[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 20, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19893-19896]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05927]
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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
Agency Forms Submitted for OMB Review, Request for Comments
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is forwarding an
Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Our
ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public.
Review and approval by OIRA ensure that we impose appropriate paperwork
burdens.
The RRB invites comments on the proposed collections of information
to determine (1) the practical utility of the collections; (2) the
accuracy of the estimated burden of the collections; (3) ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information that is
the subject of collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of
collections on respondents, including the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments to the
RRB or OIRA must contain the OMB control number of the ICR. For proper
consideration of your comments, it is best if the RRB and OIRA receive
them within 30 days of the publication date.
1. Title and purpose of information collection: RUIA Investigations
and Continuing Entitlement; OMB 3220-0025.
Under Section 1(k) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act
(RUIA) (45 U.S.C. 231), unemployment and sickness benefits are not
payable for any day remuneration is payable or accrues to the claimant.
Also, Section 4(a-1) of the RUIA provides that unemployment or sickness
benefits are not payable for any day the claimant receives the same
benefits under any law other than the RUIA. Under Railroad Retirement
Board (RRB) regulation 20 CFR 322.4(a), a claimant's certification or
statement on an RRB-provided claim form, that he or she did not work on
any day claimed and did not receive income such as vacation pay or pay
for time lost, shall constitute sufficient evidence unless there is
conflicting evidence. Further, under 20 CFR 322.4(b), when there is a
question raised as to whether or not remuneration is payable or has
accrued to a claimant with respect to a claimed day(s), an
investigation shall be made with a view to obtaining information
sufficient for a finding. The RRB utilizes the following three forms to
obtain information from railroad employers, nonrailroad employers, and
claimants, that is needed to determine whether a claimed day(s) of
unemployment or sickness were improperly or fraudulently claimed: Form
ID-5i, Request for Employment Information; Form ID-5R (SUP), Report of
Employees Paid RUIA Benefits for Every Day in Month Reported as Month
of Creditable Service; and Form UI-48, Statement Regarding Benefits
Claimed for Days Worked. Completion is voluntary. One response is
requested of each respondent.
To qualify for unemployment or sickness benefits payable under
Section 2 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), a railroad
employee must have certain qualifying earnings in the applicable base
year. In addition, to qualify for extended or accelerated benefits
under Section 2 of the RUIA, a railroad employee who has exhausted his
or her rights to normal benefits must have at least 10 years of
railroad service (under certain conditions, military service may be
credited as months of railroad service). Accelerated benefits are
unemployment or sickness benefits that are payable to a railroad
employee before the regular July 1 beginning date of a benefit year if
an employee has 10 or more years of service and is not qualified for
benefits in the current benefit year.
During the RUIA claims review process, the RRB may determine that
unemployment or sickness benefits cannot be awarded because RRB records
show insufficient qualifying service and/or compensation. When this
occurs, the RRB allows the claimant the opportunity to provide
additional information if they believe that the RRB service and
compensation records are incorrect.
Depending on the circumstances, the RRB provides the following
forms to obtain information needed to determine if a claimant has
sufficient service or compensation to qualify for unemployment or
sickness benefits. Form UI-9, Statement of Employment and Wages; Form
UI-44, Claim for Credit for Military Service; Form ID-4U, Advising of
Service/Earnings Requirements for Unemployment Benefits; and Form ID-
4X, Advising of Service/Earnings Requirements for Sickness Benefits.
Completion of these forms is required to obtain or retain a benefit.
One response is required of each respondent.
Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the
initial 60-day notice (89 FR 2259 on January 12, 2024) required by 44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.
Information Collection Request (ICR)
Title: RUIA Investigations and Continuing Entitlement.
OMB Control Number: 3220-0025.
Forms submitted: UI-9, UI-44, UI-48, ID-4U, ID-4X, ID-5I, ID-5R
(SUP).
Type of request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected public: Private Sector; Businesses or other for profits.
Abstract: The information collection has two purposes. When RRB
records indicate that railroad service and/or compensation is
insufficient to qualify a claimant for unemployment or sickness
benefits, the RRB obtains information needed to reconcile the
compensation and/or service on record with that claimed by the
employee. Other forms in the collection allow the RRB to determine
whether unemployment or sickness benefits were improperly obtained.
[[Page 19894]]
Changes proposed: The RRB proposes no changes to Form UI-9, UI-44,
ID-4U, ID-4X, and UI-48.
The RRB proposes the following changes to Form ID-5i:
add a 30-day time sensitive response on page 1,
page 2 modification to earnings sentence to include ``if
still employed, include earnings up to the current employment date.'',
remove auto update of RRB letterhead address, phone number
and email address,
update RRB address to headquarters address,
update RRB phone number to Unemployment and Programs
Support Division,
update RRB fax number to Unemployment and Programs Support
Division,
update RRB email address to Unemployment and Programs
Support Division, and
update RRB office hours.
