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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) 751-7123

Letter No. 2018-03 Date: March 23, 2018

TO: Unemployment and Sickness Contact Officials

SUBJECT: Employer Remittances for RUIA Sections 2(f) and 12(o) Debts, Pay.gov, and

 Experience Rating

This program letter provides information about reporting responsibilities for sections 2(f) and 

12(o) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) and the affect payments have on

experience rating. Please share this with appropriate members of your staff who reimburse 

the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) under Section 2(f) or 12(o) of the RUIA.

General

Railroad employers are required under certain circumstances to reimburse the RRB for

unemployment and sickness benefits paid to their employees. Such reimbursements are required 

under Sections 2(f) and 12(o) of the RUIA.

• Reimbursements under section 2(f) generally result from the award of pay for time lost or 

the payment of guaranteed wages.

• Under section 12(o), the RRB is entitled to reimbursement of benefits paid for days of 

sickness resulting from any injury or infirmity for which the employee is paid a personal 

injury settlement or damages by his or her employer.

RRB Notices under Sections 2(f) and 12(o) 

Each business day the RRB sends Form ID-4E, Notice of RUIA Claim Determination, to 

employers via the Employer Reporting System (ERSNet) or by mail. This constitutes a sufficient 

and timely notice of benefit payments subject to reimbursement under section 2(f) of the RUIA 

from any salary, wages, pay for time lost, or other remuneration that may become payable for 

days for which benefits are paid.
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Form ID-30B, Notice of Lien, is released to employers via ERSNet or by mail when an applicant 

for sickness benefits indicates that he or she has filed or expects to file a claim against the 

employer for personal injury. Form ID-30B is the notice of the RRB's right to reimbursement of 

sickness benefits from any sum or damages payable on account of liability for the employee's 

injury or illness.

Note - Access to Form ID-30B as well as Form ID-4E is available on the ERSNet system 

and can be requested on Form BA-12, Application for Employer Reporting Internet 

Access.

Amount of Reimbursement 

Prior to the payment of either a pay for time lost in the form of wages or guarantee pay or the 

payment of a personal injury settlement, railroad employers should contact the RRB's Sickness 

and Unemployment Benefits Section to obtain information about the amount of benefits to be 

deducted from the award for reimbursement under section 2(f) or section 12(o).

 

• Section 2(f) - In general, the amount of reimbursement due under section 2(f) from the 

award of pay for time lost or other remuneration is the amount of benefits paid for days in 

the period for which the payment is to be made, or the amount of the payment for the 

period, whichever is less. 

• Section 12(o) - Under the RRB's regulations (20 CFR 341.5), the amount of 

reimbursement due the RRB under section 12(o) is the amount of the sickness benefits 

paid to the employee for the infirmity for which he or she is paid any sum or damages, or 

the net amount of the settlement, whichever is less. The net settlement is considered to be 

the amount of the damages paid with respect to the employee's injury or infirmity, minus 

the amounts of the medical, hospital and legal expenses incurred by the employee in 

connection with the injury. 

Note -Some expenses are deductible even if covered by an employee’s insurance policy. 

However, pursuant to RRB Legal Opinion L-2011-06, the RRB cannot consider medical 

expenses that are paid on an employee’s behalf under an insurance policy in connection 

with the Health and Welfare Agreement entered into by rail management and rail labor 

on October 22, 1975. The “insurance policy” noted in section 341.5(b)(1) of the RRB’s 

regulations refers to a fringe benefit provided as part of an employee’s compensation 

paid by an employer with a premium contribution paid by the employee and not to 

insurance purchased by a railroad employer to indemnify itself against liability under the 

Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA).

Employer Requests for Information

Employer requests for information about amounts due under sections 2(f) and 12(o) may be 

made on Forms ID-3S, Request for Lien Information - Report of Settlement, and ID-3U, Request 

for Section 2(f) Information, via ERSNet or facsimile. Under normal circumstances, you will 

receive a reply to your request on the first business day following the RRB's receipt of your 
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request. Employer’s use of Forms ID-3S and ID-3U helps to ensure that all the information we 

need to respond to your request is provided. 

Forms ID-3S or Form ID-3U may also be used for inquiries about RUIA benefit amounts paid to 

employees prior to any settlement or guarantee payments. Please clearly mark such forms “For 

Informational Purposes Only”.

