Time Limitations Under the RRA
Section 9 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) provides that the RRB's records
of service and compensation are conclusive as to the amount of compensation paid
during the period covered by the report, unless an error is called to the RRB's
attention within four years of the day on which the report was required to be
made. Employers are required to file with the RRB, on or before the last day of
February, an annual report of service and compensation for employees who
performed compensated service in the preceding calendar year.
Likewise, the fact that no report of compensation was made is taken as
conclusive information that no compensation was paid, unless the failure to make
a report of the compensation is called to the RRB's attention within four years
of the day on which the report was required to be made.
Example of Time Limitation Under the RRA
Reports of compensation and service for the year 2006 were due at the RRB on the
last day of February 2007. The last day to submit a corrected report of service
and compensation for the year 2006 would be the last day of February 2011. After
February 28, 2011, the time limit for adjustments to Tier compensation earned in
2006 will have expired.
Time Limitations Under the RUIA
Section 6 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) provides that the
RRB's records of compensation are conclusive unless an error is called to the
attention of the RRB within eighteen months of the date on which the return was
required to be filed. The last day to submit a corrected report of RUIA
compensation for the year 2006 would be August 31, 2008.
Exceptions to the Four Year Adjustment
Limitation
Part 211.16 of the Railroad Retirement Board's Regulations allow corrections beyond the four-year adjustment period in the
following circumstances:
- the compensation was posted or not posted as the result of fraud on the
part of the employer;
- the compensation was posted for the wrong person or wrong period;
- the earnings were erroneously reported to the
Social Security Administration in
the good faith belief by the employer or employee that such earnings were not
covered under the Railroad Retirement Act;
- a determination pertaining to the coverage under the Railroad
Retirement Act of an individual, partnership, or company as an employer, is
retroactive;
- in the judgment of the three-member Board, failure to make a correction
would be inequitable.
Error Discovered After the Allowed
Adjustment period
An employer who discovers an error in a compensation report beyond the four-year
period should submit Form BA-4
,
Report of Creditable Compensation Adjustments, accompanied by an explanation of
the delay and a statement regarding the payment of applicable taxes. An employee
will not be credited with service months or Tier II compensation beyond the
four-year period unless the employer establishes to the satisfaction of the
Board that all employment taxes imposed by Sections 3201, 3211, and 3221 of
title 26 of the Internal Revenue Code have been paid with respect to the
compensation and service.
Determining the Period for Retroactive
Payments
Reports adjusting prior-year service and compensation are due at the RRB by the
end of the month following the calendar quarter in which the payment was made or
the error or omission was determined. For example, if payment was made in July
2007 for a period of lost earnings in 2002 and 2003, the report would be due by
October 31, 2007. If an employer is filing an adjustment that appears to be
beyond the four-year period, such as in the above example, the employer should
complete item 16 on the adjustment report. This item allows an employer to
identify current payments that are allocated more than four years prior to the
current year. If the adjustment report is filed on magnetic media, the employer
can put this information in the “Remarks” section of
Form
G-440
,
Report Specification Sheet.
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