The RRB proposes the following changes to ID-5R (SUP):
change PRA/PA notice to update the officer title and
update RRB zip code.
The burden estimate for the ICR is as follows:
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Annual
Form No. responses Time (minutes) Burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UI-9............................................................ 69 10 11
UI-44........................................................... 10 5 1
UI-48........................................................... 14 12 3
ID-4U........................................................... 35 5 3
ID-4X........................................................... 25 5 2
ID-5i........................................................... * 1,000 15 250
ID-5i........................................................... ** 50 12
ID-5R (SUP)..................................................... 400 10 67
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Total....................................................... 1,603 .............. 349
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* Private sector.
** State/local/etc.
2. Title and Purpose of information collection: Pension Plan
Reports; OMB 3220-0089. Under Section 2(b) of the Railroad Retirement
Act (RRA) (45 U.S.C. 231a), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) pays
supplemental annuities to qualified RRB employee annuitants. A
supplemental annuity, which is computed according to Section 3(e) of
the RRA, can be paid at age 60 if the employee has at least 30 years of
creditable railroad service or at age 65 if the employee has 25-29
years of railroad service. In addition to 25 years of service, a
``current connection'' with the railroad industry is required.
Eligibility is further limited to employees who had at least 1 month of
rail service before October 1981 and were awarded regular annuities
after June 1966. Further, if an employee's 65th birthday was prior to
September 2, 1981, he or she must not have worked in rail service after
certain closing dates (generally the last day of the month following
the month in which age 65 is attained). Under Section 2(h)(2) of the
RRA, the amount of the supplemental annuity is reduced if the employee
receives monthly pension payments, or a lump-sum pension payment from a
private pension from a railroad employer to the extent the payments are
based on contributions from that employer. The employee's own
contribution to their pension account does not cause a reduction. A
private railroad employer pension is defined in 20 CFR 216.42.
The RRB requires the following information from railroad employers
to calculate supplemental annuities: (a) the current status of railroad
employer pension plans and whether such plans cause reductions to the
supplemental annuity; (b) whether the employee receives monthly
payments from a private railroad employer pension, elected to receive a
lump sum in lieu of monthly pension payments from such a plan, or was
required to receive a lump sum from such a plan due to the plan's small
benefit provision; and (c) the amount of the payments attributable to
the railroad employer's contributions. The requirement that railroad
employers furnish pension information to the RRB is contained in 20 CFR
209.2.
The RRB currently utilizes Form G-88p and G-88p (internet),
Employer's Supplemental Pension Report, and Form G-88r, Request for
Information About New or Revised Employer Pension Plan, to obtain the
necessary information from railroad employers. One response is
requested of each respondent. Completion is mandatory.
Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the
initial 60-day notice (89 FR 2260 on January 12, 2024) required by 44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.
Information Collection Request (ICR)
Title: Pension Plan Reports.
OMB Control Number: 3220-0089.
Forms submitted: G-88p and G-88r.
Type of request: Extension without change of a currently approved
collection.
Affected public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Abstract: The Railroad Retirement Act provides for payment of a
supplemental annuity to a qualified railroad retirement annuitant. The
collection obtains information from the annuitant's employer to
determine (a) the existence of railroad employer pension plans and
whether such plans, if they exist, require a reduction to supplemental
annuities paid to the employer's former employees and (b) the amount of
supplemental annuities due railroad employees.
Changes proposed: The RRB proposes no changes to G-88P and G-88P
(internet), and G-88R.
The burden estimate for the ICR is as follows:
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Annual
Form No. responses Time (minutes) Burden (hours)
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G-88p........................................................... 100 8 13
G-88p (internet)................................................ 200 6 20
[[Page 19895]]
G-88r........................................................... 10 8 1
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Total....................................................... 310 .............. 34
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3. Title and Purpose of information collection: Job Information
Report, OMB 3220-0193.
The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) occupational disability
standards allow the RRB to request job information from railroad
employers to determine an applicant's eligibility for an occupational
disability.
To determine an occupational disability, the RRB must obtain the
employee's work history and establish if the employee is precluded from
performing his or her regular railroad occupation. This is accomplished
by comparing the restrictions caused by the impairment(s) against the
employee's ability to perform his or her job duties.
To collect the information needed to determine the effect of a
disability on an employee applicant's ability to work, the RRB utilizes
Form G-251, Vocational Report (OMB 3220-0141) which is completed by the
applicant.
