Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Legislation

H. R. 4354, by our distinguished ranking minority member of this committee, Mr. Wolverton, of New Jersey.

H. R. 4523, by Mr. Poff, of Virginia.

H. R. 4530, by Mr. Van Zandt, of Pennsylvania.

H. R. 4620, by Mr. Tollefson, of Washington.

H. R. 4676 and H. R. 4677, by Mr. Byrd, of West Virginia.

H. R. 4760, by Mr. Cole, of New York.

H. R. 4817, by Mr. Perkins, of Kentucky.

H. R. 4914, by Mr. George, of Kansas.

H. R. 4926, by our colleague on this committee, Mr. Loser, of Ten

nessee.

H. R. 5022, by Mr. Hyde, of Maryland.

H. R. 5057, by our colleague on this committee, Mr. Rhodes, of Pennsylvania.

H. R. 5255, by Mr. Withrow, of Wisconsin.

H. R. 5338, by Mr. Teller, of New York.

H. R. 5456, by Mr. Blatnik, of Minnesota.

H. R. 5672, by our colleague of this committee, Mr. Macdonald, of Massachusetts.

H. R. 5681, by Mr. Moore, of West Virginia.

H. R. 5731, by Mr. Celler, of New York.

And H. R. 5772, by our colleague on this committee, Mr. Staggers, of West Virginia.

Four bills were superseded by later bills and are, therefore, not counted in the above list. These bills are H. R. 3117 and H. R. 3118, which were superseded by H. R. 3420 and H. R. 3421, respectively, and H. R. 4101 and H. R. 4102, which were superseded by H. R. 4353 and 4354, respectively.

(The bills referred to are as follows:)

[H. R. 583, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 to provide increases in benefits, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States Df America in Congress assembled, That (a) section 3 (a) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, as amended, is amended by striking out "2.76", "2.07”, and *1.38" and inserting in lieu thereof "3.18", "2.38", and "1.59", respectively.

(b) So much of section 3 (e) of such Act as precedes "Provided, however" is amended to read as follows: "(e) In the case of an individual having a current connection with the railroad industry, the minimum annuity payable shall, before any reduction pursuant to section 2 (a) 3, be whichever of the following is the least: (1) $4.76 multiplied by the number of his years of service; Dr (2) $79.35; or (3) his monthly compensation :".

SEC. 2. (a) The first sentence of section 5 (f) (2) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, as amended, is amended by striking out "and 7 per centum of his or her compensation after December 31, 1946 (exclusive in both cases of compensation in excess of $300 for any month before July 1, 1954, and in the latter case in excess of $350 for any month after June 30, 1954)", and inserting in lieu thereof "7 per centum of his or her compensation paid after December 31, 1946, and prior to July 1, 1957, and 8 per centum of his or her compensation paid after June 30, 1957 (exclusive of compensation in excess of $300 for any month before July 1, 1954, and in excess of $350 for any month after June 30, 1954)”. (b) Section 5 (h) of such Act is amended by striking out "$30", "$160", and $14" wherever they appear and inserting in lieu thereof "$34.50", "$184", and '$16.10", respectively.

(c) Section 5 (7) (10) of such Act is amended by striking out "40", "10", "$14", "$33.33", "$25", and "$13.33" wherever they appear and inserting in lieu thereof "46", "112", "$16.10", "$38.33", "$28.75", and "$15.33", respectively.

SEC. 3. All pensions under section 6 of the Railroad Retirement Act, all joint and survivor annuities and survivor annuities deriving from joint and survivor annuities under that Act awarded before July 1, 1957, and all annuities under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1935 are increased by 15 per centum.

SEC. 4. (a) Sections 3201, 3202 (a), 3211, and 3221 of the Railroad Retirement Tax Act are each amended by striking out "after December 31, 1954" wherever it appears and inserting in lieu thereof "after June 30, 1957", and by striking out "after 1954" and inserting in lieu thereof "after June 1957".

