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A message from Palmetto GBA:
Whether you’re new to Railroad Medicare or starting a new year with Railroad Medicare, it’s important to know about the change to how Medicare identifies you.
In 2020, Medicare providers must use your new Medicare number. The old Social Security-based number can no longer be used for claims filing, no matter what date your provider furnished a service to you. This means if you had a doctor’s visit on January 15, 2019, the provider must file the claim before January 15, 2020 and they must use your new Medicare number. If your provider does not have your new number, you need to give that to them. Claims filed without the new number will be rejected by Medicare and cannot be processed for any payment.
If the provider is not able to get with you to get your new number, they can use our Medicare number lookup tool on our website. We would hope this would be the exception, not the norm. In order to use the Medicare lookup tool, the provider must have your Social Security number (SSN). If you do not want to give your SSN to a provider, make sure to show them your Medicare card with your new Medicare number.
Additionally, you will also need to use your new Medicare number if you call customer service at Railroad Medicare or 1-800-MEDICARE. Medicare contractors cannot accept any other form of identification over the telephone or in writing.
Here are the details about new Medicare number:

  • It will have 11 characters.
  • The numbers will be generated randomly. Medicare considers them ‘non-intelligent’ numbers that don’t have any hidden or special meaning.
  • It will be unique to each patient.
  • It will contain capital letters (all letters with the exception of S, L, O, I, B and Z) and numbers (0-9).
  • The 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 9th characters will always be a letter, while characters 1, 4, 7, 10, and 11 will always be a number. The 3rd and 6th characters will be a letter or a number.
  • There will be no dashes in the numbers on the card.

As you may have experienced in the past, providers can’t always tell the difference between a Social Security Medicare patient and a RRB patient. They may submit your claims to regular Medicare instead of Railroad Medicare. To help providers know what patient they have, the new cards will have the RRB logo on them when applicable, so your doctor’s office will know where to submit claims. Your provider can also use an online portal if they have your Medicare number but don’t know if it’s a Railroad Medicare number. We educate providers on our portal regularly, but some may not be aware.
If you have a provider who may be confused, have them call our Provider Contact Center at 888-355-9165. Customer service representatives are available 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday in all time zones with the exception of the Pacific time zone, which receives service from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific.

As president of the SMART Transportation Division and on behalf of General President Joseph Sellers, I want to wish every member happy holidays. We are all one family, and this season is a time when we have our loved ones in our thoughts and on our minds. As your president, your well-being, safety and job security are always on my mind, and I take those responsibilities seriously. Please know that I strive daily to make a difference in protecting you both on and off the job.
With the holiday season upon us, we owe it to ourselves and our families to keep the season joyous and free from needless sorrow. Safety is a gift we give our families each and every day, and nothing should be more important.
The twenty-four days between Dec. 22 and Jan. 14 have historically proven to be the deadliest for railroad workers. More fatalities and career-ending injuries occur during this calendar period than any other. Unfortunately, this rang true in 2018, when member Jeffery Hague of Local 495 lost his life on Dec. 30, 2018.
Regrettably, we have had a sixty-six (66%) percent increase in switching fatalities in 2019 compared to 2018. These include members Travis “Bowie” Andrepont of Local 1947, Chris Seidl of Local 1227 and most recently Curtis C. “C.C.” McConihay of Local 1386. All lost during rail switching operations. Sadly, all of our fallen members families will never feel the same joy of this season again.
Making a difference in your safety as a bus operator or a railroader has to start with both you and I, as it will take all of us actively working together in this union to succeed. We are already moving forward with plans to change how we all work together on safety-related issues, including the reporting of unsafe conditions, training, and the prevention of injuries.
However, it is imperative that we hear from members in the field about unsafe conditions, be it bus or rail, so we know where to deploy our own investigators and experts to help.
The SMART-TD website will be going through a series of updates in the near future. We will be updating our successful technology failure report and deploying an online unsafe condition and close-call report along with a few others to get you and our office connected on these issues. This will be explained in more detail in a forthcoming announcement.
As a reminder, I have listed the five life-saving tips that the Switching Operations Fatalities Analysis (SOFA) working group — comprised of representatives from labor, management and the FRA — have promoted in efforts to bring railroaders home safely to their families. With the recent rollout of Precision Scheduled Railroading, and productivity and profits placed directly ahead of employee safety, it is my belief that the focus on these life-saving rules and practices has been lost from a management standpoint. Therefore, I would ask that you take time to review them now and incorporate them into your daily work routine, especially in this most-dangerous season.
SOFA’s five life-saving tips can save yours, as they have saved countless other railroaders from death and career-ending injuries:

