and inserting in lieu thereof the following: ", $4,200 for years after 1954 and before 1959, and $4,800 for years after 1958, by". (f) Section 5(1) (10) of such Act is amended by striking out "44", "11”, “$350”, "$15.40", "$36.66", "$27.50", and "$14.66" wherever they appear and inserting in lieu thereof "49", "12", "$400", "$16.95", "$40.33", "$30.25", and "$16.13", respectively. SEC. 4. All pensions under section 6 of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, all joint and survivor annuities and survivor annuities deriving from joint and survivor annuities under that Act awarded before January 1, 1959, all widows' and widowers' insurance annuities which began to accrue before February 1, 1959, and which, in accordance with the proviso in section 5(a) or section 5(b) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, are payable in the amount of the spouse's annuity to which the widow or widower was entitled, and all annuities under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1935, are increased by 10 per centum. SEC. 5. (a) The amendments made by section 1 (other than subsection (b) thereof), by subsections (a) and (c) of section 2, and by subsections (b) and (c) of section 3 shall be effective only with respect to annuities (not including annuities to which section 4 applies) accruing for months after December 1958. The amendment made by subsection (b) of section 1 shall be effective with respect to annuities accruing during the calendar year 1959 and subsequent calendar years. The amendment made by subsection (a) of section 3 shall be effective only with respect to lump-sum payments (under section 5(f) (2) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937) in the case of deaths occurring after December 1958. The amendments made by subsection (f) of section 3 shall be effective only with respect to annuities accruing for months after December 1958 and lump-sum payments (under section 5(f)(1) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937) in the case of deaths occurring after December 1958. Section 4 shall be effective only with respect to pensions due in calendar months after January 1959 and annuities accruing for months after December 1958. (b) All recertifications required by reason of the amendments made by this part shall be made by the Railroad Retirement Board without application therefor. PART II-AMENDMENTS TO THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT TAX ACT SEC. 201. (a) Section 3201 of the Railroad Retirement Tax Act is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 3201. RATE OF TAX. "In addition to other taxes, there is hereby imposed on the income of every employee a tax equal to— "(1) 64 percent of so much of the compensation paid to such employee for services rendered by him after December 31, 1958, and before January 1, 1962, and "(2) 7 percent of so much of the compensation paid to such employee for services rendered by him after December 31, 1961, as is not in excess of $400 for any calendar month: Provided, That the rate of tax imposed by this section shall be increased, with respect to compensation paid for services rendered after December 31, 1964, by a number of percentage points (including fractional points) equal at any given time to the number of percentage points (including fractional points) by which the rate of the tax imposed with respect to wages by section 3101 at such time exceeds the rate provided by paragraph (2) of such section 3101 as amended by the Social Security Amendments of 1956." (b) Section 3202 (a) of the Railroad Retirement Tax Act is amended (1) by striking out "after December 31, 1954" wherever it appears and inserting in lieu thereof "after December 31, 1958"; (2) by striking out "$350" wherever it appears and inserting in lieu thereof "$400"; (3) by striking out "after 1954" and inserting in lieu thereof "after 1958". (c) Section 3211 of the Railroad Retirement Tax Act is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 3211. RATE OF TAX. "In addition to other taxes, there is hereby imposed on the income of each employee representative a tax equal to— "(1) 131⁄2 percent of so much of the compensation paid to such employee representative for services rendered by him after December 31, 1958, and before January 1, 1962, and "(2) 141⁄2 percent of so much of the compensation paid to such employee representative for services rendered by him after December 31, 1961, as is not in excess of $400 for any calendar month: Provided, That the rate of tax imposed by this section shall be increased, with respect to compensation paid for services rendered after December 31, 1964, by a number of percentage points (including fractional points) equal at any given time to twice the number of percentage points (including fractional points) by which the rate of the tax imposed with respect to wages by section 3101 at such time exceeds the rate provided by paragraph (2) of such section 3101 as amended by the Social Security Amendments of 1956." (d) (1) Section 3221 of the Railroad Retirement Tax Act is amended by striking out "In addition to" and all that follows down through "$350" the first time it appears, and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "(a) In addition to