What is railroad retirement pension?
What is railroad retirement pension? 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.
What are the railroad retirement benefits for 2023?
The monthly exempt amount for the first year of retirement in 2023 is $1,770. Exempt Amounts for Annual Earnings Test for Full Retirement Age Annuitants: In 2023, the annual exempt amount for full retirement age annuitants is $56,520. The monthly exempt amount for the first year of retirement in 2023 is $4,710.
Why are railroad pensions so good?
The RRB adds between $23 and $43 per month to retirement benefits for employees who retire from a covered job, worked in an RRB-covered job before October 1981 and worked for at least 25 years in the rail industry. The RRB's higher benefits are tied to higher payroll tax contributions.
Can I collect railroad retirement and still work?
If you are under FRA (age 66 for those born 1943 - 1954 and gradually rising to age 67 for those born in 1960 or later), you can earn up to $21,240 in 2023 with no reduction in your railroad retirement tier I benefits. If you earn more than that, $1 in benefits is withheld for every $2 you earn over $21,240.
How much is the average railroad pension?
In 2022, the average monthly Railroad Retirement Board benefit for retired rail employees was $3,210 ($4,020 for career railroad employees). The average monthly Social Security retirement benefit was about $1,776 in December 2022.