidence to determine whether applicants are eligible for Social Security benefits or SSI payments. After individuals become entitled to benefits or payments, SSA may ask for evidence demonstrating claimants’ continued entitlement, or evidence showing whether we should change payment amounts. Section 205 (a) and 702(a)(5) of the Social Security Act provide the basic rules about what evidence we need when a person claims old-age, disability, dependents’ and survivors’ insurance benefits or applies for the SSI program.
We use Form SSA-2118-U2, Request for Documents or Information, to request the documents or information we need to process claims for Social Security benefits or SSI payments. The respondents are applicants for Retirement, Survivors, Disability and Health Insurance (RSDHI) benefits or SSI payments.
This is an information collection inadvertently in use without OMB approval.
Description of Collection
We must request information or evidence from claimants to determine RSDHI and SSI eligibility, and to pay the proper payment amounts. We use Form SSA-2118-U2, Request for Documents or Information, to request the evidence or information from claimants. We complete only one form per respondent; we collect this information only once. Respondents can receive assistance from an SSA employee to obtain the information. We give this form to claimants when they have provided incomplete information or proofs during a face-to-face interview. We indicate on the form what information we require, and whether the claimant should telephone, mail, or bring the information into the office.
Use of Information Technology to Collect the Information
Because of the relatively low number of respondents, we did not develop an electronic version of this form under the agency’s Government Paperwork Elimination Act plan.
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. We do 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 we did not use Form SSA-2118, the public would have no way of knowing what additional evidence or information we need to process their claim for benefits or SSI payments, thus violating Sections 20 CFR 404.701 and 404.703 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
There are no technical or legal obstacles to burden reduction.
7. Special Circumstances
There are no special circumstances that would cause us to conduct this information collection in a manner inconsistent 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 January 13, 2012 at 77 FR 2114, and SSA received no public comments. SSA published the 30-day advance Federal Register Notice on March 19, 2012 at 77 FR 16113. SSA had no outside consultations with members of the public.
Payment or Gifts to Respondents
W do not provide payments or gifts to the respondents.
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.
Justification for Sensitive Questions
The information collection does not contain any questions of a sensitive nature.
Estimates of Public Reporting Burden
We estimate approximately 7,500 respondents for this form per year. The estimated average response time is approximately 5 minutes for a total of 625 burden hours. The total burden represents burden hours, and we did not calculate a separate cost burden.
13. Annual Cost to the Respondents (Other)
This collection does not impose a known cost burden on the respondents.
Annual Cost To Federal Government
The annual cost to the Federal Government is approximately $8,211. This estimate is a projection of the costs for printing and distributing the collection instrument, and for collecting the information.
15. Program Changes or Adjustments to the Information Collection Request
This is a new information collection request.
16. Plans for Publication Information Collection Results
We will not publish the results of the information collection.
17. Displaying the OMB Approval Expiration Date
OMB granted SSA an exemption from the requirement to print the OMB expiration date on its program forms. We produce millions of public-use forms with life cycles exceeding those of an OMB approval. Since we do not periodically revise and reprint our public-use forms (e.g., on an annual basis), OMB granted this exemption so we would not have to destroy stocks of otherwise useable forms with expired OMB approval dates, avoiding Government waste.
Exceptions to Certification Statement
We are 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
We do not use statistical methods for this information collection.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | 263541 |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-31 |