[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 80 (Monday, April 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 23307]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09682]


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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Summary: In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506 
(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides 
opportunity for public comment on new or revised data collections, the 
Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of 
proposed data collections.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information 
collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; 
(b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection 
of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize 
the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, 
including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.
    Title and purpose of information collection: Railroad Separation 
Allowance or Severance Pay Report; OMB 3220-0173.
    Section 6 of the Railroad Retirement Act provides for a lump-sum 
payment to an employee or the employee's survivors equal to the Tier II 
taxes paid by the employee on a separation allowance or severance 
payment for which the employee did not receive credits toward 
retirement. The lump-sum is not payable until retirement benefits begin 
to accrue or the employee dies. Also, Section 4 (a-1)(iii) of the 
Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act provides that a railroad employee 
who is paid a separation allowance is disqualified for unemployment and 
sickness benefits for the period of time the employee would have to 
work to earn the amount of the allowance. The reporting requirements 
are specified in 20 CFR 209.14.
    In order to calculate and provide payments, the Railroad Retirement 
Board (RRB) must collect and maintain records of separation allowances 
and severance payments which were subject to Tier II taxation from 
railroad employers. The RRB uses Form BA-9, Report of Separation 
Allowance or Severance Pay, to obtain information from railroad 
employers concerning the separation allowances and severance payments 
made to railroad employees and/or the survivors of railroad employees. 
Employers currently have the option of submitting their reports on 
paper Form BA-9, (or in like format) on a CD-ROM disk, or by File 
Transfer Protocol (FTP), or secure Email. Completion is mandatory. One 
response is requested of each respondent. The RRB proposes the 
implementation of an Internet equivalent version of Form BA-9 that can 
be submitted through the RRB's Employer Reporting System (ERS). No 
other changes are proposed.

                                      Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
                             [The estimated annual respondent burden is as follows]
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                                                                      Annual           Time           Burden
                           Form number                               responses       (minutes)        (hours)
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BA-9 (Paper)....................................................             100              76             127
BA-9 (Internet).................................................             215              15              54
BA-9 (CD-ROM)...................................................              10              76              13
BA-9 (secure Email).............................................              25              76              32
BA-9 (FTP)......................................................              10              76              13
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................             360  ..............             239
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    Additional Information or Comments: To request more information or 
to obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms, 
and/or supporting material, contact Dana Hickman at (312) 751-4981 or 
[email protected]. Comments regarding the information collection 
should be addressed to Charles Mierzwa, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 
North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092 or emailed to 
[email protected]. Written comments should be received within 60 
days of this notice.

Charles Mierzwa,
Chief of Information Resources Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-09682 Filed 4-24-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7905-01-P