Railroad Retirement Board
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The Railroad Retirement Board (or RRB) is an agency of the United States government created in the 1930s to administer a social insurance program providing retirement benefits to the country's railroad workers.
The RRB serves U.S. railroad workers and their families, and administers retirement, survivor, unemployment, and sickness benefits. Its headquarters are in Chicago, Illinois with field offices throughout the country.
Railroad workers do not pay money into Social Security, nor do they receive Social Security benefits. In connection with the retirement program, the RRB has administrative responsibilities for railroad workers' Medicare coverage.
During 2005, retirement-survivor benefits of $9 billion were paid to 634,000 beneficiaries, while net unemployment-sickness benefits of $73 million were paid to 29,000 claimants.
Railroad retirement benefits are paid jointly by the member railroads and their employees. The Board administers a trust fund which operates at a substantial profit. In 2007, the fund recorded a net profit of $1.4 Billion, a return of 16.38% on its investment.[1]
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[edit] Disability
In contrast to the single disability program offered by Social Security, Railroad Retirement offers two types of disability annuities. The Total Disability, or "Disability Freeze" as it is called, is based on guidelines similar to Social Security Disability. The Occupational Disability only requires that applicants possess certain ailments which are deemed by law as an inability for them to safely perform their particular regular job.
Railroad employees applying for either disability annuity must not be under pay at the time of application. Applicants either quit their jobs, retire or exhaust sick benefits before applying for either disability. Because of this requirement and the prohibition against working while receiving a disability annuity, most annuitants had worked for carriers that already awarded them private company pensions.
In 2008 more than 90% of Long Island Rail Road retirees were receiving disability payments. [2] A former LIRR fund manager was arrested and charged with official misconduct for allegedly "taking money to help railroad employees find a doctor and fill out paperwork for federal disability payments".[3] In October of that year the Board voted to strengthen its oversight of disability pensions.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.rrb.gov/pdf/nrrit/reportFY2007.pdf
- ^ A Disability Epidemic Among a Railroad’s Retirees New York Times, 20 September 2008
- ^ Ex-Manager Charged in L.I.R.R. Disability Probe New York Times, November 17 2008
- ^ International Business Times US Railroad Retirement Board approves reforms
[edit] External links
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