Supporting Statement_9-17-25

SUPPORTING STATEMENT – PART A

VA FORM 29-10279

VETERANS AFFAIRS LIFE INSURANCE (VALife) POLICY MAINTENANCE APPLICATION

2900-0918

Summary of Changes:

• This ICR is being submitted as an “Extension” of a previously approved collection.

• There are a few non-substantive revisions required for the VA Form 29-10279, however, those revisions do not affect the burden for this collection.

• No Comments have been received on the 60-Day FRN.

• Title: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) Policy Maintenance Application, VA Form

29-10279

1. Need for the Information Collection

This form is used by the Department of Veterans Affairs to allow authorized agents (Guardian, POA, VA Fiduciary) to update information on a Veteran’s VALife policy. The form is authorized by 38 USC, Section 1922.

2. Use of the Information

The data collected on this form is used by the Department of Veterans Affairs to update contact information, communication preferences, beneficiary information payment method and to make changes to or cancel coverage or apply to reinstate a lapsed policy for VALife policies, which opened for enrollment on January 1, 2023.

3. Use of the Information Technology

VA Form 29-10279 will be available as a DocuSign form through the Insurance website. While most VALife applicants will manage their policy changes through their online account, this form is for authorized agents (Guardian, POA or VA Fiduciary) to update information on behalf of Veterans who are unable to manage their VALife coverage on their own. Agents who need to update information on behalf of a VALife insured will be directed to the DocuSign version of the form to complete and submit through a secure DocuSign portal.

4. Non-duplication

The information is not contained in any other VA records. Similar information is not available elsewhere.

5. Burden on Small Businesses

The information does not involve any small businesses.

6. Less Frequent Collection

This form is designed for use by the Department of Veterans Affairs to maintain Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) accounts.

7. Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines

There are no special circumstances requiring that the collection of information be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR Section 1320.6.

8. Consultation and Public Comments

Part A: PUBLIC NOTICE:

A 60-Day Federal Register Notice (FRN) for the collection published on Monday, July 14, 2025. The 60-Day FRN citation is 90 FRN 31582.

No comments have been received during the 60-day comment period.

A 30-Day Federal Register Notice for the collection published on Wednesday, September 17, 2025. The 30-Day FRN citation is 90 FRN 44907.

Part B: CONSULTATION:

No additional consultation apart from soliciting public comments through the Federal Register was conducted for this submission.

9. Gifts or Payment

The information collected is supplied by the respondent. No remuneration is made.

10. Confidentiality

The information collection conforms to the Privacy Act of 1974 and is subject to the conditions of disclosure contained therein. The records are maintained in the system identified as 36VA29 Veterans and Uniformed Services Personnel Program of U.S. Government Life Insurance – VA” as contained in the Privacy Act Issuances, 2011 Compilation.

11. Sensitive Questions

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Respondent Burden and its Labor Costs

1. Number of Respondents: 2500

2. Frequency of Response: On occasion

3. Annual Burden Hours: 417 hours

4. Estimated Completion Time: 10 minutes

5. VA cannot make assumptions about the population of respondents because of the variability of factors such as the educational background and wage potential of respondents. Therefore, VBA uses general wage data to estimate the respondents’ costs associated with completing the information collection.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) gathers information on full-time wage and salary workers. According to the latest available BLS data, the mean hourly wage is $32.66 based on the BLS wage code – “00-0000 All Occupations.” This information was taken from the following website: https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/industry/000000, May 2024.

Legally, respondents may not pay a person or business for assistance in completing the information collection. Therefore, there are no expected overhead costs for completing the information collection. VBA estimates the total cost to all respondents to be $13,619 (417 burden hours x $32.66 per hour).

13. Respondent Costs Other Than Burden Hour Costs

This submission does not involve any record keeping costs.

14. Costs to the Federal Government

Grade	Step	Burden Time	Fraction of Hour	Hourly Rate	Cost Per Response	Total Responses	Total
9	3	10	0.17	$26.68	$4.54	2500	$11,350.00
Overhead at 100% Salary							$11,350.00
5	3	2	0.03	$17.61	$0.53	2500	$1,325.00
Overhead at 100% Salary							$1,325.00
4	3	2	0.03	$15.74	$0.47	2500	$1,147.00
Overhead at 100% Salary							$1,147.00
Processing / Analyzing Costs							$27,644.00
Printing and Production Cost							$54.00
Total Cost to Government							$27,698.00

Overhead costs are 100% of salary and are the same as the wage listed above and the amounts are included in the total.

Printing and production costs approximates the cost of printing this information collection per year. (Processing/Analyzing Cost total divided by $54).

Note: The hourly wage information above is based on the hourly 2025 General Schedule (Base) Pay (https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/25Tables/html/GS_h.aspx).  This rate does not include any locality adjustment as applicable.

The processing time estimates above are based on the actual amount of time employees of each grade level spend to process to completion a claim received on this form. The within-grade step (3) of each employee represents the average experience of employees within each grade.

15. Reason for Change in Burden

There is no change in respondent burden.

16. Publication of Results

The information is collected for insurance purposes only and there are no plans for publication.

17. Non-Display of OMB Expiration Date

We are not seeking approval to omit the display of the expiration date of the OMB approval on the collection instrument.

18. Exceptions to “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions”

We are not requesting any exemptions to the provisions stated in 5 CFR 1320.9.

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