Introduction

Retirement, survivor, disability, unemployment, and sickness insurance benefits for railroad employees are administered by the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), a Federal agency headquartered in Chicago. The term “Railroad Retirement Board” (RRB) refers both to the agency that administers the Federal benefits of industry employees and to the 3-member governing board that oversees the agency.

The programs are governed by the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.  Railroad retirement came into existence in 1936, and was substantially modified by the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-445) which provided for closer coordination with the Social Security system. In the House of Representatives, jurisdiction over the Railroad Retirement and Unemployment Benefit Programs is divided between two standing committees. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has jurisdiction over legislation pertaining to “railroads . . . and railroad retirement and unemployment (except revenue measures related hereto).” The Subcommittee on Railroads of the committee has primary responsibility for the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) and amendments affecting railroad retirement. The Committee on Ways and Means has jurisdiction over all revenue measures, including the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (chapter 22 of the Internal Revenue Code). Within the Committee on Ways and Means, jurisdiction over employment taxes and trust fund operations relating to the Railroad Retirement System lies within the Subcommittee on Social Security.

RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

Railroad retirement and survivor benefits are financed by: (1) payroll taxes paid by covered employees and employers on railroad earnings, up to a certain maximum wage base; (2) income from the financial interchange with the Social Security trust funds; (3) appropriations from general revenues (including transfers of income taxes collected on benefits); and (4) investment income. The primary source of income to the Railroad Retirement Account is payroll taxes levied on covered employers and their employees. These taxes are imposed on wages below an annual maximum amount, known as the “wage base.” Currently, both employers and employees pay a tier 1 tax that is equivalent to the combined Social Security (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) and Hospital Insurance (Part A of Medicare) tax rate. In addition, a tier 2 tax is paid by both rail employers and employees. Since 1994, there has been no wage limit for the hospital insurance portion of the tax (1.45 percent on employers and employees, each). The Railroad Retirement and Survivors’ Improvement Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-90) made significant changes to the way the Railroad Retirement System is financed. The 2001 law provided for investment of railroad retirement funds in nongovernmental assets (as well as government securities), adjustments in payroll tax rates paid by employers and employees, and repeal of the supplemental annuity work-hour tax paid by employers.

Employees are eligible for a tier 1 retirement annuity if they have at least 10 years of total railroad service, or at least 5 years of railroad service after 1995 and “insured status” under the Social Security rules (generally 40 quarters of coverage) based on combined railroad retirement and Social Security-covered earnings. The tier 1 benefit is roughly equal to what the Social Security benefit would have been had the worker's railroad employment been covered by the Social Security program. Tier 2 benefits, which are payable in addition to tier 1 benefits, are based entirely on the employee's service in the railroad industry. For current retirees, the tier 2 benefit is equal to seven-tenths of 1 percent of the employee's average monthly earnings in the 60 months of highest earnings, times the total number of years of railroad service. Annuities may be payable under both tiers to spouses, surviving spouses, children, and certain other beneficiaries.  Supplemental annuities are payable to employees age 65 or older with 25 or more years of railroad service who have a current connection with the railroad industry, and some service prior to October 1981, and whose regular annuities were awarded after June 30, 1966.  (An employee generally has a current connection if he or she has 12 months of railroad service in the 30 months preceding retirement or death, or if the employee did not perform any regular employment between the end of the 30-month period containing the last 12 months of railroad service and the month of retirement or death.) Employees retiring after June 1974 with 30 or more years of service are eligible to receive supplemental annuities as early as age 60.

DISABILITY ANNUITIES

Workers who are totally and permanently disabled for all employment are eligible for tier 1 and tier 2 benefits if they have at least 10 years of total railroad service. Workers who have at least 5 years of railroad service after 1995 (but less than 10 years of total service) are eligible only for tier 1 benefits before age 62 if their combined railroad retirement and Social Security earnings credits satisfy Social Security eligibility requirements (tier 2 benefits would be payable at age 62). Otherwise, workers with employment covered under Social Security would have their railroad retirement credits transferred to Social Security and eligibility for Social Security disability insurance would be determined under Social Security rules. In addition, workers who become totally disabled for their regular railroad occupation are eligible for an occupational disability benefit at age 60 with at least 10 years of railroad service, and at any age with at least 20 years of railroad service. To qualify, the worker must have a current connection with the industry, which generally means that he or she worked for a railroad in at least 12 of the 30 consecutive months before the month in which an annuity begins to accrue.

