Prepared by:

Please share this information with the appropriate members of your staff who file service and compensation reporting forms for employees of your organization.

The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has updated the Employer Reporting System (ERS) Internet site that employers use to file certain service and compensation reporting forms. The system was revised to include changes to the reports that were expanded to accommodate additional information. The forms that are currently available in ERS have been revised as follows:
 

Form BA-4, Report of Compensation Adjustments

• The fields for the surname and first name have been expanded to 20 and 15 positions respectively, to allow you to enter the employee’s full first and last name.
• Adjustments of Sick Pay and Miscellaneous Payments will now be entered on Form BA-4. Form BA-10, Report of Sick Pay and Miscellaneous Payments is now obsolete so adjustments previously submitted on that form will be corrected on the BA-4.
• New RUIA II Compensation Field – In addition to making adjustments to the RUIA compensation based on the creditable monthly maximum, employers will have the option of also adjusting the RUIA compensation based on the monthly maximum benefit amount which is needed to determine the maximum amount of RUIA benefits payable. Use of this new field will reduce the number of or eliminate Forms UI-41a, Supplemental Report of Compensation being released to employers because the RRB will already have this information. It will also prevent delays of unemployment and sickness benefits.
• Daily Pay Rate (DPR) Field - Employers can now enter the employee’s DPR on Form BA-4 if it was omitted on the annual report. You cannot adjust the DPR on Form BA-4 if it was already reported.

Form BA-6a, BA-6 Address Report; Name and Date Formats

• The fields for the surname and first name have been expanded to 20 and 15 positions respectively, to allow you to enter the employee’s full first and last name.
• The street address fields have been expanded to 30 positions.
• The city field has been expanded to 20 positions.
• New Effective Date Field (Optional) – The address effective date should reflect the date the employer recorded the address in their files. If the employer can not determine this date, the item should be left blank. This date must be submitted in the MM/DD/CCYY format.

Access to ERS Site

Access to ERS is roles-based which means that each user's access is tailored to the role, or work, they do at their company. Access levels are assigned by the company. Therefore the employer retains control over what forms their employees can view and submit.

If you are not currently signed up to file reports through ERS, we encourage you to do so. In the near future we will be adding the following forms:

• Form ID-4E, Notice of Receipt of Unemployment Benefits;
• Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employee’s Application and Claim for Benefits.

If you enroll now, you will be automatically authorized to submit any new forms that are added to the system. To apply for access, file Form BA-12, Application for Employer Reporting Internet Access. Complete all sections of the form except Section D, read the Access and Security Guidelines, and sign the certification. Have your supervisor or manager complete Section D. The form must be signed by an official of the company who has signature authority to sign RRB forms. The company president and those persons designated on Form G-117A "Designation of Contact Official" are assumed to have signature authority. These forms are available on the RRB website at www.rrb.gov.

Within three to five days of receipt of an acceptable application, the RRB will mail your user ID and password along with instructions for accessing the site. If you have any questions or want more information, contact the Quality Reporting Service Center at (312) 751-4992, or by email at QRSC@rrb.gov.

Enclosures:

Form BA-12, "Application for Employer Reporting Internet Access"
Security Guidelines
Explanation of Access Levels