I've Been Workin' On the Railroad

December 18, 2011

Author: Catherine M. Callery (Kate)| Louise M. Tarantino

The Railroad Retirement Act is a federal law that provides retirement and disability annuities for qualified railroad employees, spouse annuities for their wives or husbands, and  survivor benefits for the families of deceased employees who were insured under the Act.  These benefit programs are administered by the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).  It also administers the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, and has administrative responsibilities under the Social Security Act for certain benefit payments and railroad workers’ Medicare coverage. www.rrb.gov.

Railroad Retirement benefits can be affected by entitlement to Social Security benefits.  Since 1975, dually entitled beneficiaries generally receive one check from the RRB.  SSA determines the amount due.  The Railroad Retirement benefit is then reduced by the Social Security benefit.

Railroad Retirement benefits share some similarities with Social Security benefits, but there are differences.  Gene Doyle has alerted to us to one major difference.  Unlike disability claims under the Social Security Act, disability annuities are still available from RRB where drug or alcohol abuse (DAA) is  material to a disability claim.  Gene has provided us with a Legal Opinion (L-2008-06) from the RRB General Counsel, which addresses disability due to DAA.  The opinion is available as DAP #543.

Gene is also working on another case involving the intersection of the RRB and SSA.  He is appealing a decision by the RRB refusing to allow the claimant’s 1992 application for Social Security benefits to serve as an application for Railroad Retirement disability benefits, despite an RRB regulation that allows for a protective filing date based on an earlier Social Security application.  20 C.F.R. § 217.20(b).  The sole reason was that SSA failed to forward his Social Security/SSI disability applications to RRB.

According to Gene, it appears from POMS that, as a matter of policy, SSA never forwards Social Security disability applications to RRB.  See e.g. POMS § RS 01601.230[C][1] and [2] [available at: http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0301601230].  SSA’s policy renders the relevant RRB regulation a nullity. Gene, ever the vigilant advocate, is pursuing this   issue with SSA as well.  He will keep us posted on both fronts.