Prepared by:
Quality Reporting Service Center
Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092
Phone: |
(312) 751-4992 |
Fax: |
(312) 751-7190 |
E-mail: |
QRSC@rrb.gov |
Experience Rating
Specialist: |
(312) 751-4550 |
Pay.gov Has Replaced RRBLINK
RRBLink has been shut down and replaced with Pay.gov. Pay.gov should be used
to make all your electronic Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA)
contributions. If you have questions about making RUIA contributions, please
call the Railroad Retirement Board at (312) 751-4668.
For more information visit Frequently Asked Questions at
www.Pay.gov and our April 2007 Program Letter (No.
2007-06).
ERS Update?
The Employer Reporting System (ERS) has undergone several updates to support
changes to the forms that employers use to submit service and compensation data.
Form BA-4, Report of Compensation Adjustments, now allows employers to report
miscellaneous compensation, sick pay, the RUIA maximum amount and the daily pay
rate if it was omitted from the annual report. Form BA-6a, BA-6 Address Report
allows you to submit the employee’s current address, full first and last name
and effective date.
See Program Letter 2008-10, “Changes to the Employer Reporting System (ERS)”
which explains the revisions and encourages employers to sign up for the system
by submitting Form BA-12.
Training Videos
The RRB’s Quality Reporting Service Center has put together a series of training
videos to enhance your reporting knowledge. The following videos can be found on
the RRB’s web site by entering the name of the video in the search box and
clicking the video link.
Benefit Year 2008 Starts July 1st
A new RUIA benefit year is upon us yet again. Benefit year 2008 commences on
July 1, 2008 and ends June 30, 2009 for most unemployment and sickness insurance
benefit claimants. To be qualified for RRB UI and/or SI benefits, an employee
must have $3,075.00 in creditable railroad earnings in calendar year 2007,
counting no more than $1,230.00 per month.
If 2007 was an employee’s first year of railroad work, he or she must also have
railroad service in at least 5 months of 2007. Also, the maximum daily benefit
rate for UI and SI benefits increases to $61.00 for registration periods
beginning after June 30, 2008.
Contact Official Changes
Have there been personnel changes in your organization that affect employees
previously designated as contact officials with the RRB? If we are sending
correspondence to an incorrect or obsolete address or contact official, please
notify us by completing Form G-117a,
“Designation of Contact Officials”, and mail or fax it to QRSC. Be sure to
update the information to those who participate in the Employer Reporting System
too. Current addresses and contacts are essential in providing you with RRB
information.
Changes to Employer Coverage Status
If your organization has experienced changes in ownership or operations that may
affect its coverage status (i.e.: acquisition, merger, corporate dissolutions)
please notify the RRB as soon as possible. RRB regulation (20 CFR 209.5) states,
it is the duty of each employer to promptly notify the RRB of any changes that
may affect its coverage under the Acts. Any coverage changes should be addressed
to the Chief of Audit and Compliance at (312) 751-7120.
Return to Railroad Service
Annuitants who return to work for employers covered under the RRA are not
entitled to retirement annuities from the RRB. If you are incorrectly crediting
former employees with service for pay in lieu of vacation, back pay or any
payment not associated with actual work or a negotiated agreement, you may be
subjecting them to overpayments. Compensation can be credited to an employee's
account when paid, regardless of when the employee retires or resigns. However,
service months must be credited when the service is performed. No additional
service months can be credited to an employee’s earnings record after the
employee actually stops working and relinquishes his/her rights to work for your
company. If service has been reported for a former employee after his /her
retirement annuity began you will receive a Form GL-132, Notice of Service
Reported for Annuitant Who is Receiving an RRB Annuity.
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