(b) (1) Sections 3201 and 3221 of such Act are each amended by striking out "64 percent" and inserting in lieu thereof "74 percent".

(2) Section 3211 of such Act is amended by striking out "122 percent" and inserting in lieu thereof "141⁄2 percent".

SEC. 5. Sections 3201 and 3211 of the Railroad Retirement Tax Act are each further amended by adding at the end thereof the following new sentence: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the amount of the tax imposed on the income of any individual by this section shall be excluded from such individual's gross income for purposes of chapter 1 and from such individual's 'wages' for purposes of chapter 24.”

SEC. 6. (a) The amendments made by the first section of this Act and by subsection (b) of section 2 shall be effective only with respect to annuities (not including annuities to which section 3 applies) accruing for months after June 1957. The amendments made by subsection (c) of section 2 shall be effective only with respect to annuities accruing for months after June 1957 and lumpsum payments (under section 5 (f) (1) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937) in the case of deaths occurring after June 1957. Section 3 shall be effective only with respect to pensions due in calendar months after July 1957 and annuities accruing for months after June 1957.

(b) The amendments made by section 4 shall be effective only with respect to compensation paid after June 30, 1957, for services rendered after such date. The amendments made by section 5 shall apply with respect to taxable years ending after June 30, 1957, but only with respect to compensation paid after such date for services rendered after such date.

[H. R. 850, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 to provide increases in benefits, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) section 3 (a) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 is amended by striking out "2.76", "2.07", and "1.38" and inserting in lieu thereof "3.18", "2.38", and "1.59", respectively.

(b) So much of section 3 (c) of such Act as precedes "Provided, however" is amended to read as follows: "(e) in the case of an individual having a current connection with the railroad industry, the minimum annuity payable shall, before any reduction pursuant to section 2 (a) 3, be whichever of the following is the least: (1) $4.76 multiplied by the number of his years of service; or (2) $79.35; or (3) his monthly compensation :".

SEC. 2. (a) The first sentence of section 5 (f) (2) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 is amended by striking out "and 7 percentum of his or her compensation after December 31, 1946 (exclusive in both cases of compensation in excess of $300 for any month before July 1, 1954, and in the latter case in excess of $350 for any month after June 30, 1954)", and inserting in lieu thereof "7 per centum of his or her compensation paid after December 31, 1946, and prior to July 1, 1956, and 8 per centum of his or her compensation paid after June 30, 1956 (exclusive of compensation in excess of $300 for any month before July 1, 1954, and in excess of $350 for any month after June 30, 1954)".

(b) Section 5 (h) of such Act is amended by striking out "$30", "$160", and "$14" wherever they appear and inserting in lieu thereof "$34.50", "$184", and "$16.10", respectively.

(c) Section 5 (1) (10) of such Act is amended by striking out "40", "10", "$14", "$33.33", "$25", and "$13.33" whereever they appear and inserting in lieu thereof "46", "112", "$16.10", "$38.33", "$28.75", and "$15.33", respectively.

SEC. 3. All pensions under section 6 of the Railroad Retirement Act, all joint and survivor annuities and survivor annuities deriving from joint and survivor annuities under that Act awarded before July 1, 1956, and all annuities under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1935 are increased by 15 per centum.

SEC. 4. (a) Sections 3201, 3202 (a), 3211 and 3221 of the Railroad Retirement Tax Act are each amended by striking out "after December 31, 1954" wherever it appears and inserting in lieu thereof "after June 30, 1956", and by striking out "after 1954" and inserting in lieu thereof "after June 1956".

(b) (1) Sections 3201 and 3221 of such Act are each amended by striking out "64 percent" and inserting in lieu thereof "74 percent”.

(2) Section 3211 of such Act is amended by striking out "122 percent" and inserting in lieu thereof "14%1⁄2 percent".