  1. Secure all equipment before action is taken.
  2. Protect employees against moving equipment.
  3. Discuss safety at the beginning of a job or when work changes.
  4. Communicate before action is taken.
  5. Mentor less experienced employees to perform service safely.

The SOFA working group also warned of special switching hazards:

  • Close clearances
  • Shoving movements
  • Unsecured cars
  • Free rolling rail cars
  • Exposure to mainline trains
  • Tripping, slipping or falling
  • Unexpected movement of cars
  • Adverse environmental conditions
  • Equipment defects
  • Motor vehicles or loading devices
  • Drugs and alcohol

On behalf of all your international officers, I once again wish you a blessed, safe and happy holiday season.
Fraternally,

 
 
 
 
 
President, Transportation Division

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson has requested that the Federal Railroad Administration issue an emergency order to carriers that train car valves prone to leakage during cold temperatures be replaced and/or repaired immediately.
“The FRA and the AAR have known about this issue for too long and have done too little to address it in a timely fashion. The safety of the public and all railroaders should never be compromised for the sake of productivity,” he said. “Our organization will not tolerate such behavior, nor will it go unchecked.”

The DB-60 II control valve manufactured by New York Air Brake is shown in this image from the manufacturer’s website. This model uses the DB-10 as one of its components.
The malfunctioning main air brake control valves on cars prevent trains from going into emergency braking mode during cold weather.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has been aware of cold-weather operation issues for New York Air Brake valve model DB-10 since at least October 2013. It sent out a maintenance advisory to all members of an inspection and repair procedure at that time.
In a letter to FRA Administrator Ron Batory sent Dec. 20, President Ferguson expressed his strong disappointment that a known safety issue has not been addressed by the agency or the carriers for more than six years.
“It is unacceptable that the malfunctioning valves remain in service after the better part of a decade without proper oversight and enforcement,” Ferguson wrote. “It is equally unacceptable that the carriers, rather than fix the problem, issue stopgap remedies to solve what we have been informed is a basic issue of preventive maintenance that costs approximately $200 and as little as two hours to repair.
“It is our opinion that your agency has not done enough to ensure that the safety of rail workers and the public is protected by enforcing its own regulations.”
SMART-TD informed FRA of suspected valve failures in a letter that was sent to FRA’s Region 8 in February 2019 by Dakotas State Legislative Director Jim Chase. Former National Legislative Director John Risch followed up with a series of communications on the issue as well.
FRA advised SMART-TD that it is examining the issue and has made recommendations to carriers as to how to rectify the situation.
“I’m not real satisfied with what’s been done here,” Chase said, saying that a pair of FRA rules appear to not have been stringently enforced for six years.
It should be noted that the FRA rule §232.103(i) states:
“(i) All trains shall be equipped with an emergency application feature that produces an irretrievable stop, using a brake rate consistent with prevailing adhesion, train safety, and brake system thermal capacity. An emergency application shall be available at all times, and shall be initiated by an unintentional parting of the train line or loss of train brake communication.”
Also not being enforced, Chase said, is:
§232.105 General requirements for locomotives.
(a) The air brake equipment on a locomotive shall be in safe and suitable condition for service.
…
(g) When taking charge of a locomotive or locomotive consist, an engineer must know that the brakes are in operative condition.
New York Airbrake valve DB-10 was initially approved for a finite useful life by FRA. At the behest of carriers, who raised concerns about the cost of replacing these valves on thousands to tens of thousands of private cars, the valve’s use has been extended, with a number of the valves in service having components being used beyond their useful period.
