Retirement is a phase of life that should be cherished and celebrated. Especially for those who have spent their careers in the railroad industry! The National Association of Retired and Veteran Railroad Employees (NARVRE) understands the value of this transition and offers a supportive community that goes beyond retirement. Joining the existing NARVRE members is beneficial, and you play a significant role in growing this community.
After several months of warnings and four days before the U.S. Treasury debt default, Congress finally passed a legislative compromise raising the nation’s borrowing limit. The House approved the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 with a vote of 314-117, followed by the Senate with a vote of 63-36 the following evening. The President signed the bill into law on June 3, 2023.
Since the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is a federal agency, it is required to submit a fiscal year budget in preparation for the President’s yearly budget review. Present day, the Railroad Retirement Board funding is $128M. The President’s FY24 budget for the Railroad Retirement Board is $138.575M. While this is an increase, it only supports around 729 full-time employees.
We are now in the second month of 2023, and thankfully due to the increase in COLA, you should be receiving more money since the COLA benefit rose to 8.7% in Tier 1 and 2.8% in Tier 2 for railroad retirement benefits.
It has been an eventful few months for railroad workers as a possible strike loomed at the end of last year, 2022. However, President Biden has signed a resolution from Congress that imposes a tentative contract agreement. Congress passed the resolution on December 2, binding rail workers to the tentative contract agreement to avert the first national rail strike in decades.
The possibility of a nationwide rail strike was averted, effective December 2, 2022. Realizing that a strike on our nation and overall economy could be detrimental, President Biden called for Congressional intervention. This is in accordance with the Railway Labor Act (RLA).
Annually in October, the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) announce the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for the upcoming year. Every year there are questions from a new widow(er) pertaining to why they did not receive a COLA. They are worried they are not receiving their benefits properly and do not understand why others received them but did not. In some cases, due to a rise in Medicare premiums, they actually see their take-home amount lowered as well.
Most railroad annuities, such as social security benefits, will rise in January 2023. The increase is due to a Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the third quarter of 2021 in accordance with the period of the current year.