BA-9 (electronic e Report of Separation Allowance or Severance Pay

Appendix I
Employer Reporting Instructions
Effective 01-2008

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board Phone: (312) 751- 7139
844 North Rush Street
TTY: (312) 751- 7401
Chicago IL, 60611-2092
Web: www.rrb.gov

Electronic File Format for Form BA-9, Report of Separation Allowance or Severance Pay
The information contained in this report (see Attachment D), which is required by law under Section 9 of the
Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) and Section 6 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) and is
authorized for collection under OMB control number 3220-0173, is needed for two purposes: to establish
eligibility for an additional lump-sum amount under the RRA and to establish a disqualification period under
the RUIA. 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 and
16 minutes 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 6.
Form BA-9 Record Format
Tape
Positions

Data and Instructions

1

"L".

2-5

Four digit applicable tax year being reported.

6

Code "4" for an initial report or an increase adjustment. Code "M" for a decrease adjustment.

7-10

Four-digit employer number assigned by the Railroad Retirement Board.

11-19

Employee's social security number.

20-39

First twenty (20) characters of the employee's surname. Spaces in such names as McCarthy, St. Clair, De La Cross are
acceptable.

40-54

First fifteen (15) characters of the employee's first name.

55

Employee’s middle initial.

56

Blank Filler.

57-64

An eight-digit separation allowance amount. Do not use a decimal place. The format is $$$$$$cc. For adjustments, enter the
net increase amount to be applied to the initial report. Do not sign the field. Zeros should be used to fill the left most
positions, if necessary.

65

Code 1 for an initial report.
Code 2 for an adjustment report.
Code 3 for a periodic payment - not the final payment.
Code 4 for a periodic payment - final payment.

66-73

Date employee relinquished employment rights. Format is MMDDCCYY.

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Appendix I
Employer Reporting Instructions
Effective 01-2008

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board Phone: (312) 751- 7139
844 North Rush Street
TTY: (312) 751- 7401
Chicago IL, 60611-2092
Web: www.rrb.gov

Form BA-9 Record Format
Tape
Positions

Data and Instructions

74

Blank Filler.

75-82

Eight-digit compensation amount. Do not use a decimal place. Format is ($$$$$$cc). Do not sign the field. Zeros should be
used to fill the left most positions if necessary. Field may be left blank.

83-86

Four digit applicable creditable year being reported.

87-92

Total gross amount of separation in whole dollars, $$$$$$. Use zero to fill the left most positions as needed.

93

Blank Filler.

94-100

Show the last rate of pay. Format includes a floating decimal place to account for hourly through monthly rates. For
example, 9.99999, 99.9999, 999.999 etc.

101

The code corresponding to the period to which the rate applies, as follows:
Code 1 = per hour;
Code 2 = per day/100 (or 150) miles;
Code 3 = per week; and
Code 4 = per month.

102

The code corresponding to the employee's normal work week, as follows:
Code 5 = five-day week;
Code 6 = six-day week;
Code 7 = seven-day week;
Code 8 = train and engine service; and
Code 9 = dining car and Pullman service.

103-120

Blank Filler.

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
FAX: (312) 751-7154
E-mail: [email protected]

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