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the occurrence of events which would affect the benefits payable by the other agency.

This program brought about a significant expansion in the number of individuals policed for disqualifying events. However, it was incomplete in that it did not cover any beneficiary who did not have a social security account number of his own reflected in Board records. To close this gap, questionnaires were released to beneficiaries with no SSA number. The Board then furnished the Social Security Administration with identifying data derived from the questionnaires to have the information included in SSA's National Employee Index File. Completion of this project in 1966 will make it possible for SSA to notify the Board if any RRB beneficiary is issued a social security number in the future. Also, SSA will notify the Board if any of the RRB beneficiaries file a social security application where eligibility is on the basis of some other person's wage records.

The requirements for the investigation of the eligibility of beneficiaries to continue to receive benefits are as follows:

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Man-years for policing are expected to increase to 42.4 in 1966 because of nonrecurring work relating to the further expansion of the policing program. Then, man-years for 1967 are expected to decrease to 40.8, which is necessarily higher than the 37.6 man-years expended in 1965 because of the greater number of cases disclosed that will require investigation and adjustment.

The introduction of electronic processes into the policing program has resulted in a very sharp rise in productivity, if measured by relating the man-years expended to the number of cases subject to verification under the policing program. This expanded policing program, of course, is producing large savings to the trust fund. The tape exchange program has disclosed overpayments of $7.6 million to date. More important, the expanded program reduces hardship to beneficiaries, because disqualifying events now are disclosed sooner, preventing large accumulations of overpayments for subsequent collection,

4. Hearings and appeals

Individuals whose claims for annuities or benefits are disallowed or who dispute the award have the right to appeal to the Board's appeals council and subsequently to the Board itself, prior to the judicial review afforded by section 11 of the Railroad Retirement Act.

The workloads and the man-year requirements for this activity are as follows:

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There is little change in man-year requirements for this activity in the years under comparison.

5. Actuarial services

This activity includes the work of preparing actuarial valuations of assets and liabilities of the railroad retirement system as required by law; preparing projections, cost estimates, and other reports relating to the existing benefit program as well as proposed amendments to either the Railroad Retirement Act or the Social Security Act; and conducting studies for the financial interchange with the social security system. These latter studies determine the amounts for transfer between the social security trust funds and the railroad retirement account to place each trust fund in the same position in which it would have been if employment under the Railroad Retirement Act after December 31, 1936,

had been employment under the Social Security Act from that date. The importance of these studies, which are required annually, can best be realized from the fact that hundreds of millions of dollars are involved in the financial interchanges.

The files of statistical data compiled for analytical and actuarial purposes also have great administrative value. They have been used to give rapid effect to changes in benefits under amendments and to identify those beneficiaries who come under the several policing programs. The savings accruing to the Board over the years from these files have been very great.

Requirements for this activity were 23.1 man years in 1965 and are estimated to be the same in 1966 and 1967.

6. Administration

This activity embraces the functions of executive direction and general administration, including activities such as personnel, fiscal property management, budgeting, administrative planning and control, and other similar activties.

The Board expects to decrease manpower required for general administration from 97.8 man-years in 1965 to 97 in 1966 and 95 man-years in 1967.

Statement of man-year requirements by activities related to work loads to reflect man-year productivity, fiscal years 1965, 1966, and

1967

Activity

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Basic work measurement

1965

1967

1965

1966

Actual, Estimate, Estimate, Actual, Estimate, Estimate, Actual, Estimate, Estimate, 1966 1967 1966

1965

1967

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Comparative statement of obligations by object, fiscal years, 1965, 1966, and 1967

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1 Includes proposed supplemental of $225,000 for pay costs.

2 Represents proposed additional supplemental of $850,000 for costs created by 1965 amendments to Social: Security and Railroad Retirement Acts.

JUSTIFICATION OF OBLIGATIONS BY OBJECT

Justifications are given below of the requirements for each type of expense listed in the preceding table, except personal services. Personal services are justified on a man-year basis in the preceding section.

Personnel benefits

Costs of personnel benefits were $590,000 in 1965 and are expected to increase to $628,000 in 1966, including $13,000 to be financed by a supplemental appropriation, and $629,000 in 1967. These amounts are related to the planned levels of employment and prevailing pay rates for the years under comparison.

Travel

An analysis of the costs of travel for fiscal years 1965, 1966, and 1967 follows:

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The Board expects to be able to reduce regular travel costs for headquarters and field personnel from $227,000 in 1965 to $221,000 in 1966 and $215,000 in 1967. These reductions will offset in part two new elements of travel expense described below.

First, Board field personnel will resume in 1966 the program of conducting information conferences for representatives of railway labor organizations. The purposes of these conferences is to give railroad employees a detailed understanding of the railroad retirement and unemployment insurance programs. The conferences were suspended in 1965 because of the legislation then pending in Congress which was recently enacted and which affected so extensively the individuals covered by the Railroad Retirement Act. The resumption of those conferences will require $6,000 for travel cost in 1966 and 1967.

Second, the new hospital and medical insurance programs for administration by the Board made it necessary to conduct a series of training meetings for field office managers and to perform other special travel at a cost of $15,000. This amount is included in the Board's request for a supplemental appropriation for fiscal year 1966.

Transportation of things

Costs for transportation of things were $8,000 in 1965 and are expected to be the same in 1966 and 1967.

Communication services

Communication costs were $104,000 in 1965 and are expected to increase to $127,000 in 1966 and 1967. The increase in costs results principally from an increase in amounts billed by the General Services Administration as the Board's pro rata share of the costs of operating the Federal Telecommunications System. Postage costs

Postage costs for fiscal years 1965, 1966, and 1967 are as follows:

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No change is expected in postage requirements for regular operations from 1965 to 1966 and 1967.

Amendment operations will increase postage costs by $125,000 in 1966 because of the large volume of mailings required in the administration of the hospital and medical insurance programs for railroad retirement beneficiaries. This amount is to be financed by a supplemental appropriation for 1966.

Postage requirements for amendment operations decrease substantially to $14 000 in 1967, because mass enrollment mailings in 1966 do not project into 1967.

Rent and maintenance of buildings

Costs for rent and maintenance of buildings for 1965, 1966, and 1967 are as follows:

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Maintenance costs of the headquarters building are expected to increase from $343,000 in 1965 to $372,000 in 1966 and 1967, based on estimates developed by the General Services Administration. The General Services Administration

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