RRB - SSA - CMS 

FINANCIAL INTERCHANGE

Calculations for Fiscal Year 2019 

With Respect to OASI, DI, and HI Trust Funds

Summary and Documentation

68th Determination

Prepared jointly by

U.S. RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

and

CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES

RRB - SSA - CMS

FINANCIAL INTERCHANGE

Calculations for Fiscal Year 2019

With Respect to OASI, DI, and HI Trust Funds

Summary and Documentation

68th Determination

Prepared jointly by

U.S. RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

and

CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES

Compiled by

U.S. RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

2020
 
i

INTRODUCTION

The financial interchange between the railroad retirement and social security systems is intended to place 

the Social Security Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds and 

the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund in the same condition 

they would have been had railroad employment been covered by the Social Security and Federal Insurance 

Contributions Acts. Every year estimates are made of the additional benefits and administrative expenses 

that would have been paid from the Trust Funds as well as the additional payroll taxes and income taxes 

that would have been received by them, with allowances for interest.

This booklet documents the determination through fiscal year 2019. Included are the official determination 

and certification documents and a summary of the results of the determination. Exhibit 1 provides details 

on the benefit, administrative cost, income tax, and interest calculations for the determination and Exhibit 2 

covers the payroll calculations.
ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Determinations Pursuant to Section 7(c)(2) of the Railroad Retirement

Act of 1974, as amended ..................................................................................................................... 1

Certifications Pursuant to Section 7(c)(2) of the Railroad Retirement

Act of 1974, as amended ..................................................................................................................... 3

Results of Determination through Fiscal Year 2019 ........................................................................... 7

Table 1. RRB-SSA Financial Interchange: Change in Balance of OASI Trust Fund 

at End of Each Calendar Year 1937-2018, and on September 30, 2019 ...........................9

Table 2. RRB-SSA Financial Interchange: Change in Balance of DI Trust Fund 

at End of Each Calendar Year 1957-2018, and on September 30, 2019 .........................12

Table 3. RRB-CMS Financial Interchange: Change in Balance of HI Trust Fund 

at End of Each Calendar Year 1966-2018, and on September 30, 2019 .........................14

Exhibit 1 – Benefit, Administrative Cost, and Income Tax Calculations and Correspondence

Part I. Summary of Benefit, Administrative Cost, and

Income Tax Calculations ................................................................................................ 17

Part II. Tables Pertaining to Benefit Calculations....................................................................... 21

Table 1. Computation of Family Composition Factors and Factors for

Child's Benefits for Calendar Year 2018

Applied to Male Old-Age Employees........................................................ 21

Table 1a. Selected benefit estimates relating to male old-age

(primary) beneficiary families in current-payment

status on December 31, 2018 ..................................................................... 22

Table 2. Computation of Family Composition Factors and Factors for

Child's Benefits for Calendar Year 2018

Applied to Female Old-Age Employees ....................................................23

Table 2a. Selected benefit estimates relating to female old-age

(primary) beneficiary families in current-payment

status on December 31, 2018 .....................................................................24

Table 3. Analysis of Net Benefit Amounts (Uninflated) for

2018, By Type of Benefit (Accrual Basis).................................................25

Table 4. Stratification of Universe of RRB Beneficiaries,

Calendar Year 2018.................................................................................... 26
iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Table 5. Basic Data Used to Compute Inflated Amount of

OASI Benefits and Sampling Error, 2018..................................................27

Table 5a. Basic Data Used to Compute Inflated Amount of

DI Benefits and Sampling Error, 2018....................................................... 28

Table 6. OASI Benefit Payments, 1937-2018, Including

Adjustments, on an Accrual Basis.............................................................. 29

Table 6a. DI Benefit Payments, 1957-2018, Including

Adjustments, on an Accrual Basis.............................................................. 30

Table 7. Summary of Float Days for Financial Interchange, 1997-2019,

Cycle 1-4 Payments....................................................................................31

Table 8. Summary of Uncollectible Benefit Overpayment Calculations.................32

Part III. Tables Pertaining to Administrative Cost Calculations..................................................33

Table 9. Calculation of OASDI Administrative Expenses – 2018.......................... 33

Table 9a. Calculation of HI Administrative Expenses – 2018.................................. 34

