We provide data to government agencies and private organizations for research projects
and studies. Generally, disclosures to support external research activities are in
the form of aggregations, statistics and or tabulations that do not identify any individual.
We must review all statistical output prior to disclosure, to ensure the output meets
our disclosure guidelines and will not lead to the identity of any individual or compromise
the anonymity or privacy of an individual or family.
The Privacy Act allows us to disclose personally identifiable information subject
to certain conditions and pursuant to a routine use. The Office of the General Counsel,
via the Office of Data Exchange and Policy Publication (ODXIA), reviews requests to
disclose SSA data for research purposes to determine if the disclosure is permissible.