BA-4 (Secure Email Report of Creditable Compensation Adjustments

Program
Letter

United States
Railroad Retirement Board
Office of Programs

Quality Reporting Service Center
E-mail: [email protected]
Letter No. 2008-05

Phone: (312) 751-4992
Fax: (312) 751-7190
Date: December 27, 2007

TO:

Certification Contact Officials

SUBJECT:

FTP and E-mail Submission of Reporting Forms
Form BA-3
Annual Report of Creditable Compensation
Form BA-4
Report of Creditable Compensation Adjustments
Form BA-6a Form BA-6 Address Report
Form BA-9
Report of Separation Allowance or Severance Pay
Form BA-11 Report of Gross Earnings

Please share this information with members of your staff who file the forms listed above, as
well as programming staff who support these functions.
Background
Service and compensation information for employees who work for employers covered under the
Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), are maintained by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) for the
purpose of administering the RRA and Railroad Unemployment and Insurance Act (RUIA).
Employee address records are maintained by the RRB for the purpose of mailing Form BA-6,
Certificate of Service Months and Compensation, to those same employees.
Covered employers are required, by the last day of February, to submit Form BA-3, Annual
Report of Creditable Compensation, for all employees who performed compensated service in
the previous year and Form BA-11, Report of Gross Earnings, for all employees whose social
security number ends with the digits “30.” Employers may also submit employee mailing
addresses on annual Form BA-3 (rather than submitting a separate Form BA-6a, Form BA-6
Address Report). Employers are also required to submit Form BA-4, Report of Creditable
Compensation Adjustments, as necessary to report adjustments to previously submitted service
and compensation reports. Additionally, employers are required to submit Form BA-9, Report of
Separation Allowance and Severance Pay, when such payments are made to employees.

New Reporting Options
The RRB now offers file transfer protocol (FTP) interchange and e-mail as options for
submitting Form BA-3, BA-4, BA-6a, BA-9 and BA-11 report files. The new options may be
used starting with the reporting season that begins January 1, 2008. New record layouts are
also effective as of January 1, 2008. (See Attachments A through E.) Information on
accurate data content and format is available in the Employer Reporting Instructions.
Privacy and Security Considerations
Because RRB reporting forms contain sensitive personal information such as social security
numbers, we must exchange information securely to ensure that no one can intercept and read or
alter the information. Accordingly, we are required to take security precautions that meet
standards currently prescribed by the National Institute of Standards (NIST).
FTP Interchange
● What is FTP and how does it work?
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is used to transfer files between two computers by sending data
over a data communications network such as the Internet.
FTP transfers require a FTP server and a FTP client. The FTP server continuously waits or
“listens” for incoming connection requests that are initiated by FTP clients. In order to
complete the connection, the FTP server will require the FTP client to authenticate itself by
providing a valid set of credentials; typically a valid username and password. If the
credentials supplied to the server by the client are valid, the FTP server will allow the
connection to be completed. Once the connection is completed, the client may download
files from the FTP server, upload files to the FTP server or modify existing files on the server
depending on the FTP server’s access controls and existing agreements between the
participating parties.
● How will FTP protect data?
To ensure the confidentiality of personally identifiable data such as social security numbers,
the RRB requires Secure FTP (SFTP) data transfers. We also prefer to use Open PGP
encryption utilizing a Public/Private key pair to ensure that the data is encrypted at all times.
SFTP uses an encrypted connection on TCP port 22. Generally, the process involves the
reporting employer creating a public/private encryption key pair and sending the public key
to the RRB for authentication purposes. If the employer wanted the RRB to send the output
files back to one of their servers, then the RRB would also create a public/private key pair
and send the RRB’s public key as well.
● How is an FTP Interchange with the RRB established?
The first step in this process is for the RRB and each interested employer to agree upon and
then implement the specific procedures and programming needed to allow FTP interchanges.
The most likely method will be via the Internet. The employer would then act as the “server”
and the RRB would act as the “client.” RRB personnel in the Compensation and Employer
Service Center (CESC) would be provided access to the railroad’s secure FTP server through
a designated user ID and password. Once the applicable compensation/service information is
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ready to be conveyed to the RRB via the reporting forms, the employer would fax a
completed Form G-440, Reports Specification Sheet (which must be signed by an authorized
employer official), to notify CESC of a pending report. The RRB would then use desktop
FTP software to access and download the information at an agreed-upon time and location.
You may contact the Quality Reporting Service Center of CESC for additional information
or instructions on implementing FTP exchanges with the RRB. The e-mail address and
telephone number are shown at the top of this letter.
E-mail Submissions
● Why use secure e-mail?
Because the forms contain sensitive personal information such as social security numbers, we
must exchange information securely to insure that no one can intercept and read or alter the
information. To meet NIST security requirements, all e-mail messages we exchange must be
encrypted and signed with a Digital ID, and information will be protected in accordance with
security controls outlined in NIST guidance 800-53.
● Why do I need a Digital ID or certificate?
A Digital ID or certificate is a computer file that identifies the sender. E-mail software uses
this file to "digitally" sign e-mail messages to prove a sender’s identity to the recipient’s
computer.
A digital signature does two things:
• It lets the recipient of the e-mail confirm the identity of the sender, and
• It tells the recipient that the e-mail was not tampered with in transit.
A Digital ID typically contains the following information:
•
•
•
•
•
•

