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the number of the CFR title and the number of each part
                      the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly
                      related to
the agency docket number / agency internal file number
the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in
                      the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory
                      Actions See the
                    Document Drafting Handbook
                    for more details.
 Railroad Retirement Board
 In accordance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data collections. *Comments are invited on:*
                     (a) Whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. *1. Title and purpose of information collection:*
                     RUIA Investigations and Continuing Entitlement; OMB 3220-0025. Under Section 1(k) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) (45 U.S.C. 231), unemployment and sickness benefits are not payable for any day remuneration is payable or accrues to the claimant. Also, Section 4(a-1) of the RUIA provides that unemployment or sickness benefits are not payable for any day the claimant receives the same benefits under any law other than the RUIA. Under Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) regulation 20 CFR 322.4(a), a claimant's certification, or statement on an RRB-provided claim form, that he or she did not work on any day claimed and did not receive income such as vacation pay or pay for time lost, shall constitute sufficient evidence unless there is conflicting evidence. Further, under 20 CFR 322.4(b), when there is a question raised as to whether or not remuneration is payable or has accrued to a claimant with respect to a claimed day(s), an investigation shall be made with a view to obtaining information sufficient for a finding. The RRB utilizes the following three forms to obtain information from railroad employers, nonrailroad employers, and claimants, that is needed to determine whether a claimed day(s) of unemployment or sickness were improperly or fraudulently claimed: Form ID-5i, Request for Employment Information; Form ID-5R (SUP), Report of Employees Paid RUIA Benefits for Every Day in Month Reported as Month of Creditable Service; and Form UI-48, Statement Regarding Benefits Claimed for Days Worked. Completion is voluntary. One response is requested of each respondent. To qualify for unemployment or sickness benefits payable under section 2 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), a railroad employee must have certain qualifying earnings in the applicable base year. In addition, to qualify for 
                    *extended*
                     or 
                    *accelerated*
                     benefits under Section 2 of the RUIA, a railroad employee who has exhausted his or her rights to normal benefits must have at least 10 years of railroad service (under certain conditions, military service may be credited as months of railroad service). Accelerated benefits are unemployment or sickness benefits that are payable to a railroad employee before the regular July 1 beginning date of a benefit year if an employee has 10 or more years of service and is 
                    *not*
                     qualified for benefits in the current benefit year. During the RUIA claims review process, the RRB may determine that unemployment or sickness benefits cannot be awarded because RRB records show insufficient qualifying service and/or compensation. When this occurs, the RRB allows the claimant the opportunity to provide additional information if they believe that the RRB service and compensation records are incorrect. Depending on the circumstances, the RRB provides the following forms to obtain information needed to determine if a claimant has sufficient service or compensation to qualify for unemployment or sickness benefits. Form UI-9, 
                    *Statement of Employment and Wages;*
                     Form UI-44, 
                    *Claim for Credit for Military Service;*
                     Form ID-4U, 
                    *Advising of Service/Earnings Requirements for Unemployment Benefits;*
                     and Form ID-4X, 
                    *Advising of Service/Earnings Requirements for Sickness Benefits.*
                     Completion of these forms is required to obtain or retain a benefit. One response is required of 
                    ( print page 2260)
                    each respondent. The RRB proposes no changes to Form UI-9, UI-44, ID-4U, ID-4X, and UI-48. The RRB Proposes the Following Changes to Form ID-5i add a 30-day time sensitive response on page 1,
page 2 modification to earnings sentence to include “if still employed, include earnings up to the current employment date.”,
remove auto update of RRB letterhead address, phone number and email address,
update RRB address to headquarters address,
update RRB phone number to Unemployment and Programs Support Division,
update RRB fax number to Unemployment and Programs Support Division,
update RRB email address to Unemployment and Programs Support Division, and
update RRB office hours. The RRB Proposes the Following Changes to ID-5R (SUP) change PRA/PA notice to update the officer title and
update RRB zip code. Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
Form No.
Annual responses
Time
                             (minutes)
Burden
                             (hours)UI-9
69
10
11UI-44
10
5
1UI-48
14
12
3ID-4U
35
5
3ID-4X
25
5
2ID-5i
1,000 (Private sector)
                             50 (state/local/etc.)
15
250
                             12ID-5R (SUP)
400
10
67Total
1,603

349
 *2. Title and purpose of information collection:*
                     Pension Plan Reports; OMB 3220-0089. Under section 2(b) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) (45 U.S.C. 231a), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) pays supplemental annuities to qualified RRB employee annuitants. A supplemental annuity, which is computed according to section 3(e) of the RRA, can be paid at age 60 if the employee has at least 30 years of creditable railroad service or at age 65 if the employee has 25-29 years of railroad service. In addition to 25 years of service, a “current connection” with the railroad industry is required. Eligibility is further limited to employees who had at least 1 month of rail service before October 1981 and were awarded regular annuities after June 1966. Further, if an employee's 65th birthday was prior to September 2, 1981, he or she must not have worked in rail service after certain closing dates (generally the last day of the month following the month in which age 65 is attained). Under section 2(h)(2) of the RRA, the amount of the supplemental annuity is reduced if the employee receives monthly pension payments, or a lump-sum pension payment from a private pension from a railroad employer to the extent the payments are based on contributions from that employer. The employee's own contribution to their pension account does not cause a reduction. A private railroad employer pension is defined in 20 CFR 216.42. The RRB requires the following information from railroad employers to calculate supplemental annuities: (a) the current status of railroad employer pension plans and whether such plans cause reductions to the supplemental annuity; (b) whether the employee receives monthly payments from a private railroad employer pension, elected to receive a lump sum in lieu of monthly pension payments from such a plan, or was required to receive a lump sum from such a plan due to the plan's small benefit provision; and (c) the amount of the payments attributable to the railroad employer's contributions. The requirement that railroad employers furnish pension information to the RRB is contained in 20 CFR 209.2. The RRB currently utilizes Form G-88p and G-88p (internet), 
                    *Employer's Supplemental Pension Report,*
                     and Form G-88r, 
                    *Request for Information About New or Revised Employer Pension Plan,*
                     to obtain the necessary information from railroad employers. One response is requested of each respondent. Completion is mandatory. The RRB proposes no changes to G-88P and G-88P (internet), and G-88R. Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
Form No.
Annual
                             responses
Time
                             (minutes)
Burden
                             (hours)G-88p
100
8
13G-88p (Internet)
200
6
20G-88R
10
8
1Total
310