FINANCIAL INTERCHANGE

The Railroad Retirement System and the Social Security program have been coordinated financially since 1951. The purpose of the financial interchange is to place the Social Security Trust Funds in the same position in which they would have been if railroad employment had been covered under Social Security since its inception. Doing so involves computing the amount of Social Security payroll and income taxes that would have been collected by the Social Security Trust Funds if railroad employment had been covered directly by Social Security, as well as the amount of additional benefits which Social Security would have paid to railroad retirement beneficiaries during the same fiscal year. In the computation of the latter amount, credit is given for any Social Security benefits actually paid to railroad retirement beneficiaries. When benefit reimbursements exceed payroll and income taxes, the difference, with an allowance for interest and administrative expenses, is transferred from the Social Security Trust Funds to the RRB’s Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account. (Before 1985, transfers were made to the Railroad Retirement Account.) If taxes exceed benefit reimbursements (which has not happened since 1951), a transfer would be made in favor of the Social Security Trust Funds. The determination of the amount to be transferred through the financial interchange for a given fiscal year is made no later than June of the year following the close of the preceding fiscal year.

THE RAILROAD UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM

The Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (Public Law 75-722) was passed in 1938 to provide a uniform unemployment insurance system for all railroad workers, regardless of the State in which they worked or lived. The main reasons for this action were to avoid administrative problems in handling claims for railroad workers who earned wages in a number of States and to accommodate the railroad unions' desire that individuals throughout the industry be treated the same for purposes of unemployment compensation.

A new benefit year for unemployment and sickness benefits begins on July 1 of each year. To qualify in the benefit year beginning July 1, 2011, an employee must have had railroad earnings of at least $3,325 in calendar year 2010, not counting earnings over $1,330 in any month. If the base year was the first year of railroad service, the worker also must have worked in 5 months of that year. No benefits are payable for the first 7 days of the first claim (or claims) for unemployment and sickness in a benefit year. This generally results in a 1-week waiting period. A claimant is normally paid for benefits if he or she is unemployed or sick for more than 4 days in a 14-day period. The maximum daily benefit payable in the benefit year that began July 1, 2011 is $66, and maximum benefits for biweekly claims is $660.  The program offers “normal” and “extended” benefits. Qualified workers can receive normal benefits for up to 130 days (26 weeks), but the total may not exceed their creditable wages in the base year. Workers with at least 10 years of railroad service may receive up to 65 additional days (13 additional weeks) of extended benefits. During 2009-2011, Congress provided up to 13 additional weeks of extended benefits to unemployed railroad workers, regardless of years of railroad service.

Sickness benefits, established in 1946, are paid during short-term illnesses or injuries of railroad employees. They are financed out of the same employer-paid payroll taxes used to finance unemployment compensation benefits.

The Railroad Unemployment and Sickness Benefit Programs are financed by payroll taxes on railroad employers. The earnings base is adjusted each year to equal approximately two-thirds of the cumulative increase in the maximum base for railroad retirement tier 1 taxes since 1984. Experience-based tax rates, under which employers with higher levels of unemployment pay somewhat higher rates, were phased in on a partial basis in 1991 and 1992, and became fully effective in 1993 with a minimum rate of 0.65 percent and a maximum rate of 12 percent. The future maximum rate could be 12.5 percent if a maximum surcharge is in effect. The Railroad Unemployment Insurance and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Administration Accounts are part of the Federal Unemployment Trust Fund. Since 1959, the Railroad Unemployment Trust Fund has been able to borrow funds from the railroad pension fund when employer taxes have not been sufficient to cover the costs of unemployment and sickness benefits. The RRB is required to submit an annual financial report to Congress on the status of the Unemployment Insurance System. 

Chapter Overview

This chapter of the Green Book includes two Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports. A separate section identifies Tables and Figures included in the CRS reports and also provides additional tables and figures related to Earned Entitlements for Railroad Employees. Additional sections include a Legislative History and Links to Additional Resources.

