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"" Part I
"" Part II
"" Part III
"" Part IV
"" Part V
"" Part VI
"" Part VII
"" Part VIII
Appendices
"" Appendix 1: Form BA-4 Record Format
"" Appendix 2
"" Appendix 3
"" Appendix 5
"" Appendix 6
Employer Reporting Instructions
Appendices
Appendix 1: Electronic File Format for Form BA-4,  
  Annual Report of Creditable Compensation View this document in PDF
 
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The information contained in this report, which is required by law under Section 9 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) and Section 6 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), is needed to adjust compensation and service creditable under the RRA and RUIA and is authorized for collection under OMB control number 3220-0008. Failure to report or the making of a false or fraudulent report can result in criminal prosecution or civil penalties, or both.

We estimate the electronic version of this form, transmitted by e-mail or FTP, takes an average of 1 hour per response to complete, including time for reviewing the instructions, getting the needed data, and reviewing the completed form.

This exhibit explains only magnetic media format. For information about the data to be entered, refer to Part V, Chapter 4.

Report Specifications
Record Length 200 Characters
Money Fields All money fields include two cent positions and no decimal point. No fields should be signed. Fill out money fields with zeros.
Numeric Fields Fill out all numeric fields with zeros to the left of the significant digits.
Service and Compensation There should be no record which contains neither service or compensation data. A record may contain only service months or only compensation, but must contain one or the other.
Totals Record Every magnetic media report should include a grand-totals record at the end. The specific format is in the appendix. Optional subtotal records may be included.
Header Labels Cartridges must have header labels in IBM standard format.
Block Size Recommended block size is 3000 (factor 10).
Code Language Cartridges: EBCDIC encoded on 9 track 1/2 inch
CD ROM, floppy disk, and electronic files: Formatted ASCII text

Form BA-4 Record Format
Tape Positions Data and Instructions
1 Blank.
2-5 Four digit year being reported.
6 Code "4" for an increase adjustment. Code "M" for a decrease adjustment.
7-10 Four-digit BA number assigned by the Railroad Retirement Board.
11-20 Blank Filler.
21-29 Employee's social security number.
30-49 First twenty (20) characters of the employee's surname. Spaces in such names as McCarthy, St. Clair, De La Cross are acceptable.
50-64 First fifteen (15) characters of the employee's first name.
65 Employee’s middle initial.
66-72 RUIA I ($$$$$¢¢) – Total compensation which is creditable under the RUIA to qualify for benefits. This amount should not exceed the RUIA I monthly maximum times 12.
73-74 Blank Filler.
75-81 RUIA II ($$$$$¢¢) – Total compensation which is creditable under the RUIA to determine maximum benefits. This amount should not exceed the RUIA II monthly maximum times 12.
82-83 Blank Filler.
84-95 84-Jan
85-Feb
86-Mar
87-Apr
88-May
89-Jun
90-Jul
91-Aug
92-Sep
93-Oct
94-Nov
95-Dec
 Service Month Detail. The employment relation codes for non-worked months that are available on the BA-3 annual report, cannot be submitted on this adjustment report. Only use the following codes:

    1 = worked
    0 = not worked and employment relation is unknown.

All 12 positions must be filled.
96-97 Service Month Total. The sum of the characters in positions 84-95. Enter zeroes if no months are reported.
98-105 Creditable Tier I compensation, up to the annual maximum for the year. ($$$$$$¢¢)
106-107 Blank Filler.
108-115 Creditable Tier II compensation, up to the annual maximum for the year. ($$$$$$¢¢)
116-117 Blank Filler.
118-122 Last daily pay rate. ($$$¢¢) If pay rate exceeds $200.00, enter 20000.
123-124 Blank Filler.
125-132 Creditable Miscellaneous compensation. ($$$$$$¢¢)
133-134 Blank Filler.
135-142 Creditable Sick Pay compensation. ($$$$$$¢¢)
143-200 Blank Filler. (For future expansion).

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) Notice

Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and respondents are not required to respond to, any collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number. If you wish, send comments regarding the accuracy of our estimates or any other aspect of these forms, including suggestions for reducing completion time, to

Chief of Information Services
U.S. Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street, 4th floor
Chicago, IL 60611-2092
 
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E-mail: Ronald.Hodapp@rrb.gov
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