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Like other federal agencies, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has been operating under a continuing resolution since October 1, 2024, the start of fiscal year (FY) 2025. The temporary funding measure provides the agency with continuing appropriations of $27.9 million through December 20, 2024.

The continuing resolution avoided a potential governmentwide shutdown, as Congress was unable to reach agreement on FY 2025 spending bills before the beginning of the new fiscal year.

Regarding FY 2025 funding for the RRB, the Senate Committee on Appropriations approved a spending level of $129 million, while the House Committee on Appropriations has proposed just $100 million. Congress previously cut the RRB’s FY 2024 budget, which severely impacted agency operations. While the Senate’s proposal reverses that cut and provides the agency a small 0.78 percent increase from FY 2023, the proposed appropriation of $129 million is still $5 million less than the President’s request, $43.3 million less than the RRB’s request, and significantly short of what the agency needs to carry out its mission.

With a $129 million budget in FY 2025, the RRB will be forced to continue its existing hiring freeze and operational cutbacks, while continuing to lose decades of institutional knowledge through retirements. Further, the RRB will be unable to move forward with its multi-year information technology modernization project, resulting in continued dependence on antiquated systems and inefficient processes and a further deterioration of service to the nation’s railroad employees and their families.

The AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department coalition, of which the SMART-MD and SMART-TD are part, sent the following letter to Congress in conjunction with rail industry representatives on May 21:

The Honorable Robert Aderholt
Chair
Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies 
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Rosa DeLauro
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations 
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Tammy Baldwin
Chair
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chair Aderholt, Ranking Member DeLauro, Chair Baldwin, and Ranking Member Capito:

On behalf of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), the Association of American Railroads (AAR), and the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), we write to express our strong support for the Railroad Retirement Board’s (RRB’s) Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) request for $172.331 million in the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill. 

Over the last several years, RRB has faced many challenges, including a severe staffing shortage and an ongoing, complex Information Technology (IT) modernization effort, while navigating the high demand for benefits and assistance during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges have been exacerbated by the $2 million cut in funding Congress passed last year in the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Labor-HHS appropriations bill. The impact of these budget cuts is already being seen. For example, 25 percent of RRB’s current employees will be eligible for retirement within the next year, but due to limited funding, RRB has been unable to replace those employees. These shortages have led to major backlogs in work and decreases in service to railroad retirees and workers. 

We have appreciated Congress’ past support for RRB’s efforts to modernize IT programs and improve the Board’s ability to pay benefits and maintain program integrity.  Unfortunately, this dedicated funding will be depleted by the end of FY24, though more work remains.  

For these reasons, RRB has requested $172.331 million in funding for FY25, $38.331 million above the President’s FY25 request. Of that funding, $28.331 million would be used to hire and retain the 880 full-time employees necessary to sustain operations and meet the Board’s core mission of paying the right benefits to the right people in the right amount at the right time. The remaining $10 million would allow RRB to continue making progress on its IT modernization effort, which Congress has supported in the past to improve program integrity. A more detailed explanation of RRB’s request is attached to this letter. 

It is important to note that RRB’s funding structure is unique in that railroad employer and employee contributions are held in trust funds not only to pay railroad benefits, but also to support RRB operations. Enacted appropriations language simply authorizes the RRB to access their own available funds in the railroad retirement trust fund system for the agency’s administrative budget, rather than drawing from the general pot of taxpayer funds. In effect, rail labor and management are funding the agency’s operations. They pay into the trust so that when their earned benefits are needed, the RRB is there to timely process applications and provide the customer service they deserve. We ask that you allow the agency to receive the funding it requests so that it can fully meet the needs of the railroad community.

We urge you to fund RRB at the requested $172.331 million to allow the agency to hire and retain the necessary employees and continue essential IT modernization. This funding level will ensure the Board continues to effectively serve the over 560,000 railroad employees and retirees and their families who rely on these benefits. 

Sincerely, 

Ian Jefferies
President and CEO
Association of American Railroads

Chuck Baker
President
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association

Greg Regan
President
Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO

Visit the Legislative Action Center to tell your member of Congress to back the REEF Act

The SMART Transportation Division is one step closer to closing a federal loophole that has been taking money away from railroaders who are out of work due to furlough, sickness, or injury.

An out-of-date federal statute has allowed the government to enforce a unique form of tax that takes $50 per pay half out of the pockets of railroad employees who are collecting unemployment or short-term sickness benefits from the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). 