Part IV. Summary of Income Tax Calculations ........................................................................... 35

Table 10. Financial Interchange OASDI Income Tax Transfers,

Calendar Years 1984-2018 and

January-September 2019 ............................................................................ 35

Table 10a. Financial Interchange HI Income Tax Transfers,

Calendar Years 1994-2018 and

January-September 2019 ............................................................................ 36

Part V. Correspondence and Memoranda ................................................................................... 37

Addressee Subject

Mr. Buzzi, RRB Administrative Cost Information, SSA Statement of Account, and 

Uncollectible Overpayments Information................................................. 37

Mr. May, RRB HI Interest Rate Information ..................................................................... 41

Mr. Buzzi, RRB Selected OASI Benefit Estimates on December 31, 2018 ......................... 42
iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Exhibit 2 – Payroll Calculations and Gross Earnings Sample

Part I. Payroll Calculations Summary and Tables..................................................................... 45

Table 1. Annual Maximum Taxable Earnings Under the RRA and FICA...............51

Table 2. Summary of Accrued Taxable Payroll Calculations,

1937-1965 .................................................................................................. 53

Table 3. Summary of Accrued Taxable Payroll Calculations,

1966-2018 .................................................................................................. 54

Table 4. Summary of Accrued Taxable Payroll Calculations Under ACA,

2013-2018 .................................................................................................. 56

Part II. 2018 Gross Earnings Sample for

Financial Interchange Payroll Calculations ....................................................................57
1

DETERMINATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 7(c)(2)

OF THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT ACT OF 1974, AS AMENDED 
2
CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 7(c)(2)

OF THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT ACT OF 1974, AS AMENDED

3
4
5

7

RESULTS OF DETERMINATION THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2019

RRB-SSA-CMS Financial Interchange

Results of Determination through Fiscal Year 2019

As of September 30, 2019, the Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account (Account) was due $4,763.7 million 

from the OASI Trust Fund and $141.4 million from the DI Trust Fund; $596.4 million was due from the 

Account to the HI Trust Fund. With the inclusion of interest to June 2, 2020, the anticipated date of transfer, 

the amounts to be transferred are $4,843,965,000 from the OASI Trust Fund, $143,782,000 from the DI Trust 

Fund and $606,449,000 to the HI Trust Fund. This will result in a net transfer of $4,381,298,000 to the 

Account.

The results of the calculations, including adjustments, for fiscal year 2019 are shown below, separately for 

each of the Trust Funds:

OASI Trust Fund Amount

(millions)

Amount due to Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account:

September 30, 2018.......................................................................................................... $4,803.5

Plus: Benefit payments................................................................................................. 6,959.1

Administrative expenses ..................................................................................... 15.9

Interest................................................................................................................. 134.3

Less: Payroll taxes at OASI rates on railroad payroll................................................... 2,013.0

Income taxes (after Treasury reconciliation)....................................................... 255.7

Transferred to Social Security Equivalent Benefit

 Account on June 3, 2019 (principal of $4,803.5

 million plus interest of $76.9 million)............................................................... 4,880.4

Amount due to Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account:

September 30, 2019.......................................................................................................... $4,763.7

June 2, 2020 (including interest at 2.500 percent) ........................................................... $4,844.0

DI Trust Fund

Amount due to Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account:

September 30, 2018.......................................................................................................... $65.0

Plus: Benefit payments................................................................................................. 508.6

Administrative expenses ..................................................................................... 4.2

Interest................................................................................................................. 4.5

Less: Payroll taxes at DI rates on railroad payroll........................................................ 371.6

Income taxes (after Treasury reconciliation)....................................................... 3.3

Transferred to Social Security Equivalent Benefit

 Account on June 3, 2019 (principal of $65.0

 million plus interest of $1.0 million)................................................................. 66.0

Amount due to Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account:

September 30, 2019.......................................................................................................... $141.4

June 2, 2020 (including interest at 2.500 percent)............................................................ $143.8
8

HI Trust Fund Amount

(millions)

Amount due to HI Trust Fund:

September 30, 2018.......................................................................................................... $561.3

Plus: Payroll taxes at HI rates on railroad payroll........................................................ 585.5

Income taxes (after Treasury reconciliation)....................................................... (0.4)

Interest................................................................................................................. 22.5