Your public key
Your name and e-mail address
Expiration date of the public key
Name of the company (the Certification Authority (CA)) who issued your Digital ID
Serial number of the Digital ID
Digital signature of the CA

● How will encryption protect data?
To encrypt (scramble) data we use a system with two keys. The key pair consists of a public
and a private key. The keys are used like keys in a lock, except the key pair requires one key
to secure the lock and another to open the lock.
When you request and install a Digital ID, your Web browser creates both a private key that
can only be used with the Digital ID you requested, and a public key that becomes part of
your Digital ID. Access to your private key will be password protected.
With key pairs, your e-mail application will use the RRB’s public key to encrypt messages
you send to us. The RRB, upon receipt of your encrypted e-mail message, will use our
matching private key to decrypt the message.
3

● How do I exchange a secure e-mail with the RRB?
Before you can send the RRB an encrypted message, you must first get our public key. You
do this by simply requesting we send you a signed e-mail message, which contains our
Digital ID and public key. Then your e-mail application can automatically store the RRB’s
Digital ID with public key in your contacts folder until you need to use it. Your e-mail
application uses the RRB public key to encrypt the messages you send to us. From that point
on, only the RRB's private key can decrypt the message.
When the RRB sends you an encrypted message, we will use your public key. Once the
e-mail message is encrypted with your public key, only those individuals in your
organization who have the matching private key can decrypt the message.
Steps:
1. Acquire a Digital ID from a company called a Certification Authority (CA), for
example, Verisign or Thawte Certification. The cost of an individual Digital ID is
about $20.00 per year.
2. Once you have received and installed a Digital ID, distribute it to the RRB by sending
an e-mail message to the [email protected] mailbox. The Digital ID that you send
contains your public key. This will allow the RRB to send you encrypted e-mail
messages using your public key. Only you will have the corresponding private key
that allows you to decrypt the RRB reply.
3. The RRB will acknowledge your e-mail submission by sending you our public key for
the [email protected] mailbox. This will allow you to send encrypted e-mail requests
containing the RRB’s public key. Only the RRB will have the corresponding private
key to decrypt the e-mail message.
4. Once the parties have stored each others’ Digital IDs, all further e-mail exchanges can
be made securely.
Please follow the same provisions regarding completion and submission of Form G-440 as
previously described.
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 RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT, RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD, 844 N RUSH STREET, CHICAGO,
IL 60611-2092.

4

● Form BA-3
The information contained in this report (see Attachment A), 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 pay RRA and RUIA benefits and is authorized for
collection under OMB control number 3220-0008 . This report is due at the Railroad
Retirement Board by no later than the last day of February after the report year. 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 46.25 hours per response to complete, including time for reviewing
the instructions, getting the needed data, and reviewing the completed form.
● Form BA-4
The information contained in this report (see Attachment B), 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 and 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 version of this form,
transmitted by e-mail or 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.
● Form BA-6a
The information specified on this form (see Attachment C), which is required by law under
Section 7(b)(6) of the Railroad Retirement Act and Section 209.12 of the Code of Federal
Regulations and is authorized for collection under OMB control number 3220-0005, will be
used by the Railroad Retirement Board to mail to the employees of your company Form
BA-6, Certificate of Service Months and Compensation. 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
15 minutes per response to complete, including time for reviewing the instructions, getting the
needed data, and reviewing the completed form.
● Form BA-9
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.

