Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
Notice of a modified system of records.
Citation: "87 FR 263"
Document Number: "Docket No. SSA-2021-0015"
Page Number: "263"
"Notices"
Agency: "
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, we are issuing public notice of our intent to modify an existing system of records entitled,
DATES: The system of records notice (SORN) is applicable upon its publication in today's
ADDRESSES: The public,
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We are modifying routine uses and adding new routine uses to this SORN. We are modifying routine uses:
* Number 1 that permits disclosures to employees (or agents on their behalf) to complete records for reporting wages;
* Number 25 that permits disclosures to the
* Number 32 that permits disclosures to the
* Number 40 that permits disclosures to the
We are clarifying the language in existing routine use numbers 3, 4, 5, 11, 15, 18, 20, 22, 23, 29, and 47 for easier reading.
We are adding routine uses that will permit disclosures to contractors, cooperative agreement awardees, Federal and State agencies, Federal congressional support agencies for research and statistical activities that increase knowledge of SSA programs; to State agencies or other local protective social service agencies, in situations involving suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of minor children or vulnerable adults; to State vital records agencies who have a contract with SSA, when necessary to inform the State vital records agency that death information it reported to SSA was determined to be erroneous; to the
In addition, we are also deleting the following routine uses, from the prior version of the SORN, published in the
* Number 5--this routine use permitted disclosures to a contractor for the purpose of collating, evaluating, analyzing, aggregating, or otherwise refining records;
* Number 7--this routine use permitted disclosures to the
* Number 26--this routine use permitted disclosures to DVA or third parties under contract to DVA to disclose SSNs and dates of birth for the purposes of conducting medical research and epidemiological studies;
* Number 38 that permits disclosure to Federal, State, or congressional support agencies for research, evaluation, or statistical studies;
* Number 39--this routine use permitted disclosure to State and Territory motor vehicle administration agency officials, and to State and Territory chief election officials to verify the accuracy of information the
* Number 44--this routine use permitted disclosures to the
In addition, we are modifying the notice throughout to correct miscellaneous stylistic formatting and typographical errors of the previously published notice, and to ensure the language reads consistently across multiple systems. We are republishing the entire notice for ease of reference.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), we have provided a report to OMB and
Executive Director,
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
Sections 205(a) and (c)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(a) and (c)(2)).
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
We use information in this system to assign SSNs and for a number of administrative and program purposes, including but not limited to: For various Old Age, Survivors, and
* For the general administration of the Social Security Act to ensure the accuracy of enumeration related information in other SSA systems;
* to prevent the processing of an SSN card application for a person whose application we identified was supported by evidence that either:
o We suspect may be fraudulent and we are verifying evidence, or
o we determined to be fraudulent information;
* to record accurate earnings information to the correct individual;
* to prevent issuance of multiple SSNs to a person;
* for resolution of earnings discrepancy cases; and
* for research and statistical activities.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
This system contains a record of each person who has applied for and to whom we have assigned an SSN. This system also contains records of each person who applied for an SSN, but to whom we did not assign one for one of the following reasons: (1) His or her application was supported by documents that we suspect may be fraudulent and we are verifying the documents with the issuing agency; (2) we have determined the person submitted fraudulent documents; (3) we do not suspect fraud but we need to further verify information the person submitted or we need additional supporting documents; or (4) we have not yet completed processing the application.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
We collect applications for SSNs. This system contains all of the information we received on the applications for SSNs (e.g., name, date and place of birth, sex, both parents' names, reference number, and alien registration number) and all information obtained during the processing of the SSN request. The system also contains:
* Changes in the information on the applications the SSN holders submit;
* information from applications supported by evidence we suspect or determine to be fraudulent, along with the mailing addresses of the persons who filed such applications and descriptions of the documentation they submitted;
* cross-references when multiple numbers have been issued to the same person;
* a form code that identifies the Form SS-5 (Application for a Social Security Card Number) as the application the person used for the initial issuance of an SSN, or for changing the identifying information (e.g., a code indicating original issuance of the SSN, or that we assigned the person's SSN through our enumeration at birth program);
* a citizenship code that identifies the number holder's status as a
* a special indicator code that identifies types of questionable data or special circumstances concerning an application for an SSN (e.g., false identity; illegal alien; scrambled earnings);
* an indication that an SSN was assigned based on harassment, abuse, or life endangerment;
* an indication that a person has filed a benefit claim under a particular SSN; and
* other indicators needed to process SSN requests.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
We obtain information in this system of records from SSN applicants (or persons acting on their behalf), as well as Federal, State, and local agencies.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
We will disclose records pursuant to the following routine uses; however, we will not disclose any information defined as "return or return information" under 26 U.S.C. 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), unless authorized by a statute, the
1. To employers (or agents on their behalf) in order to complete their records for reporting wages to us pursuant to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act and section 218 of the Social Security Act.
