BA-3 (Electronic E Annual Report of Creditable Compensation

Employer Reporting Instructions
Appendix I: Electronic File Format
Form BA-3, Annual Report of Creditable Compensation
The information contained in this report, 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. The information is authorized for
collection under OMB control number 3220-0008.
This report is due at the Railroad Retirement Board 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 versions of this form transmitted by secure email or File
Transfer Protocol (FTP) takes an average of 46 hours and 15 minutes per response to
complete, including time for reviewing the instructions, getting the needed data, and
reviewing the completed form. Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and
respondents are not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a
valid OMB number. If you wish, send comments regarding the accuracy of our estimate or
any other aspect of this form, including suggestions for reducing completion time, to
Associate Chief Information Officer for Policy and Compliance, Railroad Retirement
Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, IL 60611-1275.
The tables below explain the electronic file format for reports filed on CD-ROM, FTP,
secure email, or an upload on ERSNet. For information about the data to be entered, refer
to Part V, Chapter 3 of the Rail Employer or Labor Employer Reporting Instructions.
NOTE: Reports submitted on CD-ROM, secure email, or FTP must be accompanied by
Form G-440, Report Specifications Sheet.

Record Length
Money Fields
Numeric Fields
Service and
Compensation
Totals Record

Report Specifications
300 Characters
All money fields include two cent positions and no decimal
point. No fields should be signed. Fill out money fields with
zeros.
Fill out all numeric fields with zeros to the left of the
significant digits.
There should be no record which contains neither service nor
compensation data. A record may contain only service months
or only compensation, but must contain one or the other.
Every electronic file report should include a grand-totals
record at the end. The specific format is in the appendix.
Optional subtotal records may be included.

Employer Reporting Instructions
Appendix I: Electronic File Format
Form BA-3, Annual Report of Creditable Compensation
Form BA-3 Record Format
Field
Length
1
4
1

Record
Position
1
2-5
6

4

7-10

10

11-20

9

21-29

20

30-49

15
1

50-64
65

7

66-72

2

73-74

7

75-81

2

82-83

12

84-95

2

96-97

8

98-105

2

106-107

Data and Instructions
"0" (zero).
Four-digit year being reported.
"7"
Four-digit BA number assigned by the Railroad Retirement
Board.
Entries in this field are optional. The “Payroll ID” reference
number shown here will be included on certain correspondence
to the employer to assist the employer in locating the employee.
Employee's social security number.
First twenty (20) characters of the employee's surname. Spaces
in such names as Mc Carthy, St Clair, De La Cross are
acceptable.
First fifteen (15) characters of the employee's first name.
Employee’s middle initial.
RUIA I ($$$$$¢¢) – Total compensation which is creditable
under the RUIA to qualify for benefits. This amount should not
exceed the RUIA I monthly maximum times 12.
Blank Filler.
RUIA II ($$$$$¢¢) – Total compensation which is creditable
under the RUIA to determine maximum benefits. This amount
should not exceed the RUIA II monthly maximum times 12.
Blank Filler.
Service Month Detail - The code corresponding to
84-Jan
the employment relation for a non-work month.
85-Feb
86-March
87-April Code 1 = worked
Code 8 = not worked but has employment relation
88-May
89-June
Code 9 = not worked & has no employment relation
90-July
Code 0 = not worked & employment relation
91-Aug
unknown
92-Sept
93-Oct
NOTE: You cannot mix all four codes. You must
94-Nov
either use codes 1, 8, & 9 or codes 1 & 0. All 12
95-Dec
positions must be filled.
Service Month Total - The sum of the characters in positions 8495. Enter zeroes if no months are reported.
Creditable Tier I compensation, up to the annual maximum for
the year ($$$$$$¢¢).
Blank Filler.

Employer Reporting Instructions
Appendix I: Electronic File Format
Form BA-3, Annual Report of Creditable Compensation
Form BA-3 Record Format
Field
Length

Record
Position

8

108-115

2

116-117

5

118-122

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

123-124
125-132
133-134
135-142
143-145
146-175
176-205
206-225
226-227
228-232
233-240
241-300

Data and Instructions
Creditable Tier II compensation, up to the annual maximum for
the year ($$$$$$¢¢).
Blank Filler.
Last daily pay rate ($$$¢¢). If pay rate exceeds $200.00, enter
20000.
Blank Filler.
Creditable Miscellaneous compensation ($$$$$$¢¢).
Blank Filler.
Creditable Sick Pay compensation ($$$$$$¢¢).
Blank Filler.
Mailing Address Line 1 (Street Number, Post Office Box, etc.).
Mailing Address Line 2.
City
State
Zip Code
Effective date of the address information (MMDDCCYY).
Blank Filler (For future expansion).

NOTE: The file should be saved as a text (*.txt) file with the record format listed above.