Railroad Retirement Board Changes

NARVRE

NARVRE has recently been informed of changes taking place at the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB.)  As of October 2021, the Railroad Retirement Board’s (RRB) field offices have been unable to re-open due to Covid and variants. Even though the field offices have remained closed the RRB has found ways to still be available to their members. During the Covid shutdown they had an abundance of callers with questions and concerns flood their toll-free phone number.

Due to the increased volume of calls their wait times were significantly higher. Usually, the information the caller was looking for could be found on their website, albeit not always was the information easy to find. They have now updated their website to include a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, easily found on the home page of the RRB website, www.rrb.gov. The RRB hopes this will help members get answers to their questions quickly, using this resource, rather than having to wait on the phone.  

Another way the RRB are working to improve their customer service is by hiring added staff for the field offices and RRB Headquarters. Over the years the RRB have had to make difficult choices in allocating their financial resources. They had a constant need to fund IT modernization from their regular budget. They have now reached a point, thanks to the challenging work of our rail laborers, where they no longer must worry about consistent IT improvements and therefore can focus on staffing. Labor Member John Bragg says, “He hopes the increased staff at the RRB Headquarters and field offices are able to better address the needs of railroad employees and their families.” 

As our members know we work hand in hand with the RRB and are delighted when they can make improvements. NARVRE receives press releases and information from Washington with the aid of the Railroad Retirement Board. We in turn our able to forward the press releases on to our members. They help us keep you informed of any changes to your railroad benefits. We hope to see them continue to grow and help the members of NARVRE.