Each affected train car has a single valve on it that consists of two chambers, one that supplies air for service brake application for the train and one that supplies air for an emergency brake application. Any failure of this valve could conceivably affect a train’s stopping power while it is in motion.
“There is an expected life span on these valves which is being exceeded, and this has led to valves not going into emergency,” Chase wrote in a memo to members last month, describing the suspected source of the malfunction.
Swapping out of the valves used to be a regular occurrence, according to a representative from the SMART Mechanical Department (SMART-MD).
“They used to change these valves along with all air components every eight years,” said Larry Holbert, a SMART-MD international representative.
Changing the service or emergency portion of the valve involves the removal of three bolts and replacing gaskets, Holbert said. But now, according to reports Holbert’s been getting from the field, this maintenance is done on a catch-as-catch-can basis, rather than as a preventive measure, and a leaky valve is a tricky malfunction to track down, he said. The lubricants used for the pistons in the valves dry up over time, and the gaskets also can become brittle, leading to air escaping.
“One of the main concerns is the valve will fail in the winter months. The car will be brought into the shop and pass an air test as the O-rings and seats have warmed up,” Holbert said.
SMART-TD members, who operate trains in cold-weather states, indicate that weather below 40 degrees F brings increased instances where these valves possibly fail. As a result, trains in an incident where cars have separated may not go into emergency. And, an emergency brake application by the crew during such an incident may fail because of insufficient air pressure.
In one instance, Chase said, a coal train broke in two near Dengate, N.D., and the detached cars rolled backward for miles because the rear of the train did not go into emergency mode. He said another incident in Hettinger, N.D., also involved a train splitting and cars rolling backward for a substantial distance after emergency mode failed.
Chase said he has experienced two occasions just this month in North Dakota where emergency capability has been lost on trains he has operated.
“The public and employees have the right to be safe,” Chase said. “I can think of nothing more important than having emergency capability.”
A local chairperson from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen recently reported Dec. 9 that a locomotive failed to go into emergency as well.
The malfunctioning valves, when discovered, are trucked out by carriers and taken to be rebuilt by Wabtec, a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based company, at an estimated cost of just over $180, Holbert said. Holbert estimates that if the necessary parts were in hand once a failing valve was identified, a properly equipped shop could service the valves in a half-hour or less with “minimal” time spent for carriers to swap the bad valves out.
“It’s frustrating to see this occurring. They used to do the preventative maintenance,” Holbert said.
To SMART-TD leadership’s knowledge, carriers operating in cold weather have not issued any warnings about potential valve failures. With the coming onset of winter, the potential for failures could become more prevalent.
Chase said that carriers have been reluctant to allow valves to be tested, because of potential delays to their ability to serve customers, given that there are possibly tens of thousands of private cars equipped with the DB-10 valves that could fail.
In-cab personnel are advised:

  • Evidence of the symptom begins with increased brake pipe air flow from the controlling (lead) locomotive after a brake application has been initiated. Increased head-end air flow is caused by leakage from the bottom cover exhaust port of the DB-10 service portion on the brake control valve.
  • When the air is set during an air test, if air is heard leaking out of the bottom of the valve, it is defective. If the person at the controls of the locomotive notes excessive air flow during application of the train brake, pay particular attention to an audible blow of air coming from the vent of any DB-10 service portion that may be in the consist.

