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RR & Congress not paying into Social
Security?
From: Mart2542@aol.com
RE: SSDI http://www.dearmyrtle.com/05/0517.htm
DearMYRTLE,
Both of my grandfathers worked for a railroad and both were still working at the
time of their death. They are not listed in SSDI. Neither are their widows
listed. I have been told that railroad workers are not listed because they were
not covered by Social Security -- their retirement pensions were paid through
the Railroad Retirement Act. After the deaths of my grandfathers, their wives
received small pensions from the Railroad Retirement Board. When the widows
died, they are not listed in SSDI. Both sets of grandparents died prior to 1973
during the period when Railroad Retirement was separate from Social Security. In
the 1970s it merged, so a railroad worker who died after that merge date should
be listed in the SSDI. This brings to mind other workers who are not covered
under SS, such as congressmen. Please check on this for me and let your readers
know that not all workers contribute to SS, thus their deaths will not be found
in the SSDI. Thank you. -- Barbara J. McNamara.
DearBARBARA,
THANK-YOU for writing. There are a few problematic statements in your email.
Suffice it to say that there are a variety of reasons why one never received a
Social Security card, just as there are a variety of reasons why one may never
appear on the Social Security Death Index. In no way should US researchers
consider the SSDI a post-1969 "national death index" because it simply
isn't.
THE LONG ANSWER:
For instance, before the IRS began to require SS# on each dependent, widows
frequently did not work outside the home, but later received monthly benefits
from their deceased husband's account. These women didn't have their own SS#,
and for that reason their deaths weren't reported to the SS Administration.
--------------------------------------------------------
Your reference to the merging of the Railroad Retirement Board with the Social
Security Administration implies a disolution of the RR Retirement Board, which
simply isn't accurate. See the Railroad Retirement Board website which states
"Each year, the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board prepares a "Certificate
of Service Months and Compensation" (Form BA-6) for every railroad employee
who received creditable railroad compensation in the previous calendar year. The
forms will be mailed to employees by the Board during the first half of June.
While every effort has been made to compile and keep current the addresses of
all active railroad employees, employees for whom compensation was reported in
2004, but who have not received Form BA-6 by July 1, or need a replacement,
should contact the nearest Board field office." http://www.rrb.gov/opa/pr/pr0502.htm
--------------------------------------------------------
The "Social Security Online" website
mentioned in the original DearMYRTLE article also lists answers to your
questions such as:
Q. I WORKED FOR A RAILROAD COMPANY SOME
YEARS AGO. ARE THOSE EARNING INCLUDED ON MY SOCIAL SECURITY [INCOME]
STATEMENT?
A. "When you work in the railroad
industry, your earnings are reported to the Railroad Retirement Board, which
keeps your records. To qualify for a pension from the Railroad Retirement
Board, you must have 10 years (120 service months) of railroad industry work
or 5 years of railroad industry work after 1995. If you worked in the railroad
industry fewer than 10 years and fewer than 5 years after 1995, we will
include your railroad earnings when we count your credits and calculate your
Social Security benefits. On your Social Security Statement, we display such
railroad earnings from 1973 to the present in the yearly earnings amounts. We
do not display railroad earnings before 1973 on your Statement, but we do
include them in your benefit estimate calculation.
NOTE: Since 1973, the railroad retirement tax
rates have been the same as the Social Security and Medicare tax rates, so we
included those earnings when we figured your estimated Social Security and
Medicare taxes on the Statement. Before 1973, the tax rates for railroad
retirement were different from Social Security. We do not include the earlier
taxes in the estimated tax amounts on the Statement. If you have questions
about the earlier taxes, please contact the Railroad Retirement Board.
If you have 10 or more years of railroad work
or at least 5 years after 1995, we will not use those earnings in determining
your Social Security credits or benefit amount. We do not include them with
your other earnings on your Statement. You should contact a Railroad
Retirement Board office or toll-free telephone number for information about
railroad pension benefits based on those earnings." see: http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov
Q: IS IT TRUE THAT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS DO
NOT HAVE TO PAY INTO SOCIAL SECURITY?
A: No, it is not true. All members of
Congress, the President and Vice President, Federal judges, and most political
appointees, were covered under the Social Security program starting in January
1984. They pay into the system just like everyone else. Thus all members of
Congress, no matter how long they have been in office, have been paying into
the Social Security system since January 1984." http://www.ssa.gov/history/hfaq.html
FOR FURTHER READING
-- DearMYRTLE's (original article prompting this
article) SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH INDEX LISTINGS http://www.dearmyrtle.com/05/0517.htm
-- RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD, 844 North Rush
Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611. Toll-free number, 1-800-808-0772, http://www.rrb.gov
-- THE
HISTORICAL GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN RAILROADS: 160 Lines Abandoned or Merged
Since 1930 by George H. Drury. 480 pages. Kalmbach Publishing Company; 2nd
edition (November 1, 1999) ISBN: 0890243565
-- (A book) THE DIRECTORY OF NORTH AMERICAN
RAILROADS, ASSOCIATIONS, SOCIETIES, ARCHIVES, LIBRARIES, MUSEUMS & THEIR
COLLECTIONS Compiled by Holly T. Hansen. 1999. Self-published, no ISBN. From the
publisher: "From 1805 to the present railroads have grown and expanded
across North America. In Colonial times, adventurers, businessmen, immigrants
and their commodities depended upon ships to move them across the great waters.
Then, as this continent developed, railroads moved the same types of people
across great expanses of the North American hinterland. In the process, this
great motion caused countless records to be created." 134 pages - $14.95
plus shipping and handling. http://www.myancestorsfound.com/products.htm
Happy family tree climbing!
Myrt :)
DearMYRTLE,
6023 26th Street West PMB 352
Bradenton, FL 34207
http://www.DearMYRTLE.com | 