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports

The House Ways and Means Committee is making available selected reports by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) for inclusion in its 2011 Green Book website.  CRS works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to Committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. 

RS22350:  Railroad Retirement Board: Retirement, Survivor, Disability, Unemployment, and Sickness Benefits

RS22782: Railroad Retirement Board: Trust Fund Investment Practices

Legislative History

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In the final quarter of the 19th century, railroads were among the largest companies in America. The first industrial pension in North America was established in the rail industry in 1874. The commercial success of the rail industry peaked in the period between 1900 and 1920, and rail employment decreased significantly in the 1920s.

In the mid-1920s, more than 80 percent of all rail workers were covered by pension plans. By the early 1930s, these pension plans began to face enormous financial problems.

Rail pension plans were for the most part poorly constructed. There was no regulation of railroad pensions and plans were frequently terminated, pension funds were chronically underfinanced, and most funds could not survive the financial pressures of the depression. These problems, plus a tradition of Federal regulation of the railroads, led to the enactment of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1934.

This act structured the Railroad Retirement System to provide annuities to retirees based on rail earnings and length of service. Benefits were disbursed for retirees at age 65, although workers with 30 years of service could retire at age 60 with a reduction in payments. The original disability provisions were very stringent. Little was provided for dependents and nothing for spouses.

The Railroad Retirement System has been modified many times by Congress. In the late 1940s and 1950s, benefits were liberalized, and the Railroad Retirement System was brought into closer conformity with Social Security. For instance, in 1946, benefits were extended to survivors, based on combined railroad and Social Security-covered employment. This extension demonstrated congressional concern for the social goal of providing income security in old age, or social insurance, rather than simply rewarding career performance.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Railroad Retirement System encountered recurrent financial crises as a result of employment declines in the industry, inflation, and more beneficiaries. Major legislation was enacted in 1974, 1981, 1983, and 1987 to prevent the system from becoming insolvent.

The Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983 (Public Law 98-76) increased payroll taxes on employers and employees, deferred cost-of-living increases, reduced early retirement benefits, made tier 2 benefits and vested dual benefit payments subject to Federal income taxes on the same basis as private and public service pensions, and provided other measures designed to improve railroad retirement financing. (Earlier that year, the Social Security Amendments of 1983 (Public Law 98-21) made up to 50 percent of tier 1 benefits subject to Federal income taxes on the same basis as Social Security benefits.) Without the enactment of this legislation, the Railroad Retirement Board would have been required to substantially reduce benefit payments in 1983.

Financial measures to assist the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Account were also included in the 1983 Railroad Retirement Solvency Act. The legislation raised the taxable limit on monthly earnings and the base-year qualifying amount for unemployment benefits. The waiting period for benefits during strikes was increased from 7 to 14 days. A temporary repayment tax on railroad employers began July 1, 1986, to initiate repayment of the loans made by the Railroad Retirement Account. The 1983 legislation also mandated the establishment of a Railroad Unemployment Compensation Committee to review the unemployment and sickness benefit programs and submit a report to Congress. The Committee convened in 1984 and reviewed all aspects of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance System, especially repayment of the system's debt to the Railroad Retirement Account and the viability of transferring railroad unemployment benefit payments to State programs.

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-272) amended the temporary unemployment insurance loan repayment tax beginning July 1, 1986, continued authority for borrowing by the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Account from the Railroad Retirement Account, and provided a contingency surtax on rail employers if further borrowing took place.

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1987 (Public Law 100-203) increased tier 2 tax rates in January 1988 by a total of 2 percentage points: 1.35 percentage points on employers and 0.65 percentage points on employees. In addition, the law extended for 1 year, until October 1, 1989, the time during which revenues from Federal income taxes on tier 2 railroad retirement benefits could be transferred from the general fund of the U.S. Treasury to the Railroad Retirement Account for use in paying benefits.

Railroad retirement amendments were included with railroad unemployment insurance amendments in the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-647). This legislation ensured repayment of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Account's debt to the Railroad Retirement Account by extending a temporary unemployment insurance tax until the debt was fully repaid with interest in June 1993. Public Law 100-647 also eased work restrictions and the crediting of military service in certain cases and provided more equitable treatment of severance pay for railroad retirement purposes. The 1988 amendments improved financing by indexing the tax base to average national wages and experience rating employer contributions. Changes enacted under the Act were based on the recommendations of the Railroad Unemployment Compensation Committee.

