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Program

Letter

United States

Railroad Retirement Board

Office of Programs

Quality Reporting Service Center

E-MAIL: qrsc@rrb.gov

Phone: (312) 751-4992

 Fax: (312) 751-7190

Letter No. 2005-05 Date: 12/30/04

TO: Certification Contact Officials

SUBJECT: Service & Compensation Reporting Instructions for Employers with 

Canadian Employees Without a U. S. Social Security Number

_________________________________________________________________________

Please share this information with the appropriate members of your staff who file 

service and compensation reporting forms for employees of your organization.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this program letter is to instruct employers on how to complete Form BA3a/d, Annual Report(s) of Creditable Compensation, Form BA-4, Report of Creditable 

Compensation Adjustment and Form G-440, Report Specifications Sheet for Canadian 

employees who do not have a United States (U.S.) social security number (SSN).

BACKGROUND 

The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has experienced difficulties in recording and 

documenting earnings data for Canadian employees who reside in Canada and do not 

have a valid U.S. SSN but perform service in the U.S. for an employer covered under the 

Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA). 

The problem exists because Canadian employees cannot receive an SSN due to policy 

changes by the Social Security Administration in 1996. 

IMPORTANT REPORTING NOTICE 

Effective Immediately employers can no longer report service and compensation to the 

RRB using pseudo numbers (i.e. numbers beginning with “999” or “000” plus the payroll 

number) for Canadian employees without a valid U.S. SSN. Employers are required to

either report service and compensation for a Canadian employee by using a valid U.S. 

SSN as required by law or a Canadian Social Insurance Number (SIN). Employers 

should only use the Canadian SIN if the employee does not have an authorized U.S. SSN.

Employers should file reports for Canadian employees with a valid U.S. SSN in 

accordance with the Reporting Instructions to Employers manual. Instructions on how to 
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report earnings to the RRB in the various media formats for employees who do not have a 

valid U.S. SSN are explained below.

ELECTRONIC FORM INSTRUCTIONS

To insure proper crediting of service and compensation for Canadian employees who do 

not have U.S. SSNs, please take the following action:

Annual/Adjustment (Forms BA-3a/d & Form BA-4):

• Enter the Payroll ID or formerly used Pseudo SSN in record positions 9 - 18

• Enter the Canadian Social Insurance Numbers (SIN) record positions 19 - 27

• Enter **** in record positions 74 – 77.

PAPER FORM INSTRUCTIONS

To insure proper crediting of service and compensation for Canadian employees who do 

not have U.S. SSNs, please take the following action: 

Annual Reports (Form BA-3a):

• Enter only the Canadian Social Insurance Number in Item 6

• Enter   in Item 12 to identify Canadian employees without a U.S. SSN. 

• Enter on the bottom of the report in Red Ink & Bold Print the following:

“Report Includes Canadian Social Insurance Numbers”.

Adjustment (Form BA-4):

• Enter only the Canadian Social Insurance Number in Item 6

• Enter an **  next to the name (item 7) for each Canadian employee without a U.S. SSN.

• Enter on the bottom of the report in Red Ink & Bold Print the following:

“Report Includes Canadian Social Insurance Numbers”.

Accompanying Form (Form G-440):

• Complete all sections of the G-440, Report Specifications Sheet in the usual 

manner for both paper or magnetic media reports

• Enter in the Remarks Section of the Form G-440 in Red Ink & Bold Print the 

following: “Report Includes Canadian Social Insurance Numbers” for both 

paper and magnetic media reports.
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FURTHER FILING INSTRUCTIONS

Employers may not file any service and compensation reports for Canadian employees 

through the Employer Reporting System (ERS) using an employee’s Canadian SIN. An 

employer may however submit Canadian employee reports to the RRB on separate paper 

forms, magnetic tape, diskette or CD-Rom.

MAILING INSTRUCTIONS

Employers should mail all magnetic media and paper reports for Canadian employees 

without a U.S. SSN to the following address:

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

OFFICE OF PROGRAMS/A&T - CES, 6TH FLOOR 

ATTN: NON-RESIDENT ALIEN PROJECT – QRSC SECTION

844 NORTH RUSH 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60611-2092

QUESTIONS

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a Compensation Reporting 

Specialist by e-mail at QRSC@RRB.GOV or by telephone at (312)751-4992.