other taxes, there is hereby imposed on every employer an excise tax, with respect to having individuals in his employ, equal to "(1) 6 percent of so much of the compensation paid by such employer for services rendered to him after December 31, 1958, and before January 1, 1962, and "(2) 74 percent of so much of the compensation paid by such employer for services rendered to him after December 31, 1958, and before January 1, as is, with respect to any employee for any calendar month, not in excess of $400." (2) Such section 3221 is further amended (A) by striking out “1954” wherever else it appears in that section and inserting in lieu thereof "1958"; (B) by striking out "$350" wherever else it appears in that section and inserting in lieu thereof "$400"; and (C) by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: "(b) The rate of tax imposed by subsection (a) shall be increased, with respect to compensation paid for services rendered after December 31, 1964, by a number of percentage points (including fractional points) equal at any given time to the number of percentage points (including fractional points) by which the rate of the tax imposed with respect to wages by section 3111 at such time exceeds the rate provided by paragraph (2) of such section 3111 as amended by the Social Security Amendments of 1956." SEC. 202. The amendments made by section 201 shall, except as otherwise provided in such amendments, be effective as of January 1, 1959, and shall apply only with respect to compensation paid after December 31, 1958, for services rendered after such date. PART III-AMENDMENTS TO THE RAILROAD UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT SEC. 301. Section 1(i) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by striking out the provision in the first sentence and inserting in lieu thereof ": Provided, however, That in computing the compensation paid to any employee, no part of any month's compensation in excess of $300 for any month before July 1, 1954, or in excess of $350 for any month after June 30, 1954, and before January 1, 1959, or in excess of $400 for any month after December 31, 1958, shall be recognized". SEC. 302. (a) Section 2(a) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by striking out the language between "(i)" and "(ii)" and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "for each day of unemployment in excess of four during any registration period, and". (b) Section 2(a) of such Act is further amended by striking out columns I and II and inserting in lieu thereof the following: (c) The proviso in such section 2(a) is amended by striking out "50" and "$8.50" and inserting in lieu thereof "60" and "$10.20", respectively. SEC. 303. (a) Section 2(c) of the Railroad Unemlpoyment Insurance Act is amended by striking out the period at the end thereof and inserting in lieu of such period a colon and the following: “And provided further, That, with respect to an employee who has ten or more years of service as defined in section 1(f) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, who did not voluntarily leave work without good cause or voluntarily retire, and who had current rights to normal benefits for days of unemployment in a benefit year but has exhausted such rights, the benefit year in which such rights are exhausted shall be deemed not to be ended until the last day of the extended benefit period determined under the following schedule, and the maximum number of days of, and the amount of payment for, unemployment within such benefit year for which benefits may be paid to the employee shall be enlarged to include all compensable days of unemployment within such extended benefit period: "If the employee's 'years of service' total 10 and less than 15-. 15 and over‒‒‒‒ The extended benefits period shall begin on the first day of unemployment following the day on which the employee exhausted his then current rights to normal benefits for days of unemployment and shall continue for successive fourteen-day periods (each of which periods shall constitute a registration period) until the number of fourteen-day periods totals 7 (but not more than 65 days) 13 such but no such extended benefit period shall extend beyond the beginning of the first registration period in a benefit year in which the employee is again qualified for benefits in accordance with section 3 of this Act on the basis of compensation earned after the first of such successive fourteen-day periods has begun. For an employee who has ten or more years of service, who did not voluntarily leave work without good cause or voluntarily retire, who has fourteen or more consecutive days of unemployment, and who is not a 'qualified employee' for the general benefit year current when such unemployment commences but is or becomes a 'qualified employee' for the next succeeding general benefit year, such succeeding benefit year shall, in his case, begin on the first day of the month in which such unemployment commences." (b) An employee who has less than ten years of service as defined in section 1(f) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, and who has after June 30, 1957, exhausted (within the meaning prescribed by the Railroad Retirement Board by regulation) his