This publication contains important information for you as a former railroad employee who filed for and received a disability annuity from the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).
As a disability annuitant, you are subject to strict limitations on the amount you earn while receiving benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act. In order to prevent overpayments, you should immediately notify the RRB if you are receiving a disability annuity and return to work or have earnings from employment of any kind.
Work for earnings includes work for any employer, including self-employment for a family-owned, controlled, or managed business, such as a business operated, managed, or owned by you, your spouse, another family member, friend or close associate, whether for pay or not, and without regard to how the business is organized (e.g., sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, Limited Liability Company, Limited Liability Partnership, etc.).
If you perform work in a business that you own, you are not relieved of your reporting responsibility by transferring or assigning ownership of the business to another person or entity, such as your spouse or another family member. You must report all work including work as a corporate officer, corporate board member, owner or operator of a corporation including a corporation owned by a spouse, other family member or a friend, whether for pay or not; or if you receive anything of value in lieu of salary or wages for any work performed (e.g., stock or shares of the dividends paid).
You should be aware that the RRB conducts computer matching programs with other Federal, State, and local government agencies to identify unreported earnings that may affect your entitlement to benefits. If you fail to timely report your earnings, it may result in an overpayment, including additional penalty amounts. In some cases, failure to report earnings may constitute a criminal violation under Title 45, U.S.C., section 231(l) or other criminal or civil statutes of law.
We recommend that you read this entire publication and also read our other publications:
We also recommend that you keep this and any other RRB-issued publication for future reference.