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 (Public Law 101-239) included a number of railroad retirement and Social Security provisions that affected payroll taxes and benefits beginning in 1990. The law increased the amount of earnings subject to Social Security and railroad retirement payroll taxes by including contributions to 401(k) deferred compensation plans in the measure of average wages, which is used to index the wage base. It also extended for 1 additional year, until October 1, 1990, the time during which revenues from Federal income taxes on tier 2 railroad retirement benefits may be transferred to the Railroad Retirement Account for use in paying benefits.

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-508) further extended the date of this transfer until October 1, 1992, and also permanently exempted supplemental annuities from reductions under the Gramm-Rudman deficit reduction measures adopted by Congress.

In 1991, a contingency surtax (3.5 percent), effective in the event of further borrowing by the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Account, was eliminated. Instead, a surcharge will be added to employers' unemployment insurance taxes for a calendar year if the balance in the unemployment insurance account on the previous June 30 goes below $100 million (as indexed). The surcharge rate would be 1.5, 2.5, or 3.5 percent depending on how low the balance has fallen. If a 3.5 percent surcharge goes into effect for a given year, the maximum rate for any employer would be 12.5 percent rather than 12 percent. If the account balance on the preceding June 30 is above $250 million (as indexed), the excess will be refunded to the employers in the form of a rate reduction for the year through a pooled credit.

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-66) removed the maximum taxable earnings base for purposes of paying the Medicare payroll tax, thus making all railroad retirement tier 1 earnings subject to the Medicare payroll tax. Public Law 103-66 also increased the amount of Social Security and railroad retirement tier 1 benefits subject to Federal income taxes for persons with higher incomes. A provision in the Social Security Administrative Reform Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-296) extended the transfer of Federal income taxes on tier 2 railroad retirement benefits to the Railroad Retirement Account on a permanent basis and a retroactive payment was made, covering the period October 1, 1992 through September 30, 1994.

In 1996, Congress enacted the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Amendments Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-251). Among other provisions, this law raised daily benefit rates for unemployment and sickness benefits and revised the formula for indexing future rates. The Act shortened the waiting period for initial unemployment and sickness benefits, cut the weeks of extended benefits payable to rail workers with more than 15 years' service, and established an earnings test for workers with claims for intermittent unemployment.

The Senior Citizens’ Freedom to Work Act (Public Law 106-182) eliminated the earnings limitation on beneficiaries beginning with the month the beneficiary reaches the full retirement age. In the calendar years before the year in which the beneficiary reaches the full retirement age, $1 in benefits is withheld for every $2 earned above an exempt amount ($14,160 in 2011). For months in the calendar year in which the beneficiary reaches the full retirement age (up to the month the beneficiary reaches the full retirement age), $1 in benefits is withheld for every $3 earned above an exempt amount ($37,680 in 2011).

The Railroad Retirement and Survivors’ Improvement Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-90) made a number of changes to railroad retirement benefits and financing. In terms of benefit changes, the 2001 law: (1) liberalized early retirement benefits for 30-year employees and their spouses (employees with 30 years of railroad service and their spouses may retire at age 60 with full tier 1 and tier 2 annuities); (2) repealed the cap on total monthly retirement and disability benefits payable to an employee and spouse; (3) lowered the minimum service requirement for retirement annuities from 10 years to 5 years of service performed after 1995; and (4) increased benefits for some widow(er)s.

