2024-20854. Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

Form No.	Annual responses	Time (minutes)	Burden (hours)
HA-1	300	20	100

2. Title and purpose of information collection: Evidence for Application of Overall Minimum; OMB 3220-0083.

Under Section 3(f)(2) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) (45 U.S.C. 231b), the total monthly benefits payable to a railroad employee and his/her family are guaranteed to be no less than the amount which would be payable if the employee's railroad service had been covered by the Social Security Act. This is referred to as the Social Security Overall Minimum Guarantee, which is prescribed in 20 CFR 229. To administer this provision, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) requires information about a retired employee's spouse and child(ren) who would not be eligible for benefits under the RRA but would be eligible for benefits under the Social Security Act if the employee's railroad service had been covered by that Act. The RRB obtains the required information by the use of Forms G-319, Statement Regarding Family and Earnings for Special Guaranty Computation, and G-320, Student Questionnaire for Special Guaranty Computation. One response is required of each respondent. Completion is required to obtain or retain benefits. The RRB proposes minor changes to Form G-319:

• In Section 1, updated the year in example date format.
• In Section 2, changed first sentence to “Check the information entered by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) for accuracy.”
• In Receipt For Your Statement section (page 11), updated the office hours.

The RRB proposes no changes to Form G-320.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden—Current Burden

Form No.	Annual responses	Time (minutes)	Burden (hours)
G-319 (completed by the employee):
With assistance	5	26	2
Without assistance	230	55	211
G-319 (completed by spouse):
With assistance	5	30	2
Without assistance	10	60	10
G-320:
(Age 18 at Special Guaranty Begin Date or Special Guaranty Age 18 Attainments)	30	15	7
G-320:
(Student Monitoring done in Sept, March and at end of school year)	10	15	2
Total	290		234

3. Title and purpose of information collection: Request to Non-Railroad Employer for Information About Annuitant's Work and Earnings; OMB 3220-0107.

Under Section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) (45 U.S.C. 231a), a railroad employee's retirement annuity or an annuity paid to the spouse of a railroad employee is subject to work deductions in the Tier II component of the annuity and any employee supplemental annuity for any month in which the annuitant works for a Last Pre-Retirement Non-Railroad Employer (LPE). The LPE is defined as the last person, company, or institution, other than a railroad employer, that employed an employee or spouse annuitant. In addition, the employee, spouse, or divorced spouse Tier I annuity benefit is subject to work deductions under Section 2(f)(1) (45 U.S.C. 231a) of the RRA for earnings from any non-railroad ( print page 75001) employer that are over the annual exempt amount. The regulations pertaining to non-payment of annuities by reason of work and LPE are contained in 20 CFR 230.1 and 230.2.

The RRB utilizes Form RL-231-F, Request to Non-Railroad Employer for Information About Annuitant's Work and Earnings, to obtain the information needed to determine if a work deduction should be applied because an annuitant worked in non-railroad employment after the annuity beginning date. One response is requested of each respondent. Completion is voluntary. The RRB proposes no changes to Form RL-231-F.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

Form No.	Annual responses	Time (minutes)	Burden (hours)
RL-231-F	300	30	150

4. Title and purpose of information collection: Student Beneficiary Monitoring; OMB 3220-0123.

Under provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), there are two types of benefit payments that are based on the status of a child being in full-time elementary or secondary school attendance at age 18-19: (1) A survivor child's annuity benefit under Section 2(d)(1)(iii) (45 U.S.C. 231a) and (2) an increase in the employee retirement annuity under the Special Guaranty computation as prescribed in Section 3(f)(2) (45 U.S.C. 231b) and 20 CFR 229.

The survivor student annuity is usually paid by direct deposit to a financial institution either into the student's checking or savings account or into a joint bank account with a parent. The requirements for eligibility as a student are prescribed in 20 CFR 216.74 and include students in independent study and home schooling.

