A. Justification
Introduction/Authoring Laws and Regulations
Sections 1612(b)(4)(A), 1612(b)(4)(B) and 1613(a)(4) of the Social Security Act (Act) authorize the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) to exclude income or resources determined necessary to fulfill a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS). The PASS provision encourages individuals to use available income or resources (such as business equipment, education or specialized training) to pay for goods and services they would need to enter (or re-enter) the workforce and become self-supporting. Regulations specifying the requirements for such plans are contained in 20 CFR 416.1180-416.1182 and 416.1225-416.1227 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Section 1631(e) of the Act permits SSA to collect this information.
Description of Collection
The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program encourages recipients to return to work. One of the program objectives is to provide incentives and opportunities that help recipients. The PASS provision allows individuals to use available income or resources (such as business equipment, education, or specialized training) to enter (or re-enter) the workforce and become self-supporting. In turn, SSA does not count the income or resources recipients use to fund a PASS when determining an individual's SSI eligibility or payment amount. An SSI recipient who wants to use available income and resources to obtain education or training to become self-supporting completes Form SSA-545. SSA uses the information from Form SSA-545 to evaluate the recipient's plan for achieving self-support, and to determine eligibility under the provisions of the SSI program. The respondents are SSI recipients who want to develop a return-to-work plan.
Use of Information Technology to Collect the Information
Form SSA-545 is available as a print-only fillable PDF on SSA’s website and Intranet. If the recipient is not able to access the form from SSA’s website, we mail the form to them to complete. SSA did not create an electronic version of the SSA‑545 under the agency’s Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) plan because only 7,000 respondents complete the form annually. This is less than the GPEA cut-off of 50,000.
Why We Cannot Use Duplicate Information
The
nature of the information we collect and the manner in which we
collect 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 Form SSA-545, we would not have the information necessary to determine whether an individual's PASS is feasible, and whether the expenditures under the PASS are necessary and reasonably priced. Because we only collect this information once, we cannot collect it less frequently. There are no technical or legal obstacles that prevent burden reduction.
7. 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 May 22, 2019, at
84 FR 23623, and we received no public comments. The 30-day FRN published on August 1, 2019 at 84 FR 37704. If we receive any comments in response to this 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
We need certain information of a personal nature, which may have a bearing on the feasibility of the PASS, to determine whether to approve a PASS. For example, we need information about the person's disability, and how the PASS will help with overcoming any resulting limitations which might otherwise hinder employment (e.g., through the purchase of adaptive equipment or specialized training). Similarly, information pertaining to the individual's educational and vocational background is critical for the SSA evaluator to determine the feasibility of the plan and the need for the proposed expenditures. SSA will keep the information secure and only necessary personnel will review it.
Estimates
of Public Reporting Burden
Modality of Completion |
Number of Respondents |
Frequency of Response |
Average Burden Per Response (minutes) |
Estimated Total Annual Burden (hours) |
SSA-545 |
7,000 |
1 |
120 |
14,000 |
The total burden for this ICR is 14,000 hours. We based these figures on current management information data. 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 $232,610. This estimate accounts for costs from the following areas: (1) designing, printing, and distributing the form; and (2) SSA employee (e.g., field office, 800 number, DDS staff) information collection and processing time.
15. Program Changes or Adjustments to the Information Collection Request
There are no changes to the public reporting burden.
16. Plans for Publication Information Collection Results
SSA 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. 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.
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.
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