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RRB Strategic Plan 2009-2014 |
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Strategic Goals |
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Goal II: Serve as Responsible Stewards for Our Customers’ Trust Funds and Agency Resources |
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Strategic Plan in PDF
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The RRB is committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities, not only to
the railroad community but as a member of the larger Federal Government
community. We will run the agency in an efficient, effective manner, treat our
employees with the respect they deserve, and ensure that funds appropriated for
agency operations are spent for their intended purposes. We will also take
appropriate action to safeguard the funds used for benefit payments. The
following objectives will chart our success toward this broad goal.
Ensure that Trust Fund Assets are Projected,
Collected, Recorded and Reported Appropriately
The RRB is committed to prudent financial practices and reporting. Our success
in this objective is reflected through annual audited financial statements,
actuarial valuations, our financial projections, debt collection,
experience-based contribution rates, and payroll tax and railroad employee
compensation reconciliations. To accomplish this commitment, we will continue to
issue audited financial statements, monitor the solvency of the trust funds
through a sound program of actuarial valuations and financial projections and
correctly estimate amounts needed for future benefit payments. The RRB will
verify that payroll taxes are fully collected and properly recorded, and issue
accurate, timely determinations and notices of contribution rates under the
unemployment and sickness insurance program.
Also, in instances where erroneous payments do occur, the RRB will continue to
apply its debt collection and management policies in a fair and equitable
manner. The agency will carefully review individual cases to identify amounts
eligible for waiver. Debts not subject to waiver will be collected, either
directly or through referral to Treasury. Under the Improper Payments
Information Act (IPIA) of 2002, the RRB continually reviews and reports on the
amount of erroneous payments and engages in activities to reduce them. Since
IPIA reporting began, the amounts attributable to the RRB's two benefit programs
(the RRA and the RUIA) have been below the thresholds identified in the law and
related guidance issued by OMB.
In addition to producing audited financial statements on an annual basis, we
will measure our progress under this objective by doing a monthly
“reasonableness” test that compares electronically deposited railroad retirement
taxes with transfers by Treasury; complete annual reconciliations of railroad
compensation reported by employers to the RRB for benefit purposes with that
reported to the Internal Revenue Service for tax purposes; and issue timely
notices of contribution rates to employers that maintain the solvency of the
RUIA programs.
Ensure the Integrity of Benefit Programs
As part of our fiduciary responsibilities to the rail community, we must ensure
that the correct amount of benefits is being paid to the right people. Our
primary approach in this area is to electronically match our benefit payments
against SSA’s earnings and benefits database and death-reports file, CMS’
utilization and death records, and reports of wages to state agencies. We also
refer cases to the RRB’s OIG, which can recommend civil or criminal prosecution
upon completion of its investigation. We will continue these matching and
monitoring programs, as well as our program integrity reviews whereby individual
cases are reviewed on a periodic basis, such as obtaining information on medical
improvement in disability cases, and contacting annuitants whenever
discrepancies are identified through these matching programs or other sources of
information.
We will measure the efficiency of this objective through a review and comparison
of dollars collected or saved through these programs and the cost to administer
them.
Ensure Effectiveness, Efficiency and
Security of Operations
How we conduct our business is a key indicator of good stewardship. The RRB is
committed to effective, efficient and secure internal operations. Many factors
and programs contribute to this goal. We use a management control review process
for critical agency programs to provide reasonable assurance of their
effectiveness, efficiency and security, with corrective action taken to address
any identified weaknesses. In addition we perform a variety of quality assurance
activities to ensure that our benefit programs comply with established policies,
standards and procedures.
An increasingly important consideration is to safeguard our customers' privacy
and enable them to conduct business with the RRB in a secure environment. We
have made notable progress in strengthening and improving computer security,
particularly in addressing concerns raised by our OIG’s audit staff and
developing contingency plans in the event of a disaster. We will continue to
develop risk assessments and conduct periodic vulnerability assessments on
informational assets, and deploy advanced security technologies to protect
against physical and cyber-security threats. The agency also developed a
response plan for instances in which our customers’ personal information may be
compromised. The plan includes notices to affected individuals and related
assistance where appropriate.
The RRB has also taken steps to comply with a security directive that requires
enhanced identity verification of Federal employees, including use of a more
sophisticated identification containing a chip with biometric data (i.e.,
fingerprints) that will be common to all Federal agencies. The RRB has taken
steps to implement the identity verification measures for new hires and entered
into a shared-services agreement with GSA for production of the new cards for
agency employees and contractors. The next phase of this initiative calls for
use of the embedded chip to control access to government buildings and computer
systems.
Under this objective, success will be determined by how well we respond to
security audit findings, risk assessments and similar reviews, and any breaches
involving personal information. We will also track our progress in meeting
governmentwide directives on employee identification and any related
initiatives.
Effectively Carry Out Responsibilities with
Respect to the NRRIT
The NRRIT was created by the Railroad Retirement and Survivors’ Improvement Act
of 2001 to oversee investment of the railroad retirement trust funds. While the
RRB no longer manages investment of trust fund monies, it continues to have
responsibilities in ensuring that the NRRIT, and its seven-member Board of
Trustees, complies with the provisions of the RRA. We fulfill these obligations
through periodic meetings between the RRB’s three-member Board and the NRRIT’s
trustees, more frequent meetings between the agency’s General Counsel and NRRIT
officials, and review of monthly and annual reports submitted by the NRRIT,
including the audit reports on the NRRIT annual financial statements. The RRB
has authority to bring civil action should these reviews indicate any violation
of the RRA or non-compliance with any of the provisions of the law. We also post
information about the NRRIT and its activities on the agency website for the
benefit of our customers and stakeholders. |
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