IIB 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5483 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2006 

Received 

NOVEMBER 13, 2006 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

Pensions 

AN ACT 

To increase the disability earning limitation under the Railroad Retirement Act and to index the amount of allowable earnings consistent with increases in the substantial 

gainful activity dollar amount under the Social Security 

Act. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Railroad Retirement 

3 Disability Earnings Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REFORM OF DISABILITY EARNINGS LIMITATION 

5 PROVISIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2(e)(4) of the Railroad 

7 Retirement Act of 1974 is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘$400 in earnings’’ in the first 

9 sentence and inserting ‘‘the monthly allowable earn10 ings as defined in the section’’; 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘$4,800’’ in the fourth sentence 

12 and inserting ‘‘the amount of earnings computed by 

13 totaling the monthly allowable earnings as deter14 mined under this section for each month in the 

15 year’’; and 

16 (3) by striking the fifth sentence and inserting 

17 ‘‘If the total amount of such individual’s earnings 

18 during such year (exclusive of earnings for services 

19 as described in subdivision (3) and after deduction 

20 of disability related work expenses) is in excess of 

21 the annual allowable earnings amount, the number 

22 of months in such year with respect to which an an23 nuity is not payable by reason of the first and third 

24 sentences shall not exceed the number of months de25 rived by dividing the amount by which such annual 

26 earnings exceed the annual allowable earnings 


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1 amount by the monthly allowable earning amount 

2 determined under this section. If the computation 

3 under the preceding sentence results in a remainder 

4 greater than or equal to one-half, the number of 

5 months for which an annuity is not payable as deter6 mined under the preceding sentence shall be in7 creased by one. The annual allowable earnings 

8 amount shall be computed by totaling the amount of 

9 monthly allowable earnings as determined under the 

10 first sentence of this subdivision for each month in 

11 the calender year. If the amount of the individual’s 

12 annuity has changed during the calendar year, any 

13 payment of annuities which become payable solely by 

14 reason of the limitations in the preceding three sen15 tences shall be made first with respect to the month 

16 or months for which the annuity is larger. For pur17 poses of this subdivision, ‘the monthly allowable 

18 earnings’ shall be $700, except that for each year 

19 after 2007, ‘the monthly allowable earnings’ amount 

20 shall be the larger of the amount for the previous 

21 year or the amount calculated by multiplying $700 

22 by the ratio of the national average wage index for 

23 the year 2 calender years before the year for which 

24 the amount is being calculated to the national aver25 age wage index for the year 2005. The amount so 


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1 computed will be rounded to the next higher multiple 

2 of $10 where such amount is a multiple of $5 but 

3 not of $10 and to the nearest multiple of $10 in any 

4 other case.’’. 

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 this section take effect January 1, 2007. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 27, 

2006. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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