Form G-251A, Railroad Job Information, requests railroad employers
to provide information regarding whether the employee has been
medically disqualified from their railroad occupation; a summary of the
employee's duties; the machinery, tools and equipment used by the
employee; the environmental conditions under which the employee
performs their duties; all sensory requirements (vision, hearing,
speech) needed to perform the employee's duties; the physical actions
and amount of time (frequency) allotted for those actions that may be
required by the employee to perform their duties during a typical work
day; any permanent working accommodations an employer may have made due
to the employee's disability; as well as any other relevant information
they may choose to include. Completion is voluntary.
Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the
initial 60-day notice (89 FR 2260 on January 12, 2024) required by 44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.
Title: Job Information Report.
OMB Control Number: 3220-0193.
Form(s) submitted: G-251A.
Type of request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected public: Businesses or other for profits.
Abstract: The collection obtains information used by the Railroad
Retirement Board (RRB) to assist in determining whether a railroad
employee is disabled from his or her regular occupation. It provides
railroad employers with the opportunity to provide information to the
RRB regarding the employee applicant's job duties.
Changes proposed: The RRB proposes no changes to Form G-251A.
The burden estimate for the ICR is as follows:
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Annual
Form No. responses Time (minutes) Burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-251A....................................................... 436 60 436
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4. Title and Purpose of information collection: Self-Employment/
Corporate Officer Work and Earnings Monitoring; OMB 3220-0202.
Section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) (45 U.S.C. 231)
provides for the payment of disability annuities to qualified
employees. Section 2 also provides that if the Railroad Retirement
Board (RRB) receives a report of an annuitant working for a railroad or
earning more than prescribed dollar amounts from either nonrailroad
employment or self-employment, the annuity is no longer payable, or can
be reduced, for the months worked. The regulations related to the
nonpayment or reduction of the annuity by reason of work are prescribed
in 20 CFR 220.160-164.
Some activities claimed by the applicant as ``self-employment'' may
actually be employment for someone else (e.g., training officer,
consultant, salesman). 20 CFR 216.22(c) states, for example, that an
applicant is considered an employee, and not self-employed, when acting
as a corporate officer, since the corporation is the applicant's
employer. Whether the RRB classifies a particular activity as self-
employment or as work for an employer depends upon the circumstances in
each case. The circumstances are prescribed in 20 CFR 216.21-216-23.
Certain types of work may actually indicate an annuitant's recovery
from disability. Regulations related to an annuitant's recovery from
disability for work are prescribed in 20 CFR 220.17-220-20.
In addition, the RRB conducts continuing disability reviews (also
known as a CDR), to determine whether the annuitant continues to meet
the disability requirements of the law. Payment of disability benefits
and/or a beneficiary's period of disability will end if medical
evidence or other information shows that an annuitant is not disabled
under the standards prescribed in Section 2 of the RRA. Continuing
disability reviews are generally conducted if one or more of the
following conditions are met: (1) the annuitant is scheduled for a
routine periodic review, (2) the annuitant returns to work and
successfully completes a trial work period, (3) substantial earnings
are posted to the annuitant's wage record, or (4) information is
received from the annuitant or a reliable source that the annuitant has
recovered or returned to work. Provisions relating to when and how
often the RRB conducts disability reviews are prescribed in 20 CFR
220.186.
To enhance program integrity activities, the RRB utilizes Form G-
252, Self-Employment/Corporate Officer Work and Earnings Monitoring.
Form G-252 obtains information from a disability annuitant who either
claims to be self-employed or a corporate officer, or who the RRB
determines to be self-employed or a corporate officer after a
continuing disability review. The continuing disability review may be
prompted by a report of work, return to railroad service, an allegation
of a medical improvement or a routine disability review call-up. The
information gathered is used to determine entitlement and/or continued
entitlement to, and the amount of, the disability annuity, as
prescribed in 20
[[Page 19896]]
CFR 220.176. Completion is required to retain benefits. One response is
required of each respondent.
Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the
initial 60-day notice (89 FR 2260 on January 12, 2024) required by 44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.
Information Collection Request (ICR)
Title: Self-Employment/Corporate Officer Work and Earnings
Monitoring.
OMB Control Number: 3220-0202.
Form(s) submitted: G-252.
Type of request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected public: Individuals or Households.
Abstract: To determine entitlement or continued entitlement to a
disability annuity, the RRB will obtain information from disability
annuitants who claim to be self-employed or a corporate officer or who
the RRB determines to be self-employed or a corporate officer after a
continuing disability review.
Changes proposed: The RRB proposes no changes to Form G-252.
The burden estimate for the ICR is as follows:
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Annual
Form No. responses Time (minutes) Burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-252........................................................... 15 20 5
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Total....................................................... 15 .............. 5
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Additional Information or Comments: Copies of the forms and
supporting documents can be obtained from Kennisha Money at (312) 469-
2591 or [email protected]. Comments regarding the information
collection should be addressed to Brian Foster, Railroad Retirement
Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-1275 or
[email protected].
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice
to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
Brian Foster,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-05927 Filed 3-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P