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Chapter 01: Regular Earnings

Regular Earnings Definition

Regular earnings are payments made for services rendered as an employee. This includes payments to part-time and seasonal employees, as well as regular earning paid to employees who are not working due to illness, injury, or pregnancy. Any payment made through the regular payroll system is presumed to be regular earnings. Regular earnings are creditable as follows:

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Chapter 13: Selected Fringe Benefits

Group Term Life Insurance

The cost of group term life insurance is considered compensation under the Railroad Retirement Act to the extent that it is included in the gross income of an employee and subject to Railroad Retirement tax. The cost of group term life insurance with respect to periods within an employment relationship is treated the same as ordinary compensation creditable for both Tier I and Tier II purposes.

Group Term Life Insurance Reported on an Earned Basis

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Chapter 12: Exclusions to Creditable Compensation

Payments That Are Not Considered Creditable Compensation

The following payments paid to an employee by an employer are not considered creditable compensation under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act:

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Chapter 11: Compensation for Multiple Employers

Tier Compensation

Employers should report Tier I and Tier II compensation up to the annual maximums regardless whether the employee worked for another employer either concurrently or in a different period in that year. An employer must treat an employee as solely its employee for reporting purposes.

The total compensation reported by all employers for an individual may exceed the annual maximum creditable by law. In that situation, the Railroad Retirement Board automatically adjusts the account to reflect the annual maximum creditable compensation.

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Chapter 10: Various Non-Routine Payments

Bonus Pay

Bonus payments, such as safety, incentive, fuel conservation, signing bonus, and suggestion awards, constitute creditable compensation because the payments are made in consideration of services.

Bonus pay which is conferred in non-monetary form is creditable as compensation only if there is an agreement between the employer and employee in advance as to the value of the non-monetary payment and that the award will be paid other than in cash.

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Chapter 09: Contract Services

Coverage under the RRA and RUIA

If a railroad employer contracts work with non-railroad employees, this may allow the non-railroad employees to be covered under the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) as though they were a covered employee. For this to occur, the non-railroad employees would have to be determined to be in an employment relationship with a covered employer.

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Chapter 08: Guarantee Payments

Guarantee Payments

Guarantee Payments are employer payments under any merger, agreement or job protection arrangement that guarantees payment of compensation during periods when an employee has been deprived of employment. These payments are offered in the form of contracts, settlements and/or various agreements between management and its employees.

There will be situations that require a decision by the RRB, its General Counsel, or even a ruling in a federal court. This section reviews several of these type cases and provides a synopsis of each.

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Chapter 07: Separation/Severance Payments and Dismissal Allowance

Separation/ Severance and Dismissal Allowances are Creditable Compensation

Payments that result from the abolition of an employee's job may be known as separation, severance, termination, coordination, dismissal, continuation, or guarantee payments or allowances. By whatever name they are called, they constitute creditable and taxable compensation. The regulations of the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) distinguish between separation or severance allowances and dismissal allowances. These two types of payments are creditable in different ways.

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Chapter 06: Pay for Time Lost

Pay for Time Lost Defined

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Chapter 05: Back Pay

Back Pay Defined

Back pay, as used in these instructions, is a retroactive wage increase. For example, a negotiated contract expires December 31st but employees continue to work while a new contract is negotiated. A new contract is approved in the following August which includes a pay increase retroactive to January 1st. The retroactive increase, or back pay, is paid in September, for work beginning January 1st.

Crediting Back Pay

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