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 |
Please distribute this notice to all
individuals within your organization who may need the information in connection
with their work. This program letter is to advise employers that the
Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) prepayment verification notices (ID-4K) that we
send to employers will list claims under the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (ARRA). However, the post-payment notices (ID-4E) will not list the ARRA
benefit payments.
Program Letter 2009-02 explained that ARRA provides an appropriation from the
Department of the Treasury totaling $20 million to be used for the payment of
additional extended unemployment benefits (UI) under the Railroad Unemployment
Insurance Act (RUIA).
- The Act provides extended benefits only to employees who received normal UI
benefits for days in the period July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009.
- Railroad workers who previously were not eligible for extended unemployment
benefits because they did not have 10 years (120 cumulative months of service)
may be eligible for up to 65 days within an extended period consisting of 7
consecutive 2-week registration periods.
- Railroad workers who previously were eligible for extended unemployment
benefits of up to 65 days may now be eligible for extended benefits of up to 130
days within an extended period consisting of 13 consecutive 2-week registration
periods.
- The latest date that an extended benefit period under these special provisions
may begin is December 31, 2009.
- Payment of these special extended benefits will cease when the $20 million has
been expended.
We are diligently working to make and test programming changes needed to
implement the temporary extended unemployment benefit provisions. We expect to
start paying the special extended benefits no later than June 30. As previously
stated, any special extended unemployment benefits paid based on ARRA will be
charged to the $20 million appropriation. These benefits will not be charged to
the claimant’s base year employer’s benefit account balance and consequently
will not be included when calculating the base year employer’s experience rated
RUIA contribution rate for any future years. Although employers will not be
charged for these payments, certain processes will remain the same while others
will change.
Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employee’s Applications and Claims for Benefits
under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) and Form ID-4E, Notice of
RUIA Claim Determinations will be issued as usual for all sickness benefit
claims/payments and all normal and regular extended unemployment benefit
applications/claims and payments. These benefits will continue to be charged to
the claimant’s base year employer’s benefit account balance and consequently
will be used when calculating the base year employer’s experience rated RUIA
contribution rate for future years.
To ensure program integrity and safeguard the $20 million Treasury
appropriation, Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employee’s Applications and
Claims for Benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) will
include unemployment claims payable under the ARRA. Please note that there will
be no code on the Form ID-4K to distinguish these ARRA claims.
In addition, since the ARRA benefit payments will not be charged to the
claimant’s base year employer’s benefit account balance, these payments will not
appear on the Form ID-4E, Notice of RUIA Claim Determinations. However, since
both payment types (non-ARRA and ARRA benefits) are generally payable on any
given day, most employers will continue to receive Form ID-4E.
Finally, employers will continue to receive their Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice
of Employee’s Applications and Claims for Benefits under the Railroad
Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) and ID-4E, Notice of RUIA Claim Determinations
in the same format as they previously chose, either paper, Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI) via RAILINC or the Employer Reporting System (ERS).
If you have any questions regarding the special extended unemployment benefits
paid based on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, please contact
the Railroad Retirement Board.
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