5

● Form BA-11
The purpose of this report (see Attachment E), which is required by Section 7(b)(6) of the
Railroad Retirement Act and is authorized for collection under OMB control number
3220-0132, is to obtain the gross earnings for a sample of employees. This information is
required for computation of the Financial Interchange with the Social Security Administration
and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The report is due at the Railroad
Retirement Board by no later than the last day of February following the report year. 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 FTP,
takes an average of 5 hours to complete, including time for reviewing the instructions, getting
the needed data, and reviewing the completed form. We estimate that the secure E-mail
version of this form, takes an average of 30 minutes per response to complete, including time
for reviewing the instructions, getting the needed data, and reviewing the completed form.
Attachments to this letter
Attachment A Electronic file format for Form BA-3, Annual Report of Creditable
Compensation
Attachment B Electronic file format for Form BA-4, Report of Creditable Compensation
Adjustments
Attachment C Electronic file format for Form BA-6a, Form BA-6 Address Report
Attachment D Electronic file format for Form BA-9, Report of Separation Allowance or
Severance Pay
Attachment E Electronic file format for Form BA-11, Report of Gross Earnings

6

RRB Program Letter 2008-05, Attachment A
Electronic file format for Form BA-3, Annual Report of Creditable Compensation
Data Element
Type Report
Year
Processing Code
ER NO
Payroll ID No
SSN
Surname
First Name
Middle Initial
RUIA I Compensation
(to qualify for benefits)
Filler
RUIA II Compensation
(to determine maximum
benefits)
Filler
Service Month Detail
Service Month Total
Tier I Compensation
Filler
Tier II Compensation
Filler
Daily Pay Rate
Filler
Miscellaneous Compensation
Filler
Sick Pay Compensation
Filler
Street Address Line 1
Street Address Line 2
City
State
ZIP Code
Effective Date
Filler

Record Position
1 (“0” zero for all records)
2-5
6 (“7” for all records)
7-10
11-20
21-29
30-49
50-64
65

Field Size
1
4
1
4
10
9
20
15
1

66-72

7

73-74

2

75-81

7

82-83
84-95
96-97
98-105
106-107
108-115
116-117
118-122
123-124
125-132
133-134
135-142
143-145
146-175
176-205
206-225
226-227
228-232
233-240
241-300
Record Ends at 300

2
12
2
8
2
8
2
5
2
8
2
8
3
30
30
20
2
5
8
60

RRB Program Letter 2008-05, Attachment B
Electronic file format for Form BA-4, Report of Creditable Compensation Adjustments
Data Element
Type Report
Year
Processing Code
ER NO
Filler
SSN
Surname
First Name or Initial
Middle Initial
RUIA I Compensation
(to qualify for benefits)
Filler
RUIA II Compensation
(to determine maximum
benefits)
Filler
SM Detail
SM Total
Tier I Compensation
Filler
Tier II Compensation
Filler
Daily Pay Rate
Filler
Miscellaneous Compensation
Filler
Sick Pay Compensation
Filler

Record Position
1 (leave blank for all records)
2-5
6 (4-Increase) (M-Decrease)
7-10
11-20
21-29
30-49
50-64
65

Field Size
1
4
1
4
10
9
20
15
1

66-72

7

73-74

2

75-81

7

82-83
84-95
96-97
98-105
106-107
108-115
116-117
118-122
123-124
125-132
133-134
135-142
143-200
Record Ends at 200

2
12
2
8
2
8
2
5
2
8
2
8
58

RRB Program Letter 2008-05, Attachment C
Electronic file format for Form BA-6a, Form BA-6 Address Report
Data
Element

Field
Positions
1-9

Field
Size
9

10-24

15

25

1

Surname

26-45

20

Address Line 1 (Location)

46-75

30

Address Line 2 (Delivery)

