83 FR 31251 - Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 128 (July 3, 2018)

In accordance with the Privacy Act and our disclosure regulations, we are issuing public notice of our intent to publish a new routine use applicable to four of our system of records. The routine use will permit disclosures we intend to make to new entities to support the administration of our representative payee program. The system of records notices (SORN) listed below maintain information used in our representative payee program, in addition to a variety of SSA's core mission operations. This notice publishes details of the proposed updates as set forth below under the caption SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31251-31252]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14247]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No. SSA-2018-0038]


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, Office of Income 
Security Programs, Social Security Administration (SSA).

ACTION: Notice of a Modified System of Records.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act and our disclosure 
regulations, we are issuing public notice of our intent to publish a 
new routine use applicable to four of our system of records. The 
routine use will permit disclosures we intend to make to new entities 
to support the administration of our representative payee program. The 
system of records notices (SORN) listed below maintain information used 
in our representative payee program, in addition to a variety of SSA's 
core mission operations. This notice publishes details of the proposed 
updates as set forth below under the caption SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

DATES: The routine uses are effective August 2, 2018. In accordance 
with 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (e)(11), the public is given a 30-day 
period in which to submit comments. We invite public comment on the new 
routine uses; therefore, please submit any comments by August 2, 2018.

ADDRESSES: The public, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and 
Congress may comment on this publication by writing to the Executive 
Director, Office of Privacy and Disclosure, Office of the General 
Counsel, Social Security Administration, Room G-401 West High Rise, 
6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401, or through the 
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, please 
reference docket number SSA-2018-0038. All comments we receive will be 
available for public inspection at the above address and we will post 
them to http://www.regulations.gov.

[[Page 31252]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrea Huseth, Government Information 
Specialist, Disclosure and Data Support Division, Office of Privacy and 
Disclosure, Office of the General Counsel, Social Security 
Administration, Room G-401 West High Rise, 6401 Security Boulevard, 
Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401, telephone: (410) 965-6868, email: 
[email protected] and Tristin Dorsey, Government Information 
Specialist, Privacy Implementation Division, Office of Privacy and 
Disclosure, Office of the General Counsel, Social Security 
Administration, Room G-401 West High Rise, 6401 Security Boulevard, 
Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401, telephone: (410) 965-2950, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background and Purpose of the Proposed New Routine Use

    Social Security's representative payee program provides financial 
management for Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security 
Income (SSI) recipients (both hereafter referred to as beneficiaries) 
who are incapable of managing their benefits or payments. The 
representative payee's primary responsibility is to use the 
beneficiary's benefits or payments for current and foreseeable needs. 
Historically, representative payees have submitted annual accounting 
forms to account for the Social Security benefits or SSI payments 
received. In addition to the annual accounting form, we select some 
representative payees for additional review. This type of oversight 
provides a more in depth review to ensure that the representative payee 
is meeting his or her representative payee obligations and managing the 
benefits or payments in the best interest of the beneficiary that he or 
she is serving.
    When conducting the representative payee reviews, which may include 
beneficiary, legal guardian, or third party interviews, the reviewer 
may observe a health or safety issue, or any other issue negatively 
affecting the beneficiary's well-being, that requires a referral to an 
appropriate local, state, or federal agency or entity with 
responsibility for investigating or addressing these issues. We are 
proposing a new routine use to permit us to disclose personal 
information relevant and necessary to make these referrals to such 
agencies or entities when the reviewer determines that the 
beneficiary's safety or well-being may be in jeopardy.

II. Proposed New Routine Use

    The Privacy Act requires that agencies publish a notice in the 
Federal Register of ``each routine use of the records contained in the 
system, including the categories of users and the purpose of such 
use.'' 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)(D). We have developed the following new 
routine use that will allow us to disclose information to a local, 
state, or federal agency, under the circumstances described above.
     To agencies or entities with responsibility for 
investigating or addressing possible financial exploitation of, an 
immediate health or safety threat to, or other serious risk to the 
well-being of the beneficiary, for referral, when these issues are 
identified during a representative payee review.
    We will include the new routine use in the following systems of 
records:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       Federal Register citation No./publication
          System No. and name                  New routine use                           date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
60-0058--Master Files of Social         No. 49......................  75 FR 82121, 12/29/10.
 Security Number Holders and SSN                                      78 FR 40542, 07/05/13.
 Applications.                                                        79 FR 78780, 02/13/14.
60-0090--Master Beneficiary Record....  No. 42......................  71 FR 1829, 01/11/06.
                                                                      72 FR 69723, 12/10/07.
                                                                      78 FR 40542, 07/05/13.
60-0103--Supplemental Security Income   No. 40......................  71 FR 1830, 01/11/06.
 Record and Special Veterans Benefits.                                72 FR 69723, 12/10/07.
60-0222--Master Representative Payee    No. 23......................  78 FR 23811, 04/22/13.
 File.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    SSA will disclose only those elements from SSA's systems of records 
that are necessary to make the appropriate referral for services to the 
appropriate agency or entity.
    We are not republishing in their entirety the SORNs to which we are 
adding the proposed new routine use. Instead, we are republishing only 
the identification number, name of the systems of records, the numbers 
of the new routine use, and the issue of the Federal Register in which 
the system of records notice was last published, including the 
publication date and number.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), we have provided a report to 
OMB and Congress on these modified systems of records.

    Dated: May 23, 2018.
Mary Ann Zimmerman,
Acting Executive Director, Office of Privacy and Disclosure, Office of 
the General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2018-14247 Filed 7-2-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P