ANNUAL RATIO PROJECTIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS BY THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD.

SEC. 108. ANNUAL RATIO PROJECTIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS BY THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD. (a) Projections.—Section 22(a)(1) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231u(a)(1)) is amended— (1) by inserting after the first sentence the following new sentence: “On or before May 1 of each year beginning in 2003, the Railroad Retirement Board shall compute its projection of the account benefits ratio and the average account benefits ratio (as defined by section 3241(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) for each of the next succeeding five fiscal years.”; and (2) by striking “the projection prepared pursuant to the preceding sentence” and inserting “the projections prepared pursuant to the preceding two sentences”. (b) Certifications.—The Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section: “computation and certification of account benefit ratios “Sec. 23. (a) Initial Computation and Certification.—On or before November 1, 2003, the Railroad Retirement Board shall— “(1) compute the account benefits ratios for each of the most recent 10 preceding fiscal years, and “(2) certify the account benefits ratios for each such fiscal year to the Secretary of the Treasury. “(b) Computations and Certifications After 2003.—On or before November 1 of each year after 2003, the Railroad Retirement Board shall— “(1) compute the account benefits ratio for the fiscal year ending in such year, and “(2) certify the account benefits ratio for such fiscal year to the Secretary of the Treasury. “(c) Definition.—As used in this section, the term ‘account benefits ratio’ has the meaning given that term in section 3241(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.”.