System Name:

Matches of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) Data (Joint SSA/Treasury Department, Office of Tax Analysis, Statistics Development Project), SSA/ORES.

Security classification:

None.

System location:

Social Security Administration
Office of Systems Operations
6401 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, MD 21235

Associate Commissioner
Office of Research and Statistic
Social Security Administration
6401 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, MD 21235

Department of the Treasury
15th & Pennsylvania Ave, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20220

Categories of individuals covered by the system:

Samples of persons by or on whose behalf Federal income or estate tax returns, or wages or self-employment earnings reports have been filed for the years 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1979 and selected subsequent years.

Categories of records in the system:

SSA demographic, benefits and earnings data; and IRS income and estate tax return data.

Authority for maintenance of the system:

Section 702 of the Act (42 U.S.C. 902), and section 6103 of the IRC (26 U.S.C. 6103) for Treasury participation.

Categories of records in the system:

SSA demographic, benefits and earnings data; and IRS income and estate tax return data.

Purpose(s):

These files are used to develop data bases for SSA studies of economic behavior, mortality, wealth, and occupation in the context of the income maintenance system; and for micro-economic analysis of income distribution. These data bases are used by the Department of the Treasury's OTA without identifiers to estimate current revenues from taxing Social Security benefits; to explore various tax proposal for treating those benefits as well as Social Security contributions; and to explore implications for the elderly in substituting consumption-based taxes for income taxes. OTA also uses the files without identifiers to perform research and statistical projects sponsored by SSA and IRS.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses:

Disclosure may be made for routine use as indicated below:

1. (Through the Department of the Treasury) to a congressional office in response to an inquiry from that office made at the request of the subject of a record. Tax return information may be disclosed only when expressly authorized by IRS.

2. To the Department of the Treasury, OTA in connection with statistical studies conducted for SSA and the Department of the Treasury purposes.

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

Storage:

Records are stored in magnetic media and paper form.

Retrievability:

Records are indexed by SSN during the searching steps at SSA. Identifiers are used by OTA for matching purposes which are carried out entirely at the Department of the Treasury.

Safeguards:

Safeguards are established in accordance with the Systems Security Handbook. Employees having access to records have been notified of criminal sanctions for unauthorized disclosure of information about individuals.

Magnetic tapes or other files with personal identifiers, are retained in secured storage areas accessible only to authorized personnel. Personal identifiers are used only during the matching steps at SSA and OTA. Microdata files prepared for purposes of research and analysis are purged of personal identifiers and are subject to physical, technical and procedural safeguards to assure anonymity. (See Appendix G to this publication for additional information relating to safeguards SSA employs to protect personal information.)

Retention and disposal:

Identifiable data are retained by SSA only during the search process. SSA receives the minimum amount of IRS data with identifiers needed to validate the records processed. Once the searching is complete all computer tapes are turned over to the Department of the Treasury for matching.

A matched SSA-Treasury file without identifiers is available to SSA and Treasury for research use.

OTA may retain a file with identifiers in secure storage exclusively for possible updating; e.g., with similar data for different years.

As long as identifiable records exist, a periodic review is made at least every two years to determine the need for their retention.

System manager(s) and address:

Associate Commissioner, Office of Research and Statistics, Social Security Administration , 6401 Security Boulevard , Baltimore, MD 21235

Notification procedure:

This system contains limited data selected for statistical analysis. Individuals inquiring about their records in SSA programs should consult other SSA systems of records which contain more detailed information. However, individuals may obtain notification of or access to information that may be maintained during processing states in this system, by writing to the system manager (at the above address) and providing the name of this system, their name, SSN and a description of the information being sought. (Furnishing the SSN is voluntary, but it will make searching for an individual's record easier and avoid delay.)

When requesting notification or access to a record in this system, the individual should refer to this system and provide his or her name and return address. 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. Except in transitory stages of preparation, files at SSA do not have personal identifiers, and cannot be located on an individual basis.

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 HHS Regulations 45 CFR Part 5b.

Record source categories:

Records in this system are derived from other SSA systems (e.g., the Master Files of Social Security Number Holders System (60-0058), Earnings Recording and Self-Employment Income System (60-0059) and Master Beneficiary Record (60-0090); and IRS Federal income and estate tax returns.

Systems exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act:

None.