Employer Exchange - June 2003

National Rail Employer Training Seminar, August 6 - 8, 2003 Chicago, Illinois

HURRY! The deadline for registering for the RRB fifth National Rail Employer Training Seminar, August 6 - 8, 2003 at the Radisson Hotel and Suites in Chicago, IL. has been extended until July 3, 2003. The seminar is developed for those persons who work in, or manage, records of service, compensation and contributions paid to the RRB, and other related areas. Take this opportunity to increase your knowledge and meet representatives from the RRB and other agencies that affect the Railroad Retirement System.

National Reporting Officers and other Labor officials should disregard this notice. Within the next year the RRB will present a seminar that is uniquely designed to address the training needs of labor organizations.

The seminar will begin at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 6th and will conclude 11:30 a.m. Friday, August 8th. We have added the following exciting new sessions this year:

Experience Rating - This session will cover all aspects of payments taxes and recoveries related to unemployment and sickness benefits; and
Filing Internet Reports - This session will demonstrate the RRB and RRBLINK Internet sites for employer reporting.

If you did not receive registration material, the information is available on the RRB website at http://www.rrb.gov or contact the Quality Reporting Service Center (QRSC) and we can forward the registration material to you. Reservations at the Radisson Hotel must also be made by July 3, 2003 to guarantee the discounted room rate of $130.00. To make reservations, call the Radisson Hotel (312) 787-2900 or access their web address at http://www.radisson.com/usrailroad and notify them that you are requesting a reservation for the Railroad Retirement Board seminar.

You can still register for the seminar after July 3 but you may not get the schedule of your choice, due to space limitations in the rooms.

Do not delay, register today!!

New Benefit Year Begins

A new year under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act begins July 1, 2003 and will end June 30, 2004. To be qualified for normal railroad unemployment and/or sickness benefits, an employee must have at least $2,750.00 in creditable earnings in calendar year 2002, counting no more than $1,100.00 per month. If 2002 was the employee’s first year of covered employee service, he or she must also have service in at least 5 months of 2002.

The maximum daily benefit rate for unemployment and sickness benefits increases to $55.00 for registration periods beginning after June 30, 2003.

Annuity EStimate OPeration

The Annuity EStimate OPeration (AESOP) provides annuity estimates for all of the eligible employees for covered employers and their subsidiaries. This type of information can be very helpful with retirement planning.

The RRB will release employee annuity estimates to employers later this summer. Employers can receive the data in a paper format, on diskette or CD-ROM. If you do not currently receive AESOP for your organization or want to change the format, contact QRSC at the number or e-mail address listed on the front of the newsletter.

Change in Contact Official

Have there been any 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 immediately by completing a Form G-117a, “Designation of Contact Officials”, and mail or fax it to our office. Current addresses and contacts are essential in order for us to provide you with information critical to your job.

CD-ROM Reporting Program

Employers…Do you file annual service and compensation reports on paper? Do you want to save time? Do you want to upgrade your system capabilities, reduce possible reporting errors, and automate your employee records?

Then you want a copy of the latest version of the RRB Employer Reporting PC Program on CD-ROM. This year’s annual reporting season is over and now is a great time to automate your system for next year. We encourage you to take advantage of this time and opportunity. Contact a Compensation Reporting Specialist at (312) 751-4992 or qrsc@rrb.gov and request a copy of this program today!!!!!!!!!

Return to Service Verification

The RRB will soon release Form GL-132, “Return to Service Questionnaire” to all employers to verify whether your former employees are correctly receiving retirement benefits. Annuitants who work for an employer covered under the Railroad Retirement Act are not entitled to an annuity for that month. If you are incorrectly crediting your former employees with service for vacation, pay in lieu of a vacation period, back pay, or any payment not associated with actual work or a negotiated agreement, you could subject them to unnecessary overpayments in their benefit payments. Compensation can be credited when paid, regardless of when the employee retires or resigns. Service months must be credited when the service was performed. Therefore, no additional service months can be credited after the employee physically stops working and relinquishes his or her rights to work for your company. Please, adhere to these concepts when completing the forms, and return them within 30 days so that we can correct the annuitant’s records as soon as possible.