SMART-TD, along with bipartisan support in Congress led by Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, has been pushing for legislation to end this predatory practice affecting our most-vulnerable brothers and sisters.

The efforts of our National Legislative team of Director Greg Hynes and Alternate National Director Jarred Cassity made noteworthy progress last week. The bill to end this tax on our out-of-work members is called the Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness (REEF) Act.

The REEF Act passed through the U.S. Senate’s Budget Committee and is headed to the floor to be considered and voted on by the entire body.

SMART-TD will keep you up to date with the bill’s progress as it makes its way through the Senate and to the House of Representatives.

For more information on this bill and the Budget Committee vote, follow this link to the press release put out by Senator Sherrod Brown’s office or this notice from the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department.

The following letter was submitted by the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, of which the SMART Transportation Division and Mechanical Division are members, on behalf of SMART and a number of other labor unions to President Joe Biden earlier this week.

November 12, 2023

Dear President Biden:

On behalf of the undersigned national rail labor unions, we write to unanimously recommend and support Johnathan D. Bragg to be re-nominated to serve as the Labor Member on the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). He has demonstrated excellent service on the Board for the last four years since his confirmation in early 2019, and we request that he be nominated for another term to serve on the Board.

John Bragg, labor’s member on the Railroad Retirement Board, addresses the Transportation Division session at the SMART Leadership Conference on July 31, 2023.

As you know, employees in the railroad industry are covered under a separate retirement system which is administered by the RRB. This unique system, funded solely by the industry and its employees, provides retirement, unemployment, disability and survivor benefits for millions of rail workers. These benefits and services are essential to the lives of all employees and their families. To help ensure that the system protects the interest of rail workers, Section 7(A) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 dictates that the President must nominate one candidate to the Board based on the “recommendations made by representatives of the employees.” We strongly endorse Johnathan D. Bragg to continue serving as the Labor member for the RRB.

Mr. Bragg has shown great leadership on the Board and successfully represented and advocated for rail workers during one of the most trying times in the rail industry. Like many industries, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many hardships for rail workers, including layoffs, illness and even unfortunately death. Congress included provisions in the COVID-19 relief packages to provide temporary additional benefits, such as enhanced rail worker unemployment benefits, that were administered through the RRB; Mr. Bragg and his staff were instrumental in successfully rolling out and implementing those benefits in record time. During his tenure, Mr. Bragg has also advocated for and provided oversight of the long overdue modernization of the RRB’s IT systems that will bring RRB’s 1960’s IT systems into the 21st century and facilitate much-needed improvements, such as allowing workers to file benefit claims online.

In addition to his leadership and service on the Board, Mr. Bragg hails from a long line of railroaders in his family. He began his own rail career 23 years ago as a freight conductor, and later a signalman, and knows the rail worker’s perspective firsthand. As a dedicated rail worker and union member, he climbed the union leadership ranks as a Local Chairman, Grand Lodge Representative, and National Vice-President. He also represented the BRS as a permanent Board Member of the National Railroad Adjustment Board. Mr. Bragg’s long and accomplished career has allowed him to excel in his current role. If granted a second term as the RRB’s Labor Member, Mr. Bragg will continue bringing an invaluable level of experience, knowledge, and understanding of the needs of rail workers, retirees, and their families who rely on the system.

For these reasons, we strongly recommend you re-nominate Johnathan D. Bragg to serve as the Labor member of the RRB as you work to ensure the agency’s full board member capacity.

Sincerely,

American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA)
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET)-IBT
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED)-IBT
Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC)
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS)
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM)
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers (IBB)
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers–Mechanical Division (SMART-MD)
International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers–Transportation Division (SMART-TD)
National Conference of Firemen & Oilers, SEIU (NCFO)
Transportation Communications International Union (TCU)
Transport Workers Union of America (TWU)

The SMART Transportation Division has been asking for help and advocacy from our members this week to reach out to Congress and let them know that it is not OK to gut the federal spending for Amtrak. Late Thursday, it appears that your voices have been heard loud and clear and have had an impact!

The House of Representatives prepared its budget bill for the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD), and it called for an apocalyptic cut to AMTRAK’s budget. The version of the budget that came out of committee and was slated for a floor vote Nov. 2 featured a 64% cut to Amtrak.

