Effective 10/18/94 (59 FR 52309)

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION NOTICE OF SYSTEM OF RECORDS REQUIRED BY THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974
60-0066

System name: Claims Development Record, SSA/RO.

Security classification:

None.

System location:

Social Security field offices (see Appendix E for address information).

Categories of individuals covered by the system:

Beneficiaries, applicants and inquirers of information relating to the various Social Security programs and the BL program.

Categories of records in the system:

The file contains the names, addresses, and SSNs of the individuals. It also contains development notes concerning the request and receipt of documents required for a claim for benefits. Benefit amounts and dates of entitlement may also be displayed.

Authority for maintenance of the system:

Section 205(a) of the Act.

Purpose(s):

Information in this system is used as an interviewing tool, record of clearance of claims and sometimes as a log of activity pertinent to continued entitlement to benefits.

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:

To a congressional office in response to an inquiry from the office made on behalf of the subject of a record.
Nontax return information which is not restricted from disclosure by Federal law may be disclosed to GSA and 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.
To DOJ, a court or other tribunal, or another party before such tribunal when:
- SSA, any component thereof; or
- any SSA employee in his/her official capacity; or
- any SSA employee in his/her individual capacity where DOJ (or SSA where it is authorized to do so) has agreed to represent the employee; or
- the United States or any agency thereof where SSA determines that the litigation is likely to affect the operations of SSA or any of its components,
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 is relevant and necessary to the litigation, provided, however, that in each case, SSA determines that such disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.
Wage and other information which are subject to the disclosure provisions of the IRC (26 U.S.C. 6103) will not be disclosed under this routine use unless disclosure is expressly permitted by the IRC.
To student volunteers and other workers, who technically do not have the status of Federal employees, when they are performing work for SSA as authorized by law, and they need access to personally identifiable information in SSA records in order to perform their assigned Agency functions.
To Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and private security contractors, as appropriate, information necessary.
- To enable them to protect the safety of SSA employees and customers, the security of the SSA workplace and the operation of SSA facilities, or
- To assist investigations or prosecutions with respect to activities that affect such safety and security or activities that disrupt the operation of SSA facilities.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining and disposing of records in the system:

Storage:

Records generally are stored on paper forms (8 x 10 1/2 cards) filed in standard file cabinets. However, records also may be maintained in magnetic media (e.g., on disc, microcomputer).

Retrievability:

Records are retrieved by name and SSN.

Safeguards:

Access to records is restricted to authorized personnel who have a need for the records in the performance of their official duties. The buildings which house the records are secured after normal business hours. (See Appendix G to this publication for additional information relating to safeguards SSA employs to protect personal information.)

Retention and disposal:

Specific destruction dates are established depending on whether a claim is allowed or disallowed. Generally, the records are maintained for 6 months then destroyed.

System manager(s) and address:

See Appendix H for address information.

Notification procedures:

An individual can determine if this system contains a record about him/her by contacting the most convenient Social Security field office (see Appendix E.1 for address and telephone information) and providing his/her name and SSN. (Furnishing the SSN is voluntary, but it will make searching for an individual's record easier and avoid delay.)

An individual requesting notification of records in person need not furnish any special documents of identity. Documents he/she would normally carry on his/her person would be sufficient (e.g., credit cards, driver's license, or voter registration card). An individual requesting notification via mail or telephone must furnish a minimum of his/her name, date of birth, and address in order to establish identity, plus any additional information specified in this section. These procedures are in accordance with HHS Regulations 45 CFR Part 5b.

Record access procedures:

Same as notification procedures. Requesters also should reasonably specify the record contents they are seeking. These procedures are in accordance with HHS Regulations 45 CFR Part 5b.

Contesting record procedures:

Same as notification procedures. Requesters also should 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 HHS Regulations 45 CFR Part 5b.

Record source categories:

Applicants, Social Security beneficiaries, SSI recipients, inquirers and third parties.

Systems exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act: