RRB announces fall/winter 2019 Pre-Retirement Seminars

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, August 15 — The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has announced is schedule of Pre-Retirement Seminars for September-December 2019. 

Designed for union officers and railroad employees and spouses planning to retire within five years, Pre-Retirement Seminars will familiarize attendees with the retirement benefits available to them, and also guide them through the application process. Also, each seminar closes with a brief presentation on railroad unemployment and sickness benefits to help prepare union officers for sharing reliable information with their members. Advance registration is required for those wishing to attend a Pre-Retirement Seminar, and registration forms are available from the RRB website (PDF registration form). 

Sponsored by the Office of the Labor Member, the program began on a pilot basis in 2014. Due to the increasing popularity of the Pre-Retirement Seminars, coupled with a significant drop in attendance for its traditional Informational Conferences, the RRB has combined these usually separate programs into a single event (called Pre-Retirement Seminars) in an effort to fulfill current needs and to help better manage costs and field office resources. 

RRB field service representatives conduct each Pre-Retirement Seminar using a PowerPoint slide presentation covering the various benefits provided to retired rail workers and their families. Attendees receive a program booklet of this presentation with detailed side notes and fact sheets. In addition to the program booklet, seminar attendees receive a retirement kit full of informational handouts and other helpful materials. Online and downloadable versions of items included with seminar kits are available on the RRB’s Educational Materials webpage.

Those who are unable to attend a seminar but may still be interested in learning about the railroad retirement program and application process should contact the RRB field office where they live. Search here via the RRB’s Field Office Locator or call toll-free (1-877-772-5772) for pre-retirement information or to schedule an appointment for individual retirement counseling at your local RRB field office.

Again, pre-registration is required to ensure accommodations and materials for all attendees. For those with plans to attend a Pre-Retirement Seminar, please note the following: 

• Unless otherwise noted, Pre-Retirement Seminars begin at 8:30 a.m. and are held over the course of 4 hours. (Doors open for attendees 30 minutes before the seminar start time.)
• Security screening required for seminars hosted inside any Federal buildings. Bring a current, valid photo ID (issued by State/Federal Government); no weapons permitted.
• Parking fee for seminars marked with *. 
• Attendees are encouraged to bring original records (or certified copies) of documents required in order to file a Railroad Retirement application (such as proof of age, marriage, or military service), along with an additional copy of each item to leave with field service staff.
• Please let the RRB know if you sign up for a seminar but then become unable to attend.

Dates and locations of the RRB’s fall/winter 2019 pre-retirement seminars are as follows (click here to register online at the RRB website):

• September 6, 2019: Hilton Garden Inn (Downtown/Convention Center), 305 Korean Veterans Boulevard, Nashville, Tennessee.

• September 13, 2019: Bondi Building, 311 East Main Street, Basement Floor, Galesburg, Illinois (free parking in rear only).

• September 13, 2019: Best Western Plus CottonTree Inn, 1030 N 400 E, North Salt Lake, Utah.

• September 20, 2019: Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building, 515 W 1st Street, Room 407, Duluth, Minnesota.

• October 11, 2019: Richard Bolling Federal Building, 601 E 12th Street, Room G-41 (Dogwood Conference Room), Kansas City, Missouri. *

• October 18, 2019: Southwest Regional Library, 9725 Dixie Highway, Louisville, Kentucky (10:00 a.m. start time).

• October 25, 2019: William S Moorhead Federal Building, 1000 Liberty Avenue, Room 1310, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. *

• November 15, 2019: Mickey Leland Federal Building, 1919 Smith Street, 1st Floor Conference Room, Houston, Texas. * 

• November 22, 2019: Sheet Metal Workers International Association, 2604 E. Adams Street, Phoenix, Arizona. 

• December 6, 2019: The Barrymore Hotel, 112 West Fortune Street, Tampa, Florida. * 

• December 13, 2019: Hale Boggs Federal Building, 500 Poydras Street, Room B106, New Orleans, Louisiana. • 

Thursday, August 15, 2019
bentley@ble-t.org