Disability Retirement
A Disability Retirement can be qualified for in several ways.
If a rail has less than 20 years of service (240 Months of RRB credits), you must qualify for disability under Social Security rules. This is very difficult to qualify for. Generally, you must be disqualified from all jobs in the United States. Requests for this status are almost always denied on the first try. Then the rail has 2 chances to appeal. The first is written and if that is denied, then you can have a face to face.
If a rail has more than 20 years of service, you can qualify for an occupational Disability. If the Railroad or your Doctor determines that you can no longer perform your job at the Railroad, you can be disabled, with full retirement benefits or age reductions, regardless of your age you apply or are granted a disability annuity.
If a rail has reached the age of 60, all that is needed is 10 years of service (120 Months of RRB credits) to qualify for an occupational retirement.
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When a rail is granted a disability annuity, it is figured with NO age reductions. The amount of the annuity is what a rail would have received had they retired at their full retirement age, with the service months they have performed.
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HOW TO BEGIN:
To start the Disability process, the rail must request disability forms from the RRB. At this time, the RRB will send you to a RRB rep who will interview you and then send you the paperwork for disability, filled out, ready for you to attach your medical evidence to. This is a new service the RRB is using and may not be available in all areas. You may be sent the forms and then you are expected to fill them out yourself. There is a 16-page application for disability and a 9-page vocational form, along with a form for your doctor to fill out.
To fill these forms out the rail will need all test results, doctors’ statements and facilities treated in, that pertain to your disability. Once the forms are filled out and sent to the RRB, the rail must talk to a representative of the RRB to officially apply for a disability annuity. In the age of covid, this would be a phone conference to make sure all the forms are filled out properly. This will establish the rails date of filing.
A 5-month waiting period beginning the month after the month of the onset of the disability is required before any disability annuity payments can be qualified for. Sickness benefits are payable with a 7-day elimination period from the first day off from work. Currently being paid at $85 per day. Going up to $87 per day in July 2023.
A disability annuity can go back 12 months from the date of filing or the protected filing date if there is one. If the onset date ended up being 12/04/2000 and the rail filed for their disability on 06/01/2020, the RRB would pay back to 06/01/2019. In this example the waiting period would have been satisfied years ago but the payments can still only go back 12 months from the date of filing.
EXAMP. A rail has a stroke on April 21st, 2019. His first disability benefit payable is for the month of October 2019. The rail's filing date was July 1st, 2020, and a disability annuity was granted on December 2020. The rail would be paid a disability annuity for 15 months, minus any RRB sickness benefits that were paid during that 15-month period.
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Generally, the older the person and/or the more severe the disability, the shorter the time to get disabled by the RRB. The current average time to get a disability annuity granted is 13 months. There is no way to know exactly how much time it will take. Your local RRB office may give you an approximation as to when it may be granted, but they can only guess. The decision is made in Chicago.
The best documentation for an occupational annuity is a letter from the UP that states that they do not have a job that can accommodate your condition. I have seen several rails send this letter to the RRB along with their disability application and be disabled in 7 months.
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DEPENDENT INSURANCE:
When a rail goes on a medical leave of absence, dependents Insurance is good for a year after a year in which the rail had compensated service. If a rail last worked on April 21st, 2019, then their dependents would have Health, Dental and Vision Insurance through December 31st, 2020. If the Rail received vacation pay in 2020, that would add an additional year of qualification until December 31st of 2021. All at no cost.
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RAIL'S INSURANCE - National Plan
When a rail goes on a medical leave of absence, then his Medical, Dental and Vision would continue for 2 years after a year in which the rail had compensated service. If a Rail last worked on July 1st, 2019, then the rail’s Insurance would go through December 31st, 2021. If the Rail received vacation pay in 2020, then that would add an additional year of Health Insurance only. The Rails health insurance would go through December 31st, 2022. At no cost.
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RAIL'S INSURANCE - Iron Road Health Care (old UPREHS)
When a rail goes on a medical leave of absence, the first 6 months is free and then the Rail will have to make a choice. Both Continuation or Cobra pays the same benefits. BUT:
-Continuation for up to 24 months at $100 a month. Once a Disability Annuity is granted, then the health Insurance will only continue for 3 additional months, after the month the annuity is granted and then health end. If the rail has not attained the age of 60 with 360 months of service, at the end of IR coverage, then there will be no additional health Insurance through IR.
-Cobra for up to 23 months at $714 per month. The rail would have the right to keep this insurance for the entire 23 months. If the Rail gets to age 60 with 360 months of service, then can go on the Early retirement 60-30 plan at $315 per month until age 65. If the rail is not covered by an Iron Road health Insurance at age 60, then no more Insurance is available through IR.
Dental and Vision will be the same as those rails Insured through the National Plan. Dental and Vision insurance would continue for 2 years, after a year in which the rail had compensated service.
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When you are waiting for your disability annuity to be granted, do not report any surgery that is not specific to your disability to the RRB. ANY surgery will automatically delay the decision on your disability for 90 days, whether it is related to your disability or not.
Once you have a qualifying event for disability, you do not have to re-qualify if you go back to work. As an example, if a rail is diagnosed with the onset of an incurable cancer, that date will start your eligibility for a disability annuity. If a rail is diagnosed on February 26, 2020, then takes off 7 months for treatment, and is granted a disability annuity on July 1, 2020, the 5 month waiting period has been satisfied and benefits are being paid. If the rail is then cleared to go back to work and his condition worsens 2 months later, the rail does not have to re-qualify. The rail can immediately apply for a disability Annuity based on the onset date of February 26, 2020.
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WORKING ONCE DISABLED
A rail, while receiving a disability annuity, can work making up to $1.150 per month, in 2023. This amount changes every year in January. If the amount you receive goes over the $1,150 amount, you lose your disability annuity for the month. You must tell the RRB that you are working. All earnings must be reported to the RRB and the work must come from an appropriate job with your disability. You cannot make any money from the Railroad, Union or any entity that pays into Railroad Retirement, or you lose your Annuity for the month.
Once a rail has been disabled, that rail will be in that classification until they attain their Full Retirement Age (FRA). example: A rail has 40 years of service and is disabled at 59 years of age. He will not be considered as fully retired until full retirement age, which is between 66 and 67 years old. Once FRA has been reached, a rail can make all the money they want and continue to receive their RRB disability annuity.
Fraternally,
Larry J. Romine
Reliable Retirement Solutions
541-910-4568
updated 1-1-2023
