By contrast, those receiving disability benefits under Social Security can earn considerably more than $400 monthly -- and the Social Security earnings limitation increases every year under a cost-of-living adjustment.

To help achieve the goal of increasing the Railroad Retirement earnings limitation for disability annuitants, it is essential that UTU members and retirees contact their lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives to ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 5483, which will be known as the Railroad Retirement Disability Earnings Act. 

This bill will raise the ceiling on outside earnings for those receiving Railroad Retirement disability annuities to $700 monthly. It would also include automatic yearly cost-of-living increases in the monthly earnings limitation. The yearly rate of increase would be the same as that for Social Security disability recipients. 

This is bi-partisan legislation. Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) and ranking Democrat James Oberstar of Minnesota, of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, have been joined by Chairman Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) and ranking Democrat Corrine Brown of Florida, of the House Railroad Subcommittee, to introduce H.R. 5483.  

Please contact your congressman and ask that he/she cosponsor and support H.R. 5483; and that the congressman contact Chairman Young’s office to urge a markup to move this important legislation as soon as possible. 

The UTU had promised it would correct, at the first opportunity, this technical flaw that harms those receiving Railroad Retirement disability annuities. This is exactly what we are doing.