Oakland Old Rails Club planning April 27 dinner

The Oakland Old Rails Club is planning its annual Old Rails Dinner and Get Together Sunday, April 27, at Dino’s Restaurant in Castro Valley, Calif. There will be a “no host” happy hour at noon, with dinner to follow at 1 p.m., Oakland Old Rails News Editor Richard Scholl repo [...]

When Railroad Medicare pays first or second

When Medicare began in the 1960s, it was the primary payer for all services except those covered by workers compensation. In 1980, Congress enacted provisions to shift costs from the Medicare program to private insurers, when possible. This legislation stopped Medicare from m [...]

Retired general chairperson L.L. Nelson dies

Lewis Lavon Nelson, 74, retired general chairperson of former Union Pacific General Committee of Adjustment GO 957 (Northwest District), died Jan. 10 from complications related to lung cancer. A member of SMART Transportation Division Local 1574 at Portland, Ore., Nelson reti [...]

After 90 years, no more Corgiats aboard

On the first day of November, Bruce Corgiat tried to log on to the Union Pacific Railroad’s employee web page just as he’d done most other mornings. “They’d already blocked me,” he said. Wow, that was quick. On Halloween, Bruce officially retired from the railroad, as did his [...]

RRB: Compensation subject to tax to increase in 2014

The amounts of compensation subject to railroad retirement tier I and tier II payroll taxes will increase in 2014, while the tier I and tier II tax rates will remain the same on both railroad employers and employees, the Railroad Retirement Board announced. Also, railroad une [...]

Former general chairperson Tim Smith dies

Funeral services were held Tuesday, Dec. 3, for Timothy J. Smith, 66, who died Nov. 28 after a hard fought battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Smith worked 30 years as an engineer for Lake Terminal Railroad in Lorain, Ohio, with 22 of those years serving as general chairperson. H [...]

RRB explains dual benefit payments

The payment of a railroad retirement annuity can be affected by entitlement to social security benefits, as well as certain other government benefits. Such dual entitlement, if not reported to the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), can result in benefit overpayments that have t [...]