This proposed funding cut would have been devastating to thousands of SMART-TD members who work in passenger rail. Fallout from the job cuts that would inevitably come from this short-sighted effort to slash and burn Amtrak would have also impacted the solvency of the Railroad Retirement Board, which would be a significant problem for everyone in railroad industry on both the freight and passenger sides.

Through the hard work of rail labor and the advocacy of our members and passenger railroad advocates reaching out to their members of Congress, the vote on this budget bill has been halted this week. Several Republican reps have expressed that this “halting” of the vote is directly related to concerns raised about Amtrak cuts.

In short, YOUR VOICE IS BEING HEARD!

While this is very welcome news, the threat is not over. This THUD budget bill is scheduled to come back to the House floor next week. We need all our members to contact their congressional representatives and express in no uncertain terms that cuts to Amtrak funding and subsequently the Railroad Retirement Board is not a responsible way to patch the holes in this nation’s budget.

Please follow this link to SMART-TD’s Legislative Action Center to send a pre-written message today! Together we can protect our brothers and sisters and maintain the pension plan that we all worked for!

This letter was co-signed by Greg Regan, the president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, of which the SMART Transportation Division and SMART Mechanical Divisions are members.

July 31, 2023

The Honorable Patty Murray
Chair
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington DC 20510

The Honorable Susan Collins
Vice Chair
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington DC 20510

The Honorable Kay Granger
Chairwoman
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington DC 20510

The Honorable Rosa DeLauro
Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington DC 20510

Dear Chair Murray, Vice Chair Collins, Chairwoman Granger, and Ranking Member DeLauro:

On behalf of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), and the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), we write to express our strong opposition to the limitation on administrative funding for the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) included in the fiscal year (FY) 2024 House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill and to urge you to adopt the limitation included in the FY 24 Senate Labor-HHS bill.

As passed by the House Labor-HHS Subcommittee on July 14, 2023, the House FY 24 bill would cap RRB’s administrative funding at $103 million, a $25 million decrease from FY 23 funding, which is maintained in the Senate FY 24 bill, and over $35 million below the President’s FY 24 Budget Request. This limitation would severely impact the ability of the RRB to process retirements and sickness benefits for railroad employees and retirees living in every state and every congressional district. At this funding level, RRB would be forced to cut approximately 23 percent of its current workforce, dramatically slowing down processing times and service for beneficiaries. This funding limitation comes at a time when RRB is in dire need of more employees and has consistently asked Congress to increase the administrative funding limitation to better meet the needs of the over 530,000 beneficiaries currently served by RRB.

This new limitation is especially troubling because, though it was included under the guise of lowering federal spending, it does not cut spending at all. The overwhelming majority of funding for the RRB, including the administrative funding capped by this bill, comes from payroll taxes paid by railroad employers and railroad employees. No other taxpayers or businesses pay into the fund, and the RRB does not receive any funding from the U.S. Treasury. Therefore, caps on RRB spending do not reduce the deficit or slow federal spending. Further, this limitation on funding would not reduce the amount of money paid into the fund by railroads or railroad workers. All this limitation will do is force RRB to cut staff and reduce service to hard-working railroad employees and retirees.

We urge you to remove this draconian limit on RRB’s administrative funding and support the limitation in the Senate bill, which maintains FY 23 funding levels and allows the agency to maintain its current employment levels and continue providing strong service to the over 530,000 beneficiaries currently served by the employees as well as 200,000 active railroad employees relying on these benefits in the future.

Sincerely,

Ian Jefferies
President and CEO
Association of American Railroads

Chuck Baker
President
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association

Greg Regan
President
Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO

PDF Version

Railroad Retirement Board Labor Member John Bragg released the following statement on July 18:

John Bragg

The Office of the Labor Member is pleased to announce that our 2023 Pre-Retirement Seminar presentation is now available to view online. This program is a modification of our Informational Conferences, which we began decades ago.  We designed this program to help educate those nearing retirement about the benefits available to them, and what they can expect during the application process.

This popular program has become a critical resource to RRB customers and employees alike. It helps promote a better understanding within the railroad community of our benefit programs, and in turn, improves the effectiveness of our benefit program operations.

Unfortunately, we were limited to the number of in-person seminars we could schedule this year and are pleased to be able to again offer an online version of the program.  The feedback we’ve received from those who have viewed the online version of the seminar has been very positive.

For more information about the Pre-Retirement Seminars, visit RRB.gov/PRS.

