A. Justification
Introduction/Authoring Laws and Regulations
Section 6050F of the Internal Revenue Code requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide Social Security beneficiaries with a statement of the aggregate amount of Social Security benefits paid; the aggregate amount of Social Security benefits repaid; and the aggregate reductions in benefits for reasons such as amounts received under a worker's compensation act during the calendar year. Beneficiaries receive this information from the Social Security Benefit Statement, Forms SSA-1099, and SSA-1042S, which the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses to compute taxation of Social Security benefits. Section 205(a) of the Social Security Act authorizes us to collect the information sought in this application request.
Description of Collection
Title II beneficiaries use Forms SSA-1099 and SSA-1042S, Social Security Benefit Statement, to determine (1) if their Social Security benefits are taxable and (2) the amount they need to report to the IRS. In cases where the original forms are unavailable (e.g., lost, stolen, mutilated), an individual may use SSA’s automated telephone application to request a replacement SSA-1099 and
SSA-1042S. The collection is not mandatory to obtain or keep a specific benefit but it may be necessary for IRS taxation purposes.
SSA uses the information from the automated telephone requests to verify the identity of the requestor and to provide replacement copies of the forms. The automated telephone option reduces requests to the National 800 Number Network (N8NN) and visits to local Social Security field offices (FO). The respondents are Title II beneficiaries who wish to request a replacement
SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S via telephone.
Use of Information Technology to Collect the Information
The information collection is an automated telephone application. Requestors answer identifying questions using voice recognition or touch-tone.
Recipients can also request a replacement SSA-1099 and SSA-1042S via a MySSA account or by contacting our N8NN, or by visiting a local Social Security office. FO employees and N8NN Agents can process a replacement Benefit Statement using the Master File Query menu in SSA’s Mainframe. When respondents call the N8NN to request a replacement Form SSA-1099 and
SSA-1042S, a Program Service Center (PSC) employee may answer their call. There is no paper form for an individual to request a replacement Form
SSA-1099/1042S.
In accordance with the agency’s Government Paperwork Elimination Act plan, SSA created an automated telephone version request for Replacement Forms SSA-1099 and SSA-1042S. Based on current data, we estimate approximately 73 percent use telephone based applications, noting that SSA made the electronic version available through MySSA.gov in February 2015.
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.
6. Consequence of Not Collecting Information or Collecting it Less Frequently
If we did not use the Automated Telephone Request for Replacement Forms
SSA-1099 and SSA-1042S, respondents would not have a structured format to request a Benefit Statement via the automated telephone application, which could result in late tax filing for affected beneficiaries. Because we collect this information on an as needed basis, we cannot collect it less frequently. There are no technical or legal obstacles to 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 September 16, 2015, at 80 FR 55706, and we received no public comments. The 30-day FRN published on November 19, 2015 at 80 FR 72468. If we receive any comments in response to this Notice, we will forward them to OMB.
Note: The first Federal Register Notice lists this ICR as revision; however, as we are not revising the Privacy Act Statement, SSA is now listing this ICR as an extension.
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
Modality of completion |
Number of respondents |
Frequency of response |
Average burden per response (minutes) |
Estimated total annual burden (hours) |
Automated Telephone Requests |
206,424 |
1 |
2 |
6,881 |
N8NN |
483,021 |
1 |
3 |
24,151 |
Calls to local field offices |
810,448 |
1 |
3 |
40,522 |
Other (program service centers) |
78,375 |
1 |
3 |
3,919 |
Totals: |
1,578,268 |
|
|
75,473 |
The total burden for this ICR is 75,473 hours. This figure represents burden hours, and we did not calculate a separate cost burden.
Annual Cost to the Respondents (Other)
These collections do not impose a known cost burden on the respondents.
Annual Cost To Federal Government
The estimated cost to the Federal Government to collect the information 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 application.
15. Program Changes or Adjustments to the Information Collection Request
The decrease in burden hours stems from removing the number of respondents requesting the replacement Forms SSA-1099 and SSA-1042S via the Internet.
16. Plans for Publication Information Collection Results
SSA will not publish the results of the information collection.
17. Displaying the OMB Approval Expiration Date
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).
B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods
SSA does not use statistical methods for this information collection.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | Title of Information Collection and Form Number(s) |
| Author | Naomi |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-24 |