Request for Deceased Individual’s Social Security Record
20 CFR 402.130
OMB No. 0960-0665
Introduction/Authoring Laws and Regulations
The Freedom of Information Act at 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3) of the United States Code provides instructions for members of the public to request records from Federal agencies. 20 CFR 402.130 of the Code of Federal Regulations describes how to request a record through providing a name, address, and description of the request.
Description of Collection
When a member of the public requests an individual’s Social Security record, the Social Security Administration (SSA) needs the name and address of the requestor as well as a description of the requested record to process the request. SSA uses the information the respondent provides on Form SSA-711, or via an Internet request through SSA’s electronic Freedom of Information Act (eFOIA) website, to (1) verify the wage earner is deceased and (2) access the correct Social Security record. Respondents are members of the public requesting deceased individuals' Social Security records.
Use of Information Technology to Collect the Information
We collect the information on the paper SSA-711 as we do through the electronic Internet version of the form on the Social Security Electronic Freedom of Information Act (eFOIA) website at https://secure.ssa.gov/apps7/eFOIA-FEWeb/internet/main.jsp. Approximately 95% of respondents use the electronic version of this form. In this way, we are compliant with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act.
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
The collection of information may involve small businesses or other small entities. However, SSA restricts the information requested only to information necessary to identify the authorizing signature.
Consequence of Not Collecting Information or Collecting it Less Frequently
As this collection is voluntary, and most of the requests are one time in nature, we have no set schedule for data collection. Therefore, we cannot conduct this information collection less frequently. If SSA did not collect the information, we would be unable to respond to the public’s FOIA request. There are no technical or legal obstacles, which prevent burden reduction.
Special Circumstances
There are no special circumstances that would cause SSA to conduct this information collection in a manner inconsistent with 5 CFR 1320.5.
Solicitation of Public Comment and Other Consultations with the Public
The 60-day advance Federal Register Notice published on June 22, 2012, at 77 FR 37729, and we received no public comments. SSA published the second Notice on September 28, 2012, at 77 FR 59690. If we receive comments in response to the 30-day Notice, we will forward them to OMB.
Payment or Gifts to Respondents
SSA does not provide 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
Approximately 50,000 respondents use Form SSA-711 annually. Of this total, 49,800 of the respondents respond through our Internet version on SSA’s eFOIA website. The estimated average response time is 7 minutes, for 5,833 burden hours.
Collection Method |
Number of Respondents |
Frequency of Response |
Average Burden Per Response (minutes) |
Estimated Total Annual Burden (hours) |
Internet Request through eFOIA |
49,800 |
1 |
7 |
5,810 |
SSA-711 (paper) |
200 |
1 |
7 |
23 |
Total |
50,000 |
|
|
5,833 |
The total burden reflects burden hours and we did not calculate a separate cost burden.
Annual Cost to the Respondents (Other)
SSA charges the public varying amounts ($29, $27, $18, or $16 for processing the information per SSA-711, as indicated on the instruction sheet for the form) depending on how much information they provide and how they request to receive the information. Since the cost to the respondents varies so much from year to year, we did not calculate a separate annual cost burden.
Annual Cost To Federal Government
The annual cost to the Federal Government is approximately $77,000. This estimate is a projection of the costs for printing and distributing the collection instrument and for collecting the information.
The estimated cost to the Federal Government to collect the information on the eFOIA website is negligible. Because the cost of maintaining the system which collects this information is accounted for within the cost of maintaining all of SSA’s automated systems, it is not possible to calculate the cost associated with just one Internet application.
Program Changes or Adjustments to the Information Collection Request
There are no changes to 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
For the paper Form SSA-711: OMB granted SSA an exemption from the requirement 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.
For the Internet SSA-711: SSA is not requesting an exception to the requirement to display the OMB approval expiration date.
Exceptions 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).
SSA does not use statistical methods for this information collection.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | August 18, 2000 |
| Author | 258048 |
| Last Modified By | 889123 |
| File Modified | 2012-10-03 |
| File Created | 2012-10-03 |