Please share this information with the appropriate members of your staff who file service and compensation reporting forms for employees of your organization.
The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has updated the services available on the ERSNet system to now include Forms BA-3, Annual Report of Creditable Compensation, and BA-11, Report of Gross Earnings. Effective February 6, 2012, these forms can be filed via the Internet. These additions to our ERSNet services provides you with a secure, convenient and efficient way to submit the annual service and compensation reports that are due to the RRB no later than the last day of February.
These new additions join the forms already on the system:
- Form BA-3, Annual Report of Creditable Compensation (New)
- Form BA-4, Report of Creditable Compensation Adjustments
- Form BA-6a, BA-6 Address Report
- Form BA-11, Report of Gross Earnings (New)
- Form GL-129a, Record of Employer Determination on Employee Protest
- Form ID-4E, Notice of RUIA Claim Determinations
- Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employee’s Applications and Claims for Benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA)
Annual Reporting Forms
Form BA-3, Annual Report of Creditable Compensation, is used to report service and compensation for each calendar year. The information provided is added to the employee’s lifetime earnings and service records from which benefit eligibility and payments are determined.
Form BA-11, Gross Earnings Report, is used to obtain the actual gross earnings of a sample group of covered employees whose social security numbers end with the digits “30.” The data collected and the gross earnings are used to estimate future tax income and to compute taxes owed for the financial interchange between the Railroad Retirement and Social Security/ Medicare programs. Gross earnings amounts consist of all earnings taxable under the hospital insurance portion of the Tier I tax rate. This includes earnings above the taxable limit, sick pay and miscellaneous compensation.
If you have no compensated employees to report or no employees whose social security number ends with the digits “30” for the prior calendar year, you will now be able to submit a zero report through ERSNet without using the Form G-440, Report Specifications Sheet.
Verifying Receipt of Your Report
You will receive an automated email receipt from the ERSNet system confirming that we have received your report. The receipt will list the name of the report(s) and additional data that you can use to verify your report was correctly submitted.
Access Levels on the ERSNet Site
Access to ERSNet is role-based, which means that each user's access is tailored to the role or work they do at their company. Access levels are assigned by the company, allowing employers to retain control over the forms their employees can view and submit. If you are not enrolled and want to begin filing your reports on ERSNet follow the instructions below. An Explanation of Access Levels is enclosed.
Applying for Access
To apply for access do the following:
- File the enclosed Form BA-12, Application for Employer Reporting Internet Access. Complete Sections A, B, and C, then have the designated employee sign Item 5 in Section B and return the form to you. The certification in Section D must be completed by an official of the company who has authority to sign official RRB forms. If you have signature authority, sign the certification. Otherwise, the company president and those persons designated on the Form G-117A, Designation of Contact Official, are assumed to have signature authority. For additional copies of Form BA-12 or information on how to complete it, go directly to https://www.rrb.gov/Employer/Forms/BA-12 or contact the Quality Reporting Service Center at the telephone number or e-mail address shown above. All employer forms can be accessed on the RRB website at https://www.rrb.gov/.
Within three to five days of receipt of an acceptable application, the RRB will mail your user ID and password along with instructions for accessing the site. To deter fraudulent use of ERSNet, the Form BA-12 cannot be completed or filed on our website; original signatures (no reproductions) are needed and it must be transmitted by US or express mail carrier. For security reasons, facsimiles are not acceptable.
Detailed instructions on how to use the system are covered in Part VIII of the Reporting Instructions to Employers. See below for direct links to the reporting instructions on our website.