In accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act, as amended, this notice announces a new matching program with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Under this matching...
In accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act, as amended, this notice announces a new matching program with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Under this matching program, OPM will provide SSA with civil service benefit and payment data. This disclosure will provide SSA with information necessary to verify an individual's self-certification of eligibility for the Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs program (Extra Help). It will also enable SSA to identify individuals who may qualify for Extra Help as part of the agency's Medicare outreach efforts.
DATES:
The deadline to submit comments on the proposed matching program is September 8, 2026.
The matching program will be applicable on September 16, 2026, or once a minimum of 30 days after publication of this notice has elapsed, whichever is later. The matching program will be in effect for a period of 18 months.
ADDRESSES:
You may submit comments by any one of three methods—internet, fax, or mail. Do not submit the same comments multiple times or by more than one method. Regardless of which method you choose, please state that your comments refer to Docket No. SSA-2026-0232 so that we may associate your comments with the correct notice.
CAUTION:
You should be careful to include in your comments only information that you wish to make publicly available. We strongly urge you not to include in your comments any personal information, such as Social Security numbers or medical information.
1.
Internet:
We strongly recommend that you submit your comments via the internet. Please visit the Federal eRulemaking portal at
www.regulations.gov.
Use the
Search
function to find docket number SSA-2026-0232 and then submit your comments. The system will issue you a tracking number to confirm your submission. You will not be able to view your comment immediately because we must post each submission manually. It may take up to a week for your comments to be viewable.
2.
Fax:
Fax comments to (833) 410-1631.
3.
Mail:
Matthew Ramsey, Head of Privacy and Disclosure Policy, Law and Policy, Social Security Administration, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, or emailing
Matthew.Ramsey@ssa.gov.
Comments are also available for public viewing on the Federal eRulemaking portal at
www.regulations.gov
or in person, during regular business hours, by arranging with the contact person identified below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Interested parties may submit general questions about the matching program to Andrea Huseth, Division Director, Privacy and Disclosure Policy, Law and Policy, Social Security Administration, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, at telephone: (410) 965-6868, or send an email to
Andrea.Huseth@ssa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
This matching notice covers the re-establishment of a matching program that is set to expire between SSA and OPM, which supports SSA's efficient administration of the low-income subsidy assistance in the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit program.
Matthew Ramsey,
Head of Privacy and Disclosure Policy, Law and Policy.
Participating Agencies
SSA and OPM.
Authority for Conducting the Matching Program
The legal authority for the matching agreement between SSA and OPM that this matching notice covers is section 1631(f) of the Social Security Act (Act) (42 U.S.C. 1383(f)). Supplemental Security Income recipients are automatically deemed eligible for Medicare Prescription Drug Plan under section 1860D-14(a)(3)(B)(v)(I) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-114(a)(3)(B)(v)(I)). The legal authorities for SSA to conduct the computer matching are sections 1144(a)(1) and (b)(1) and 1860D-14(a)(3) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-14(a)(1) and (b)(1) and 1395w-114(a)(3)).
Purpose(s)
The matching agreement sets forth the terms and conditions under which OPM will provide SSA with civil service benefit and payment data. This disclosure will provide SSA with information necessary to verify an individual's self-certification of eligibility for Extra Help. It will also
( printed page 51215)
enable SSA to identify individuals who may qualify for Extra Help as part of the agency's Medicare outreach efforts.
Categories of Individuals
The individuals whose information is involved in the matching program are civil service annuitants, individuals who self-certify their eligibility for the Extra Help program, and individuals who may qualify for Extra Help.
Categories of Records
OPM's data file will consist of approximately 125,000 records of updated payment information for new civil service annuitants and annuitants whose civil service annuity has changed. SSA's comparison file consists of approximately 111 million records from the Medicare Database file.
OPM will provide SSA with civil service benefit and payment data for individuals who apply for the Extra Help program. The file includes:
a. Annuitant Name and Date of Birth,
b. Annuitant Social Security number,
c. Annuitant Civil Service Claim Number, and
d. Amount of current gross civil service benefits.
Systems of Records
OPM will provide SSA with electronic files containing civil service benefit and payment data from its system of records (SOR) titled OPM/Central—1, Civil Service Retirement and Insurance Records, published at 73 FR 15013 (March 20, 2008) and 87 FR 5874 (February 2, 2022). SSA will match OPM data with the SSA SOR 60-0321, Medicare Database File, last fully published at 71 FR 42159 (July 25, 2006), and amended at 72 FR 69723 (December 10, 2007), 83 FR 54969 (November 1, 2018), and 90 FR 53413 (November 25, 2025).
www.regulations.gov
42 U.S.C. 1383(f)