Because we cover several aspects of Railroad Retirement benefits in great detail, the entire video is over an hour long. View shorter segments of the program by selecting a seminar topic on the PRS web page. Available topics include:  Retired Employee and Spouse Benefits, Spouse Annuities, Working After Retirement, Survivor Benefits, and Items Affecting All Retirement and Survivor Benefits.

The success of our educational programming is made possible with your long-standing partnership. We greatly appreciate your support in promoting this valuable program.

Each year, the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) prepares a Form BA-6, Certificate of Service Months and Compensation, for every railroad employee with creditable railroad compensation in the previous calendar year. The RRB will mail the forms to employees during the first half of June. Anyone with compensation reported in 2022 who has not received Form BA-6 by July 1, or who needs a replacement, should contact an RRB field office by calling toll-free at 1-877-772-5772. A statement can also be requested online by clicking the “Request Documents” button at RRB.gov/myRRB, or by using the toll-free number’s automated menu at the end of the recorded greeting to request a statement of service months and compensation.

Form BA-6 provides employees with a record of their Railroad Retirement service and compensation. The information shown is used to determine whether an employee qualifies for benefits and the amount of those benefits; therefore, it is important that employees review their Form BA-6 to see whether their own records of service months and creditable compensation agree with the form.

When reviewing the 2022 compensation total, employees should be aware that only annual earnings up to $147,000 are creditable for Railroad Retirement purposes in that year, and that $147,000 is the maximum amount shown on the form. In addition, the form shows service credited on a month-by-month basis for 2021, 2020, and 2019, when the maximum creditable compensation was $142,800, $137,700, and $132,900, respectively. The BA-6 also lists the employer(s) reporting the employee’s 2022 service and compensation.

Besides the months of service reported by employers, Form BA-6 shows the number of any additional service months deemed by the RRB. Deemed service months may be credited under certain conditions to an employee who did not work in all 12 months of the year, but had creditable Tier II earnings exceeding the monthly proration of the creditable Tier II earnings maximum for the year. However, the total reported and deemed service months may never exceed 12 in a calendar year, and no service months (reported or deemed) can be credited after retirement, severance, resignation, discharge or death.

The BA-6 form also indicates the number of months of verified military service creditable as service under the Railroad Retirement Act if the service was previously reported to the RRB. Employees are encouraged to submit proofs of age and/or military service in advance of their actual retirement. Filing these proofs with the RRB in advance will streamline the benefit application process and help prevent payment delays.

For employees who received separation or severance payments, the section of the form designated “Taxable Amount” shows the amounts of separation allowance or severance payments that were subject to Railroad Retirement Tier II taxes. This information is shown on the form because a lump sum, approximating part or all of the Tier II taxes deducted from such payments made after 1984, which did not provide additional Tier II credits, may be payable by the RRB upon retirement to qualified employees or to survivors if the employee dies before retirement. The amount of an allowance included in an employee’s regular compensation is shown under “Compensation Amount.”

Form BA-6 also shows, in the section designated “Employee Contributions,” the cumulative amount of Tier II Railroad Retirement payroll taxes paid by the employee over and above Tier I Social Security equivalent payroll taxes. While the RRB does not collect or maintain payroll tax information, the agency computes this amount from its compensation records in order to advise retired employees of their payroll tax contributions for federal income tax purposes.

In the lower-right corner of the form, there is a field that indicates if the employee is eligible to claim unemployment or sickness benefits. The RRB provides detailed instructions for reviewing the form on the agency website at RRB.gov/BA6.

There are instructions on the back of the form and the web page on how to file a protest if service and compensation totals are incorrect. The law limits to four years the period during which corrections to service and compensation amounts can be made. Also, if personal information is incorrect or incomplete, such as the name, birthdate, or address, the employee should contact an RRB field office to have it corrected. For most people, the address of the RRB office serving their area is provided on the form along with the RRB’s nationwide toll-free number (1-877-772-5772).

Under the Budget Control Act of 2011, and a subsequent sequestration order to implement mandated cuts, Railroad Retirement Board-administered unemployment and sickness insurance benefits were reduced by a set percentage that is subject to revision at the beginning of each fiscal year. In December 2020, in an effort to minimize the effects the COVID-19 pandemic was having on the rail industry, Congress passed the Continued Assistance to Rail Workers Act (CARWA).