A workaround that has been advocated by carriers is not safe, Chase tells SMART-TD members.
“We have been instructed now to draw the train down to zero brake pipe pressure before we separate the train to set out a bad ordered car, thus circumventing the process by which we are able to determine if the train will make an emergency application should we actually need to do so after we leave the terminal,” he said in his alert memo.
“I cannot overstate how dangerous this new procedure is. The ability of the train to go into emergency is paramount.
“We didn’t initially realize the scope of this issue. We need to start documenting emergency brake failure incidents. It’s important that somebody other than the carrier is notified. Please contact your local SMART-TD safety leadership so that we can develop a database to document this issue,” Chase said.
Members should reach out to their state legislative directors, local legislative representative, or to the SMART-TD National Rail Safety Team to report safety concerns surrounding this issue and any others that may come up. These representatives are here to work for you and to help protect you on the job.

The tariff strategy was not enough to preserve the jobs of 1,500 steel workers in the Detroit area who are being laid off by U.S. Steel.
The Great Lakes Works in Ecorse and River Rouge, Mich., will have three portions of its operations drawn down with iron and steelmaking operations ceased by April 1.
The company also reported a reduction in its dividend after reporting in October its first quarterly loss since the implementation of the tariffs in 2018.
Read the full story on CNN.

Ohio State Legislative Director Stuart Gardner reports that we need some activism to push H.B. 186, which is comprehensive railroad safety legislation, over the line and out of the Ohio House Transportation and Public Safety Committee.
First, he is seeking photos of example of good and poor lighting conditions in yards to submit to state representatives in regards to H.B. 186. Please email those to: smartunionoslb@gmail.com.
Also, after five hearings on the bill, some Republican representatives on the committee remain undecided about the need for this legislation, especially after carrier testimony claimed that it would hinder their ability to operate and be too costly to them to improve yard lighting and walkway safety.
Gardner requests that members contact their county commissioners and explain to them why their state representative needs to support this bill.
H.B. 186 deals with:

  • Blocked crossings
  • Two-person crews
  • Yard lighting
  • Yard walkway safety

“Anything that is worth saving takes effort from everyone involved,” Gardner said. “It’s all hands on deck, battle stations. Take a stand, and be heard!”
The bill was first heard by the committee in September, and SMART-TD members as well as members from the BLET have stated the case for the bill on a number of occasions.
But now, state representatives Doug Green, James Hoops, Don Jones, Jeffrey LaRe, Susan Manchester, Gayle Manning, Riordan McClain, Tom Patton and Reggie Stoltzfus need to hear it from someone in addition to rail workers, who already know how important this issue is.
Those people are the county commissioners from 22 different Ohio counties.
“The topic that should really resonate with these county commissioners is the blocked crossing issue,” Gardner said. “With these crossings being blocked by the carriers by longer and longer trains, it prevents public service vehicles — police, fire and EMS from reaching their destinations in a timely manner, without any additional delay, a delay that may have deadly consequences for those that need the help.
“Now is the time for all of us exercise our collective strength,” he said. “Please ask those county commissioners to encourage the representative in their district to support H.B. 186. This is a common-sense approach to railroad safety, that we need their support with.”
The list of commissioners is available here.

