Category: Alumni Association News
RRB releases schedule of spring pre-retirement seminars
Union officials, auxiliary members and their spouses as well as rail employees and spouses within five years of retirement are welcome to attend one of a series of Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) pre-retirement seminars. The spring schedule is as follows: Date Site April 28, [...]
TD Disaster Relief Fund in urgent need of donations
Dear SMART-TD members and retirees — Major disasters can occur anytime and anywhere to our union Brothers and Sisters, and the SMART Transportation Division Disaster Relief Fund is primed to assist members in their times of need. In recent memory, the fund has helped du [...]
Union Plus scholarship deadline approaching; others open for TD members’ families
With the new year in full swing, it’s time to begin applying for scholarships for the 2023-24 school year. If you have a child or grandchild in college or about to attend college, now is the time to do your research and apply. Some scholarships you might consider applying for [...]
Railroad Retirement and Unemployment Insurance Taxes in 2023
The amounts of compensation subject to Railroad Retirement Tier I and Tier II payroll taxes will go up in 2023, while the tax rates on employers and employees will stay the same. In addition, unemployment insurance contribution rates paid by railroad employers will include a [...]
Action needed to support Congressional Workers Union
This is a call to action. The burning wreckage of what used to be the Grand Old Party (GOP) is attempting to attack the labor movement immediately after the holidays while our guard is down and as the transition to the new Congress occurs. SMART is asking you to take action a [...]
ERMA lifetime maximum benefit to increase in 2023
The lifetime maximum benefit for the Railroad Employees National Early Retirement Major Medical Benefit (ERMA or GA-46000) Plan will increase from $182,700 to $188,000 beginning Jan. 1, 2023. At the end of 2001, labor and management had agreed on various procedures to adminis [...]
RRB announces retiree earnings limits will increasse in 2023
Railroad Retirement annuitants subject to earnings restrictions can earn more in 2023 without having their benefits reduced due to increased limits indexed to average national wage increases. Like Social Security benefits, some Railroad Retirement benefit payments are subject [...]
Railroad Retirement benefits to see rise in 2023
Most Railroad Retirement annuities, like Social Security benefits, will increase in January 2023 due to a rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the third quarter of 2021 to the corresponding period of the current year. Cost-of-living increases are calculated in both the [...]