Form BA-6

Form BA-6, Certificate of Service Months and Compensation, is issued annually. This form is the employee's record of creditable service and compensation reported by all covered employers.

Form BA-6 included the following information:

• The deemed service months which may be credited to an employee, as described in here;
• Reported separation allowance/severance pay;
• The Tier II contribution amount;
• The procedures for protesting the information on the certificate; and
• Information about visiting a field office of the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).

It does not, however, include creditable military service.

Who receives Form BA-6

Forms BA-6 are prepared for all employees who received creditable compensation in the preceding calendar year, when such compensation was timely and correctly reported to the RRB. This includes any adjustments to regular compensation, sick pay or separation allowances that are received before the established cutoff date for updating employee records.

Only the first five letters of the employee's last name will appear on a certificate where the RRB has not yet verified the employee's social security number and name with the Social Security Administration. This usually occurs when the certificate year is the first year in which the employee worked in the railroad industry.

Non-receipt of Form BA-6

Employers should advise an employee who does not receive a Form BA-6 after a reasonable time that they may obtain a certificate can from their local field office of the RRB, or by writing to:

Compensation and Employer Services
Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092

Form BA-6 Cannot Be Mailed to an Employee if the:

• Employer's annual service and compensation report was received too late;
• Employer's report contained an omission or error that prevented the employee's service and compensation from being processed; or
• RRB has no address for the employee.