Most railroad retirement annuities, like social security benefits, are scheduled to increase in January 2014 on the basis of the rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the third quarter of 2012 to the corresponding period of the current year. Cost-of-living increases are calculated in both the tier I and tier II benefits included
Railroad retirement annuitants subject to earnings restrictions can earn more in 2014 without having their benefits reduced as a result of increases in earnings limits indexed to average national wage increases. Like social security benefits, some railroad retirement benefit payments are subject to deductions if an annuitant’s earnings exceed certain exempt amounts. These earnings restrictions
The standard Medicare Part B monthly premium will be $104.90 in 2014, the same amount as in 2013. Some beneficiaries will continue to pay higher premiums based on their modified adjusted gross income, but these amounts are also remaining the same as in 2013. The monthly premiums that include income-related adjustments for 2014 will be
Under the Railroad Retirement Act, a “current connection” with the railroad industry is one of the eligibility requirements for occupational disability annuities and supplemental annuities, and is one of the factors that determine whether the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) or the Social Security Administration has jurisdiction over the payment of monthly benefits to survivors of
The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has announced that during the lapse in Federal funding for certain Government operations which began October 1, ongoing benefit payments will continue and all RRB offices are expected to remain open. RRB field offices, operating with reduced staffs, may also accept new claims for unemployment and sickness benefits, but
Beginning October 1, 2013, the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will reduce railroad unemployment and sickness insurance benefits by 7.2 percent due to Federal budget cuts first implemented in March 2013. Since that time, these benefits had been reduced by 9.2 percent. The adjusted reduction amount is based on revised projections of benefit claims and
Railroad retirement benefits are subject to reduction if an employee with less than 30 years of service retires before attaining full retirement age. While employees with less than 30 years of service may still retire at age 62, the age at which full retirement benefits are payable has been gradually increasing since the year 2000,
The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has named Ram Murthy as its Chief Information Officer (CIO). As CIO, Mr. Murthy will head the RRB’s Bureau of Information Services and its more than 150 employees. In that capacity, he will be responsible for planning, directing and coordinating the agency’s Information Resources Management program. Mr. Murthy will
Walter A. Barrows, the Labor Member of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), recently announced two senior-level staff appointments within his immediate office. Michael J. Collins, who has been an Assistant to the Labor Member since April 2003, will assume the position of Legislative Assistant. In that capacity, he will advise the Labor Member on
The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has released a booklet covering Railroad Unemployment and Sickness Benefits. The Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act provides two kinds of benefits for railroad employees: unemployment benefits, when you are not working but are ready, willing and able to work; and sickness benefits, when you are unable to work because of illness