When an accident occurs and one of our members is on site — be it a bus operator or rail conductor — it often falls on that SMART Transportation Division member to provide assistance as the FIRST responder to the situation.
The member must assess and relay information about the incident to rescue crews and law enforcement personnel who are dispatched and, if able, provide potentially life-saving aid and comfort to any victims.
When dealing with accidents involving buses or trains, victims often have traumatic injuries as a result. These incidents are not going away, especially with all the distractions posed by smartphones or a reduction of situational awareness due to headphones or earbuds to members of the public who go near roadways or the rails.
In 2017 and 2018, there were more than 1,000 trespasser-related casualties (injuries and deaths), according to Federal Railroad Administration data. Through the third quarter of 2019, there have been nearly 900 casualties reported.
Grade-crossing accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians reported to FRA occurred at a rate of more than 2,000 annually each year from 2016 through 2018. Through the third quarter of 2019, FRA reports more than 1,600 of these incidents.
But it’s not just the lives of trespassers and drivers who encounter a grade crossing potentially in danger from an unexpected emergency.
Having two people in the locomotive cab of a freight train leaves just one person left to assist the other should they be in need of help. Train crew members can have a medical event while performing service. Bus and rail passengers also can have such an event due to an accident or a violent incident that occurs in the presence of our members. And let’s not forget that a medical emergency can happen anytime and anywhere to anyone at home or out in public.
Preparation and training in these situations are invaluable.
With this in mind, member David Herrmann of Local 446 (Cheyenne, Wyo.), a Union Pacific conductor since 1990, wrote to the SMART-TD President’s Office with a suggestion:
“One of the conductor’s responsibilities is to walk back after a train hits a car on a crossing,” he wrote. “Since 1988, I have been CPR qualified. I think it would be a good idea for every conductor to be CPR qualified to be a first responder, just in case.
“Even if the tracks are right near the highway, which in Wyoming they are not, a response team could take a long time to get there.”
The suggestion from Brother Herrmann to learn CPR and first aid, a sensible and potentially life-saving one, applies to all members regardless of where they work.
Just ask Thomas E. Baker, a conductor for Veolia/Tri-Rail and a member of Local 33 (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), who put his knowledge of CPR and first aid into action during an incident February 15, 2014.

On that day, he saw a woman collapse and fall down a stairwell onto a station platform in south Florida. With a background in the military and law enforcement, Baker was equipped with the knowledge and training needed to save the 65-year-old woman’s life.
“It was something that came natural to me,” he said. “I knew that she was in major trouble.”
He rushed down to the platform and performed CPR for 15 to 20 minutes before emergency responders arrived. The defibrillator on the train was not functional, but his exhaustive efforts saved a life. The woman survived.
Baker said his carrier now requires employees to be certified every two years in CPR, but that is not the case for all carriers, and he reminds his fellow members that the knowledge from taking a CPR/emergency first aid course is useful always and everywhere.
“You don’t bring just a hammer to a jobsite. The more tools you have in the toolbag, the more useful you are,” Baker said. “The more we know, the better off we are — it could be one of your co-workers whose life you save.
“It’s something I’ve always embraced.”
SMART-TD recognizes this as well. Within days of receiving conductor Hermann’s suggestion, Ralph Leichliter, an administrative assistant in the TD President’s Office, had reached out to Emergency University, which provides online training geared towards transportation employees, including courses on CPR, first aid, and additional training on the topics of blood-borne pathogens, heat-related illness and sleep and fatigue management.
Emergency University was established by highly trained emergency response professionals to educate people on life-saving measures in situations where immediate action is needed.
Multiple online course options are available through them, starting as low as $29.95. Choose the course you’d like and then enter the promotional code SMARTUNION at checkout. Successful completion of the online courses provides national certification for two years in CPR and first aid, meeting and exceeding the standards set forth by OSHA, the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association.
The descriptions for discounted packages, including the course package for rail/transportation workers, are available below:

By going through the Emergency University online training or taking part in CPR or first-aid training offered by organizations such as the American Red Cross or the American Heart Association, we can continue to prove every day, without a doubt, that the public, our co-workers and America’s roads and rails are safer with SMART-TD members aboard.

Class I carrier Union Pacific announced Monday that it has completed implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) on all federally mandated freight and passenger routes requiring the collision avoidance technology.
The carrier still must achieve full interoperability, that is, its PTC system must be able to successfully interact with those systems used by other carriers.
The carrier reports that 16 of 25 railroads it hosts are compliant, encompassing 85% of Union Pacific’s interoperable PTC train miles, and says that full interoperability in conjunction with the other carriers is expected by mid-2020.
PTC is designed to prevent:

  • Train-to-train collisions;
  • Derailments caused by excessive speed;
  • Accidents that can occur if trains are routed down the incorrect track;
  • Unauthorized train movements on tracks undergoing maintenance

Regardless of implementation status, if a SMART Transportation Division member experiences an event in which PTC or other rail technology hinders the ability to perform his or her duties, he or she is encouraged to complete a Railroad Technology Event Report and submit it to SMART-TD.
Read the Union Pacific release.