76-105

30

City

106-125

20

State

126-127

2

ZIP Code

128-132

5

Filler

133-140

8

BA Number

141-144

4

Effective Date

145-152

8

Filler

153-180

28

SSN
First Initial/Name
Middle Initial

Record ends at 180

RRB Program Letter 2008-05, Attachment D
Electronic File Format for Form BA-9, Report of Separation Allowance and Severance Pay
Data Element
Type Report
Tax Year of Payment*
Processing Code
ER NO
SSN
Surname
First Name or Initial
Middle Initial
Filler
Separation Allowance or
Severance Payment Amount*

Report Type Code

Date Rights Relinquished
Filler
Creditable Compensation Amount*
Earnings Year of Creditable
Compensation*
Total Gross Amount of Separation
Allowance or Severance Payment
Filler
Last Rate of Pay
Period of Pay Code

Work Week Code
Filler

1 (“L” for all records)
2-5
6 (4-Increase) (M-Decrease)
7-10
11-19
20-39
40-54
55
56

Field
Size
1
4
1
4
9
20
15
1
1

57-64

8

Record Position

65 (1- Initial Report)
(2-Adjustment Report)
(3-Periodic PaymentNot Final Payment)
(4-Periodic PaymentFinal Payment)
66-73
74
75-82

1

8
1
8

83-86

4

87-92

6

93
94-100
101 (1-Hour)
(2-Day)
(3-Week)
(4-Month)
102 (5-Five-day wk)
(6-Six-day wk)
(7-Seven-day wk)
(8-Train & Engine)
(9-Dining Car)
103-120
Record Ends at 120

1
7
1

1
18

*See RRB Employer Reporting Instructions for information about reporting
these dates and amounts properly.

RRB Program Letter 2008-05, Attachment E
Electronic File Format for Form BA-11, Gross Earnings Annual Report of
Annual Earnings

1-2 (“40”)

Field
Size
2

Year being reported

3-6

4

ER NO

7-10

4

SSN

11-19

9

Surname

20-39

20

First Name or Initial

40-54

15

55

1

56-64

9

65-120
Record Ends at 120

56

Data Element
Type report

Middle Initial
Annual Amount
Leave Blank or Zero-Fill

Record Position

Electronic File Format for Form BA-11, Gross Earnings Annual Report of
Quarterly Earnings

1-2 (“39”)

Field
Size
2

Year being reported

3-6

4

ER NO

7-10

4

SSN

11-19

9

Surname

20-39

20

First Name or Initial

40-54

15

55

1

First Quarter Amount

56-64

9

Second Quarter Amount

65-73

9

Third Quarter Amount

74-82

9

Fourth Quarter Amount

83-91

9

Leave Blank or Zero-Fill

92-120
Record Ends at 120

29

Data Element
Type report

Middle Initial

Record Position

RRB Program Letter 2008-05, Attachment E
Electronic File Format for Form BA-11, Gross Earnings Annual Report of
Monthly Earnings
Two 120 position tape records must be keyed whether or not both records have earnings.
(Where one record does not contain money fields, positions 1-55 must be keyed.)
Record No. 1 - January through June

1-2 (“28”)

Field
Size
2

Year being reported

3-6

4

ER NO

7-10

4

SSN

11-19

9

Surname

20-39

20

First Name or Initial

40-54

15

55

1

January Amount

56-64

9

February Amount

65-73

9

March Amount

74-82

9

April Amount

83-91

9

May Amount

92-100

9

June Amount

101-109

9

110-120
Record Ends at 120

11

Data Element
Type report

Middle Initial

Leave Blank or Zero-Fill

Record Position

RRB Program Letter 2008-05, Attachment E
Electronic File Format for Form BA-11, Gross Earnings Annual Report of
Monthly Earnings (continued)
Two 120 position tape records must be keyed whether or not both records have earnings.
(Where one record does not contain money fields, positions 1-55 must be keyed.)
Record No. 2 - July through December

1-2 (“29”)

Field
Size
2

Year being reported

3-6

4

ER NO

7-10

4

SSN

11-19

9

Surname

20-39

20

First Name or Initial

40-54

15

Middle Initial

55

1

July Amount

56-64

9

August Amount

65-73

9

September Amount

74-82

9

October Amount

83-91

9

November Amount

92-100

9

December Amount

101-109

9

110-120
Record Ends at 120

11

Data Element
Type report

Leave Blank or Zero-Fill

Record Position