SEC. 6. (a) The amendments made by the first section of this Act and by subsection (b) of section 2 shall be effective only with respect to annuities (not including annuities to which section 3 applies) accruing for months after June 1956. The amendments made by subsection (c) of section 2 shall be effective only with respect to annuities accruing for months after June 1956 and lump-sum payments (under section 5 (f) (1) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937) in the case of deaths occurring after June 1956. Section 3 shall be effective only with respect to pensions due in calendar months after July 1956 and annuities accruing for months after June 1956.

(b) The amendments made by section 4 shall be effective only with respect to compensation paid after June 30, 1956, for services rendered after such date. The amendments made by section 5 shall apply with respect to taxable years ending after June 30, 1956, but only with respect to compensation paid after such date for services rendered after such date.

[H. R. 880, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, as amended

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Railroad Retirement Act Amendments of 1957".

SEC. 2. Paragraphs numbered 2 and 3 of section 2 (a) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1947, as amended, are amended to read as follows:

"2. Individuals who will have attained the age of sixty and will have completed thirty years of service.

"3. Individuals who will have completed thirty-five years of service, without regard to age".

SEC. 3. Section 3 (c) of such Act is amended to read as follows: "(c) The 'monthly compensation' shall be the average compensation paid to an employee with respect to calendar months included in his 'years of service', except that with respect to service prior to January 1, 1937, he shall be credited with monthly compensation in an amount equal to the average compensation paid to him monthly for the five calendar years (consecutive or nonconsecutive) included in his 'years of service' for each of which he received aggregate compensation exceeding that received by him for any other such calendar year, provided that in computing 'monthly compensation', no part of any month's compensation in excess of $350 shall be recognized."

SEC. 4. All recertifications required by reason of any amendment made by this Act shall be made by the Railroad Retirement Board without application therefor. (NOTE.-Bills identical with H. R. 880 are: H. R. 3755, H. R. 3974, H. R. 4312, and H. R. 4676.)

[H. R. 900, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 to provide that certain employees who terminate their railroad employment shall be entitled to a refund of the railroad retirement taxes which they have paid

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: "(h) REFUND UPON TERMINATION OF RAILROAD EMPLOYMENT IN CERTAIN CASES. (1) Whenever an employee shall have terminated his railroad employment, having completed less than ten years of service, such employee shall upon application be paid in a lump sum an amount equal to the total amount of the taxes paid by him under section 1500 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 and. section 3201 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 with respect to his railroad employment, plus interest on such amount from the respective times of the payment of such taxes at the rate of 6 per centum per annum. For purposes of this subsection, an employee shall be deemed to have terminated his railroad employment (whether before or after the date of the enactment of this Act) if he voluntarily submits to his last employer a formal resignation from railroad employment and files with the Board a copy of such resignation and an affidavit declaring that he has severed all connections with the railroad industry and does not intend to return to railroad employment at any time. In the case of an individual who is not performing railroad employment on the date of the enactment of this subsection, and who does not intend to return to railroad employment after such date, such individual shall be deemed to have terminated his railroad employment only if such resignation and affidavit are submitted and filed within one year after such date.

"(2) No individual who applies for and receives a lump-sum payment under this subsection (and no dependent or survivor of any such individual) shall thereafter be entitled under this Act to any benefit based upon the service with respect to which such payment was made.

"(3) Application for a lump-sum payment under this subsection may be made at any time, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (1).”

SEC. 2. Section 5 (f) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph:

"(3) No payment under this subsection shall be made with respect to the death of any employee if such employee shall have received a lump-sum payment under section 2 (h) (1)."

SEC. 3. Section 5 (k) (1) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new sentence: "Title II of the Social Security Act shall not apply pursuant to this paragraph to any service with respect to which a lump-sum payment shall have been made under section 2 (h) (1)."