2. To Federal, State, and local entities to assist them with administering income maintenance and health-maintenance programs, when a Federal statute authorizes them to use the SSN.
3. To the
4. To
5. To the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), for the purpose of administering provisions of the Social Security Act relating to railroad employment and for administering the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.
6. To the
(a) Tax administration as defined in section 6103 of the IRC (26 U.S.C. 6103);
(b) investigating the alleged theft, forgery, or unlawful negotiation of
(c) administering those sections of the IRC that grant tax benefits based on support or residence of children. As required by section 1090(b) of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, Public Law 105-34, this routine use applies specifically to the SSNs of parents show on an application for an SSN for a person who has not yet attained age 18.
7. To a congressional office in response to an inquiry from that office made on behalf of, and at the request of, the subject of the record or third party acting on the subject's behalf.
8. To the
9. To the
10. To the
11. To the
12. To DVA:
(a) To validate SSNs of compensation recipients/pensioners so that DVA can release accurate pension/compensation data to us for
(b) upon request, for purposes of determining eligibility for, or amount of DVA benefits, or verifying other information with respect thereto.
13. To Federal agencies that use the SSN as a numerical identifier in their record-keeping systems for the purpose of validating SSNs.
14. To the
(a) SSA, or any component thereof; or
(b) any SSA employee in his or her official capacity; or:
(c) Any SSA employee in his or her individual capacity where DOJ (or SSA, where it is authorized to do so) has agreed to represent the employee; or
(d)
15. To State audit agencies for the purpose of:
(a) Auditing State supplementation payments and Medicaid eligibility considerations; and
(b) expenditures of Federal funds by the State in support of the Disability Determination Services.
16. To the
17. To Federal, State, or local agencies (or agents on their behalf), for administering income or health maintenance programs including programs under the Social Security Act. Such disclosures include the release of information to the following agencies, but are not limited to:
(a) RRB, for administering provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act and Social Security Act, relating to railroad employment, and for administering provisions of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act;
(b)
(c)
18. To State welfare departments:
(a) Pursuant to agreements with us, for the administration of State supplementation payments;
(b) for enrollment of welfare beneficiaries for medical insurance under section 1843 of the Social Security Act; and
(c) for conducting independent quality assurance reviews of SSI beneficiary records, provided that the agreement for Federal administration of the supplementation provides for such an independent review.
19. To third party contacts (e.g., State bureaus of vital statistics and the
20. To the
21. To the
22. To contractors and other Federal agencies, as necessary, for assisting SSA in the efficient administration of its programs. We will disclose information under this routine use only in situations in which SSA may enter into a contractual or similar agreement with a third party to assist in accomplishing an agency function relating to this system of records.
23. To the
24. To the
25. To the
26. To student volunteers, individuals working under a personal services contract, and other workers who technically do not have the status of Federal employees, when they are performing work for us, as authorized by law, and they need access to personally identifiable information (PII) in our records in order to perform their assigned agency functions.
27. To Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and private security contractors, as appropriate, information necessary:
(a) To enable them to ensure the safety of our employees and customers, the security of our workplace, and the operation of our facilities; or
(b) to assist investigations or prosecutions with respect to activities that affect such safety and security or activities that disrupt the operation of our facilities.
28. To recipients of erroneous Death
29. To State vital records and statistics agencies, the SSNs of newborn children for administering public health and income maintenance programs, including conducting statistical studies and evaluation projects.
30. To State motor vehicle administration agencies (MVA) and to State agencies charged with administering State identification card programs for the public to verify names, dates of birth, and
31. To entities conducting epidemiological or similar research projects, upon request, pursuant to section 1106(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1306(d)), to disclose information as to whether a person is alive or deceased, provided that:
(a) We determine, in consultation with the
(b) the requester agrees to reimburse us for the costs of providing the information; and
(c) the requester agrees to comply with any safeguards and limitations we specify regarding re-release or re-disclosure of the information.
