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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.

• Getting Started - Railroad Retirement for New Employers
• Employer Reporting Responsibilities
• Creditable Service
• Vacation and Service Months
• Pay for Time Lost Settlements
• Railroad Retirement Reporting - What Every Secretary-Treasurer Should Know
• What Every Secretary-Treasurer Needs to Know Part 2
• Employer And Employee Coverage
  
  If you have video topic suggestions please call or e-mail QRSC with your suggestion..

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.