rights to unemployment benefits, shall be paid unemployment benefits for days of unemployment, not exceeding sixty-five, which occur in registration periods beginning on or after June 19, 1958, and before April 1, 1959, and which would not be days with respect to which he would be held entitled otherwise to receive unemployment benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, except that an employee who has filed, and established, a first claim for benefits under the Temporary Unemployment Compensation Act of 1958 may not thereafter establish a claim under this subsection, and an employee who has registered for, and established, a claim for benefits under this subsection may not thereafter establish a claim under the Temporary Unemployment Compensation Act of 1958. Except to the extent inconsistent with this subsection, the provisions of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act shall be applicable in the administration of this subsection. (c) The Secretary of Labor, upon request, shall furnish the Board information deemed necessary by the Board for the administration of the provisions of subsection (b) hereof, and the Board, upon request, shall furnish the Secretary of Labor information deemed necessary by the Secretary for the administration of the Temporary Unemployment Compensation Act of 1958. SEC. 304. Section 3 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by striking out "$400" and inserting in lieu thereof "$500”. SEC. 305. Section 4 (a-2) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by striking out subdivision (iv), and by striking out the semicolon at the end of subdivision (iii) and inserting in lieu thereof a period. SEC. 306. Section 8(a) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended (1) by inserting after "June 30, 1954" where it first appears the following: ", and before January 1, 1959, and is not in excess of $400 for any calendar month paid by him to any employee for services rendered to him after December 31, 1958"; (2) by inserting after "June 30, 1954" where it appears for the second time the following: ", and before January 1, 1959, and to not more than $400 for any month after December 31, 1958"; (3) by inserting after "June 30, 1954" where it appears for the third time the following: ", and before January 1, 1959, or less than $400 if such month is after December 31, 1958"; (4) by striking out "1947" in paragraph 2 and inserting in lieu thereof "1958"; and (5) by striking out the table (except the column headings) in such paragraph 2 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: Percent SEC. 307. Section 8(b) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is amended (1) by striking out "3 per centum" and inserting in lieu thereof “31⁄2 per centum"; and (2) by inserting before the period at the end of the first sentence the following: and before January 1, 1959, and as is not in excess of $400 paid to him for services rendered as an employee representative in any calendar month after December 31, 1958." 66 SEC. 308. The amendments made by sections 302, 303(a), and 305 shall be effective with respect to benefits accruing in general benefit years which begin after the benefit year ending June 30, 1958, and in extended benefit periods which begin after December 31, 1957. The amendment made by section 304 shall be effective with respect to base years after the base year ending December 31, 1957. The amendments made by clauses (4) and (5) of section 306 and clause (1) of section 307 shall be effective as of January 1, 1959, and shall apply only with respect to compensation paid for services rendered in calendar months after December 31, 1958. RAILROAD RETIREMENT Board, Hon. LISTER HILL, Chairman, Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, DEAR SENATOR HILL: This is the report of the Railroad Retirement Board on the bill S. 226 which was requested by your committee. The bill would amend the Railroad Retirement Act, the Railroad Retirement Tax Act, and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act in the following respects: RAILROAD RETIREMENT ACT 1. Annuities (including spouse and survivors annuities), pensions, and lump sums (other than the "residual" lump sum) would be increased generally by 10 percent. The increase would be slightly more than that for most employee retirement annuities and survivors annuities computed under the regular railroad retirement formulas (as much as 1.4 percent more for some survivor benefits), because the increased percentages proposed by the bill in these formulas reflect "rounding out" the result, after application of an exact 10 percent increase in the computation factors. 2. The maximum amount of compensation creditable under the Railroad Retirement Act for a month would be increased from $350 to $400 effective with respect to service rendered after December 31, 1958. 3. The privilege now available to any employee with 30 years of service of electing to receive a reduced annuity to begin after age 60 and before age 65 would be available to women employees with 10 years of service at age 62, and, at the same age, to wives or husbands of annuitants. The reduction would be by one one hundred eightieth for each calendar month the beneficiary is under age 65. 