Note - Access to these forms on ERSNet can be requested through Form BA-12, 

Application for Employer Reporting Internet Access. Printable versions of Forms ID-3S 

and ID-3U along with detailed instructions for their completion are available at 

www.rrb.gov. 

Remuneration Response Times and Requirements

Section 2(f) - Under the RRB's regulations (20 CFR 340.16), an employer paying remuneration 

for time lost, including guarantee pay, must remit the amount of reimbursement due under 

section 2(f) within 30 days of the date of the payment of the remuneration. The following 

information is always needed in order to determine the amounts due under section 2(f):

• the employee’s name and social security number,

• the amount of the payment,

• the time period covered by a guarantee payment, and

• the exact days paid in a pay for time lost claim.

Section 12(o) - When an employer makes a settlement or must satisfy a final judgment based on 

an injury for which the employee received benefits, the RRB's regulations (20 CFR 341.6) 

provide that the employer must notify the RRB in writing of the settlement or judgment. The 

notice must be made within 5 days of the date of the settlement or judgment, and include:

• the employee’s name and social security number,

• the amount of the settlement or judgment,

• the date of settlement or final judgment, and

• the amount withheld from the settlement or judgment to satisfy the RRB's lien.

Remittances and Employer’s Contribution Rates

An employer's experience rated contribution rate is based on benefit charges, expenses and 

credits. In determining the contribution rate, employers are charged for each claim paid to their 

employees. We notify the employer of every claim paid via Form ID-4E. Likewise, we credit the 

employer if we recover the benefits for any reason. We calculate the net benefits paid to the 

employees and the amount of RUIA contributions paid by the employer and these elements are 

main components used to determine the employer’s RUIA contribution rate.

It is, therefore, extremely important for employers to respond to RRB notices so as to prevent 

erroneous payments from being released and to receive credit for reimbursement of benefits that 

have been recovered. 
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In order to ensure remittances are properly credited, be sure to include the following information 

on the check or on the remittance document: 

• Your payor code,

• The billing document ID number, and

• Whether the remittance is for reimbursement of unemployment (UI) or sickness (SI) 

benefits.

Your payor code and the billing document ID number will be shown on the RRB's response to 

your Form ID-3S or Form ID-3U if you indicated on the form that the employee's claim has been 

settled. Payor codes and billing document ID numbers are also shown on your billing statements 

issued by the RRB. NOTE: Requests made through ERSNet will receive a response via ERSNet.

If you do not know your payor code or the billing document ID number, then show on your 

remittance the employee's name, the employee's social security number, and the date of the 

injury or the period of time for which reimbursement is being made. 

Employers sending remittances before a debt is established may cause discrepancies and cause 

the employer’s contribution rate, most notably the benefit charge, to increase because of the 

delay in matching the payment to the beneficiary. To avoid not receiving timely credit to the

RUIA account because of unapplied remittances:

1. Request debt information from the RRB through either Form ID-3S, Request for Lien 

Information - Report of Settlement, or Form ID-3U, Request for Section 2(f) Information. 

While the preferred method of submission is via ERSNet, forms may be faxed to the 

RRB’s Sickness and Unemployment Benefits Section (SUBS) at (312) 751-7185.

2. Wait for the designated contact official of your company to receive an email notification 

from Pay.gov when bill(s) are available to view and pay. The email will have an 

embedded link that will take you directly to the Pay.gov Application Login screen.

Remittances to the RRB for recoverable RUIA debts should be made through Pay.gov. Pay.gov 

was launched by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service in October 

2000, to allow individuals, states and businesses to make non-tax related payments to federal 

government agencies using the internet. Pay.gov satisfies agency and agency customer demands 

for a secure electronic payment alternative as well as the ability to make and monitor payments 

and collections online 24 hours-a-day. Payments entered on Pay.gov can be made using a U.S.-

held bank account (through ACH Debit), a debit card, or with a digital wallet, such as PayPal or 

Amazon Pay.

You may access Pay.gov through www.RRB.gov (see Figure 1 on the next page). 
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Figure 1

Once on the Pay.gov home page (see Figure 2), payments for debts owed to the RRB can be 

made by searching for the agency’s name and then using either of the forms listed below (see 

Figure 3 on the next page):

• “Employer’s Payment of Unemployment Contributions” form for Railroad 

Unemployment Insurance contributions.

• “RRB Unemployment Sickness Debt Collection” form for 12(o) and 2(f) debts.

Figure 2
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Figure 3

Employers not currently registered to make online payments for 2(f) & 12(o) debts or RUIA 

contributions on Pay.gov should contact the RRB’s Bureau of Fiscal Operations at (312) 751-

4668 to acquire a user name and password for the system. Bills will be active on Pay.gov for 45 

days from the issue date. Bills unpaid after 45 days from the issue date are deactivated. Once 

bills have been deactivated, employers should contact the RRB’s Debt Recovery Section at (312)

751-4848 to obtain the current balance of their bill as charges may have been assessed on your

original debt. A deactivated bill may be reissued through Pay.gov after deactivation, however, 

bills reissued after deactivation are due within 7 days. All payments must be made as a single 
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payment for a single individual. Payments may not be made for multiple individuals on one 

payment. 

Although every effort is made to credit remittances for 2(f) and 12(o) debts to the correct 

account, if a remittance cannot be properly matched with the RRB’s accounts receivable, a 

second billing notice may be issued on the debt via Pay.gov. If you receive notice of a debt after 

submitting a reimbursement, please show the date and the amount of your remittance on the 

second notice and return a copy of the notice to the RRB.

Interest Charges 

The RRB charges interest and assesses penalties on delinquent debts. The regulations of the RRB 

(20 CFR 340.16 (b)) require that railroad employers and other parties paying any sum or 

damages for personal injury reimburse the RRB for amounts due under section 12(o) of the 

RUIA within 30 days of the date of settlement. The RRB's notice of the lien amount is the initial 

notice of the amount due upon settlement. Billing statements are issued when the RRB is notified 

of a settlement. Amounts due under section 12(o) are due within 30 days of the settlement date.

Interest begins to accrue on the outstanding principal amount of a debt on the day of the final 

settlement or judgment and is charged to the delinquent account 30 days later. Thereafter, 

interest is charged every 30 days until the debt is paid in full. Interest is calculated according to 

the following formula:

[(Interest Rate times Interest Days times Principle) divided by Days in the Year (365)].

Accounts receivable under section 12(o) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act are 

subject to interest at an annual rate determined by the U.S. Treasury Department. Accounts 

receivable under section 2(f) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act are subject to interest 

in the same manner as unpaid employer contributions under section 8(g) of the RUIA. Section 

8(g) provides for the assessment of interest at the rate of 1 percent per month, or fraction thereof, 

from the due date until paid. The annual interest rate applied to debts incurred under section 2(f) 

is 12 percent. The rate is shown on all section 2(f) billing statements. 

Penalty Charges 

Debts remaining unpaid by the collection due date (30 days after the date of the billing 

statement) are considered delinquent. Debts which are delinquent for 90 days incur a penalty 

calculated at a rate of 6 percent per year assessed on the principal balance of the debt. Penalty 

charges continue to be assessed every 30 days until the debt is paid in full. Penalties are 

calculated using the following formula:

[(Penalty Rate times Penalty Days times Principle) divided by Days in the Year (365)].

Cancelling Billing Statements and Refund Procedures

Occasionally, the RRB receives premature information that a settlement has been made and a 

billing statement is prepared on the basis of that information. If you receive a billing statement 
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on a case that has not yet been settled, contact our Sickness and Unemployment Benefits Section 

immediately by telephone or fax. The telephone number is (312) 751-4825. The billing 

document will be cancelled and your account will be adjusted accordingly. 

Under certain circumstances, railroads are entitled to refunds of amounts remitted to the RRB. 

Refunds of amounts that were improperly paid or are no longer due the RRB can be obtained by 

writing to U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, Bureau of Fiscal Operations - Debt Recovery 

Section, 844 N. Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-1275. Give the name and social security

number of the individual for whom an incorrect remittance was made, the amount to be refunded 

and the reason for the refund request. 

Railroad employers cannot take credit for overpaid amounts on remittances that are due on other 

employee accounts. Refunds of amounts incorrectly paid can only be obtained by writing to the 

Bureau of Fiscal Operations - Debt Recovery Section.

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