32. To the
33. To a
34. To the
35. To contractors, cooperative agreement awardees, State agencies, Federal agencies, and Federal congressional support agencies for research and statistical activities that are designed to increase knowledge about present or alternative
36. To State and Territory MVA officials (or agents or contractors on their behalf) and State and Territory chief election officials, under the provisions of section 205(r)(8) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(r)(8)), to verify the accuracy of information the State agency provides with respect to applications for voter registration for those persons who do not have a driver's license number:
(a) When the applicant provides the last four digits of the SSN, or
(b) when the applicant provides the full SSN, in accordance with section 7 of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a note), as described in section 303(a)(5)(D) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. (42 U.S.C. 15483(a)(5)(D)).
37. To the Secretary of
38. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
(a) SSA suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of records;
(b) SSA has determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, SSA (including its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national security; and
(c) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection with SSA's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
39. To State agencies charged with administering Medicaid and the
40. To the
41. To the
42. To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when SSA determines that information from this system of records is reasonably necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in:
(a) Responding to a suspected or confirmed breach; or
(b) preventing, minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national security, resulting from a suspected or confirmed breach.
43. To State and local government agencies, in situations involving suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of minor children or vulnerable adults, to report suspected abuse or determine a victim's eligibility for services.
44. To a State BVS, when it provided SSA information that an individual was deceased to notify the State of the error in the record so furnished.
45. To the
46. To the Office of the President in response to an inquiry from that office made on behalf of, and at the request of, the subject of the record or a third party acting on the subject's behalf.
47. To the
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
We will maintain records in this system in paper and in electronic form.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
This system maintains information about individuals by SSN, name, date of birth, the agency's internal processing reference number, or alien registration number. If we deny an application because the applicant submitted fraudulent evidence, or if we are verifying evidence we suspect to be fraudulent, we will retrieve records either by the applicant's name plus month and year of birth, or by the applicant's name plus the eleven-digit reference number of the disallowed application.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
In accordance with NARA rules codified at 36 CFR 1225.16, we maintain records in accordance with an agency-specific records schedule, N1-47-09-02, Enumeration System, item 2, and the approved NARA General Records Schedule 4.2, items 020, 050, and 130.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
We retain electronic and paper files containing personal identifiers in secure storage areas accessible only by our authorized employees and contractors who have a need for the information when performing their official duties. Security measures include, but are not limited to, the use of codes and profiles, personal identification number and password, and personal identification verification cards. We restrict access to specific correspondence within the system based on assigned roles and authorized users. We keep paper records in cabinets within secure areas, with access limited to only those employees who have an official need for access in order to perform their duties. We use audit mechanisms to record sensitive transactions as an additional measure to protect information from unauthorized disclosure or modification.
We annually provide our employees and contractors with appropriate security awareness training that includes reminders about the need to protect PII and the criminal penalties that apply to unauthorized access to, or disclosure of, PII (5 U.S.C. 552a(i)(1)). Furthermore, employees and contractors with access to databases maintaining PII must annually sign a sanctions document that acknowledges their accountability for inappropriately accessing or disclosing such information.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Individuals may submit requests for information about whether this system contains a record about them by submitting a written request to the system manager at the above address, which includes their name, SSN, or other information that may be in this system of records that will identify them. Individuals requesting notification of, or access to, a record by mail must include: (1) A notarized statement to us to verify their identity; or (2) must certify in the request that they are the individual they claim to be and that they understand that the knowing and willful request for, or acquisition of, a record pertaining to another individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense.
Individuals requesting notification of, or access to, records in person must provide their name, SSN, or other information that may be in this system of records that will identify them, as well as provide an identity document, preferably with a photograph, such as a driver's license. Individuals lacking identification documents sufficient to establish their identity must certify in writing that they are the individual they claim to be and that they understand that the knowing and willful request for, or acquisition of, a record pertaining to another individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense.
These procedures are in accordance with our regulations at 20 CFR 401.40 and 401.45.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
Same as record access procedures. Individuals should also reasonably identify the record, specify the information they are contesting, and state the corrective action sought and the reasons for the correction with supporting justification showing how the record is incomplete, untimely, inaccurate, or irrelevant. These procedures are in accordance with our regulations at 20 CFR 401.65(a).
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
Same as records access procedures. These procedures are in accordance with our regulations at 20 CFR 401.40 and 401.45.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
HISTORY:
75 FR 82121,
78 FR 40542,
79 FR 8780,
83 FR 31250,
83 FR 31251,
83 FR 54969,
[FR Doc. 2021-28490 Filed 1-3-22;
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