[H. R. 1008, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To repeal the provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act which reduces the annuities of the spouses of retired employees, and the survivors of deceased employees, by the amount of certain monthly benefits payable under the Social Security Act

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, That the third proviso in section 2 (e) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, as amended (which proviso relates, in part, to the reduction of the spouse's annuity by the amount of certain insurance benefits under the Social Security Act), is amended to read as follows: "And provided further, That any spouse's annuity shall be reduced by the amount of any annuity to which such spouse is entitled, or on proper application would be entitled under subsection (a) of this section or subsection (d) of section 5 of this Act".

SEC. 2. The second sentence of section 5 (g) (2) of such Act (which relates to the correlation of payments to survivors) is repealed.

SEC. 3. This Act shall take effect with respect to benefits accruing under the Railroad Retirement Acts after October 30, 1951.

SEC. 4. In the case of any deceased individual whose death occurred before the first day of the first month following the month in which this Act is enacted, so much of any annuity payment as is due such individual by reason of the enactment of this Act shall be paid only

(1) to the widow or widower of the deceased, if such widow or widower is living on such first day; or

(2) if there is no such widow or widower, to the child or children of the deceased if such child or children are living on such first day.

For the purposes of this section, the terms "widow", "widower", and "child" have the same meanings as those assigned to such terms by section 5 (1) (1) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, as amended.

[H. R. 2033, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To provide that railroad employees may retire on a full annuity at age sixty or after serving thirty years; to provide that such annuity for any month shall be not less than one-half of the individual's average monthly compensation for the five years of highest earnings; and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 2 (a) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, as amended, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following: "6. Individuals who will have attained age sixty or will have completed thirty years of service. The annuity under this paragraph shall be computed under section 3 of this Act; except that in no case shall the annuity under this paragraph be less than one-half of the monthly compensation (as used in section 3 (c) of the Act) for the five consecutive years of service during which his aggregate compensation was highest. In the application of the preceding sentence, proper adjustment shall be made in the monthly compensation in order that the individual will not be penalized for absence from service by permission, sickness, or injury.

"In the case of any individual awarded an annuity under paragraph 6, the eligibility of his spouse and survivors for benefits under this Act, and the amount of any such benefit, shall be determined as if paragraph 6 had not been enacted." SEC. 2. The amendment made by the first section of this Act shall apply only with respect to annuities accruing for calendar months beginning more than ninety days after the day on which this Act is enacted.

(NOTE.-Bills identical with H. R. 2033 are: H. R. 2166 and H. R.

3115.)

[H. R. 2164, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 to provide increases in benefits, and for other purposes

(b) So much of section 3 (c) of such Act as precedes "Provides, however” is amended to read as follows: "(e) In the case of an individual having a current connection with the railroad industry, the minimum annuity payable shall, before any reduction pursuant to section 2 (a) (3), be whichever of the following is the least: (1) $4.76 multiplied by the number of his years of service; or (2) $79.35; or (3) his monthly compensation :".

SEC. 2. (a) The first sentence of section 5 (f) (2) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 is amended by striking out "and 7 per centum of his or her compensation after December 31, 1946 (exclusive in both cases of compensation in excess of $300 for any month before July 1, 1954, and in the latter case in excess of $350 for any month after June 30, 1954)", and inserting in lieu thereof "7 per centum of his or her compnsation paid after December 31, 1946, and prior to July 1, 1956, and 8 per centum of his or her compensation paid after June 30, 1956 (exclusive of compensation in excess of $300 for any month before July 1, 1954, and in excess of $350 for any month after June 30, 1954)".

(b) Section 5 (h) of such Act is amended by striking out "$30", "$160”, and "$14" wherever they appear and inserting in lieu thereof "$34.50", "$184", and "$16.10", respectively.

(c) Section 5 (1) (10) of such Act is amended by striking out "40", "10", "$14", "$33.33", "$25", and "$13.33" wherever they appear and inserting in lieu thereof "46", "112", "$16.10", "$38.33", "$28.75", and "$15.33", respectively, SEC. 3. All pensions under section 6 of the Railroad Retirement Act, all joint and survivor annuities and survivor annuities deriving from joint and survivor

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