Draft program letter

PROPOSED
United States
Railroad Retirement Board
Office of Programs

Program
Letter

Quality Reporting Service Center
E-MAIL: qrsc@rrb.gov
Letter No. 20XX-XX

Phone: (312) 751-4992
Fax: (312) 751-7190
Date:

TO:

Certification Contact Officials

SUBJECT:

Electronic Version of Forms G-88A.1 and G-88A.2 Available on the
Employer Reporting System (ERSNet)

Please share this information with the appropriate members of your staff who file service and
compensation reporting forms for employees of your organization.
We have updated the services available on our ERSNet system to now include Forms G-88A.1,
Request for Verification of Date Last Worked for Railroad, and G-88A.2, Notice of Retirement
and Request for Service Needed for Eligibility. Effective < Date >, approved employers can use
the Internet to securely, conveniently, and efficiently complete and transmit these forms.
These new additions join the forms already on the system:
Form BA-3, Annual Report of Creditable Compensation
Form BA-4, Report of Creditable Compensation Adjustments
Form BA-6a, BA-6 Address Report;
Form BA-11, Report of Gross Earnings
Form G-88A.1, Request for Verification of Date Last Worked for Railroad (New)
Form G-88A.2, Notice of Retirement and Request for Service Needed for Eligibility (New)
Form GL-129a, Record of Employer Determination on Employee Protest;
Form ID-4E, Notice of RUIA Claim Determinations
Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employee's Applications and Claims for Benefits
under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA)
G-88A.1 & G-88A.2 Background
General background information about Forms G-88A.1 and G-88A.2 and their use is in Part VI,
Chapter 6, of both the Rail Employer and the Labor Employer Reporting Instructions.
Rail Employer Reporting Instructions: http://www.rrb.gov/AandT/ERI/Part6/chapter2.asp
Labor Employer Reporting Instructions: http://www.rrb.gov/AandT/LRI/Part6/chapter2.asp

ERSNet G-88A.1
The G-88A.1 consists of two screens; the Listing screen and the Reply screen. Each screen
includes the completion instructions for that screen.
The Listing screen contains the names of employees who have recently applied for an annuity
and
indicated they last worked for you;
last worked within two years of filing for an annuity; and
whose annuities begin in the month of filing or are retroactive to a previous month.
The listing is initially sorted in social security number order. If more convenient, you can
change it to be sorted in payroll ID order.
Instructions
Verify, for each of the employees listed, that the Date Last Worked and, if later, the last day of
Pay for Time Lost shown are correct. If the employee filed for an annuity based on age and
service, also verify that the date the employee relinquished rights to return to railroad service is
correct.
If all the dates shown on the listing are correct, you can either
exit the listing by clicking on Exit to ERS Menu or
delete any or all of the records from the listing.
If any dates shown for an employee are incorrect
Click on the employee’s social security number to go to the Reply screen.
Enter the correct date(s) in Item 2b, Date In Employer Records. (Note that for your
convenience, we repeat the dates shown on the listing in Item 2a, Date Provided By
Employee.)
Enter the reason for the date change in Item 6, Remarks.
Submit any date corrections by the of the month following the release
date. The G-88A.1 will be deleted from the ERS Menu on that date.
ERSNet G-88A.2
The ERSNet G-88A.2 consists of a single screen with completion instructions.
Instructions
1. Verify that the date in Item 10, Date Last Worked or Paid for Time Lost, is correct. If the
date is not correct, enter the correct date in Item 12, Date Last Worked or Paid for Time
Lost in Your Records. Otherwise, leave blank.
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2. Always complete Item 13. In Item 13a, Current Year, check the box for each month the
employee had creditable service in the year shown in Item 10. If you are submitting your
response before your annual report for the prior year, check the box in Item 13b, Prior Year,
for each month the employee had service in the prior year.
3. Submit the report within 10 days of its release date. The employee cannot be awarded an
annuity until this information is received.
Note: The service reported on the G-88A.2 must be included on the BA-3, Annual Report of
Compensation, filed for that year.
Notifications
You will receive an automated e-mail message from ERSNet notifying you when a new G-88A.1
or G-88A.2 is on your New Items list.
When you submit a response to either the G-88A.1 or G-88A.2, you will receive an automated
receipt from ERSNet confirming that we have received the information. The receipt will list the
name of the form and additional data that you can use to verify the information was correctly
submitted.
Access Levels on the ERSNet Site
Access to ERSNet is role-based, which means that each user' s access is tailored to the role or
work they do at their company. Access levels are assigned by the company, allowing
employers to retain control over the forms their employees can view and submit. If you are
not enrolled and want to begin filing your reports on ERSNet follow the instructions below. An
Explanation of Access Levels is attached.
Applying for Access
To apply for access do the following:
Read the attached “Security Guidelines,” which explain your responsibilities as a user of
ERSNet. They are also available at http://www.rrb.gov/AandT/ERI/Part8/chapter8.asp.
File the attached Form BA-12, Application for Employer Reporting Internet Access.
Complete Sections A, B, and C, then have the designated employee sign Item 5 in Section
B and return the form to you. The certification in Section D must be completed by an
official of the company who has authority to sign official RRB forms. If you have signature
authority, sign the certification. Otherwise, the company president and those persons
designated on the Form G-117A, Designation of Contact Official, are assumed to have
signature authority. For additional copies of Form BA-12 or information on how to
complete it, go directly to http://www.rrb.gov/pdf/AandT/ba12.pdf or contact the Quality
Reporting Service Center at the telephone number or e-mail address shown above. All
employer forms can be accessed on the RRB website at www.rrb.gov.
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Within three to five days of receipt of an acceptable application, we will mail your user ID and
password along with instructions for accessing the site. To deter fraudulent use of ERSNet, the
Form BA-12 cannot be completed or filed on our website; original signatures (no reproductions)
are needed and it must be transmitted by US or express mail carrier. For security reasons,
facsimiles are not acceptable.
Detailed instructions on how to use the system are covered in Part VIII of both the Rail
Employer and the Labor Employer Reporting Instructions.
Rail Employer Reporting Instructions: http://www.rrb.gov/AandT/ERI/Part8/chapter1.asp
Labor Employer Reporting Instructions: http://www.rrb.gov/AandT/LRI/Part8/chapter1.asp

Attachments
Security Guidelines
Explanation of Access Levels
Form BA-12

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