Less: Administrative expenses ..................................................................................... 2.2

Transferred to HI Trust Fund on June 3, 2019

(principal of $561.3 million plus interest of $9.0 million).................................. 570.3

Amount due to HI Trust Fund:

September 30, 2019.......................................................................................................... $596.4

June 2, 2020 (including interest at 2.500 percent) ........................................................... $606.4

The net payment of $4,381.3 million due the Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account is $5.2 million 

more than the previous determination. This is the result of an increase of $27.3 million in benefit payments 

and decreases of $48.9 million in payroll tax revenues and $48.4 million in income tax revenues, offset by 

decreases of $0.8 million in administrative expenses and $118.6 million in total interest.

Presented below is a more detailed comparison between the current and prior determinations.

Benefit Amounts

Overall, the additional social security benefits that would have been payable if railroads had been covered by 

the Social Security Act increased by 0.4 percent to $7,467.7 million from the previous determination amount 

of $7,440.4 million. While the number of beneficiaries has been decreasing year over year, rising wage 

levels and higher limits on creditable earnings generally cause benefits awarded in a period to be larger than 

those that terminate. In addition, a cost-of-living increase of 2.8 percent was in effect for 9 months of fiscal 

year 2019.

Payroll Taxes

The combined payroll tax amount creditable to the OASDHI Trust Funds decreased by 1.6 percent to 

$2,970.1 million from the previous determination amount of $3,019.0 million. This decrease was due 

primarily to a decline in average employment levels from 224,000 in fiscal year 2018 to 219,000 in fiscal 

year 2019, which more than offset an increase in taxable wage limit.

Income Taxes

Federal income taxes credited to the OASDHI Trust Funds decreased by 15.8 percent to $258.6 million from 

the previous determination amount of $307.0 million. The current determination reflects Treasury OASDI 

and HI reconciliations for calendar year 2014.

Administrative Expenses

Administrative expense reimbursements decreased by 3.5 percent to $22.3 million from the previous 

determination amount of $23.1 million. OASI administrative expense reimbursements decreased from $16.4 

million to $15.9 million due primarily to a decrease in new OASI enrollments. DI administrative expense 

reimbursements decreased from $4.9 million to $4.2 million due primarily to a decrease in benefit 

maintenance charges that more than offset increases in unit cost factors. HI administrative expense 

reimbursements increased from $1.8 million to $2.2 million due primarily to increases in OASI unit cost 

factors that more than offset a decrease in new OASI enrollments.
9

 

Decrease in Trust

Calendar Appropriations Income Benefit Administrative Military Service Transfers to First Second Interest Creditable Fund Balance at

 Year (Payroll Taxes)1 Taxes Payments2 Expenses Adjustments SSEB Account3 Semi-Annual % Semi-Annual % to SSEB Account5 End of Year6

Total $70,841.3 $4,336.6 $219,636.7 $999.7 $810.6 $150,375.4 $10,491.1 

1937 37.2 0.1 0.8819 (0.2) ($37.3) 1938 24.7 0.9 2.2607 (1.1) (62.2) 1939 40.3 1.3 2.3651 (1.9) (103.1) 1940 44.2 6.0 1.9 2.6680 (3.2) (142.6) 1941 49.7 14.1 1.9 2.6440 (4.2) (180.5) 

1942 62.3 20.2 2.0 2.4610 (4.9) (225.5) 

1943 74.7 25.7 2.2 2.2530 (5.6) (277.9) 

1944 83.5 32.1 2.5 2.1450 (6.4) (333.2) 

1945 84.7 40.7 2.6 2.1010 (7.4) (382.0) 

1946 87.8 52.5 2.9 2.0470 (8.1) (422.5) 

1947 91.5 61.5 3.2 2.0240 (8.8) (458.1) 

1948 95.4 71.8 3.4 2.1150 (9.8) (488.1) 

1949 87.8 84.6 3.6 2.1620 (10.4) (498.1) 

1950 131.6 112.2 3.7 2.1520 (10.9) (524.7) 

1951 153.6 184.8 3.7 2.1510 (10.7) (500.5) 

1952 154.8 200.9 3.9 2.2050 (10.4) (460.9) 

