Program Letter 2006-05, E-Mail Requests for 12(o) and 2(f) reimbursements

United States
Railroad Retirement Board
Office of Programs

Program
Letter

Quality Reporting Service Center
E-MAIL: [email protected]

Phone: (312) 751-4992
Fax: (312) 751-7190

CONTACT: Edward Roberts

Phone: (312) 75 1-7139 x2159

Letter No. 2006-05

Date: February 1,2006

TO:

Certification Contact Officials

SUBJECT:

E-mail Requests for 12(0) and 2(f) Reimbursement Amounts

Copies of this program letter should be provided to all claims department, labor relations
and payroll department personnel involved in the processing and payment of claims for
pay for time lost, guarantee pay and personal injury settlements. Printable versions of
these program letters are available at RRB.gov.

This program letter supplements program letters 2004-06 and 2003-05 and provides information
about the use of e-mail for requesting information concerning amounts due under sections 2(f)
and 12(0) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA). This information is collected
under OMB collection number 3220-0036.

Railroad employers are required under certain circumstances to reimburse the Railroad
Retirement Board (RRB) for unemployment and sickness insurance benefits paid to their
employees. Such reimbursements are required under sections 2(f) and 12(0) of the RUIA.

Emplover Requests for Information About Amounts Due Under Section 2(f) and 12(01
Railroad employers should contact the RRB's Sickness and Unemployment Benefits Section
(SUBS) prior to payment of either pay for time lost in the form of wages or guarantee pay, or
the payment of a personal injury settlement. SUBS will provide information about the amount of
benefits to be deducted from the award for reimbursement under section 2(f) or settlement under
section 12(0).

Secure Email Exchange Using Digital IDS
The RRB now offers an email equivalent of facsimile forms ID-3s and ID-3U. Because our
email messages contain sensitive personal information such as Social Security Account numbers,
we must exchange information securely to insure that no one can intercept and read or alter the
information.
We are required to take security precautions that meet the standards currently prescribed by the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). To meet these security requirements all
email messages we exchange must be encrypted and signed with a Digital ID.
A Digital ID or certificate is a computer file that identifies the sender. Email 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

Encryption
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 email application will use the RRB's public key to encrypt messages you
send to us. The RRB, upon receipt of your encrypted email message, will use our matching
private key to decrypt the message.

Secure Email Process
Before you can send the RRB an encrypted message, you must first get our public key. You do
this by simply requesting that 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 RRBYsDigital ID
with public key in your contacts folder until you need to use it. Your e-mail application uses the
RRl3 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 RRl3 sends you an encrypted message, we will use your public key. Once the email
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. Aquire 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
email 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 email 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 reply by sending you our public key for the [email protected] mailbox.
This will allow you to send encrypted email requests containing the RRB's public key.
Only the RRB will have the corresponding private key to decrypt the email message.

4. Once the parties have stored each others' Digital IDS, all further email exchanges can be
made securely.

E-mail Requests for 12(0) and 2(f) Reimbursement Amounts
Railroad employers may send email requests for information about the amounts to be deducted
from guarantee payments or injury settlements for reimbursement to the Railroad Retirement
Board's (RRB) Sickness and Unemployment Benefits Section email address:[email protected].
Depending on the type of payment you are making, the text of your email message should
include the following information:

I D 3 S Information Needed: 12(o)

The following information is always needed in order to determine the amounts due under section
12(0) of the RUIA:
The employee's name and social security number,
The amount of the settlement or final judgment,
The date of settlement or final judgment, and
The amount withheld from the settlement or judgment to satisfy the RRB's lien.
I D 3 U Information Needed: 2(fl

The following information is always needed in order to determine the amounts due under section
2(f) of the RUIA:
The employee's name and social security number,
The amount of the payment,
The employee's rate of pay,
The period of time covered by a guarantee payment (usually a month), and
The exact days paid in a pay for time lost claim
Email may also be used for inquiries about RUIA benefit amounts paid to employees prior to any
settlement or guarantee payments. Please clearly state in such emails "For Informational
Purposes Only".
Secure Spreadsheets to Request Information About Amounts Due Under Section 2(fl

To facilitate reporting of multiple payments at one time, spreadsheets may be emailed to the
ruiasuote@,rrb.nov mailbox. We. suggest that the spreadsheet include the following column
headers:
SSN

Name

No. of
days
Paid

Rate of
Pay

Protection Period
Covered
payment
Amount

Comments RRB
Recovery
Amount

RRB Email Replies
Under normal circumstances, you will receive a reply to your request on the first business day
following the RRB's receipt of your email request. The email Form ID-3R reply from the RRB is
your confirmation of the amount due under section 2(f), or the amount of the RRB's lien under
section 12(0). A confirmation letter will not be sent.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice
The RRB is authorized to collect the information requested under section 5(b) of the Railroad
Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA). The information is needed to determine the amount of
benefits reimbursable under section 12(0) or section 2(f) of the RUIA. Because you are required
to provide this information under Section 9(a) of the RUIA, failure to complete and return this
form could result in a fine or imprisonment or both.
We estimate that the email equivalents of Forms ID-3s and ID-3U take an average of 3 minutes
per response to complete, including time for reviewing the instructions, getting the needed data,
and reviewing the completed form. If you wish, send comments regarding the accuracy of our
estimate or any other aspects of the forms, including suggestions for reducing completion times,
to the Chief of Information Management, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 N. Rush Street,
Chicago lllinois 606 11-2092