Prepared by Public Affairs 312-751-4777
Each year, the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) prepares a “Certificate
of Service Months and Compensation” (Form BA-6) for every railroad employee who
received creditable railroad compensation in the previous calendar year. The
forms will be mailed to employees by the RRB during the first half of June.
While every effort has been made to compile and keep current the addresses of
all active railroad employees, those for whom compensation was reported in 2007
but who have not received Form BA-6 by July 1, or need a replacement, should
contact the nearest RRB field office.
Form BA-6 provides employees with a record of their railroad retirement service
and compensation. While the form has no cash value, the information shown is
used to determine whether an employee qualifies for benefits and the amount of
those benefits.
It is important that employees review their Form BA-6 to see whether their own
records of service months and creditable compensation agree with the figures
shown on the form. In checking the 2007 compensation total, employees should be
aware that only annual earnings up to $97,500 were creditable for railroad
retirement purposes in that year, and that $97,500 is the maximum amount shown
on the form. To assist employees in reviewing their service credits, the form
also shows service credited on a month-by-month basis for 2006, 2005, and 2004,
when the creditable compensation maximums were $94,200, $90,000, and $87,900,
respectively. In addition, the form identifies the employers reporting the
employee’s 2007 service and compensation.
Besides the months of service reported by employers, Form BA-6 shows the number
of any additional service months deemed by the RRB. Deemed service months may be
credited under certain conditions for an employee who did not work in all 12
months of the year, but had creditable tier II earnings exceeding monthly
prorations of the creditable tier II earnings maximum for the year. However, the
total of reported and deemed service months may never exceed 12 in a calendar
year; and no service months, reported or deemed, can be credited after
retirement, severance, resignation, discharge, or death.
Form BA-6 also shows the number of months of verified military service
creditable as service under the Railroad Retirement Act, if the service was
previously reported to the RRB. Employees are encouraged to submit proofs of age
and/or military service in advance of their actual retirement. Filing
these proofs with the RRB in advance will streamline the benefit application
process and prevent payment delays.
For employees who received separation or severance payments, the section of the
form designated “Taxable Amount” shows the amounts of any separation allowance
or severance payments that were subject to railroad retirement tier II taxes.
This information is shown on the form because a lump sum, approximating part or
all of the tier II taxes deducted from such payments made after 1984 which did
not provide additional tier II credits, may be payable by the RRB upon
retirement to qualified employees or to survivors if the employee dies before
retirement. The amount of an allowance included in an employee’s regular
compensation is shown under “Compensation Amount.”
Form BA-6 also shows, in the section designated “Employee Contributions,” the
cumulative amount of tier II railroad retirement payroll taxes paid by the
employee over and above tier I social security equivalent payroll taxes. While
the RRB does not collect or maintain payroll tax information, the agency
computes this amount from its compensation records in order to advise retired
employees of their payroll tax contributions for Federal income tax purposes.
Employees should check their name, address, social security number, birth date
and sex shown at the top of the form. In order to protect privacy, only the last
four digits of an employee’s social security number are shown. If only the first
four or five letters of the employee’s surname are shown, his or her birth date
shows as 99-99, and the sex code shows as U(nknown), it means the RRB is
verifying his or her social security number with the Social Security
Administration. Otherwise, if the personal identifying information is incorrect
or incomplete (generally cases where the employee’s surname has more than 10
letters and the form shows only the first 10 letters) or the address is not
correct, the employee should contact the nearest RRB field office. The field
office can then correct the RRB’s records. This is important in order to prevent
identity or security-related problems that could arise if the employee wants to
use certain Internet services available on the RRB’s Web site at
www.rrb.gov.
Employees may view their railroad retirement service and compensation records,
get estimates of their future annuities, apply for, as well as claim, railroad
unemployment benefits, and access their individual railroad unemployment
insurance account statements through the RRB’s Web site. To use these additional
online services, an employee must first establish an RRB Internet Services
account. For security purposes, first time users must apply for a Password
Request Code, which they will receive by mail in about 10 business days. To do
this, employees should click on “Benefit Online Services” and select “request a
PRC.”
Employees can also request that printouts of their individual railroad
retirement records of service months and compensation be mailed to them. A
PIN/Password is not required to use this service. It can be accessed simply by
visiting www.rrb.gov, clicking on “Benefit Online Services” and selecting the
“Request Service & Compensation History” option.
If the employee’s name was incomplete on Form BA-6, and he or she has not yet
contacted an RRB field office to correct it, the employee should enter his or
her first and middle initials and his or her surname
just as it appears on the Form BA-6 or a
previously furnished printout of service and compensation, along with the
other requested information.
For most employees, the address and phone number of the RRB office serving their
area are provided on the form. Addresses and phone numbers for all RRB offices
are available by calling the toll-free RRB Help Line at 1-800-808-0772 or by
checking the RRB’s Web site at www.rrb.gov. Most RRB offices are open to the
public from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal
holidays.
Any other discrepancies in Form BA-6 should be reported promptly in writing to:
Protest Unit-CES, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street,
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092. The employee must include his or her social
security number in the letter. Form BA-6 also explains what other documentation
and information should be provided. The law limits to four years the period
during which corrections can be made.
Note: The sample Form BA-6
may only be viewed
in the PDF format of this
press release.
# # #
|