Archive for November 5, 2020
Railroad Retirement benefits will see increase in 2021
(Source: Railroad Retirement Board press release, October 30, 2020) CHICAGO — Most railroad retirement annuities, like social security benefits, will increase in January 2021 due to a rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the third quarter of 2019 to the corresponding period of the current year. Cost-of-living increases are calculated in both the tier…
Read MoreRailroad retiree earnings limits set to increase in 2021
(Source: Railroad Retirement Board press release, October 30, 2020) CHICAGO — Railroad retirement annuitants subject to earnings restrictions can earn more in 2021 without having their benefits reduced as a result of increases in earnings limits indexed to average national wage increases. Like social security benefits, some railroad retirement benefit payments are subject to deductions if…
Read MoreLegislation would end cut to railroad unemployment benefits
(Source: Progressive Railroading 11/04/2020) U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) last week introduced the Railroad Employee Equality and Fairness Act, which would end the sequester on the Railroad Retirement Board‘s (RRB) Unemployment Insurance Account. Under the Budget Control Act of 2011, and a subsequent sequestration order to implement mandatory spending cuts, railroad unemployment…
Read MoreVoters deliver mixed results for passenger rail
(Source: Progressive Railroading 11/05/2020) Voters on Tuesday approved 13 out of 15 ballot measures that called for an increase in public financial support of transit, including passenger-rail service. The measures considered represented over $38 billion in new funding for transit, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Center for Transportation Excellence. Among those referendums that passed:…
Read MoreAAR: U.S. rail intermodal had ‘best month ever’ in October
(Source: Progressive Railroading 11/05/2020) U.S. railroads logged a 2% increase in combined carload and intermodal traffic during October compared with the same month a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data. Although carload volume declined 6.6% to 912,722 units during the month compared with October 2019, intermodal volume climbed 10% to 1,169,874 containers and…
Read More