McConihay
SMART Transportation Division member Curtis C. McConihay of Local 1386 (Parkersburg, W.Va.) was killed in an accident on CSX property in Washington, W.Va., on Saturday.
Brother McConihay, 32, was a U.S. Marine veteran and lived in Southside, W.Va., with his wife, Megan, and their two daughters. He joined SMART-TD in May 2015 and was a conductor for CSX.
“We lost not only a dedicated employee, but a forever union brother in C. C. McConihay. Our pain pales in comparison to the void that is left in his loved ones’ hearts. It is a void that can never be filled,” said Local 1386 Chairperson W.R. Parsons. “Please let us keep his family in our thoughts and prayers, as his family is now our family. We will keep his memory alive by remembering the good times as we are better people for knowing him. God bless his wife Megan and his precious daughters. Rest in peace, Brother Curtis McConihay.”
Parsons said a memorial fund is in the works for Brother McConihay’s family.
SMART-TD National Safety Director Jerry Gibson has requested that the National Transportation Safety Board launch an investigation into the accident due to divergences in the reports of the circumstances surrounding the fatal accident. Gibson continues to be in contact with the agency.
CSX and the Federal Railroad Administration are currently the only parties investigating.
However, Gibson states that an internal report into the incident will be performed by SMART-TD.
SMART-TD offers its sincere condolences to Brother McConihay’s family and friends and to the members of Local 1386 who worked with him and knew him.
His obituary can be read here.