34
 *3. Title and purpose of information collection:*
                     Job Information Report, OMB 3220-0193. The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) occupational disability standards allow the RRB to request job information from railroad employers to determine an applicant's eligibility for an occupational disability. To determine an occupational disability, the RRB must obtain the 
                    ( print page 2261)
                    employee's work history and establish if the employee is precluded from performing his or her regular railroad occupation. This is accomplished by comparing the restrictions caused by the impairment(s) against the employee's ability to perform his or her job duties. To collect the information needed to determine the effect of a disability on an employee applicant's ability to work, the RRB utilizes Form G-251, 
                    *Vocational Report*
                     (OMB 3220-0141) which is completed by the applicant. Form G-251A, Railroad Job Information, requests railroad employers to provide information regarding whether the employee has been medically disqualified from their railroad occupation; a summary of the employee's duties; the machinery, tools and equipment used by the employee; the environmental conditions under which the employee performs their duties; all sensory requirements (vision, hearing, speech) needed to perform the employee's duties; the physical actions and amount of time (frequency) allotted for those actions that may be required by the employee to perform their duties during a typical work day; any permanent working accommodations an employer may have made due to the employee's disability; as well as any other relevant information they may choose to include. Completion is voluntary. The RRB proposes no changes to Form G-251A. Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
Form No.
Annual
                             responses
Time
                             (minutes)
Burden
                             (hours)G-251A
436
60
436
 *4. Title and purpose of information collection:*
                     Self-Employment/Corporate Officer Work and Earnings Monitoring; OMB 3220-0202. Section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) (45 U.S.C. 231) provides for the payment of disability annuities to qualified employees. Section 2 also provides that if the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) receives a report of an annuitant working for a railroad or earning more than prescribed dollar amounts from either nonrailroad employment or self-employment, the annuity is no longer payable, or can be reduced, for the months worked. The regulations related to the nonpayment or reduction of the annuity by reason of work are prescribed in 20 CFR 220.160-164. Some activities claimed by the applicant as “self-employment” may actually be employment for someone else (
                    *e.g.,*
                     training officer, consultant, salesman). 20 CFR 216.22(c) states, for example, that an applicant is considered an employee, and not self-employed, when acting as a corporate officer, since the corporation is the applicant's employer. Whether the RRB classifies a particular activity as self-employment or as work for an employer depends upon the circumstances in each case. The circumstances are prescribed in 20 CFR 216.21-216-23. Certain types of work may actually indicate an annuitant's recovery from disability. Regulations related to an annuitant's recovery from disability for work are prescribed in 20 CFR 220.17-220-20. In addition, the RRB conducts continuing disability reviews (also known as a CDR), to determine whether the annuitant continues to meet the disability requirements of the law. Payment of disability benefits and/or a beneficiary's period of disability will end if medical evidence or other information shows that an annuitant is not disabled under the standards prescribed in Section 2 of the RRA. Continuing disability reviews are generally conducted if one or more of the following conditions are met: (1) the annuitant is scheduled for a routine periodic review, (2) the annuitant returns to work and successfully completes a trial work period, (3) substantial earnings are posted to the annuitant's wage record, or (4) information is received from the annuitant or a reliable source that the annuitant has recovered or returned to work. Provisions relating to when and how often the RRB conducts disability reviews are prescribed in 20 CFR 220.186. To enhance program integrity activities, the RRB utilizes Form G-252, 
                    *Self-Employment/Corporate Officer Work and Earnings Monitoring.*
                     Form G-252 obtains information from a disability annuitant who either claims to be self-employed or a corporate officer, or who the RRB determines to be self-employed or a corporate officer after a continuing disability review. The continuing disability review may be prompted by a report of work, return to railroad service, an allegation of a medical improvement or a routine disability review call-up. The information gathered is used to determine entitlement and/or continued entitlement to, and the amount of, the disability annuity, as prescribed in 20 CFR 220.176. Completion is required to retain benefits. One response is required of each respondent. The RRB proposes no changes to Form G-252. Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
Form No.
Annual
                             responses
Time
                             (minutes)
Burden
                             (hours)G-252
15
20
5Total
15

5
 
 
 *Additional Information or Comments:*
                     To request more information or to obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms, and/or supporting material, contact Kennisha Money at (312) 469-2591 or 
                    *Kennisha.Money@rrb.gov.*
                     Comments regarding the information collection should be addressed to Brian Foster, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-1275 or emailed to 
                    *Brian.Foster@rrb.gov.*
                     Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice. Brian Foster, Clearance Officer.


[FR Doc. 2024-00514 Filed 1-11-24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7905-01-P