Railroad sickness benefits And how they pertain to You

What are railroad retirement sickness benefits?

Life as a railroad worker can be relatively risky. Therefore, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) deemed it fit to provide insurance for injured, sick, or retired railroad workers and their families under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

When eligible railroad workers fall sick, get injured, or retire, the Railroad Retirement Board will pay them benefits to cater to their basic health needs as well as their family upkeep. The insurance program also covers aged and disabled railroad workers.

Who is eligible for Railroad Retirement Benefits?

The RRB insurance program covers railroad employees who suffer lost wages due to periods of unemployment or sickness. For female employees, this includes health conditions such as pregnancy, childbirth, or miscarriage.

To be eligible for the RRB unemployment benefits, you must be available, willing, and able to work and have properly registered for the unemployment benefits. A day of unemployment is one on which you meet these conditions. You would therefore receive benefits even if you are not assigned to a job/work area, possibly because of its unavailability.

However, you should know that some days do not count as unemployment days. Let’s say you’re in the engine service, for example. If there’s a day on which you do not work due to work restriction agreement, mileage limitation, you missed a turn in pool of service, or the day falls in between regularly assigned tours, you would not get paid for it.

A day of sickness is one in which you cannot work due to illness or injury. You must apply for railroad sickness benefits before you can receive benefits, and you only receive those benefits if your employer does not pay you that day.

Furthermore, you must have worked for at least 5 months in the railroad service in the preceding year (base year) to be eligible for sickness and unemployment benefits in the current benefit year.

A benefit year begins every July 1. So if you started working in the railroad service in 2021, you must have served up to 5 months in 2021 to qualify for benefits in 2022.

Waiting period

There is always a 7-day (1 week) waiting period. That is, when you file a sickness claim to the RRB for the first time, you will not receive sickness benefits for the first 7 days. So if you are sick and out of work for 10 days, you will only be paid for the last 3 days.

This only applies to your first time filing a sickness claim. You may receive your full benefits in subsequent benefit years. In summary, you only get one waiting period while working in the railroad service.

Even though you know you’d not receive any benefits due to the number of your sickness days, it’s advisable to file your claim in order to fulfill that waiting period requirement.

After you have satisfied this waiting period, you will be paid for the number of sickness days more than 4 in the subsequent “period of continuing sickness.” That is, if you later fall sick for 14 days, you will receive benefits for ten days.

How do Railroad Retirement benefits affect Medicare?

If you have received benefits from the Railroad Retirement Board for up to 24 months, then you’d qualify for Medicare Part A and Part B.

If you have also been receiving RRB benefits, you would also automatically receive Medicare Part A and Part B as from the first day of the month you turn 65.

Usually, RRB will collect your Medicare premiums. When you receive Railroad Sickness benefits or railroad disability annuity checks, your Medicare Part B premium will be deducted monthly from your sickness benefits.

If you do not get your disability benefits from Medicare after turning 65, then you’d need to call your local social security office.

Categories and duration of railroad benefits

There are three different categories of railroad sickness benefits: normal benefits, extended benefits, and accelerated benefits.

·        Normal benefits

You can receive normal benefits up to 130 days (26 weeks) in one benefit year, provided the total benefits do not exceed your base year earnings. Your rights to benefits get exhausted when the benefit year ends (on June 30) or when your total benefits surpass your base year wages.

·        Extended benefits

You can enjoy extended sickness benefits if you’ve served in the Railroad service for up to 10 years. Even when you exhaust your normal benefits, you’ll still receive extended benefits for up to 65 days (note that you will only get benefits for 10 days in every 14 days of continuing sickness). Also, you may qualify for extended benefits if you are not eligible for sickness benefits in the current benefit year but received normal benefits in the preceding year.

Railroad employees who voluntarily retire or are older than 65 are not eligible for extended benefits.

·        Accelerated benefits

Accelerated benefits are those that come even before the benefit year begins (before July 1). However, there are special provisions under which one can receive accelerated benefits. Typically, you must qualify for the next benefit year but not the current year. Also, you must have been sick for at least 14 consecutive days.

Like the extended benefits, accelerated benefits will not come to workers who voluntarily retire or are older than 65 years of age.

How much railroad sickness benefits can you receive?

Railroad unemployment and sickness benefits are calculated per day. The daily benefit rate is 60% of your daily earning for the base year. However, it must not value below $12.70.

How do railroad workers benefit from the sickness benefits?

The relevance of sickness and employment benefits is for railroad workers to obtain cost of living allowances in the event they sustain an injury or develop a health condition and become unable to work. Since you earn on a per-day basis in the railroad service, you do not receive payment for any day you’re out of work due to sickness, pregnancy, etc. The sickness benefits are a way to help you fill in the financial gap since you’re willing to work and earn but, unfortunately, you’re unable to.

That is why you only receive benefits based on your lost earnings per day rather than to elevate your standard of living from what it would have been if you were at work. It’s supplemental; you receive no extras.

How do you prove your sickness claim?

To be eligible for sickness benefits, you must present a medical report known as Form SI-1b, Statement of Sickness. You should have your doctor or some qualified healthcare provider fill this form.

In some cases, the Railroad Retirement Board would ask you to have your doctor provide them with additional information regarding your illness so you can continue receiving payment. Many factors determine whether such additional information will be required. Such factors include the possible date of your return to work, diagnosis, age, duration of disability, etc.

You can have any of the following persons complete your SI-1b form:

• A licensed medical doctor or nurse
• A podiatrist
• A chiropractor
• A licensed doctor of clinical psychology
• Nurse or Midwife in case of pregnancy, childbirth, or miscarriage
• Any supervisory staff in a government-approved health care center.

Can you get disqualified from railroad unemployment and sickness benefits?

You can be denied railroad and unemployment benefits for some reasons:

• Your employer has paid you a separation allowance for that day of sickness, so there would be no need for the benefits. Giving you benefits in such situations is like paying you twice.
• You make a false or invalid claim. If you make a false or fraudulent sickness claim, you would be disqualified from receiving sickness benefits for the next 75 days.
• You will also not qualify for railroad sickness or unemployment benefits if you currently receive similar benefits from other institutions or Acts.
• You do not go for a medical examination as required.

Are railroad sickness benefits taxable?

Sickness benefits paid under the Railroad Insurance Act are considered income and are thereby taxed. However, your sickness benefits paid for on-duty injuries (injuries you sustain while at work) will not be taxed.

The RRB will send each railroad worker the Form W-2 to fill each year. The form will show the total amount of sickness benefits the employee received in the previous year for the purpose of taxation. But every benefit paid due to an on-site injury will not be counted for tax purposes.

If all the benefits you received for that year are for on-site injuries, then you have no business filling a W-2 form from the RRB.

Final Words

Ensure you file your benefits claim in a timely manner online rrb.gov/myrrb or by mail to your local RRB field office (see image below for both city and states locations). Do your best to complete and send the form to the RRB office within ten days of your first day of sickness.

Railroad benefits are for you. Claim them whenever appropriate.

Helpful links and Resources related to Railroad sickness benefits:

• RRB Website Sickness Resource Page : https://www.rrb.gov/Benefits/Sickness
• RRB Website Sickness Downloadable Forms : https://www.rrb.gov/Benefits/Sickness/downloadableforms
• RRB online access : https://www.rrb.gov/Benefits/myRRB