Retirees, and those planning retirement, should be aware of the Railroad Retirement laws and rules governing benefit payments to annuitants who work after retirement.
The following questions and answers describe these Railroad Retirement work restrictions and earnings limitations on post-retirement employment, and how these rules can affect retirees engaging in self-employment.
Although the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) participates in information exchanges with other federal agencies to identify unreported work and earnings to protect the integrity of its programs, annuitants are obligated to report post-retirement work and earnings. It is important to note that if annuitants fail to report post-retirement work and earnings, the Board may assess overpayments and fines. In some circumstances, law enforcement may consider the annuitant to have committed fraud subject to criminal and civil penalties.
1. What are the basic Railroad Retirement work restrictions and earnings limitations that apply to post-retirement work?
Neither a regular Railroad Retirement annuity (whether based on age and service or on disability) nor a supplemental annuity is payable for any month in which a retired or disabled employee, regardless of age, works for an employer covered under the Railroad Retirement Act. This includes work for labor organizations. This is true even if the retired or disabled employee performed service for one day during the month, and includes local lodge compensation totaling $25 or more for any calendar month. Regardless of the amount of salary, work by a local lodge or division secretary collecting insurance premiums is always considered railroad work and, therefore, no annuity is payable for any month in which such activity occurs.
No spouse annuity is payable in any month in which the employee’s annuity is not payable, or for any month the spouse, regardless of age, works for an employer covered under the Railroad Retirement Act. A divorced spouse annuity is not payable for any month in which the divorced spouse, regardless of age, works for an employer covered under the Railroad Retirement Act. A divorced spouse can receive an annuity even if the employee has not retired, provided they have been divorced for at least 2 years, the employee and divorced spouse are at least age 62, and the employee is fully insured under the Social Security Act using combined railroad and social security earnings. A survivor annuity is not payable for any month the survivor works for an employer covered under the Railroad Retirement Act, regardless of the survivor’s age.
Also, like Social Security benefits, Railroad Retirement Tier I benefits paid to employees, spouses and divorced spouses, and Tier I and Tier II benefits paid to survivors, are subject to deductions if an annuitant’s earnings exceed certain exempt amounts. These earnings deductions do not apply to those who have attained full Social Security retirement age.
Full retirement age for employees and spouses is age 66 for those born from 1943 through 1954 and gradually increases to age 67 for those born in 1960 or later. Full retirement age for survivor annuitants ranges from age 66 for those born from 1945 through 1956 to age 67 for those born in 1962 or later.
Deductions for all annuitants, however, remain in effect for the months before the month of full retirement age during the calendar year of attainment. (The attainment of full retirement age does not mean an annuitant can return to work for an employer covered under the Railroad Retirement Act. As explained above, no annuity is payable for any month in which the annuitant works for a railroad employer, regardless of the annuitant’s age).
Additional deductions are assessed for retired employees and spouses who work for their last pre-retirement non-railroad employer (see Question 3). Also, special restrictions apply to disability annuitants (see Questions 5 and 6).
2. What are the current exempt earnings amounts for those non-disability annuitants subject to earnings limitations?
For those under full retirement age throughout 2020, the exempt earnings amount rises to $18,240 from $17,640 in 2019. For beneficiaries attaining full retirement age in 2020, the exempt earnings amount rises to $48,600 from $46,920 in 2019 for the months before the month full retirement age is attained.
For those under full retirement age throughout the year, the earnings deduction is $1 in benefits for every $2 of earnings over the exempt amount. For those attaining full retirement age in 2020, the deduction is $1 for every $3 of earnings over the exempt amount in the months before the month full retirement age is attained.
Earnings received for services rendered, plus any net earnings from self-employment, are considered when assessing deductions for earnings. Interest, dividends, certain rental income or income from stocks, bonds, or other investments are not generally considered earnings for this purpose.
3. What are the additional deductions applied to the annuities of retired employees and spouses working for their last pre-retirement non-railroad employer?
Retired employees and spouses, regardless of age, who work for their last pre-retirement non-railroad employer are also subject to an earnings deduction in their Tier II and Railroad Retirement supplemental annuity benefits, if applicable, of $1 for every $2 in earnings up to a maximum reduction of 50 percent. The deductions in the Tier II benefits and supplemental annuities of individuals who work for pre-retirement non-railroad employers apply even if earnings do not exceed the Tier I exempt earnings limits. Also, while Tier I earnings deductions stop when an annuitant attains full retirement age, these Tier II and supplemental annuity deductions continue to apply after the attainment of full retirement age. Work that begins on the same day as the annuity beginning date is not last pre-retirement non-railroad employment.
4. Can a retired employee’s earnings also reduce a spouse’s benefit?
A spouse benefit is subject to reductions not only for the spouse’s earnings, but also for the earnings of the employee, regardless of whether the earnings are from service for the last pre-retirement non-railroad employer or other post-retirement employment. An annuity paid to a divorced spouse may continue despite the employee’s work activity. However, the employee’s non-railroad earnings over the annual earnings exempt amount may reduce a divorced spouse benefit.
