Railroad Retirement Board July 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Railroad Retirement Board (Board) amends its regulations to explain the effective date of consolidated employer records that result in the issuance of a joint contribution rate under the experience rating provisions of section 8 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. In addition, as a result of an agency reorganization, there has been a change in the title of the Board employee to whom requests for consolidation should be addressed. The Board amends its regulations to reflect this change.

In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data collections. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Title and Purpose of information collection: Annual Earnings Questionnaire for Annuitants in Last Pre-Retirement Non-Railroad Employment; OMB 3220-0179. Under section 2(e)(3) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), an annuity is not payable for any month in which a beneficiary works for a railroad. In addition, an annuity is reduced for any month in which the beneficiary works for an employer other than a railroad employer and earns more than a prescribed amount. Under the 1988 amendments to the RRA, the Tier II portion of the regular annuity and any supplemental annuity must be reduced by one dollar for each two dollars of Last Pre- Retirement Non-Railroad Employment (LPE) earnings for each month of such service. However, the reduction cannot exceed fifty percent of the Tier II and supplemental annuity amount for the month to which such deductions apply. LPE generally refers to an annuitant's last employment with a non-railroad person, company, or institution prior to retirement which was performed whether at the same time of, or after an annuitant stopped railroad employment. The collection obtains earnings information needed by the RRB to determine if possible reductions in annuities because of Last Pre-Retirement Non-Railroad Employment Earnings (LPE) are in order. The RRB utilizes Form G-19L to obtain LPE earnings information from annuitants. Companion Form G-19L.1, which serves as an instruction sheet and contains the Paperwork Reduction/Privacy Act Notice for the collection accompanies each Form G-19L sent to an annuitant. One response is requested of each respondent. Completion is required to retain a benefit. The RRB proposes a minor non-burden impacting editorial change to Form G-19L for clarification purposes. The estimated annual respondent burden is as follows: Estimated number of responses: 300. Estimated completion time per response: 15 minutes. Estimated annual burden hours: 75. Additonal Information or Comments: To request more information or to obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms, and/or supporting material, please call the RRB Clearance Officer at (312) 751-3363 or send an e-mail request to Charles.Mierzwa@RRB.GOV. Comments regarding the information collection should be addressed to Ronald J. Hodapp, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092 or send an e-mail to Ronald.Hodapp@RRB.GOV. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

In accordance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data collections. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Title and Purpose of Information Collection: Evidence for Application of Overall Minimum: OMB 3220-0083. Under section 3(f)(3) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), the total monthly benefits payable to a railroad employee and his/her family are guaranteed to be no less than the amount that would be payable if the employee's railroad service had been covered by the Social Security Act. This is referred to as the Special Guaranty computation or the Retirement Overall Minimum (O/M) provision. To administer the Special Guaranty provision, the RRB requires information about a retired employee's spouse and any child who is not currently eligible for benefits under the RRA but might have been eligible for benefits under the Social Security Act if the employee's railroad service had been covered by that Act. The RRB currently obtains the required information by the use of forms G-319 (Statement Regarding Family and Earnings for Special Guaranty Computation) and G-320 (Statement by Employee Annuitant Regarding Student Age 18-19). One form is completed by each respondent. The RRB proposes significant burden impacting changes to Form G-319 and Form G-320. The major changes proposed are primarily to gather information needed due to the Railroad Retirement and Survivors Improvement Act which created a new category of employees whose families might qualify for the Special Guaranty Computation if the employee has less than 120 months of railroad service, but at least 60 months of railroad service after 1995, and to expand the use of Form G- 320 to include student attendance monitoring. Proposed Form G-319 will be renamed, ``Statement Regarding Family and Earnings for the Special Guaranty Computation''. Proposed Form G-320 will be renamed ``Student Questionnaire for the Special Guaranty Computation''. Transmittal letters containing completion instructions have been developed for both of the proposed forms. The estimated annual respondent burden is as follows: