Privacy Act of 1974; New and Revised Systems of Records

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

Privacy Act of 1974; New and Revised Systems of Records

AGENCY:

Railroad Retirement Board.

ACTION:

Notice: Publication of New and Revised Systems of Records and Standard Disclosures.

SUMMARY:

The purpose of this document is to republish and update all existing systems of records in their entirety, to change the name of one system of records and to publish three new systems of records.

DATES:

These changes become effective as proposed without further notice on September 24, 2010. We will file a report of these Systems of Records Notices with the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives; and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

ADDRESSES:

Send comments to Beatrice Ezerski, Secretary to the Board, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Timothy Grant, Chief Privacy Officer, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092; telephone 312-751-4869, or e-mail at

tim.grant@rrb.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Three new systems of records are included in this notice: RRB-56, Employee Service and Railroad Employer Coverage Determination Files, RRB-57, Employee Emergency Notification System and RRB-58, Employee Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).

We are changing the name of one system of records: RRB-19, Payroll & Cost Accounting System, is being renamed “Transit Benefit Program Records System.” The RRB transferred all pay operations over to the General Services Administration (GSA) National Payroll Center in June 2004. The RRB now only manages payroll deductions for employee transit benefits.

All other existing systems of records have been generally updated for names, titles and other minor changes as a result of the periodic system of records review and to correct inaccuracies in the last privacy issuances by the Government Printing Office. Concerning safeguarding and disposal of all systems of records, the RRB follows Federal Law and Regulations, the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) guidelines and best practices, as appropriate. Also, the routine uses in each system of records have been updated to reflect the establishment of RRB standard disclosures.

By Authority of the Board.

Beatrice Ezerski,

Secretary to the Board.

Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) Systems of Records

RRB-1

Social Security Benefit Vouchering System

RRB-2

[Reserved]

RRB-3

Medicare, Part B

RRB-4

Estimated Annuity, Total Compensation and Residual Amount File

RRB-5

Master File of Railroad Employees' Creditable Compensation

RRB-6

Unemployment Insurance Record File

RRB-7

Applications for Unemployment Benefits and Placement Service Under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act

RRB-8

Railroad Retirement Tax Reconciliation System (Employee Representatives)

RRB-9

[Reserved]

RRB-10

Legal Opinion and Correspondence Files

RRB-11

Files on Concluded Litigation

RRB-12

Railroad Employees' Registration File

RRB-13-15

[Reserved]

RRB-16

Social Security Administration Master Earnings File

RRB-17

Appeal Decisions from Initial Denials for Benefits Under the Provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act

RRB-18

Miscellaneous Payments Posted to General Ledger

RRB-19

(Renamed) Transit Benefit Program Records System

RRB-20

Health Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance Enrollment and Premium Payment System (Medicare)

RRB-21

Railroad Unemployment and Sickness Insurance Benefit System

RRB-22

Railroad Retirement, Survivor, and Pensioner Benefit System

RRB-23-25

[Reserved]

RRB-26

Payment, Rate and Entitlement History File

RRB-27

Railroad Retirement Board-Social Security Administration Financial Interchange

RRB-28

[Reserved]

RRB-29

Railroad Employees' Annual Gross Earnings Master File

RRB-30-32

[Reserved]

RRB-33

Federal Employee Incentive Awards System

RRB-34

Employee Personnel Management Files

RRB-35

[Reserved]

RRB-36

Complaint, Grievance, Disciplinary and Adverse Action Files

RRB-37-41

[Reserved]

RRB-42

Overpayment Accounts

RRB-43

Investigation Files

RRB-44-45

[Reserved]

RRB-46

Personnel Security Files

RRB-47

[Reserved]

RRB-48

Physical Access Management System

RRB-49

Telephone Call Detail Records

RRB-50

Child Care Tuition Assistance Program

RRB-51

Railroad Retirement Board's Customer PIN/Password (PPW) Master File System

RRB-52

Board Orders

RRB-53

Employee Medical and Eye Examination Reimbursement Program

RRB-54

Virtual Private Network (VPN) Access Management

RRB-55

Contact Log

RRB-56

New—Employee Service and Railroad Employer Coverage Determination Files

RRB-57

New—Employee Emergency Notification System

RRB-58

New—Employee Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)

Prefatory Statement Concerning RRB Standard Disclosures

Beside those disclosures provided under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of The Privacy Act which pertain generally to all of the RRB systems of records, the RRB implemented in their 2007

Federal Register

notice, certain standard disclosures which apply to all systems of records, unless specifically excluded in a system notice. These standard disclosures are in addition to the particular routine uses listed under each system of records, as follows:

Standard Disclosure 1.—

Congressional

. Disclosure may be made to a congressional office from the record of an individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional office made at the request of that individual if that individual would not be denied access to the information.

Standard Disclosure 2.—

Presidential

. Disclosure of relevant information from the record of an individual may be made to the Office of the President in response to an inquiry from that office made at the request of that individual or a third party on the individual's behalf if that individual would not be denied access to the information.

Standard Disclosure 3.—

Contractors working for Federal Government

. Disclosure may be made to contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, students, and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative agreement, or other assignment for the Federal government, to the extent necessary to accomplish an RRB function related to that system of records.

Standard Disclosure 4.—

Law Enforcement

. Disclosure may be made to the appropriate agency, whether Federal, State, local, or foreign, charged with the responsibility of investigating, enforcing, or prosecuting a violation or potential violation of law, whether civil, criminal or regulatory in nature, and whether arising by general statute or particular program statute, or by regulation, rule or order issued pursuant thereto, or charged with enforcing or implementing the statute, rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto, if the disclosure would be to an agency engaged in functions related to the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, or if disclosure would be clearly in the furtherance of the interest of the subject individual.

Standard Disclosure 5.—

Breach Notification

. Disclosure may be made, to appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) The Railroad Retirement Board suspects or has confirmed that the security or confidentiality of information in the system of records has been compromised; (2) the Railroad Retirement Board has determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether maintained by the Railroad Retirement Board or another agency or entity) that rely upon the compromised information; and (3) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection with the Railroad Retirement Board's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.

Standard Disclosure 6.—

National Archives

. Disclosure may be made to the National Archives and Records Administration or other Federal government agencies for records management inspections being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

Standard Disclosure 7.—

Attorney Representative

. Disclosure of non-medical information in this system of records may be made to the attorney representing such individual upon receipt of a written letter or declaration stating the fact of representation, if that individual would not be denied access to the information. Medical information may be released to an attorney when such records are requested for the purpose of contesting a determination either administratively or judicially.

RRB-1

SYSTEM NAME:

Social Security Benefit Vouchering System.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Applicants after December 31, 1974, for benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act who have completed ten years or at least five years after 1995 of creditable service in the railroad industry, the spouse and/or divorced spouse or survivor of such an individual.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Name, address, Social Security number, RRB claim number, type and amount of benefit, suspension and termination information.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(b)(2) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(2)).

PURPOSE(S):

Records in the Social Security Vouchering System are maintained to administer Title II of the Social Security Act with respect to payment of benefits to individuals with 10 or more years or at least five years after 1995 of railroad service and their families.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Benefit rate information may be disclosed to primary beneficiaries regarding secondary beneficiaries (or vice versa) when the addition of such beneficiary affects either the entitlement or benefit payment.

b. In the event the Board has determined to designate a person to be the representative payee of an incompetent beneficiary, disclosure of information concerning the benefit amount and other similar information may be made to the representative payee from the record of the individual.

c. Benefit rates, names and addresses may be released to the Department of Treasury to control for reclamation and return of outstanding benefit payments, to issue benefit payments, act on reports of non-receipt, to insure delivery of payments to the correct address of the beneficiary or representative payee or to proper financial organization, and to investigate alleged forgery, theft or unlawful negotiation of railroad retirement for social security benefit checks or improper diversion of payments directed to a financial organization.

d. Beneficiary's name, address, check rate and date plus supporting evidence may be released to the U.S. Postal Service for investigation of alleged forgery or theft of railroad retirement or social security benefit checks.

e. Beneficiary identifying information, effective date, benefit rates, and months paid may be furnished to the Veterans Administration for the purpose of assisting that agency in determining eligibility for benefits or verifying continued entitlement to and the correct amount of benefits payable under programs which it administers.

f. Benefit rates and effective dates may be disclosed to the Social Security Administration, Bureau of Supplemental Security Income, to Federal, State and local welfare or public aid agencies to assist them in processing applications for benefits under their respective programs.

g. Last addresses information may be disclosed to the Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the Parent Locator Service.

h. Benefit rates, entitlement and other necessary information may be released to the Department of Labor in conjunction with payment of benefits under the Federal Coal Mine and Safety Act.

i. Pursuant to a request from an employer covered by the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act or from an organization under contract to an employer or employers, information regarding the Board's payment of benefits, the methods by which such benefits are calculated, entitlement data and present address may be released to the requesting employer or the organization under contract to the employer or employers for the purposes of determining entitlement to and the rates of private supplemental pension benefits and to calculate estimated benefits due.

j. If a request for information pertaining to an individual is made by an official of a labor organization of which the individual is a member and the request is made on behalf of the individual, information from the record of the individual concerning his benefit or anticipated benefit and concerning the method of calculating that benefit may be disclosed to the labor organization official.

k. Records may be disclosed to the Government Accountability Office for auditing purposes and for collection of debts arising from overpayments under Title II of the Social Security Act, as amended.

l. Records may be disclosed in a court proceeding relating to any claims for benefits by the beneficiary under the Railroad Retirement Act and may be disclosed during the course of an administrative appeal to individuals who need the records to prosecute or decide the appeal or to individuals who are requested to provide information relative to an issue involved in the appeal.

m. For payments made after December 31, 1983, beneficiary identifying information, address, amounts of benefits paid and repaid, beneficiary withholding instructions, and amounts withheld by the RRB for tax purposes may be furnished to the Internal Revenue Service for tax administration.

n. Beneficiary identifying information, entitlement data, and benefit rates may be released to the Department of State and embassy and consular officials, to the American Institute on Taiwan, and to the Veterans Administration Regional Office, Philippines, to aid in insuring the continued payment of beneficiaries living abroad.

o. Entitlement data and benefit rates may be released to any court, state, agency, or interested party, or to the representative of such court, state agency, or interested party, in connection with contemplated or actual legal or administrative proceeding concerning domestic relations and support matters.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper, microforms, magnetic tape and magnetic disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Social Security account number, full name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Paper and Microforms:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24-hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

Magnetic tape and magnetic disk:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role-based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Paper:

Individual claim folders with records of all actions pertaining to the payment of claims are transferred to the Federal Records Center, Chicago, Illinois, 5 years after the date of last payment or denial activity if all benefits have been paid, no future eligibility is apparent and no erroneous payments are outstanding.

The claim folder is destroyed 25 years after the date it is received in the center. Accounts receivable listings and checkwriting operations daily activity listings are transferred to the Federal Records Center 1 year after date of issue and are destroyed 6 years and 3 months after receipt at the center. Other paper listings are destroyed 1 year after the date of issue. Changes of address source documents are destroyed after 1 year.

Microforms:

Originals are kept for 3 years, transferred to the Federal Records Center and destroyed when 8 years old. One duplicate copy is kept 2 years and destroyed by shredding. All other duplicate copies are kept 1 year and destroyed in accordance with NIST guidelines.

Magnetic tape:

Tapes are updated at least monthly. For disaster recovery purposes, certain tapes are stored for 12-18-month periods.

Magnetic disk:

Continually updated and permanently retained. When magnetic disk or other electronic media is no longer servicable, it is sanitized in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Office of Programs—Director of Policy and Systems, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's records should be in writing, including full name, Social Security number and railroad retirement claim number (if any) of the individual. Before any information about any record will be released, the individual may be required to provide proof of identity, or authorization from the individual to permit release of information. Such requests should be sent to: Office of Programs—Director of Operations, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Individual applicant or his or her authorized representative, the Social Security Administration, other record systems maintained by the Railroad Retirement Board.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-2 [Reserved]

RRB-3

SYSTEM NAME:

Medicare: Part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance Payment System—Contracted to Palmetto Government Benefits Administrators).

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Main Office: Palmetto Government Benefit Administrators, 17 Technology Circle, Columbia, South Carolina 29203-9591;

Regional Office: P.O. Box 10066, Augusta, Georgia 30999.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Qualified railroad retirement beneficiaries covered by Medicare, Part B, who file claims under the medical insurance program.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Name, health insurance claim number, address, date of birth, telephone number, description of illness and treatment pertaining to claim, indication of other health insurance or medical assistance pertinent to claim, date(s) and place(s) of physician service, description of medical procedures, services or supplies furnished, nature of illness(es), medical charges, name, address and telephone of physician, identifying number of provider, designation of payee, Part B entitlement date, Part B deductible status and amount of payment to beneficiary or payee.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(d) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(d)).

PURPOSE(S):

Records in this system are maintained to administer the supplementary medical insurance (Part B) portion of Medicare under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act for qualified railroad retirement beneficiaries.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. In the event the Board has determined to designate a person to be the representative payee of an incompetent beneficiary, disclosure of information concerning the benefit amount and other similar information may be made to the representative payee from the record of the individual.

b. Information regarding payments and deductibles may be released to the Department of Health and Human Services for use in administering Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, as amended, and to establish, audit, and maintain account and vouchering records.

c. Records may be disclosed in a court proceeding relating to any claims for benefits under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act and may be disclosed during the course of an administrative appeal hearing to individuals who need the records to prosecute or decide the appeal or to individuals who are requested to provide information relative to an issue involved in the appeal.

d. Records may be disclosed to the General Accountability Office for auditing purposes and for collection of debts arising from overpayments under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act.

e. Pursuant to a request from an employer covered by the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, information regarding the status of a qualified railroad retirement beneficiary's enrollment in Medicare and premium payment status may be released to the requesting employer for the purposes of coordinating employee supplemental welfare benefits.

f. If a request for information pertaining to an individual is made by an official of a labor organization of which the individual is a member and the request is made on behalf of the individual, information from the record of the individual concerning his or her entitlement and premium status may be disclosed to the labor organization official.

g. Information may be furnished to the U.S. Postal Service and to State and local police authorities for investigation of the loss, theft, and/or forgery of Medicare checks.

h. Information may be furnished to the State licensing boards for review of unethical practices or nonprofessional conduct. When such information has been disclosed to a State licensing board, it may also be disclosed when requested to State agencies investigating such conduct under Titles V and XIX of the Social Security Act and to the TRICARE (Military Health Care System) organization and to TRICARE contractors that are not also Medicare contractors.

i. General guidelines dealing with length of stay, diagnosis and other criteria used in the claims process to establish the basis for payment may be disclosed to the requester. Information regarding physicians' prevailing or customary charges may be furnished.

j. The following general types of information may be disclosed to Title XIX agencies (to a state agency or to a carrier acting for a State agency charged with administration of a program under Title XIX): Physician, other practitioner and supplier identification numbers, and charges of physicians or other practitioners or suppliers for services furnished to beneficiaries.

k. Information on such matters as entitlement, benefit payment, or benefit utilization relating to an individual may be disclosed to any State agency or to a carrier acting for a State agency charged with the administration of a program under Title XIX. Note: Disclosure to State agencies administering other Federal grants-in-aid programs requires the authorization of the beneficiary or his/her legal representative.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper, microforms, magnetic tape and magnetic disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Health insurance claim number, name.

SAFEGUARDS:

The insurance company is bound by the contract set forth by the Railroad Retirement Board which contains specific instruction regarding its responsibility in claim information handled and released, and by guidance and procedures issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). It is also bound by the same regulations regarding disclosure and security of information as the Board itself.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Records are maintained by the insurance company office for 27 months. At the end of 27 months the material is sent to the storage areas maintained by the insurance company. Records are retained and stored in accordance with guidelines issued by CMS.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Office of Programs—Director of Policy and Systems, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing, including the full name, Social Security number and railroad retirement claim (if any) of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the individual may be required to provide proof of identity, or authorization from the individual to permit release of information. Such requests should be sent to: Office of Programs—Director of Operations, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Claimant, his/her authorized representative or his/her survivors, the Social Security Administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and its contractors, physicians, and hospitals.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-4

SYSTEM NAME:

Estimated Annuity, Total Compensation and Residual Amount File.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Railroad employees who never filed an application for an annuity, have not been reported to be deceased and who either worked in the current reporting year or have at least 120 months of creditable railroad service or have at least 60 months of creditable railroad service after 1995.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

For employees with less than 120 months of creditable railroad service, or less than 60 months of creditable railroad service after 1995: Social Security Number (SSN), name, date of birth, sex, cumulative service, cumulative tier 1 compensation, daily pay rate, employer number, gross residual, year last worked, number and pattern of months worked in year last worked, tier 1 compensation for year last worked, tier 2 compensation for year last worked. For railroad employees with 120 or more months of creditable railroad service and for employees with at least 60 months of creditable railroad service after 1995; all of the above information plus estimated annuity data and SSA data.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(b)(6) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(6)).

PURPOSE(S):

The primary purpose of the system is to provide field offices with the capability of furnishing annuity estimates to prospective beneficiaries. The system is also used by field offices to provide temporary annuity rates that the Division of Operations may issue to applicants for employee and spouse benefits.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Entitlement information may be disclosed to primary beneficiaries regarding secondary beneficiaries (or vice versa) when the addition of such beneficiary affects either the entitlement or benefit payment.

b. Pursuant to a request from an employer covered by the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, information regarding the Board's estimated payment of unemployment, sickness or retirement benefits, the methods by which such benefits are calculated and entitlement data may be released to the requesting employer for the purposes of determining entitlement to and the rates of private supplemental pensions, sickness or unemployment benefits and to calculate estimated benefits due.

c. If a request for information pertaining to an individual is made by an official of a labor organization of which the individual is a member and the request is made on behalf of the individual, information from the record of the individual concerning his anticipated benefit and concerning the method of calculating that benefit may be disclosed to the labor organization official.

d. Annuity estimates may be released to any court, state agency, or interested party, or the representative of such court, state agency, or interested party, in connection with contemplated or actual legal or administrative proceeding concerning domestic relations and support matters.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

On-line mainframe system.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Social Security number.

SAFEGUARDS:

Magnetic tape and magnetic disk:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

A maximum of three sets of records (the current and prior two sets) are maintained on-line with the oldest set purged when a new set is produced. When magnetic disk or other electronic media is no longer required or servicable, it is sanitized in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Office of Programs—Director of Policy and Systems, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Request for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing, including the full name, Social Security number and railroad retirement claim number (if any) of the individual. Before

information about any record will be released, the individual may be required to provide proof of identity, authorization from the individual to permit release of information. Such requests should be sent to: Office of Programs—Director of Operations, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Information which is secured from the original master records is made available to all authorized headquarters and field service users.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-5

SYSTEM NAME:

Master File of Creditable Service and Compensation of Railroad Employees.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

All individuals with creditable service under the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Name, Social Security number, RRB claim number, annuity beginning date, date of birth, sex, last employer identification number, amount of daily payrate, separation allowance or severance payment, creditable service and compensation after 1937, home address, and date of death.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(b)(6) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(6)) and section 12(l) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 362(l)).

PURPOSE(S):

The purpose of this system is to store railroad earnings of railroad employees which are used to determine entitlement to and amount of benefits payable under the Railroad Retirement Act, the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act and the Social Security Act, if applicable. The records are updated daily based on earnings reports received from railroad employers and the Social Security Administration and are stored in the Employment Data Maintenance Application database and the Separation Allowance Lump Sum Award (SALSA) Master File.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Records may be transferred to the Social Security Administration to correlate disability freeze actions and in the cases where the railroad employees do not acquire 120 creditable service months before retirement or death or have no current connection with the railroad industry, to enable SSA to credit the employee with the compensation and to pay or deny benefits.

b. Yearly service months, cumulative service months, yearly creditable compensation, and cumulative creditable compensation may be released to the employees directly or through their respective employer.

c. Service months and earnings may be released to employers or former employers for correcting or reconstructing earnings records for railroad employees.

d. Employee identification and potential entitlement may be furnished to the Social Security Administration, Bureau of Supplemental Security Income, to Federal, State, and local welfare or public aid agencies to assist them in processing application for benefits under their respective programs.

e. Employee identification and other pertinent information may be released to the Department of Labor in conjunction with payment of benefits under the Federal Coal Mine and Safety Act.

f. The last employer information may be disclosed to the Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the Parent Locator Service.

g. Pursuant to a request from an employer covered by the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, information, regarding the employee's potential eligibility for unemployment, sickness or retirement benefits may be released to the requesting employer for the purpose of determining entitlement to and the rates of private supplemental pension, sickness or unemployment benefits and to calculate estimated benefits due from the employer.

h. If a request for information pertaining to an individual is made by an official of a labor organization of which the individual is a member and the request is made on behalf of the individual, information from the record of the individual concerning his anticipated benefit may be disclosed to the labor organization official.

i. Records may be disclosed in a court proceeding relating to any claims for benefits by the beneficiary under the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act and may be disclosed during the course of an administrative appeal to individuals who need the records to prosecute or decide the appeal or to individuals who are requested to provide information relative to an issue involved in the appeal.

j. All records may be disclosed to the Social Security Administration for purposes of administration of the Social Security Act.

k. Service and compensation and last employer information may be furnished, upon request, to state agencies operating unemployment or sickness insurance programs for the purposes of their administering such programs.

l. The name, address and gender of a railroad worker may be released to a Member of Congress when the Member requests it in order that he or she may communicate with the worker about legislation which affects the railroad retirement or railroad unemployment and sickness insurance program.

m. The service history of an employee (such as whether the employee had service before a certain date and whether the employee had at least a given number of years of service) may be disclosed to AMTRAK when such information would be needed by AMTRAK to make a determination whether to award a travel pass to either the employee or the employee's widow.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper, Magnetic tape and Magnetic disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Social Security number, claim number and name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Paper:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit

television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

Magnetic tape and magnetic disk:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Paper:

Retained five years and destroyed in accordance with NIST guidelines. Previous years ledger put in storage when current year ledger is complete.

Magnetic tape:

Magnetic tape records are retained for 90 days and then written over following NIST guidelines. For disaster recovery purposes certain tapes are stored 12-18 months.

Magnetic disk:

Continually updated and permanently retained. When magnetic disk or other electronic media is no longer servicable, it is sanitized in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Office of Programs—Director of Policy and Systems, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing, including the full name, Social Security number and railroad retirement claim number (if any) of the individual. Before any information about any record will be released, the individual may be required to provide proof of identity, or authorization from the individual to permit release of information. Such requests should be sent to: Office of Programs—Assessment & Training, Chief of Employer Service and Training Center, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Railroad employer.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-6

SYSTEM NAME:

Unemployment Insurance Record File.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

District Offices: See Appendix I for addresses.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Claimants for unemployment benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act and their respective employers.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Development file containing letters from claimants, report of Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act fraud investigations and supporting evidence, erroneous payment investigations, protest and appeal requests and responses.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 12(l) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 362(l))

PURPOSE(S):

This system of records is used for filing general information about applicants for RUIA benefits. If an applicant files for UI benefits, some of the information in this file will be also placed in the claimants UI file.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Beneficiary identifying information may be released to third party contacts to determine if incapacity of the beneficiary or potential beneficiary to understand or use benefits exists, and to determine the suitability of a proposed representative payee.

b. Benefit rate, name and address may be referred to the Treasury Department to control for reclamation and return of outstanding benefit checks, to issue benefit checks, reconcile reports of non-delivery, and to insure delivery of payments to the correct address or account of the beneficiary or representative payee.

c. Beneficiary's name, address, payment rate, date and number, plus supporting evidence may be released to the U.S. Postal Service for investigation of alleged forgery or theft of railroad unemployment or sickness benefit payments.

d. Identifying information such as full name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, employee identification number, and date last worked, may be released to any last employer to verify entitlement for benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

e. Pursuant to a request from an employer covered by the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, information regarding the Board's payment of unemployment or sickness benefits, the methods by which such benefits are calculated, entitlement data and present address may be released to the requesting employer for the purposes of determining entitlement to and rates of private supplemental pension, sickness or unemployment benefits and to calculate estimated benefits due.

f. Benefit rates and effective dates may be released to the Social Security Administration, Bureau of Supplemental Security Income, to Federal, State and local welfare or public aid agencies to assist them in processing applications for benefits under their respective programs.

g. In the event the Board has determined to designate a person to be the representative payee of an incompetent beneficiary, disclosure of information concerning the benefit amount and other similar information may be made to the representative payee from the record of the individual.

h. Records may be disclosed to the General Accountability Office for auditing purposes and for collection of debts arising from overpayments under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, as amended.

i. The last addresses and employer information may be disclosed to the Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the Parent Locator Service.

j. If a request for information pertaining to an individual is made by an official of a labor organization of which the individual is a member and the request is made on behalf of the individual, information from the record of the individual concerning this benefit or anticipated benefit may be disclosed to the labor organization official.

k. Records may be disclosed in a court proceeding relating to any claims for benefits by the beneficiary under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act and may be disclosed during the course of an administrative appeal to individuals who need the records to prosecute or decide the appeal or to individuals who are requested to

provide information relative to an issue involved in the appeal.

l. Beneficiary identifying and claim period information may be furnished to states for the purpose of their notifying the RRB whether claimants were paid state unemployment or sickness benefits and also whether wages were reported for them. For claimants that a state identifies as having received state unemployment benefits, RRB benefit information may be furnished the state for the purpose of recovery of the amount of the duplicate payments which is made.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper

RETRIEVABILITY:

Name, Social Security number.

SAFEGUARDS:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in steel filing cabinets and are available only to authorized district office and regional office personnel. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Maintained for five years after end of benefit year in which originated, then destroyed in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Office of Programs—Director of Policy and Systems, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2052.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's records should be in writing, including full name, Social Security number, and railroad retirement claim number (if any) of the individual. Before any information about any record will be released, the individual may be required to provide proof of identity or authorization from the individual to permit release of information. Such requests should be sent to: Office of Programs—Director of Operations, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Individual claimant or his authorized representative, employers, State employment and unemployment claims records, Federal, and Social Security Administration employer compensation reports.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-7

SYSTEM NAME:

Applications for Unemployment Benefits and Placement Service under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

District and Regional Offices: See Appendix I for addresses.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Individuals who have applied for unemployment benefits and employment service.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Name, address, account number, age, sex, education, employer, occupation, rate of pay, reason not working and last date worked, personal interview record, results of investigations.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 12(l) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 362(l)).

PURPOSE(S):

The purpose of this system of records is to be used as an individual's UI file. The records contained in the file are pertinent to the individual's claim for unemployment benefits under the RUIA.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Selected information may be disclosed to prospective employers for potential job placement.

b. In the event the Board has determined to designate a person to be the representative payee of an incompetent beneficiary, disclosure of information concerning the benefit amount and other similar information may be made to the representative payee from the record of the individual.

c. Beneficiary identification and entitlement information may be released to third party contacts to determine if incapacity of the beneficiary or potential beneficiary to understand or use benefits exists, and to determine the suitability of a proposed representative payee.

d. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to a Federal agency, in response to its request, in connection with the hiring or retention of an employee, the issuance of a security clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an employee, the letting of a contract, or the issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit by the requesting agency, to the extent that the information is relevant and necessary to the requesting agency's decision on the matter, provided that disclosure would be clearly in the furtherance of the interest of the subject individual.

e. Beneficiary identification, entitlement, and benefit rate information may be released to the Treasury Department to control for reclamation and return of outstanding benefit payments, to issue benefit payments, reconcile reports of non-delivery and to insure delivery of payments to the correct address or account of the beneficiary or representative payee.

f. Information may be referred to the U.S. Postal Service for investigation of alleged forgery or theft of railroad unemployment or sickness benefit checks.

g. Beneficiary identification, entitlement, and benefit rate information may be released to the Social Security Administration, Bureau of Supplemental Security Income, to Federal, State, and local welfare or public aid agencies to assist them in processing applications for benefits under their respective programs.

h. The last addresses and employer information may be disclosed to Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the Parent Locator Service.

i. Records may be disclosed to the General Accountability Office for auditing purposes and for collection of debts arising from overpayments under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, as amended.

j. Identifying information such as full name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, employee identification number, and date last worked, may be released to any last employer to verify entitlement for benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

k. Pursuant to a request from an employer covered by the Railroad

Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, information regarding the Board's payment of unemployment or sickness benefits, the methods by which such benefits are calculated, entitlement data and present address will be released to the requesting employer for the purposes of determining entitlement to and rates of private supplemental pension, sickness or unemployment benefits and to calculate estimated benefits due.

l. If a request for information pertaining to an individual is made by an official of a labor organization of which the individual is a member and the request is made on behalf of the individual information from the record of the individual concerning his benefit or anticipated benefit and concerning the method of calculating that benefit may be disclosed to the labor organization official.

m. Records may be disclosed in a court proceeding relating to any claims for benefits by the beneficiary under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act and may be disclosed during the course of an administrative appeal to individuals who need the records to prosecute or decide the appeal or to individuals who are requested to provide information relative to an issue involved in the appeal.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper, Magnetic Tape and Magnetic Disk

RETRIEVABILITY:

Social Security number.

SAFEGUARDS:

Paper:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

Magnetic tape and magnetic disk:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

In routine cases, held for three years after end of benefit year in which originated. In those with adverse activities (claims denied), held for five years after end of benefit year in which originated. At end of both periods, files are destroyed in accordance with NIST guidance.

Magnetic tape:

Magnetic tape records are retained for 90 days and then written over following NIST guidelines. For disaster recovery purposes certain tapes are stored 12-18 months.

Magnetic disk:

Retained for at least seven, but no later than ten years after the close of the benefit year. When magnetic disk or other electronic media is no longer required or serviceable, it is sanitized in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Office of Programs—Director of Policy and Systems, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing, including the full name, Social Security number and railroad retirement claim number (if any) of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the individual may be required to provide proof of identity, or authorization from the individual to permit release of information. Such requests should be sent to: Office of Programs—Director of Operations, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Individual applicant or his authorized representative, present and former employers, State and Federal departments of employment security, Social Security Administration and labor organizations.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-8

SYSTEM NAME:

Railroad Retirement Tax Reconciliation System (Employee Representatives).

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Railroad employee representatives covered under the Railroad Retirement Act.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Form CT-2 Employee Representative's Quarterly Railroad Tax Return.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 15 of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231n).

PURPOSE(S):

The purpose of this system is to ensure that the earnings of employee representatives reported to the Internal Revenue Service for tax purposes agree with earnings reported to the RRB for benefit payment purposes.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Earnings information may be released to the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department to refund excess taxes.

b. Records may be disclosed to the Government Accountability Office for auditing purposes.

c. Earnings information may be released to employers or former employers for correcting or reconstructing earnings records for railroad retirement, supplemental or unemployment/sickness employment tax purposes only, not to be construed as an extension of the statutory time limitation to amend such records.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Employee's representatives' quarterly tax returns and tax reporting reconciliation file are retained for 6 years and 3 months after the period covered by the records and then are destroyed by shredding in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing addressed to the System Manager identified above, including the full name and Social Security number. Before information about any record is released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Railroad tax reports, creditable and taxable compensation.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-9 [Reserved]

RRB-10

SYSTEM NAME:

Legal Opinion and Correspondence Files.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Applicants for benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

The files include a copy of the question submitted to the legal department for an opinion and a copy of the response released. Responses may be a formal legal opinion, a letter, or a memorandum. There may be copies of any correspondence between the agency and the individual or his/her employer concerning the question presented.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(b)(6) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(6)) and section 12(l) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 362(l)).

PURPOSE(S):

The RRB needs to collect and maintain information contained in this system of records in order to make decisions regarding the claims for benefits of individuals under various Acts administered by the RRB.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Access to files is restricted to RRB attorneys and other authorized Board employees. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Opinions of precedential interest or otherwise of lasting significance, and correspondence related to these opinions are retained permanently. Opinions of limited significance beyond the particular case, and correspondence related to these opinions, are retained in the individual's claim folder, if any, established under the Railroad Retirement Act. When no folder exists, these opinions, are destroyed by shredding 2 years after the date of the last action taken by the Bureau of Law on the matter. Destruction is performed in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

General Counsel, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing addressed to the System Manager identified above, including the full name, Social Security number and claim number of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

The subject person's authorized representative, other record systems maintained by the Railroad Retirement Board, employers.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-11

SYSTEM NAME:

Files on Concluded Litigation.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Railroad employees, retired railroad employees, and individuals with some creditable railroad service who are involved in litigation in which the Railroad Retirement Board has some interest as a party or otherwise.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Legal briefs, reports on legal or factual issues involving copies of subpoenas which may have been issued, copies of any motions filed, transcripts of any depositions taken, garnishment process, correspondence received and copies of any correspondence released by the

Board pertaining to the case, copies of any court rulings, and copies of the final decision in the case.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(b)(6) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(6)) and section 12(l) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 362(l)).

PURPOSE(S):

The RRB needs to collect and maintain records of concluded litigation to which the RRB was a party.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Access to files is restricted to RRB attorneys and other authorized Board employees. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Files relating to cases of precedential interest are retained permanently. Files of cases involving routine matters, other than garnishments, are retained for 5 years after the case is closed, then shredded. Files relating to garnishment of benefits are retained until 2 years after the date garnishment terminates, then destroyed. Destruction is performed in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

General Counsel, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing addressed to the System Manager identified above, including the full name and Social Security number and claim number of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

The individual himself or his authorized representative, other record systems maintained by the Railroad Retirement Board, employers, the Social Security Administration.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-12

SYSTEM NAME:

Railroad Employees' Registration File.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Individuals who had any employment for a railroad employer after 1936 who were assigned Social Security Numbers beginning with 700 through 728. (Use of the registration form was discontinued January 1, 1981.)

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Railroad employee's name, address, Social Security number, date of birth, place of birth, mother's and father's names, sex, occupation and employer.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(b)(6) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(6)).

PURPOSE(S):

The purpose of the system is to provide information on railroad employees who completed Carrier Employee Registration forms (CER-1) to apply for a Social Security number (SSN). The information on these CER-1 forms was available only at the Railroad Retirement Board.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Records which consist of name, date and place of birth, Social Security number, and parents' names may be disclosed to the Social Security Administration to verify Social Security number and date of birth.

b. Records may be disclosed in a court proceeding relating to any claims for benefits by the beneficiary under the Railroad Retirement Act, or Unemployment Insurance Act and may be disclosed during the course of an administrative appeal to individuals who need the records to prosecute or decide the appeal or to individuals who are requested to provide information relative to an issue involved in the appeal.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Microfiche.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Social Security number.

SAFEGUARDS:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Permanent retention.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Office of Programs—Director of Policy and Systems, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing addressed to the System Manager identified above, including the full name and Social Security number and claim number of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Railroad employee and employer.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-13-15 [Reserved]

RRB-16

SYSTEM NAME:

Social Security Administration Master Earnings File.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Employees who have at least 48 creditable service months under the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) or who attain eligibility for RRA benefits when military service is included as creditable railroad service.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Social Security account number, name, date of birth, gender, Social Security claim status, details of earnings and periods of employment that are creditable under the Social Security Act for years after 1936.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(b)(6) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231(b)(6))

PURPOSE(S):

The purpose of this system of records is to have Social Security Act earnings information available to RRB benefit programs for determinations related to RRA benefit entitlement and amount. The records are stored in the Employment Data Maintenance database.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

Internal RRB Use.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Mainframe computer database.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Social Security account number and name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Updates are made to database weekly using files transmitted to RRB from SSA over encrypted, exclusively leased telephone lines.

Magnetic tape:

Magnetic tape records are retained for 90 days and then written over following NIST guidelines. For disaster recovery purposes certain tapes are stored 12-18 months.

Magnetic disk:

Continually updated and permanently retained. When magnetic disk or other electronic media is no longer required or servicable, it is sanitized in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Office of Programs—Director of Policy and Systems, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing, including the full name, Social Security number and railroad retirement claim number(if any) of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the individual may be required to provide proof of identity, or authorization from the individual to permit release of information. Such requests should be sent to: Office of Programs—Assessment and Training, Chief of Employer Service and Training Center, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Social Security Administration.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-17

SYSTEM NAME:

Appeal Decisions from Initial Denials for Benefits Under the Provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Appellants under the provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Narrative of the facts and law pertinent to the decision made by the Hearings Officer.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(b)(6) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(6); sec. 12(l) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 362(l)).

PURPOSE(S):

Maintain copies of appeals decisions issued by the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. If a request for information pertaining to an individual is made by an official of a labor organization of which the individual is a member and the request is made on behalf of the individual, information from the record of the individual concerning his benefit or anticipated benefit and concerning the method of calculating that benefit may be disclosed to the labor organization official.

b. Records may be disclosed in a court proceeding relating to any claims for benefits by the beneficiary under the Railroad Retirement Act and may be disclosed during the course of an administrative appeal to individuals who need the records to prosecute or decide the appeal or to individuals who are requested to provide information relative to an issue involved in the appeal.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Claim number or Social Security number, Bureau of Hearings and Appeals appeal number, or Bureau of Hearings and Appeal decision number.

SAFEGUARDS:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

The decisions are retained for a period of 2 years and then destroyed by shredding in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Assistant General Counsel/Director of Hearings and Appeals, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing addressed to the System Manager identified above, including the full name and Social Security number and claim number of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Information furnished by the appellant or his/her authorized representative, information developed by the hearings officer relevant to the appeal, and information contained in other record systems maintained by the Railroad Retirement Board.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-18

SYSTEM NAME:

Miscellaneous Payments paid/posted to the General Ledger by FFS

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Railroad Retirement Board employees.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Travel vouchers, miscellaneous reimbursement vouchers.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(b)(6) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(6)) and Section 12(l) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 362(l)).

PURPOSE(S):

The system is used to pay the operating expenses of the agency and reimbursements as needed to employees. Payment is made to vendors for goods and services. Employees are reimbursed for expenses related to the performance of their jobs. Payments are made within Federal limits and applicable guidelines.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Identifying information and check amount may be released to the Treasury Department to issue checks.

b. Records may be disclosed to the General Accountability Office for auditing purposes.

c. Identifying information, check number, date and amount may be released to the U.S. Postal Service for investigation of alleged forgery or theft of reimbursement checks.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper, Magnetic tape and Magnetic disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Paper:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

Magnetic tape and magnetic disk:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Paper.

Retain at headquarters for two years then transferred to National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Great Lakes Federal Records Center. The General Services Administration will destroy the records when authorized by the Government Accountability Office.

Magnetic tape:

Magnetic tape records are retained for 90 days and then written over following NIST guidelines. For disaster recovery purposes certain tapes are stored 12-18 months.

Magnetic disk:

Continually updated and permanently retained. When magnetic disk or other electronic media is no longer required or servicable, it is sanitized in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing addressed to the System Manager identified above, including the full name and Social Security number and claim number of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Employees travel records, memoranda from bureau directors and office heads. Form G-409 Request for Reimbursement of Commuting Expenses and Form G-753 Application for Reimbursement of Medical and/or Eye Examination Fees.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-19

SYSTEM NAME:

Transit Benefit Program Records System.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Railroad Retirement Board employees.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Supporting documentation relating to participation in the agency's transit benefit program.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

5 U.S.C. 301, 1302; 26 U.S.C. 132(f); and Executive Order 9397.

PURPOSE(S):

The purpose of this system is to maintain employee data related to eligibility and participation in the agency's transit benefit program.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

Transit benefit program documentation may be furnished to the Internal Revenue Service for tax administration purposes.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Information released only at employee's request or to approved federal authorities. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Retained for three years and then destroyed by shredding in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing addressed to the System Manager identified above, including the full name and Social Security number of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Form G-409 Railroad Retirement Board Request for Reimbursement of Commuting Expenses and Form G-410, Railroad Retirement Board Transportation Benefit Program Application.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-20

SYSTEM NAME:

Health Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance Enrollment and Premium Payment System (MEDICARE).

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611. District and Regional Offices: See Appendix I for addresses.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Qualified Railroad Retirement beneficiaries who are eligible for Medicare coverage, attending physicians, chiropractors and physical therapists.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Claim number, Social Security number, name, address, type of beneficiary under the Railroad Retirement Act, date of birth, method of Supplementary Medical Insurance premium payment, enrollment status, amount of premium, paid-thru date, third party premium payment information, coverage jurisdiction determination, direct premium billing and premium refund accounting, correspondence from beneficiaries, physicians suspected of over-utilization and those suspended from payment by Medicare.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(d) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(d)).

PURPOSE(S):

Records in this system are maintained to administer Title XVIII of the Social Security Act for qualified railroad retirement beneficiaries.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Beneficiary identification, enrollment status and premium deductions information may be released to the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to correlate actions with the administration of Title II and Title XVIII (MEDICARE) of the Social Security Act.

b. Beneficiary identification may be disclosed to third party contacts to determine if incapacity of the beneficiary or potential beneficiary to understand or use benefits exists, and to determine the suitability of a proposed representative payee.

c. In the event the Board has determined to designate a person to be the representative payee of an incompetent beneficiary, disclosure of information concerning the benefit amount and other similar information may be made from the record of the individual to the representative payee.

d. Data may be disclosed to Department of Health and Human Services for reimbursement for work done under reimbursement provisions of Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, as amended.

e. Jurisdictional clearance, premium rates, coverage election, paid-through date, and amounts of payments in arrears may be released to the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to assist those agencies in administering Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, as amended.

f. Beneficiary identifying information, date of birth, sex, premium rate paid thru date, and Medicare Part A and Part B entitlement date/end date may be disclosed to effect state buy-in and third party premium payments.

g. Payment data may be disclosed to consultants to determine reasonable charges for hospital insurance payments in Canada.

h. Entitlement data may be disclosed to primary beneficiaries regarding secondary beneficiaries (or vice versa) when the addition of such beneficiary affects entitlement.

i. Beneficiary last address information may be disclosed to Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the Parent Locator Service.

j. Beneficiary identification, entitlement data and rate information may be released to the Department of State and embassy officials, to the American Institute on Taiwan, and to the Veterans Administration Regional Office, Philippines, to aid in the development of applications, supporting evidence and the continued eligibility of beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries living abroad.

k. Records may be released to the General Accountability Office for auditing purposes and for collection of debts arising from overpayments under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, as amended.

l. Pursuant to a request from an employer covered by the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, or from an insurance company acting as an agent of an employer, information regarding the RRB's determination of Medicare entitlement, entitlement data, and present address may be released to the requesting employer or insurance company acting as its agent for the purposes of either determining entitlement to and rates of supplemental benefits under private employer welfare benefit plans or complying with requirements of law covering the Medicare program.

m. If a request for information pertaining to an individual is made by an official of a labor organization of which the individual is a member and the request is made on behalf of the individual, information from the record of the individual concerning his or her entitlement to Medicare may be disclosed to the labor organization official.

n. Records may be disclosed in a court proceeding relating to any claims for benefits by the beneficiary under the Railroad Retirement Act, or Social Security Act and may be disclosed during the course of an administrative appeal to individuals who need the records to prosecute or decide the appeal or to individuals who are requested to provide information relative to an issue involved in the appeal.

o. Information may be disclosed to the Department of the Treasury for the purpose of investigating alleged forgery or theft of Medicare reimbursement checks.

p. Information may be disclosed to the U.S. Postal Service for investigating alleged forgery or theft of Medicare checks.

q. Identifying information about Medicare-entitled beneficiaries who may be working may be disclosed to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the purposes of determining whether Medicare should be the secondary payer of benefits for such individuals.

r. Whether a qualified railroad retirement beneficiary is enrolled in Medicare Part A or Part B, and if so, the effective date(s) of such enrollment may be disclosed to a legitimate health care provider, in response to its request, when such information is needed to verify Medicare enrollment.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper, Microfilm, Optical, Magnetic tape and Magnetic disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Claim number, Social Security number, full name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Paper, Microforms and Optical:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinents. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

Magnetic tape and disks:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Paper:

Computer printouts, including daily and monthly statistics, premium payment listings, state-buy-in listings and voucher listings are kept for 2 years, transferred to the Federal Records Center, and destroyed when 5 years old. Other copies of computer printouts are maintained for 1 year, then shredded. Applications material in individual claim folders with records of all actions pertaining to the payment or denial or claims are transferred to the Federal Record Center, Chicago, Illinois 5 years after the date of last payment or denial activity if all benefits have been paid, no future eligibility is apparent and no erroneous payments are outstanding. The claim folder is destroyed 25 years after the date it is received in the center. Destruction is in accordance with NIST guidelines.

Microfilm and Optical Media:

Originals are kept for 3 years, transferred to the Federal Records Center and destroyed 3 years and 3 months after receipt at the center. One copy is kept 3 years then destroyed when 6 months old or no longer needed for administrative use, whichever is sooner. Destruction is in accordance with NIST guidelines.

Magnetic tape:

Records are retained for 90 days and then written over following NIST guidelines. For disaster recovery purposes certain tapes are stored 12-18 months.

Magnetic disk:

Continually updated and retained for at least 7 but not more than 10 years after the close of the benefit year. When magnetic disk or other electronic media is no longer required or servicable, it is sanitized in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Office of Programs—Director of Policy and Systems, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's records should be in writing, including the full name, Social Security number and railroad retirement claim number (if any) of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the individual may be required to provide proof of identity, or authorization from the individual to permit release of information. Such

requests should be sent to: Office of Programs—Director of Operations, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Applicant (the qualified railroad beneficiary), his/her representative, Social Security Administration, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Palmetto Government Benefits Administrators, Federal, State or local agencies, their party premium payers, all other Railroad Retirement Board files, physicians.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-21

SYSTEM NAME:

Railroad Unemployment and Sickness Insurance Benefit System.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

Regional and District Offices: See Appendix I for addresses.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Applicants and claimants for unemployment and sickness (including maternity) benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act: Some railroad employees injured at work who did not apply for Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act benefits; all railroad employees paid separation allowances.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Information pertaining to payment or denial of an individual's claim for benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act: Name, address, sex, Social Security number, date of birth, total months of railroad service (including creditable military service), total creditable compensation for base year, last employer and date last worked before applying for benefits, last rate of pay in base year, reason not working, applications and claims filed, benefit information for each claim filed, disqualification periods and reasons for disqualification, entitlement to benefits under other laws, benefit recovery information about personal injury claims and pay for time not worked, medical reports, placement data, correspondence and telephone inquiries to and about the claimant, record of protest or appeal by claimant of adverse determinations made on his claims.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 12(l) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 351,

et seq.

).

PURPOSE(S):

The purpose of this system of records is to carry out the function of collecting and storing information in order to administer the benefit program under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Beneficiary identifying information may be disclosed to third party contacts to determine if incapacity of the beneficiary or potential beneficiary to understand or use benefits exists, and to determine the suitability of a proposed representative payee.

b. In the event the Board has determined to designate a person to be the representative payee of an incompetent beneficiary, disclosure of information concerning the benefit amount and other similar information may be made to the representative payee from the record of the individual.

c. Beneficiary identifying information, address, check rate, date and number may be released to the Treasury Department to control for reclamation and return outstanding benefit payments, to issue benefit payments, respond to reports of non-delivery and to insure delivery of check to the correct address or account of the beneficiary or representative payee.

d. Beneficiary identifying information, address, payment rate, date and number, plus other necessary supporting evidence may be released to the U.S. Postal Service for investigation of alleged forgery or theft of railroad unemployment/sickness benefit payments.

e. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to a Federal agency, in response to its request, in connection with the hiring or retention of an employee, the issuance of a security clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an employee, the letting of a contract, the issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit by the requesting agency, to the extent that the information is relevant and necessary to the requesting agency's decision in the matter, provided that disclosure would be clearly in the furtherance of the interest of the subject individual.

f. Under Section 2(f), the Railroad Retirement Board has the right to recover benefits paid to an employee who later receives remuneration for the same period, therefore, the Railroad Retirement Board may notify the person or company paying the remuneration of the Board's right to recovery and the amount of benefits to be refunded.

g. Under Section 12(o), the Railroad Retirement Board is entitled to reimbursement of sickness benefits paid on account of the infirmity for which damages are paid, consequently, the Railroad Retirement Board may send a notice of lien to the liable party, and, upon request by the liable party, advise the amount of benefits subject to reimbursement.

h. Beneficiary identifying information, rate and entitlement data may be released to the Social Security Administration to correlate actions with the administration of the Social Security Act.

i. The last addresses and employer information may be released to Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the Parent Locator Service.

j. Benefit rate, entitlement and periods paid may be disclosed to the Social Security Administration, Bureau of Supplemental Security Income to federal, state and local welfare or public aid agencies to assist them in processing applications for benefits under their respective programs.

k. Beneficiary identifying information, entitlement, rate and other pertinent data may be released to the Department of Labor in conjunction with payment of benefits under the Federal Coal Mine and Safety Act.

l. Records may be referred to the General Accountability Office for auditing purposes and for collection of debts arising from overpayments under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

m. If a request for information pertaining to an individual is made by an official of a labor organization, of which the individual is a member, information from the record of the individual concerning his benefit or anticipated benefit and concerning the method of calculating that benefit may be disclosed to the labor organization official.

n. Pursuant to a request from an employer covered by the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, or from an organization under contract to an employer or employers, information regarding the Board's payment of

unemployment or sickness benefits, the methods by which such benefits are calculated, entitlement data and present address may be released to the requesting employer or the organization under contract to an employer or employers for the purposes of determining entitlement to and rates of private supplemental pension, sickness or unemployment benefits and to calculate estimated benefits due.

o. Records may be disclosed in a court proceeding relating to any claims for benefits by the beneficiary under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act and may be disclosed during the course of an administrative appeal to individuals who need the records to prosecute or decide the appeal or to individuals who are requested to provide information relative to an issue involved in the appeal.

p. Beneficiary identifying information, entitlement data, benefit rates and periods paid may be released to the Veterans Administration to verify continued entitlement to benefits.

q. Identifying information such as full name, Social Security number, employee identification number, date last worked, occupation, and location last worked may be released to any last employer to verify entitlement for benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

r. The amount of unemployment benefits paid, if 10 dollars or more in a calendar year, and claimant identifying information, may be furnished to the Internal Revenue Service for tax administration purposes.

s. The name and address of a claimant may be released to a Member of Congress when the Member requests it in order that he or she may communicate with the claimant about legislation which affects the railroad unemployment insurance system.

t. Beneficiary identifying and claim period information may be furnished to states for the purposes of their notifying the RRB whether claimants were paid state unemployment or sickness benefits and also whether wages were reported for them. For claimants that a state identifies as having received state unemployment or sickness benefits, RRB benefit information may be furnished the state for the purpose of recovery of the amount of the duplicate payments which is made.

u. The amount of each sickness benefit that is subject to a tier 1 railroad retirement tax and the amount of the tier 1 tax withheld may be disclosed to the claimant's last railroad employer to enable that employer to compute its tax liability under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act.

v. The amount of sickness benefits paid and claimant identifying information, except for sickness benefits paid for an on-the-job injury, may be furnished to the Internal Revenue Service for tax administration purposes.

w. Entitlement data and benefit rates may be released to any court, state agency, or interested party, or to the representative of such court, state agency, or interested party in connection with contemplated or actual legal or administrative proceedings concerning domestic relations and support matters.

x. Identifying information and information about a claim for benefits filed may be disclosed to an employee's base-year railroad employer and the employee's most recent railroad employee's most recent railroad employer, if different, in order to afford that employer or those employers the opportunity to submit information concerning the claim. In addition, after the claim has been paid, if the base-year railroad employer appeals the decision awarding benefits, all information regarding the claim may be disclosed to such base-year railroad employer that is necessary and appropriate for it to fully exercise its rights of appeal.

y. Non-medical information relating to the determination of sickness benefits may be disclosed to an insurance company administering a medical insurance program for railroad workers for purposes of determining entitlement to benefits under that program.

z. Scrambled Social Security number and complete home address information of unemployment claimants may be furnished to the Bureau of Labor Statistics for use in its Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper, microforms, magnetic tape, magnetic disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Social Security number (claim number) and name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Paper and Microforms:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

Magnetic tape and disks:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Paper and microform:

Destroyed by shredding in accordance with NIST standards, no sooner than 7 years and no later than 10 years after the close of the benefit year.

Magnetic tape:

Records are retained for 90 days and then written over following NIST guidelines. For disaster recovery purposes certain tapes are stored 12-18 months.

Magnetic disk:

Continually updated and retained for at least 7 but not more than 10 years after the close of the benefit year. When magnetic disk or other electronic media is no longer required or servicable, it is sanitized in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Office of Programs—Director of Policy and Systems, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing, including the full name, Social Security number and railroad retirement claim number (if any) of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the individual may be required to provide proof of identity, or authorization from the individual to permit release of information. Such requests should be sent to: Office of Programs—Director of Operations, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Applicant, claimant or his or her representative, physicians, employers,

labor organizations, federal, state, and local government agencies, all Railroad Retirement Board files, insurance companies, attorneys, Congressmen, liable parties (in personal injury cases), funeral homes and survivors (for payment of death benefits).

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-22

SYSTEM NAME:

Railroad Retirement, Survivor, and Pensioner Benefit System.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611 Regional and District Offices: See Appendix I for addresses.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Applicants for retirement and survivor benefits, their dependents (spouses, divorced spouses, children, parents, grandchildren), individuals who filed for lump-sum death benefits and/or residual payments.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Information pertaining to the payment or denial of an individual's claim for benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act: Name, address, Social Security number, claim number, proofs of age, marriage, relationship, military service, creditable earnings and service months (including military service), entitlement to benefits under the Social Security Act, programs administered by the Veterans Administration, or other benefit systems, rates, effective dates, medical reports, correspondence and telephone inquiries to and about the beneficiary, suspension and termination dates, health insurance effective date, option, premium rate and deduction, direct deposit data, employer pension information, citizenship status and legal residency status (for annuitants living outside the United States), and tax withholding information (instructions of annuitants regarding number of exemptions claimed and additional amounts to be withheld, as well as actual amounts withheld for tax purposes).

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(b)(6) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (U.S.C. 231f(b)(6)).

PURPOSE(S):

Records in this system of records are maintained to administer the benefit provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act, sections of the Internal Revenue Code related to the taxation of railroad retirement benefits, and Title XVIII of the Social Security Act as it pertains to Medicare coverage for railroad retirement beneficiaries.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Beneficiary identifying information may be disclosed to third party contacts to determine if incapacity of the beneficiary or potential beneficiary to understand or use benefits exists, and to determine the suitability of a proposed representative payee.

b. In the event the Board has determined to designate a person to be the representative payee of an incompetent beneficiary, disclosure of information concerning the benefit amount and other similar information may be made to the representative payee from the record of the individual.

c. Entitlement and benefit rates may be released to primary beneficiaries regarding secondary beneficiaries (or vice versa) when the addition of such beneficiary affects either the entitlement or benefit payment.

d. Identifying information such as full name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, employee identification number, and date last worked, may be released to any last employer to verify entitlement for benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act.

e. Beneficiary identifying information, address, check rates, number and date may be released to the Department of the Treasury to control for reclamation and return of outstanding benefit payments, to issue benefit payments, act on report of non-receipt, to insure delivery of payments to the correct address of the beneficiary or representative payee or to the proper financial organization, and to investigate alleged forgery, theft or unlawful negotiation of railroad retirement benefit checks or improper diversion of payments directed to a financial organization.

f. Beneficiary identifying information, address, check rate, date, number and other supporting evidence may be released to the U.S. Postal Service for investigation of alleged forgery or theft of railroad retirement or Social Security benefit checks.

g. Beneficiary identifying information, entitlement data, medical evidence and related evaluatory data and benefit rate may be released to the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to correlate actions with the administration of Title II and Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, as amended.

h. Beneficiary identifying information, including Social Security account number, and supplemental annuity amounts may be released to the Internal Revenue Service, State and local taxing authorities for tax purposes (Form G-1099, for those annuitants receiving supplemental annuities).

i. Beneficiary identifying information, entitlement, benefit rates, medical evidence and related evaluatory data, and months paid may be furnished to the Veterans Administration for the purpose of assisting that agency in determining eligibility for benefits or verifying continued entitlement to and the correct amount of benefits payable under programs which it administers.

j. Beneficiary identifying information, entitlement data and benefit rates may be released to the Department of State and embassy and consular officials, the American Institute on Taiwan, and to the Veterans Administration Regional Office, Philippines, to aid in the development of applications, supporting evidence, and the continued eligibility of beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries living abroad.

k. Beneficiary identifying information, entitlement, benefit rates and months paid may be released to the Social Security Administration (Bureau of Supplemental Security Income) the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to federal, state and local welfare or public aid agencies to assist them in processing applications for benefits under their respective programs.

l. The last addresses and employer information may be released to the Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the Parent Locator Service.

m. Beneficiary identifying information, entitlement, rate and other pertinent data may be released to the Department of Labor in conjunction with payment of benefits under the Federal Coal Mine and Safety Act.

n. Medical evidence may be released to Board-appointed medical examiners to carry out their functions.

o. Information obtained in the administration of Title XVIII (Medicare) which may indicate unethical or unprofessional conduct of a physician or practitioner providing services to beneficiaries may be released to Professional Standards Review Organizations and State Licensing Boards.

p. Information necessary to study the relationship between benefits paid by the Railroad Retirement Board and civil service annuities may be released to the Office of Personnel Management.

q. Records may be disclosed to the General Accountability Office for auditing purposes and for collection of debts arising from overpayments under Title II and Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, as amended, or the Railroad Retirement Act.

r. Pursuant to a request from an employer covered by the Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, or from an organization under contract to an employer or employers, information regarding the Board's payment of retirement benefits, the methods by which such benefits are calculated, entitlement data and present address may be released to the requesting employer or the organization under contract to an employer or employers for the purposes of determining entitlement to and rates of private supplemental pension, sickness or unemployment benefits and to calculate estimated benefits due.

s. If a request for information pertaining to an individual is made by an official of a labor organization of which the individual is a member and the request is made on behalf of the individual, information from the record of the individual concerning his benefit or anticipated benefit and concerning the method of calculating that benefit may be disclosed to the labor organization official.

t. Records may be disclosed in a court proceeding relating to any claims for benefits by the beneficiary under the Railroad Retirement Act, and may be disclosed during the course of an administrative appeal to individuals who need the records to prosecute or decide the appeal or to individuals who are requested to provide information relative to an issue involved in the appeal.

u. The amount of a residual lump-sum payment and the identity of the payee may be released to the Internal Revenue Service for tax audit purposes.

v. The amount of any death benefit or annuities accrued but unpaid at death and the identity of such payee may be released to the appropriate state taxing authorities for tax assessment and auditing purposes.

w. Beneficiary identifying information, including but not limited to name, address, Social Security account number, payroll number and occupation, the fact of entitlement and benefit rate may be released to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to enable that agency to determine and pay supplemental pensions to qualified railroad retirees.

x. Medical records may be disclosed to vocational consultants in administrative proceedings.

y. Date employee filed application for annuity to the last employer under the Railroad Retirement Act for use in determining entitlement to continued major medical benefits under insurance programs negotiated with labor organizations.

z. Information regarding the determination and recovery of an overpayment made to an individual may be released to any other individual from whom any portion of the overpayment is being recovered.

aa. The name and address of an annuitant may be released to a Member of Congress when the Member requests it in order that he or she may communicate with the annuitant about legislation which affects the railroad retirement system.

bb. Certain identifying information about annuitants, such as name, Social Security number, RRB claim number, and date of birth, as well as address, year and month last worked for a railroad, last railroad occupation, application filing date, annuity beginning date, identity of last railroad employer, total months of railroad service, sex, disability onset date, disability freeze onset date, and cause and effective date of annuity termination may be furnished to insurance companies for administering group life and medical insurance plans negotiated between certain participating railroad employers and railway labor organizations.

cc. For payments made after December 31, 1983, beneficiary identifying information, address, amounts of benefits paid and repaid, beneficiary withholding instructions, and amounts withheld by the RRB for tax purposes may be furnished to the Internal Revenue Service for tax administration purposes.

dd. Last address and beneficiary identifying information may be furnished to railroad employers for the purpose of mailing railroad passes to retired employees and their families.

ee. Entitlement data and benefits rates may be released to any court, state agency, or interested party, or to the representative of such court, state agency, or interested party, in connection with contemplated or actual legal or administrative proceedings concerning domestic relations and support matters.

ff. Identifying information about annuitants and applicants may be furnished to agencies and/or companies from which such annuitants and applicants are receiving or may receive worker's compensation, public pension, or public disability benefits in order to verify the amount by which Railroad Retirement Act benefits must be reduced, where applicable.

gg. Disability annuitant identifying information may be furnished to state employment agencies for the purpose of determining whether such annuitants were employed during times they receive disability benefits.

hh. Identifying information about Medicare-entitled beneficiaries who may be working may be disclosed to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the purposes of determining whether Medicare should be the secondary payer of benefits for such individuals.

ii. Disclosure of information in claim folders is authorized for bonafide researchers doing epidemiological/mortality studies approved by the RRB who agree to record only information pertaining to deceased beneficiaries.

jj. Identifying information for beneficiaries, such as name, SSN, and date of birth, may be furnished to the Social Security Administration and to any State for the purpose of enabling the Social Security Administration or State through a computer or manual matching program to assist the RRB in identifying female beneficiaries who remarried but who may not have notified the RRB of their remarriage.

kk. An employee's date last worked, annuity filing date, annuity beginning date, and the month and year of death may be furnished to AMTRAK when such information is needed by AMTRAK to make a determination whether to award a travel pass to either the employee or the employee's widow.

ll. The employee's Social Security number may be disclosed to an individual eligible for railroad retirement benefits on the employee's earnings record when the employee's Social Security number would be contained in the railroad retirement claim number.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper, microforms, magnetic tape and magnetic disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Claim number, Social Security number and full name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Paper and Microforms:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

Magnetic tape and disks:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Paper:

Identify and transfer inactive folders to FRC periodically, Transfer to National Archives 7 years after the close of the fiscal year folders were determined to be inactive.

Electronically imaged documents:

Destroy 90 days after the date scanned into the system or after completion of the quality assurance process, whichever is later.

Magnetic tape:

Magnetic tape records are used to daily update the disk file, are retained for 90 days and then written over. For disaster recovery purposes certain tapes are stored 12-18 months.

Magnetic disk:

Continually updated and permanently retained.

Electronically imaged documents.

Destroy/delete individual claimant data 7 years after the close of the fiscal year determined to be inactive.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Office of Programs—Director of Policy and Systems, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's records should be in writing, including the full name, Social Security number and railroad retirement claim number (if any) of the individual. Before information about any records will be released, the individual may be required to provide proof of identity, or authorization from the individual to permit release of information. Such requests should be sent to: Office of Programs—Director of Operations, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Individual applicants or their representatives, railroad employers, other employers, physicians, labor organizations, federal, state and local government agencies, attorneys, funeral homes, congressmen, schools, foreign government.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-23-25 [Reserved]

RRB-26

SYSTEM NAME:

Payment, Rate and Entitlement History File.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Individuals who have received or are receiving benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act or the Social Security Act, including retired and disabled railroad employees, their qualified spouses, dependents, and survivors, and recipients of other, non-recurring benefits.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Data supporting the benefits and historical data recording the benefits paid to the above categories of individuals under the Railroad Retirement and Social Security Acts. Includes name, address, Social Security number, claim number, date of birth, dates of military service, creditable service months, amounts of benefits received under the Social Security Act, components of and final rates payable under the Railroad Retirement Act, health insurance premium deduction, direct deposit data, employer pension information and tax withholding information (actual amounts withheld for tax purposes).

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(b)(6) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(6))

PURPOSE(S):

The purpose of this system is to record in one file all data concerning payment, rate, and entitlement history for recipients of Railroad Retirement benefits.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Records may be released to the Internal Revenue Service for the purpose of their checking amounts shown on individual tax returns as pensions and annuities received under the Railroad Retirement Act.

b. Benefit data regarding persons who, it is determined, are both RRB and VA beneficiaries may be furnished to the Veterans Administration for the purpose of assisting the VA in the administration of its income dependent benefit programs.

c. Disability annuitant identifying information may be furnished to state employment agencies for the purpose of determining whether such annuitants were employed during times they receive disability benefits.

d. Identifying information about Medicare-entitled beneficiaries who may be working may be disclosed to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the purposes of determining whether Medicare should be the secondary payer of benefits for such individuals.

e. Benefit information may be furnished to state agencies for the purposes of determining entitlement or continued entitlement to state income-dependent benefits and, if entitled, to adjusting such benefits to the amount to which the individual is entitled under state law, provided the state agency furnishes identifying information for the individuals for whom it wants the RRB benefit information.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Magnetic tape and magnetic disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:

By claim number or beneficiary's Social Security number.

SAFEGUARDS:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized

personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Magnetic tape:

Magnetic tape records are retained for six months. Activity record tapes are maintained for 15 months. For disaster recovery purposes certain tapes are stored for three years. When no longer needed, they are over-written following NIST guidelines.

Magnetic disk:

Non-Generational (unique) datasets are updated and permanently retained. Generational datasets are maintained in a rolling archive as they are created with the oldest dataset being replaced by the newest one. Normal lifespan for a generational dataset is 6-8 months, at which point it is over-written. When magnetic disk or other electronic media is no longer required or servicable, it is sanitized in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Supervisory Data Manager, Bureau of Information Services, Information Resources Management Center, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing addressed to the System Manager identified above, including the full name and Social Security number and claim number of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Transmissions from the following computerized systems: Railroad Retirement Act benefit payment; Social Security benefit payment; disability rating decisions; and primary insurance amount calculations.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-27

SYSTEM NAME:

Railroad Retirement Board-Social Security Administration Financial Interchange System.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

One-percent sample of former railroad employees and members of their families who would have been eligible for Social Security benefits if railroad employment had been covered by the Social Security system.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Claim number, Social Security number, date of birth, and administrative cost and payment data on imputed and actual Social Security benefits.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(c)(2) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(c)(2))

PURPOSE(S):

The purpose of this system is to calculate benefit amounts required to determine the financial interchange transfer amounts each year.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Findings, including individual records, may be released to the Social Security Administration, determining amounts which, if added to or subtracted from the OASDI Trust Funds, would place the Social Security Administration in the position it would have been if employment covered by the Railroad Retirement Act had been covered by the Social Security and Federal Insurance Contributions Acts.

b. Information may be released to the Government Accountability Office for auditing purposes.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper, Magnetic tape and Magnetic disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Claim and Social Security account numbers.

SAFEGUARDS:

Paper:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

Magnetic tape and magnetic disk:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Retained indefinitely, except that periodically, inactive materials are sent to the Federal Records Center to be retained for ten years, then destroyed by the General Services Administration in accordance with NIST guidance.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Chief, Financial Interchange Division, Bureau of the Actuary, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing addressed to the System Manager identified above, including the full name and Social Security account number and claim number of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

The Social Security Administration and other Railroad Retirement Board files.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-28 [Reserved]

RRB-29

SYSTEM NAME:

Railroad Employees' Annual Gross Earnings Master File.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Railroad workers whose Social Security account number ends in “30”.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Gross earnings by individual by month, quarter or year.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(c)(2) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(c)(2))

PURPOSE(S):

The purpose of this system is to maintain gross earnings reports for Financial Interchange sample employees for use in the calculation of payroll tax amounts used in the financial interchange determinations.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

None.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper, Magnetic tape and Magnetic disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Social Security account number.

SAFEGUARDS:

Paper:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

Magnetic tape and magnetic disk:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Paper:

Original reports retained for six years, Final summarized file retained for five years, then destroyed in accordance with NIST guidelines.

Magnetic tape:

Magnetic tape records are retained for 90 days and then written over following NIST guidelines. For disaster recovery purposes certain tapes are stored 12-18 months.

Magnetic disk:

Original reports retained for six years, Final summarized file retained for five years, after which the data is securely erased. When magnetic disk or other electronic media is no longer required or servicable, it is sanitized in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Chief of Benefit and Employment Analysis, Bureau of the Actuary, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 N. Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing addressed to the System Manager identified above, including the full name and Social Security account number and claim number of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Railroad employers.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-30-32 [Reserved]

RRB-33

SYSTEM NAME:

Federal Employee Incentive Awards System.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Railroad Retirement Board employees who have submitted suggestions or have been nominated for awards.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Employee suggestions, special achievement awards, quality increase awards, public service awards, government-sponsored awards, performance awards, and time off awards.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Chapter 45, Title 5, U.S. Code.

PURPOSE(S):

Past suggestion and award nominations and awards presented are maintained to provide historical and statistical records.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Information may be released to the public media for public relations purposes.

b. Records may be disclosed to the General Accountability Office for auditing purposes.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper.

RETRIEVABILITY:

System indexed by number assigned when suggestion or nomination is received. Suggestions are cross-referenced by name of suggester and subject of suggestion.

SAFEGUARDS:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Denied suggestions are purged and destroyed five years after denial date in accordance with NIST guidelines. Adopted suggestions are retained permanently as are all special achievement awards, quality increase and public service awards, RRB Award for Excellence, and government-sponsored awards.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Director of Human Resources, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be in writing addressed to the System Manager identified above, including the full name and Social Security number of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Suggestion or award submitted by suggester or nominator. Suggestions submitted by employees; recommendations for award submitted by supervisory personnel.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-34

SYSTEM NAME:

Employee Personnel Management Files.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Current employees of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Name, address and phone number of the person to notify in case of emergency and personal physician; copies of SF-52, Request for Personnel Action, SF-50, Personnel Action, service computation date form, performance ratings, other awards and nominations for recognition, supervisory informal and formal written notes, memorandums, etc., relative to admonishment, caution, warnings, reprimand or similar notices, within-grade increase materials, SF-171, Employment Application, official position descriptions, task lists and performance plans, information concerning training received and seminars attended, and miscellaneous correspondence.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Section 7(b)(9) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(9)) and the Federal Personnel Manual 293-31—Subchapter S-8.

PURPOSE(S):

The system is maintained to provide information to managers and supervisors to assist in their work, and meet OPM regulations.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Records may be disclosed in a court proceeding and may be disclosed during the course of an administrative appeal to individuals who need the records to prosecute or decide the appeal or to individuals who are requested to provide information relative to an issue involved in the appeal.

b. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to a federal agency, in response to its request, in connection with the hiring or retention of an employee, the issuance of a security clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an employee, the letter of a contract, or the issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit by the requesting agency, to the extent that the information is relevant and necessary to the requesting agency's decision on the matter.

c. Information in this system of records may be released to the attorney representing such individual, upon receipt of a written letter or declaration stating the fact of representation, subject to the same procedures and regulatory prohibitions as the subject individual.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper and General Services Administration (GSA) Comprehensive Human Resources Integrated System (CHRIS) information system.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Name of employee.

SAFEGUARDS:

Paper:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems..

GSA CHRIS:

The General Services Administration (GSA) is responsible for and provides safeguards in accordance with Federal guidelines for this information system.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

The paper folder is maintained for the period of the employee's service in the agency and is then transferred to the National Personnel Records Center for storage or, to the next employing Federal agency. Other records are either retained at the agency for various lengths of time in accordance with the National Archives and Records Administration records schedules or destroyed, in accordance with NIST guidelines, when they have served their purpose or when the employee leaves the agency.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Director of Human Resources, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be addressed to the System Manager identified above, including the full name and Social Security number of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Employee, agency officials and management personnel.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-35 [Reserved]

RRB-36

SYSTEM NAME:

Complaint, Grievance, Disciplinary and Adverse Action Files.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Railroad Retirement Board employees who are the subjects of disciplinary or adverse actions or who have filed a complaint or grievance.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Information relating to proposals and decisions in cases of discipline and adverse actions; including supporting documents; information relating to grievances filed under the agency and negotiated grievance procedures, including the grievance, final decision and any evidence submitted by the employee and/or the agency in support of or contesting the grievance.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

5 U.S.C. 7503(c), 7513(e), 7543(e).

PURPOSE(S):

The purpose of this system of records is to maintain information related to grievances, disciplinary actions, and adverse actions in order to furnish information to arbitrators, EEO investigators, the Merit Systems protection Board, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and the Courts, as necessary. The information is also used for statistical purposes, as needed.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Information in this system of records may be released to the attorney representing such individual, upon receipt of a written letter or declaration stating the fact of representation, subject to the same procedures and regulatory prohibitions as the subject individual.

b. Records may be disclosed to the Merit Systems Protection Board or an arbitrator to adjudicate an appeal, complaint, or grievance.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Name of employee.

SAFEGUARDS:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Maintained for four years, then destroyed in accordance with NIST guidance.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Director of Human Resources, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's record should be addressed to the System Manager identified above and should include the name of the individual involved. Before information about any record will be released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

The Railroad Retirement Board employee, the employee's supervisor, bureau or regional director, the executive director, or the employee's representative.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-37-41 [Reserved]

RRB-42

SYSTEM NAME:

Overpayment Accounts.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Individuals or businesses who were overpaid in the salaries or benefits they received from the Railroad Retirement Board. Benefits overpaid are further delineated in the following two categories.

—Individuals or businesses overpaid the following types of annuities or benefits payable under the Railroad Retirement Act: railroad retirement, disability, supplemental, and survivor.

—Individuals overpaid unemployment or sickness insurance benefits payable under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Name, address, Social Security number, Railroad Retirement claim number, whether salary or benefit and if benefit type of benefit previously paid, amount of overpayment, debt identification number, cause of overpayment, source of overpayment, original debt amount, current balance of debt, installment repayment history, recurring accounts receivable administrative offset history, waiver, reconsideration and debt appeal status, general billing, dunning, referral, collection, and payment history, amount of interest and penalties assessed and collected, name of Federal agency to which account is referred for collection, date of such referral and amount collected.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Sec. 7(b)(6) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(6)); sec. 12(l) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 362(l)); Pub. L. 97-92, Joint Resolution; Pub. L. 97-365 (Debt Collection Act of 1982); Federal Claims Collection Act (31 U.S.C. 3701

et. seq.

); Pub. L. 104-134 (Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996), 5 U.S.C. section 5514 and 20 CFR part 361

PURPOSE(S):

The records in this system are created, monitored and maintained to enable the Railroad Retirement Board to fulfill regulatory and statutory fiduciary responsibilities to its trust funds, the individuals to whom it pays salaries or benefits and the Federal Government as directed under the Railroad Retirement Act, Railroad Unemployment Insurance

Act, Debt Collection Act of 1982, and the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996. These responsibilities include: Accurate and timely determination of debt; sending timely, accurate notice of the debt with correct repayment and rights options; taking correct and timely action when rights/appeals have been requested; assessing appropriate charges; using all appropriate collection tools, releasing required, accurate reminder notices; and correctly and timely entering all recovery, write-off and waiver offsets to debts.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Benefit overpayment amounts, history of collection actions and efforts, and personally identifiable information (name, address, Social Security number, railroad retirement claim number, etc.) may be disclosed to agencies of the Federal government for the purpose of recovering delinquent debts.

b. Federal salary overpayment amounts, history of collection actions and efforts, and personally identifiable information (name, address, Social Security number, etc.) may be disclosed to agencies of the Federal government for the purpose of recovering delinquent debts.

c. Personally identifiable information pertaining to delinquent benefit and Federal salary overpayments may be disclosed to the Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service (FMS), for the purpose of collection through cross-servicing and offset of Federal payments. FMS may disclose this personally identifiable information to other agencies to conduct computer matching programs to identify and locate delinquent debtors who are receiving Federal salaries or benefit payments. FMS may refer these delinquent accounts and disclose pertinent information to other Federal agencies and private collection agencies for the purpose of collection.

d. Personally identifiable information may be released to any Federal agency for the purpose of enabling such agency to collect debts on the RRB's behalf.

e. If a request for information pertaining to an individual is made by an official of a labor organization of which the individual is a member and the request is authorized by the individual, information from the record of the individual concerning his overpayment may be disclosed to the labor organization official.

f. Records may be disclosed to the Government Accountability Office for auditing purposes.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper, Magnetic tape, and Magnetic disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Salary overpayments are retrievable by Social Security number and name. Benefit overpayments are retrievable by Social Security number, Railroad Retirement claim number, and name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Salary overpayment records are maintained at the General Services Administration under safeguards equal to those of the Railroad Retirement Board (see GSA-PPFM-9).

Benefit overpayment records:

Paper:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Access is limited to authorized RRB employees. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

Magnetic tape and magnetic disk:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Salary overpayments are maintained at the General Services Administration and follow that agency's retention and disposal guidelines.

Benefit overpayments.

Paper

documents, with benefit overpayment data, are shredded three years after receipt. These records are identified and destroyed annually.

Magnetic tape and disk.

Maintained in an on-line database. Overpayments are removed five years after balances reach $0.00. These records are identified and removed annually. Overpayments declared uncollectible and written off are removed ten years after being so declared. Removed records are written to tape and disk. The information written is general case history, which includes cause and type of overpayment, regular recovery actions, account adjustments resulting from posting interest, charges and cash receipts. Other activity, such as reconsideration, waiver and appeal actions, and delinquent recovery actions are also included. The tapes are retained for five years and, then, made available for overwrite. There is no retention schedule for records written to disk. When magnetic disk or other electronic media is no longer required or servicable, it is sanitized in accordance with NIST guidelines.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Salary overpayments: Director, General Services Administration National Payroll Center, Attention: 6BCY, 1500 Bannister Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64131-3088.

Benefit overpayments: Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Requests for information regarding an individual's salary overpayment record should be in writing addressed to the Director, General Services Administration National Payroll Center at the address above.

Requests for information regarding an individual's or business' benefit overpayment record should be in writing addressed to the System Manager identified above, including the full name, claim number, and Social Security number of the individual. Before information about any record will be released, the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:

See Notification section above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Salary overpayments:

General Services Administration maintains RRB salary records, including records of amounts overpaid to Railroad Retirement Board employees. The RRB also maintains salary overpayment records in folders and other RRB systems of records.

Benefit overpayments:

Railroad Retirement Board beneficiaries' overpayment records are contained in claim folders, the RRB's accounts

receivable system, and other RRB systems of records.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

RRB-43

SYSTEM NAME:

Investigation Files.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Office of Inspector General, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 N Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Any of the following categories of individuals on whom a complaint is made alleging a violation of law, regulation, or rule pertinent to the administration of programs by the RRB, or, with respect to RRB employees, alleging misconduct or conflict of interest in the discharge of their official duties: Current and former employees of the Retirement Railroad Board; contractors; subcontractors; consultants, applicants for, and current and former recipients of, benefits under the programs administered by the Railroad Retirement Board; officials and agents of railroad employers; members of the public who are alleged to have stolen or unlawfully received RRB benefit or salary or assisted in such activity; and others who furnish information, products, or services to the RRB.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Letters, memoranda, and other documents alleging a violation of law, regulation or rule, or alleging misconduct, or conflict of interest; reports of investigations to resolve allegations with related exhibits, statements, affidavits or records obtained during the investigation; recommendations on actions to be taken; transcripts of, and documentation concerning requests and approval for, consensual monitoring of communications; photographs, video and audio recordings made as part of the investigation; reports from law enforcement agencies; prior criminal or noncriminal records as they relate to the investigation; reports of actions taken by management personnel regarding misconduct; reports of legal actions resulting from violations referred to the Department of Justice or other law enforcement agencies for prosecution.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Inspector General Act of 1978; Pub. L. 95-452, 5 U.S.C. App., as amended.

PURPOSE(S):

The Office of Inspector General maintains this system of records to carry out its statutory responsibilities under the Inspector General Act. These responsibilities include a mandate to investigate allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse related to the programs and operations of the RRB and to refer such matters to the Department of Justice for prosecution.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS, AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

a. Records may be disclosed to the Department of Justice or other law enforcement authorities in connection with actual or potential criminal prosecution or civil litigation initiated by the RRB, or in connection with requests by RRB for legal advice.

b. Records may be disclosed to a Federal agency which has requested information relevant or necessary to its hiring or retention of an employee or the issuance of a security clearance, provided that the subject individual is not an individual on whom the RRB has obtained information in conjunction with its administration of the Railroad Retirement Act, the Railroad Unemployment Act, the Milwaukee Railroad Restructuring Act, or the Rock Island Railroad Transition and Employee Assistance Act.

c. Records may be disclosed to members of the Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency for the preparation of reports to the President and Congress on the activities of the Inspectors General.

d. Records may be disclosed to members of the Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency, or the Department of Justice, as necessary, for the purpose of conducting qualitative assessment reviews of the investigative operations of RRB -OIG to ensure that adequate internal safeguards and management procedures are maintained.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper, Magnetic tape and Magnetic disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Name, SSN, RRB Claim Number, and assigned number, all of which are cross-referenced to the other information.

SAFEGUARDS:

General access is restricted to the Inspector General and members of his staff; disclosure within the agency is on a limited need-to-know basis.

Paper:

Maintained in areas not accessible to the public in metal filing cabinets. Offices are locked during non-business hours. Building has 24 hour on-site security officers, closed circuit television monitoring and intrusion detection systems.

Magnetic tape and magnetic disk:

Computer and computer storage rooms are restricted to authorized personnel; on-line query safeguards include a lock/unlock password system, a terminal oriented transaction matrix, role based access controls and audit trail. For electronic records, system securities are established in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, including network monitoring, defenses in-depth, incident response and forensics. In addition to the on-line query safeguards, they include encryption of all data transmitted and exclusive use of leased telephone lines.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Paper:

Retained for 10 years after the investigation has been closed. They are destroyed in accordance with NIST guidlines, in the fiscal year following the expiration of the 10-year retention period.

Magnetic tape:

Magnetic tape records are retained for 90 days and then written over following NIST guidelines. For disaster recovery purposes certain tapes are stored 12-18 months.

Magnetic disk:

Retain

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