To help determine if a child is entitled to student benefits, the RRB requires evidence of full-time school attendance. This evidence is acquired through the RRB's student monitoring program, which utilizes the following forms. Form G-315, Student Questionnaire, obtains certification of a student's full-time school attendance as well as information on the student's marital status, social security benefits, and employment, which are needed to determine entitlement or continued entitlement to benefits under the RRA. Form G-315A, Statement of School Official, is used to obtain, from a school, verification of a student's full-time attendance when the student fails to return a monitoring Form G-315. Form G-315A.1, School Official's Notice of Cessation of Full-Time School Attendance, is used by a school to notify the RRB that a student has ceased full-time school attendance. The RRB proposes no changes to Forms G-315, G-315A, or G-315A.1.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

Form No.	Annual responses	Time (minutes)	Burden (hours)
G-315	860	15	215
G-315A	20	3	1
G-315A.1	20	2	1
Total	900		217

5. Title and purpose of information collection: Gross Earnings Report; OMB 3220-0132.

In order to carry out the financial interchange provisions of Section 7(c)(2) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) (45 U.S.C. 231f), the RRB obtains annually from railroad employer's the gross earnings for their employees on a one-percent basis, i.e., 1% of each employer's railroad employees. The gross earnings sample is based on the earnings of employees whose social security numbers end with the digits “30.” The gross earnings are used to compute payroll taxes under the financial interchange.

The gross earnings information is essential in determining the tax amounts involved in the financial interchange with the Social Security Administration and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Besides being necessary for current financial interchange calculations, the gross earnings file tabulations are also an integral part of the data needed to estimate future tax income and corresponding financial interchange amounts. These estimates are made for internal use and to satisfy requests from other government agencies and interested groups. In addition, cash flow projections of the social security equivalent benefit account, railroad retirement account and cost estimates made for proposed amendments to laws administered by the RRB are dependent on input developed from the information collection.

The RRB utilizes Form BA-11 to obtain gross earnings information from railroad employers. Employers have the option of preparing and submitting BA-11 reports online via the RRB's Employer Reporting System or on paper (or in like format) by File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or secure Email. The online BA-11 includes the option to file a “negative report” (no employees, or no employees with the digits “30”). Completion is mandatory. One response is requested of each respondent. The RRB proposes no changes to Form BA-11. ( print page 75002)

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

Form No.	Annual responses	Time (minutes)	Burden (hours)
BA-11 CD-ROM	0	30	0
BA-11 File Transfer Protocol	20	300	100
BA-11 Secure Email	1	30	1
BA-11 (Internet)—Positive	150	30	75
BA-11 (Internet)—Negative	318	15	80
Total	489		256

6. Title and purpose of information collection: Railroad Separation Allowance or Severance Pay Report; OMB 3220-0173.

Section 6 of the Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. 231e) provides for a lump-sum payment to an employee or the employee's survivors equal to the Tier II taxes paid by the employee on a separation allowance or severance payment for which the employee did not receive credits toward retirement. The lump-sum is not payable until retirement benefits begin to accrue or the employee dies. Also, Section 4 (a-1) (iii) (45 U.S.C. 231c) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act provides that a railroad employee who is paid a separation allowance is disqualified for unemployment and sickness benefits for the period of time the employee would have to work to earn the amount of the allowance. The reporting requirements are specified in 20 CFR 209.14.

In order to calculate and provide payments, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) must collect and maintain records of separation allowances and severance payments which were subject to Tier II taxation from railroad employers. The RRB uses Form BA-9, Report of Separation Allowance or Severance Pay, to obtain information from railroad employers concerning the separation allowances and severance payments made to railroad employees and/or the survivors of railroad employees. Employers currently have the option of submitting their reports on paper Form BA-9, (or in like format) on a CD-ROM, or by File Transfer Protocol (FTP), or Secure Email. Completion is mandatory. One response is requested of each respondent. The RRB proposes no changes to the manual, CD-ROM, secure email, or FTP Version of Form BA-9. The RRB proposes no changes from BA-9 (Internet).

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

Form No.	Annual responses	Time (minutes)	Burden (hours)
BA-9 (Paper)	100	76	127
BA-9 (Internet)	215	15	54
BA-9 (CD-ROM)	10	76	13
BA-9 (Secure Email)	25	76	32
BA-9 (FTP)	10	76	13
Total	360		239

7. 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) (45 U.S.C. 231a), 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 50 percent of the Tier II and supplemental annuity amount for the month to which such deductions apply. The LPE generally refers to an annuitant's last employment with a non-railroad person, company, or institution prior to retirement, which was performed at the same time as railroad employment or after the annuitant stopped railroad employment. The collection obtains earnings information needed by the RRB to determine if possible reductions in annuities are in order due to LPE.

The RRB utilizes Form G-19L, Annual Earnings Questionnaire, to obtain LPE earnings information from annuitants. One response is requested of each respondent. Completion is required to retain a benefit. The RRB proposes minor changes to update the office hours on Form G-19L.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

Form No.	Annual responses	Time (minutes)	Burden (hours)
G-19L	300	15	75