Railroad Retirement Board April 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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: Withholding Certificate for Railroad Retirement Monthly Annuity Payments; OMB 3220- 0149, Form RRB-W-4P The Internal Revenue Code requires all payers of tax liable private pensions to U.S. citizens to: (1) Notify each recipient at least concurrent with initial withholding that the payer is, in fact, withholding benefits for tax liability and that the recipient has the option of electing not to have the payer withhold, or to withhold at a specific rate; (2) withhold benefits for tax purposes (in the absence of the recipient's election not to withhold benefits); and (3) notify all beneficiaries, at least annually, that they have the option of changing their withholding status or elect not to have benefits withheld. The Railroad Retirement Board provides Form RRB-W4P, Withholding Certificate for Railroad Retirement Payments, to its annuitants to exercise their withholding options. Completion of the form is required to obtain or retain a benefit. One response is requested of each respondent. No changes are being proposed to the current version of Form RRB W- 4P used by the RRB. The RRB estimates that 25,000 annuitants utilize Form RRB W-4P annually. The completion time for Form RRB W-4P varies depending on individual circumstances. The estimated average time for Form RRB W-4P is 40 minutes for recordkeeping, 24 minutes for learning about the law or the form, and 59 minutes for preparing the form. Additional 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.

As required by the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, the RRB is issuing a public notice of its use and intent to use, in ongoing computer matching programs, certain information obtained from state agencies with respect to individuals who received benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. The information may consist of either (1) report of unemployment or sickness payments made by the state for the same period that benefits were paid by the RRB or (2) wages and names and addresses of employers who reported wages to the state for the same period that benefits were paid by the RRB. The purpose of this notice is to advise individuals applying for or receiving benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act of the use made by the RRB of this information obtained from state agencies by means of a computer match.

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: Self-Employment and Substantial Service Questionnaire; OMB 3220-0138. Section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) provides for payment of annuities to qualified employees and their spouses. In order to receive an age and service annuity, Section 2(e)(3) states that an applicant must stop all railroad work and give up any rights to return to such work. However, applicants are not required to stop non-railroad work or self- employment. The RRB considers some work claimed as ``self-employment'' to actually be employment for an employer. Whether the RRB classifies a particular activity as self-employment or as work for an employer depends upon the circumstances of each case. These circumstances are prescribed in 20 CFR part 216. Under the 1988 amendments to the RRA, an applicant is no longer required to stop work for a ``Last Pre-Retirement Nonrailroad Employer'' (LPE). However, section 2(f)(6) of the RRA requires that a portion of the employee's Tier II benefit and supplemental annuity be deducted for earnings from a ``LPE'' employer. ``LPE'' is defined as the last person, company or institution with whom the employee or spouse applicant was employed concurrently with, or after, the applicant's last railroad employment and before their annuity beginning date. If a spouse never worked for a railroad, the LPE employer is the last person for whom he or she worked. The RRB currently utilizes Form AA-4, Self-Employment and Substantial Service Questionnaire, when an applicant claims to be self- employed to obtain information needed to determine if the applicant's work is LPE, railroad service or self-employment. If the work is self- employment, the questionnaire identifies any months in which the applicant did not perform substantial service. One response is requested of each respondent. Completion is voluntary. However, failure to complete the form could result in the nonpayment of benefits. The RRB proposes editorial and formatting changes to Form AA-4. Other non-burden impacting changes include dividing current items that currently contain multiple questions into separate items with Yes/No responses and skip patterns. Checklists have also been added to many items to obtain more standardized responses. Currently most items cite the possible options only as examples to prompt the applicant. The completion time for the AA-4 is estimated at between 40 and 70 minutes. The RRB estimates that approximately 600 AA-4's are completed annually. Additional 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: Placement Service; OMB 3220-0057 Section 12(i) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), authorizes the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) to establish maintain, and operate free employment offices to provide claimants for unemployment benefits with job placement opportunities. Section 704(d) of the Regional Railroad Reorganization Act of 1973, as amended, and as extended by the consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, required the RRB to maintain and distribute a list of railroad job vacancies, by class and craft, based on information furnished by rail carriers to the RRB. Although the requirement under the law expired effective August 13, 1987, the RRB has continued to obtain this information in keeping with its employment service responsibilities under Section 12(k) of the RUIA. Application procedures for the job placement program are prescribed in 20 CFR 325. The procedures pertaining to the RRB's obtaining and distributing job vacancy reports furnished by rail carriers are described in 20 CFR 346.1. The RRB currently utilizes four forms to obtain information needed to carry out its job placement responsibilities. Form ES-2, Supplemental Information for Central Register, is used by the RRB to obtain information needed to update a computerized central register of separated and furloughed railroad employees available for employment in the railroad industry. Form ES-21, Referral to State Employment Service, and ES-21c, Report of State Employment Service Office, are used by the RRB to provide placement assistance for unemployed railroad employees through arrangements with State Employment Service offices. Form UI-35, Field Office Record of Claimant Interview, is used primarily by RRB field office staff to conduct in-person interviews of claimants for unemployment benefits. Completion of these forms is required to obtain or maintain a benefit. In addition, the RRB also collects Railroad Job Vacancies information received voluntarily from railroad employers. The RRB proposes minor, non-burden impacting editorial changes to Form ES-2, minor non-burden impacting editorial and reformatting changes to Form ES-21, and a minor non-burden impacting change to Form UI-35. No changes are being proposed to Form ES-21c or to the Railroad Job Vacancies Report. The estimated annual respondent burden for this collection is as follows: