Delays in Receiving and Investing Taxes Are Reducing Railroad Retirement Program Interest Income
HRD-81-112
Published: Sep 24, 1981. Publicly Released: Sep 24, 1981.
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Highlights
GAO had previously determined that the Railroad Retirement Board could earn a significant amount of extra interest income for its retirement program if railroad employers were required to make more frequent deposits of retirement tax contributions and if such contributions were transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the Board in a more time-saving manner. The additional income would result from the tax contributions being available to the Board for earlier investment.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Treasury | The Secretary of the Treasury should direct IRS to require railroad employers to deposit railroad retirement taxes as frequently as nonrailroad employers are required to deposit social security taxes. |
Closed
GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation.
|
| Department of the Treasury | The Secretary of the Treasury and the Railroad Retirement Board should examine the causes of delay in transferring railroad retirement tax deposits from Treasury to the Railroad Retirement Account, identify what alternatives exist for prompt transfer of railroad retirement taxes to the Account, and decide the best way to insure that the Account will earn interest on the taxes as soon as they have been deposited with Treasury. |
Closed
GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation.
|
| Railroad Retirement Board | The Secretary of the Treasury and the Railroad Retirement Board should examine the causes of delay in transferring railroad retirement tax deposits from Treasury to the Railroad Retirement Account, identify what alternatives exist for prompt transfer of railroad retirement taxes to the Account, and decide the best way to insure that the Account will earn interest on the taxes as soon as they have been deposited with Treasury. |
Closed
GAO has no information on the actions taken in response to this recommendation.
|
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Employee retirement plansInterest ratesInvestment planningRailroad industryTaxesRailroadsRailroad retirementSocial security taxesPayroll recordsIncome taxes