5. How do post-retirement work activity and earnings affect disability annuities?
Any work performed by a disabled annuitant — whether for payment or not — may be considered an indication of recovery from disability and must be reported promptly. Failure to report such work activity timely could result in overpaid annuities, which must be repaid, as well as severe financial penalties.
In addition, a disability annuity is not payable for any month in 2020 in which the disabled employee annuitant earns more than $990 ($950 in 2019) in any employment or net self-employment, exclusive of disability-related work expenses. If a disabled employee annuitant’s earnings in a year (after deduction of disability-related work expenses) exceed the annual limit, the annuity is not payable for the number of months derived by dividing the amount by which those earnings exceed the annual limit by the amount of the monthly limit. Any resulting fraction of a month equal to or greater than one-half (0.5) is rounded up, increasing the number of months in which the annuity is not payable by one. For example, a disabled employee annuitant earns $15,900 in 2020, which is $3,525 over the 2020 annual limit of $12,375. Dividing $3,525 by $990 yields 3.56. As .56 is more than one-half, the annuitant would lose 4 months of benefits.
These disability work restrictions apply until the disabled employee annuitant attains full retirement age which, as stated earlier, ranges from age 66 to age 67, depending on the year of birth. These work restrictions apply even if the annuitant has 30 years of railroad service. Also, a disabled employee annuitant who works for his or her last pre-retirement non-railroad employer would be subject to the additional earnings deduction that applies in these cases.
6. Do the special earnings restrictions listed in Question 5 apply to disabled widow(er) and disabled child annuitants?
The earnings restrictions listed in Question 5 do not apply to disabled widow(er)s under age 60 or to disabled children. However, the annuity of an unmarried disabled widow(er) technically becomes an age annuity when the widow(er) attains age 60. Therefore, regular annual earnings restrictions (see Question 2) apply beginning with the month the widow(er) attains age 60 and ending with the month before the month the widow(er) attains full retirement age.
All earnings in the year age 60 is attained are considered in determining excess earnings for that year. However, work deductions may apply only beginning with the month the widow(er) attains age 60.
Also, if a disabled widow(er) works before full retirement age, this may also raise a question about the possibility of that individual’s recovery from disability, regardless of the amount of earnings. Therefore, any work activity must be reported promptly to avoid overpayments, which are recoverable by the RRB and may also include significant penalties.
7. A Railroad Retirement employee annuitant is thinking of becoming a self-employed contractor or consultant, and might be providing services for a railroad or last pre-retirement non-railroad employer. How would this affect his or her Railroad Retirement annuity?
It depends on whether or not the RRB considers the annuitant to be truly engaging in self-employed contracting or consulting, or whether the agency considers him or her to be functioning as an employee, and if so, who the RRB considers to be the actual employer for Railroad Retirement purposes.
If a retiree is considered to be functioning as a self-employed contractor or consultant, his or her annuity is subject to Tier I earnings deductions for net self-employment earnings.
However, if a retiree is considered to be functioning as an employee of a railroad or railroad labor organization, rather than as a self-employed contractor or consultant, the retiree’s annuity would be subject to suspension. If the retiree is considered the employee of a non-railroad employer, the retiree’s annuity would be subject to earnings deductions for non-railroad wages, and to additional deductions if he or she is considered to be working for a last pre-retirement non-railroad employer.
RRB determinations on contracting or consulting services take into account multiple factors which could be evaluated differently depending on the circumstances of the individual situation. Since no single rule covers every case, anyone requiring a determination as to whether contractor or consultant service is valid self-employment should contact the RRB for a determination well in advance of making a commitment so as to be sure of the effect on benefit payments.
8. How can people get more information about these Railroad Retirement work restrictions and earnings limitations?
More information is available by contacting an RRB field office. Field Office Locator at RRB.gov provides access to every field office’s street address and other information, and the option to email an office using the Send a Secure Message feature.
The agency’s toll-free number, 1-877-772-5772, offers a menu of service options, including being transferred to an office to speak with a representative, leave a message, or find the address of a local field office.
The agency also maintains a TTY number, 312-751-4701, to accommodate those with hearing or speech impairments. Most RRB offices are open to the public on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., except on Wednesdays when offices are open from 9 a.m. to noon. RRB offices are closed on federal holidays.

Legislative Representative Jordan Boone of Local 445 (Niota, Ill.) reports that National Legislative Director Greg Hynes will be speaking Sunday at a rally in support of the Safe Freight Act (H.R. 1748/S.1979) national two-person crew legislation.
The rally is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. local time at the Keokuk Labor Temple at 301 Blondeau St. in Keokuk, IA 52636. Members from the region are invited to attend to show their support for the legislation.
Representatives of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen also are expected to be in attendance to speak as are politicians including Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Iowa. Rep. Jeff Kurtz and Iowa House candidate Emiliano Vera.
Sanders is expected to publicly endorse S.1979 during an event at the Keokuk school complex, 2001 Orleans Ave., Keokuk, 52636, to take place at 12:30 p.m. local time.
H.R. 1748 currently has 133 co-sponsors while the Senate version of the bill has 15.