4. The earnings test now applicable to disability annuitants, under which any disability annuitant under age 65 does not receive an annuity for any month in which he is paid more than $100 in earnings, would be modified by the addition of a provision that if the annuitant's earnings in any calendar year do not exceed $1,200, the annuity otherwise not payable because of his earnings in any month in that year, would become payable. Earnings from employment with an "employer" under the act or for the annuitant's "last employer" before he retired, would not count toward this $1,200 maximum. (No annuities are payable for months of such earnings by virtue of another provision of sec. 2(d) of the Railroad Retirement Act.) Even if the annuitant's earnings exceed $1,200 in any year, loss of annuity would not exceed 1 month's annuity for each $100 or less (if more than $50) that the annuitant earned in excess of $1,200. 5. The formula for computing the "residual" lump sum would be amended in conformity with amendments proposed to the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (increasing as of January 1, 1959, the tax rate on employees to 64 percent and to 7 percent after December 31, 1961 and the maximum amount of compensation subject to the tax after December 31, 1958, to $400) by increasing the percentage factor applicable to compensation after 1958 to 72 percent and to 8 percent after 1961, and increasing the maximum amount of compensation for any month to which such factors are applicable from $350 to $400 for any month after December 31, 1958. 6. The changes made by the bill would be effective with respect to all annuities payable for months after December 1958, to pensions due in calendar months after January 1959, and to lump sums payable with respect to deaths occurring after 1958. RAILROAD RETIREMENT TAX ACT The bill would increase the tax rate on employees and employers from 64 percent to 64 percent after December 31, 1958 and to 74 percent after December 31, 1961, and make the tax applicable to $400 instead of $350 of the employee's compensation earned in any month after December 1958. The tax rate would be increased with respect to compensation paid after 1964 by the same number of percentage points (or fractions of percentage points) by which the then current social-security-tax rate exceeds 24 percent. The tax rate on employee representatives would be increased from 121⁄2 percent to 131⁄2 percent after December 31, 1958, and to 142 percent after December 31, 1961, and the tax base also raised to $400. This tax rate would also be increased with respect to compensation paid after 1964, just as in the case of the employer and employee, but this increase would be by twice the number of percentage points (or fractions of points) that the then current socialsecurity-tax rate exceeds 234 percent. RAILROAD UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT 1. A new schedule of daily benefit rates for both unemployment and sickness benefits ranging up to $1.70 higher than present rates would be provided. The alternative rate, which is now 50 percent of the employee's daily rate of pay in his last employment with an employer in the "base" year, would be increased to 60 percent of such daily rate of pay. The maximum daily benefit rate would be increased from $8.50 to $10.20. These increases would be effective with respect to benefits payable in general benefit years after the benefit year ending. on June 30, 1958, and in extended benefit periods, described below, as early as January 1, 1958. 2. The maximum amount of compensation for a month, for which credit would be given and contributions required, would be increased from $350 to $400, effective with respect to compensation paid for service rendered in calendar months after December 1958. 3. The minimum amount of earnings in a "base" year which would qualify an employee for benefits would be increased from $400 to $500, effective with respect to "base" years after 1957. 4. An employee with 10 or more years of railroad service who is out of work through no fault of his own and has exhausted current rights to normal unemployment benefits, would receive additional benefits during an extended benefit period. The duration of such extended benefit period would be for an employee with less than 15 years of service seven successive periods of 14 days each but would be limited to benefits for 65 days of unemployment, and for an employee with over 15 years of service 13 successive periods of 14 days each with a limitation of benefits to 130 days of unemployment. 5. For an employee with 10 or more years of service who did not voluntarily leave work without good cause or voluntarily retire and who is not a "qualified employee" for the current benefit year but would be for the next succeeding benefit year such year begins on the first day of the month in which a period of 14 or more consecutive days of unemployment begins. 6. An employee with less than 10 years of service who, after June 30, 1957, has exhausted his rights to unemployment benefits may be paid benefits for days of unemployment not exceeding 65 which occur on and after June 19, 1958, and before April 1, 1959, if for such days he would not be otherwise |