This legislation temporarily suspended the sequestration, and railroad workers who were eligible for unemployment and sickness benefits from RRB went back to receiving the full dollar amount of their benefits. This legislation was intended to be temporary, relieving out-of-work rail employees during the pandemic, and its language stated that the suspension of the benefit cuts would end 30 days after the date the COVID-19 state of emergency was terminated.

On April 10, 2023, President Biden officially declared the end of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency by signing House Joint Resolution 7. The 30-day clock to the reinstatement of the RRB benefit cuts runs out next month.

To avoid these cuts, the Railroad Employment Equity and Fairness (REEF) Act was introduced April 20 in the House by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.-District 9), a chief deputy whip and a senior member of the House Budget Committee, alongside Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.-District 1), Rep. Rick Larsen (Wash.-District 2), Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.-District 2), Rep. Chuy Garcia (Ill.-District 4), and Rep. Pete Stauber (Minn.-District 8). U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), introduced the bill in the Senate.

The current RRB daily rate for unemployment is $85 and pays out five days weekly for biweekly payment of $850. After the emergency relief’s expiration, the daily rate for unemployment will become $80.15 daily for a biweekly total of $801.50. This bill will reduce the payment of our out-of-work brothers and sisters by $48.50 per pay period.

Sickness benefits paid to an employee within six months from the date last worked for a reason other than an on-the-job injury are also subject to regular Tier I Railroad Retirement taxes, resulting in a further reduction of 7.65%. Applying the 5.7% reduction to these sickness benefits will result in a maximum two-week total received of $740.23.

If these cuts seem aimed at the most-vulnerable population within our union, that is because they are. The sequestration for unemployed, sick, and injured railroaders benefits that the pandemic relief temporarily eliminated already has been done away with for other federal retirement plans. This clawing-back of funds, implemented 12 years ago, is literally only applicable to the Railroad Retirement Board. Allowing the CARWA Act to fall off the table accomplishes nothing other than taking a $50 bill out of the hands of our out-of-work brothers and sisters every other week while they are struggling to bridge the gap until they can get back to the rails.

SMART-TD is asking you to rally around our own by contacting your House representative as well as your U.S. senators to demand they support a permanent end to sequestration of railroad unemployment and sickness insurance benefits. By reintroducing and passing the REEF Act, Congress can restore railroaders’ hard-earned benefits.

This sequestration is out of date, and unfairly targeted at our profession. Please follow the link provided to make your voice heard to protect the hard-working men and women in your crew base when they are in financial difficulty.

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:

DateSite
April 28, 2023Courtyard by Marriott, 14635 Baldwin Park Towne Center, Baldwin Park, Calif.
May 05, 2023AJC Federal Building, 1240 E 9th Street, 31st Floor Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio
May 12, 2023Eugene T. Mahoney State Park, 28500 West Park Hwy., Ashland, Neb.
May 19, 2023US Customs House, 721 19th Street, First Floor Room 181, Denver, Colo.
June 9, 2023Richard Boling Federal Building, 601 E. 12th Street, Room G-64 (Cafe Conference Room), Kansas City, Mo.
June 23, 2023Tinley Park Convention Center, 18451 Convention Center Drive, Tinley Park, Ill.
Spring 2023 Railroad Retirement Board pre-retirement seminar schedule.

While most of the program focuses on various aspects of Railroad Retirement benefits, each seminar closes with a brief presentation on railroad unemployment and sickness benefits to help prepare union officers for sharing reliable information with members.

How to register

Online registration is required to ensure accommodations and materials for all attendees. 

Security screening is required for seminars hosted inside any federal buildings. Bring a current, valid photo ID (issued by state/federal government); no weapons permitted. 

Attendees are encouraged to bring original records (or certified copies) of documents required to file a Railroad Retirement application (such as proof of age, marriage, or military service), along with an additional copy of each item to leave with field service staff. 

Visit RRB.gov/PRS to register.

Select your local seminar from the schedule listed, click the register button, enter your infor­mation, and hit submit.

To RSVP on paper instead: select your local seminar from the schedule listed, find the blank registration form (PDF) to print and complete, then mail or fax it to your local RRB field office. Contact information for each office hosting a seminar is accessible through the Field Office Locator at RRB.gov.

Event details and registration will be available approximately 70 days in advance of each seminar, and registration will be closed for any seminar that reaches capacity.

Please inform RRB if you sign up for a seminar and become unable to attend.