In terms of financing changes, the 2001 law: (1) established the National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust, which is authorized to invest funds in nongovernmental assets as well as government securities (the Board of Trustees invests assets, pays administrative expenses and transfers funds to a disbursing agent responsible for the payment of benefits); (2) adjusted payroll tax rates paid by employers and employees (beginning in 2004, tier 2 tax rates are based on a 10-year “average account benefits ratio” with employer rates ranging from 8.2 percent to 22.1 percent and employee rates ranging from 0 percent to 4.9 percent); (3) repealed the supplemental annuity work-hour tax; (4) eliminated the Supplemental Annuity Account and transferred the balance in the account to the Trust (the Trust will pay supplemental annuity benefits); (5) provided authority to transfer Railroad Retirement Account funds not needed to pay current administrative expenses to the Trust (the Trust will pay tier 2 benefits); (6) provided authority to transfer Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account (SSEBA) funds not needed to pay current benefits and administrative expenses to the Trust (the SSEBA will pay the Social Security level of tier 1 benefits and the Trust will pay the portion of tier 1 benefits in excess of the Social Security level); (7) provided authority to transfer Dual Benefit Account funds needed for dual benefit payments to a disbursing agent; and (8) provided tax-exempt status for the Trust. The 2001 law was based on joint recommendations to Congress negotiated by rail labor organizations and rail freight carriers.

In the 109th Congress, several minor changes were made to the Railroad Retirement System. The Railroad Retirement Disability Earnings Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-478) increased the monthly earnings limit for RRB disability beneficiaries from $400 to $700 in 2007 and indexed the disability earnings limit for subsequent years to the Average Wage Index ($780 in 2011). The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-280) eliminated the requirement that a railroad employee must be entitled to and receiving an annuity in order for his or her divorced spouse to receive an annuity. It also extended the payment of tier 2 annuities to surviving former spouses pursuant to court decrees upon the death of the railroad employee. Finally, the Railroad Retirement Technical Improvement Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-305) required the Secretary of the Treasury to continue to serve as disbursing agent for railroad retirement benefits.

In the 111th Congress, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, Public Law 111-5) provided a one-time economic recovery payment to several groups, including all adult railroad retirement beneficiaries. ARRA also added an additional 13 weeks to the maximum amount of time railroad workers could receive extended unemployment benefits, allowing for up to 13 weeks (less than 10 years of railroad service) or 26 weeks (10 or more years of railroad service) of extended benefits in addition to the 26 weeks of normal benefits provided under current law. ARRA also provided that up to $2,400 in railroad unemployment and sickness benefits would not be subject to federal or state income taxes in 2009. The Work, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 (WHBAA, Public Law 111-92) extended these provisions by one year to June 30, 2010. The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-312) extended the WHBAA provisions by one year to June 30, 2011. The special extended unemployment benefit periods could begin no later than December 31, 2011

Links to Additional Resources

National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust, Annual Management Report for Fiscal Year 2010, Washington, DC, at https://www.rrb.gov/pdf/nrrit/reportFY2010.pdf .

National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust, Quarterly Update for the Period Ending March 31, 2011, Washington, DC, at https://www.rrb.gov/pdf/nrrit/qrtlyupd033111.pdf .

National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust, annual and quarterly reports,https://www.rrb.gov/mep/nrrit.asp

National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust, Questions and Answers, at https://www.rrb.gov/nrrit/QandA.asp .

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, An Agency Overview, Washington, DC, January 2011, at https://www.rrb.gov/opa/agency_overview.asp .

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 2010 Annual Report, Washington DC, at https://www.rrb.gov/opa/AnnualRprt/Ann_Rpt_toc.asp .

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, Financial, Actuarial, and Statistical Monthly and Quarterly Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act Data, at https://www.rrb.gov/act/RRA_and_RUIA.asp .

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, Railroad Retirement Handbook, 2009, at

https://www.rrb.gov/general/handbook/toc.asp .

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, Bureau of the Actuary, Railroad Retirement System: Annual Report Required by Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 and Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983, Washington, DC, June 2011, at https://www.rrb.gov/pdf/act/Section_502.pdf . 

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, Bureau of the Actuary, Railroad Unemployment Insurance System: Annual Report required by Section 7105 of the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988, Washington, DC, June 2011, at https://www.rrb.gov/pdf/act/Section_7105.pdf .

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, Bureau of the Actuary, Twenty-fourth Actuarial Valuation of the Assets and Liabilities under the Railroad Retirement Acts as of December 31, 2007, Washington, DC, at  https://www.rrb.gov/pdf/act/valuation.pdf .

Whitman, Kevin, An Overview of the Railroad Retirement Program, Social Security Bulletin, Vol. 68 No. 2, 2008, at https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v68n2/v68n2p41.html .