Appendix I: Electronic File Format, Form BA-4, Report of Creditable Compensation Adjustments
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. It 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 versions of this form transmitted by a secure e-mail or a File Transfer Protocol (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. Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and respondents are not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number. If you wish, send comments regarding the accuracy of our estimate or any other aspect of this form, including suggestions for reducing completion time, to
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Associate Chief Information Officer for Policy and Compliance
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Railroad Retirement Board
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844 North Rush Street
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Chicago, IL 60611-1275.
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This exhibit below explains the format for reports filed on CD ROM, electronic files, or an upload on ERSNet. For information about the data to be entered, refer to Part V, Chapter 4.
NOTE: Reports submitted on CD ROM, secure email, or FTP must be accompanied by Form G-440, "Report Specifications Sheet".
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Report Specifications
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Record Length
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200 Characters
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Money Fields
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All money fields include two cent positions and no decimal point. No fields should be signed. Fill out money fields with zeros.
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Numeric Fields
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Fill out all numeric fields with zeros to the left of the significant digits.
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Service and Compensation
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There should be no record which contains neither service nor compensation data. A record may contain only service months or only compensation, but must contain one or the other.
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Totals Record
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Every electronic file report should include a grand-totals record at the end. The specific format is in the appendix. Optional subtotal records may be included.
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Form BA-4 Record Format
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Field Length
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Record Position
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Data and Instructions
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1
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1
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Blank
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4
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2-5
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Four-digit year being reported.
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1
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6
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Code "4" for an increase adjustment.
Code "M" for a decrease adjustment.
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4
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7-10
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Four-digit BA number assigned by the Railroad Retirement Board.
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10
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11-20
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Blank Filler.
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9
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21-29
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Employee's social security number.
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20
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30-49
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First twenty (20) characters of the employee's surname. Spaces in such names as Mc Carthy, St Clair, De La Cross are acceptable.
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15
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50-64
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First fifteen (15) characters of the employee's first name.
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1
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65
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Employee’s middle initial.
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7
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66-72
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RUIA I ($$$$$¢¢) – Total compensation which is creditable under the RUIA to qualify for benefits. This amount should not exceed the RUIA I monthly maximum times 12.
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2
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73-74
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Blank Filler.
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7
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75-81
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RUIA II ($$$$$¢¢) – Total compensation which is creditable under the RUIA to determine maximum benefits. This amount should not exceed the RUIA II monthly maximum times 12.
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2
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82-83
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Blank Filler.
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12
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84-95
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84-Jan.
85-Feb.
86-March
87-April
88-May
89-June
90-July
91-August
92-Sept.
93-Oct.
94-Nov.
95-Dec.
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Service Month Detail – All of the employment relation codes for non-worked months available on Form BA-3, Annual Report of Creditable Compensation, cannot be used on this adjustment report. Only use the following codes:
Code 1 = worked
Code 0 = not worked & employment relation unknown
NOTE: All 12 positions must be filled.
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2
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96-97
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Service Month Total - The sum of the characters in positions 84-95. Enter zeros if no months are reported.
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8
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98-105
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Creditable Tier I compensation, up to the annual maximum for the year ($$$$$$¢¢).
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2
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106-107
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Blank Filler.
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8
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108-115
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Creditable Tier II compensation, up to the annual maximum for the year ($$$$$$¢¢).
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2
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116-117
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Blank Filler.
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5
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118-122
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Last daily pay rate. ($$$¢¢) If pay rate exceeds $200.00, enter 20000.
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2
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123-124
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Blank Filler.
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8
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125-132
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Creditable Miscellaneous compensation ($$$$$$¢¢).
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2
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133-134
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Blank Filler.
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8
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135-142
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Creditable Sick Pay compensation ($$$$$$¢¢).
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58
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143-200
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Blank Filler (For future expansion).
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NOTE: The file should be saved as a text (*.txt) file with the record format listed above.