SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
NOTICE OF SYSTEM OF RECORDS REQUIRED BY THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974
System number: 60-0224
System name:
SSA-Initiated Personal Earnings
and Benefit Estimate Statement (SIPEBES), Social Security Administration,
Office of Systems Requirements.
Security classification:
None.
System location:
Social Security Administration
Office of Systems
6401 Security Boulevard
Baltimore,
Categories of individuals
covered by the system: Any person:
• Who lives in a state territory of the
• Who has reached age 25;
• Who has had earnings posted to his/her SSN;
• Who is not receiving benefits under Title II
of the Social Security Act; and
• For whom SSA can determine the current mailing
address.
Categories of records in the
system:
This system contains the following information about each individual:
• SSN;
• Date of birth;
• Sex;
• Disposition code (to indicate earnings
discrepancy or refusal);
• Date of SIPEBES issuance;
• Whether the PEBES was issued at the
individual's request or SSA's initiative;
• Primary language (English or Spanish);
• Address source (IRS, the individual, or
other);
• IRARN-CD (a code reserved for future use);
• PROC-CD (a code reserved for future use).
Authority for maintenance of
the system:
Sections 205(a), 205(c)(2), and 1143 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
405(a), 405(c)(2), and 1320b—13); the Federal Records Act of 1950
(64 Stat. 583), as amended.
Purpose(s):
This system is used for the
following purposes:
• To establish and retrieve specific records for
PEBES processing.
• To identify whether or when a person has
previously received an SIPEBES;
• To help SSA respond to PEBES inquiries; and
• To conduct statistical studies.
Routine uses of records
maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of
such uses:
Disclosure may be made
for routine uses as indicated below:
1) Information may be disclosed to contractors
and other Federal agencies, as necessary, to assist SSA in the
efficient administration of its programs.
2) Information may be disclosed to a
congressional office in response to an inquiry from the congressional office
made at the request of the subject of the record.
3) Information may be disclosed to the
Department of Justice (DOJ), a court, or other tribunal, or another party
before such tribunal, when:
a)SSA, or any component thereof; or
b)any SSA
employee in his/her official capacity; or
c) any SSA employee in his/her
individual capacity when DOJ (or SSA, when
it is authorized to do so) has agreed to represent the employee; or
d)the
is a party to litigation or
has an interest in such litigation, and SSA determines that the use of such
records by DOJ, the court or other tribunal, or the other party before the
tribunal is relevant and necessary to the litigation, provided, however, that
in each case SSA determines that such disclosure is compatible with the purposes
for which the records were collected.
4) To the Office of the President for
responding to an individual pursuant to an inquiry received from that individual or
from a third party on his or her behalf.
5) Non-tax return information which is not
restricted from disclosure by Federal law, may be disclosed to the General
Services Administration (GSA) and the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) for the purpose of conducting
records management studies with respect to their duties and responsibilities under 44 U.S.C. 2904
and 2906, as amended by NARA Act of 1984.
6) Information may be disclosed to the IRS,
for auditing SSA's compliance with the
safeguard provisions of the IRC of 1986, as amended.
Policies and practices for
storing, retrieving, accessing, and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Records will be stored in
magnetic media (e.g., magnetic tape and disc).
Retrievability:
Data will be retrieved from
the system by SSN, name, and SSN.
Safeguards:
Safeguards for automated
records have been established in accordance with the Systems Security
Handbook. This includes maintaining the magnetic tapes and discs within
an enclosure attended by security guards. Anyone entering or leaving this
enclosure must have a special badge issued only to authorized personnel.
For computerized records
electronically transmitted between Central Office and Field Office locations
(including organizations administering SSA programs under contractual
agreements), safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, exclusive use of
leased telephone lines, a terminal-oriented transaction matrix, and an audit
trail. All microfilm and paper files are accessible only by authorized
personnel who have a need for the information in performing their official
duties.
SSA's
terminals are equipped with physical key locks. The terminals are also
fitted with adapters to permit the future installation of data encryption
devices and devices to permit the identification of terminal users.
Contractors will safeguard information
disclosed to them consistent with the requirements of
the Privacy Act.
Retention and disposal:
All tapes, discs, and
microfilm files are updated periodically. Out-of-date magnetic tapes and
discs are erased. Out-of-date microfilm is shredded.
SSA retains correspondence
for one year when it concerns documents returned to an individual, denials of
confidential information, release of confidential information to an authorized
third party, and undeliverable material; for four years when it concerns
information and evidence pertaining to coverage, wage, and self-employment
determinations or when it affects future claims development, especially
coverage, wage, and self-employment determinations. Correspondence is
destroyed, when appropriate, by shredding. Magnetic media records are
maintained indefinitely.
System manager and address:
Director
Division of Earnings Control and Processing
Office of Systems Requirements
Social Security Administration
6401 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, Maryland 21235
Notification procedure:
An individual can determine
if this system contains a record about him/her by writing to the systems
manager(s) at the above address and providing his/her name, SSN or other
information that may be in the system of records that will identify
him/her. An individual requesting notification of records in person
should provide the same information, as well as provide an identity document,
preferably with a photograph, such as a driver’s license or some other means of
identification, such as a voter registration card, credit card, etc. If
an individual does not have any identification documents sufficient to
establish his/her identity, the individual must certify in writing that he/she
is the person claimed to be and that he/she understands that the knowing and
willful request for, or acquisition of, a record pertaining to another
individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense.
If notification is
requested by telephone, an individual must verify his/her identity by providing
identifying information that parallels the record to which notification is
being requested. If it is
determined that the identifying information provided by telephone is
insufficient, the individual will be required to submit a request in writing or
in person. If an individual is requesting information by telephone
on behalf of another individual, the subject individual must be connected with
SSA and the requesting individual in the same phone call. SSA will
establish the subject individual’s identity (his/her name, SSN, address, date
of birth and place of birth along with one other piece of information such as
mother’s maiden name) and ask for his/her consent in providing information to
the requesting individual.
If a request for
notification is submitted by mail, an individual must include a notarized
statement to SSA to verify his/her identity or must certify in the request that
he/she is the person claimed to be and that he/she understands 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 SSA Regulations (20 CFR § 401.40).
Record access procedures:
Same
as notification procedures. Also, requesters should reasonably specify the
record contents they are seeking. These procedures are in accordance with SSA
Regulations (20 CFR 401.40(c)).
Contesting record procedures:
Same
as notification procedures. Requesters 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 untimely, incomplete, inaccurate or irrelevant. These
procedures are in accordance with SSA Regulations (20 CFR 401.65(a)).
Record source categories:
Information in this system
is obtained from the Numident File of the SSA system
of records entitled "Master File of Social Security Number (SSN) Holders,
SSA/OSR (60-0058);" and from the IRS.
Systems exempted from certain
provisions of the Act:
None.