1953 154.5 241.4 4.0 1.1200 1.1760 (9.4) (379.4) 1954 179.6 270.6 3.6 (21.1) 1.1700 1.1150 (7.1) (270.8) 1955 193.5 337.7 5.0 (7.4) 1.0510 1.1330 (3.9) (118.1) 1956 208.1 371.1 4.4 (5.2) 1.1430 1.2430 (0.5) 54.0 1957 205.6 413.2 4.8 (1.6) 1.2390 1.2400 4.3 272.3 1958 178.8 451.8 5.5 124.4 1.2570 1.2470 9.3 435.7 

1959 203.2 516.3 5.8 282.0 1.2740 1.2940 12.3 484.9 

1960 259.0 578.6 6.1 318.4 1.2850 1.2940 12.8 505.0 

1961 230.0 606.8 6.5 331.7 1.3410 1.3840 14.8 571.4 

1962 236.9 640.8 6.3 360.8 1.3850 1.4080 17.2 638.0 

1963 268.7 662.9 7.1 422.5 1.4160 1.4750 18.7 635.5 

1964 265.6 675.5 7.3 402.6 1.5000 1.5510 20.0 670.1 

1965 259.4 732.9 6.9 435.6 1.5490 1.5940 22.1 737.0 

1966 330.2 743.4 8.2 443.8 1.6410 1.7820 25.6 740.2 

Table 1. -- RRB-SSA Financial Interchange: Change in Balance of OASI Trust Fund at End of Each Calendar Year 1937-2018, and on September 30, 2019

(Dollar amounts in millions)

Interest factor4
10

Decrease in Trust

Calendar Appropriations Income Benefit Administrative Military Service Transfers to First Second Interest Creditable Fund Balance at

 Year (Payroll Taxes)1 Taxes Payments2 Expenses Adjustments SSEB Account3 Semi-Annual % Semi-Annual % to SSEB Account5 End of Year6

1967 $334.3 $759.2 $9.1 $508.0 1.7750 1.9040 $24.6 $690.8 

1968 336.6 851.7 9.8 437.6 1.9120 1.9570 27.7 805.8 

1969 374.3 878.7 10.2 491.5 2.0510 2.2440 34.5 863.4 

1970 366.5 1,012.7 10.6 578.8 2.3520 2.5400 43.1 984.5 

1971 403.4 1,119.0 11.1 613.0 2.5140 2.5740 51.7 1,149.9 1972 441.9 1,189.7 10.8 724.3 2.5840 2.6340 58.6 1,242.8 

1973 544.8 1,461.4 10.6 783.0 2.7080 2.8740 68.5 1,455.5 

1974 647.3 1,581.6 11.8 908.6 2.9100 3.1530 83.5 1,576.5 

1975 640.6 1,708.8 13.2 981.8 3.1670 3.2940 103.5 1,779.6 

1976 707.6 1,838.2 13.1 $47.0 1,212.3 3.2720 3.3460 112.4 1,776.4 

1977 760.8 1,945.5 13.6 2.6 1,207.8 3.3650 3.4570 118.4 1,882.7 

1978 795.9 2,069.1 14.0 1,588.7 3.5070 3.5370 117.2 1,698.4 

1979 990.4 2,261.4 16.2 1,447.5 3.6270 3.6850 114.6 1,652.7 

1980 1,089.7 2,526.5 15.0 1,442.0 4.1560 4.1810 134.6 1,797.1 

1981 1,173.6 2,863.0 17.5 1,584.9 4.7750 4.9190 175.7 2,094.8 

1982 1,106.9 3,167.6 19.9 1,793.3 5.0270 5.8080 238.6 2,620.7 

1983 1,146.0 3,252.1 21.0 2,250.8 5.3020 5.2950 270.7 2,767.7 

1984 1,303.7 $57.0 3,370.4 21.8 2,404.0 5.1510 6.1970 284.5 2,679.7 1985 1,261.7 65.0 3,506.7 23.3 2,310.2 5.7970 5.2900 290.2 2,863.0 

1986 1,235.3 68.3 3,619.0 21.4 2,585.1 5.5630 5.4800 299.1 2,913.8 

1987 1,236.7 (12.0) 3,686.1 20.4 2,557.3 5.1190 4.7940 283.4 3,121.7 

1988 1,289.4 4.2 3,832.6 23.2 2,790.0 4.7850 4.7740 283.3 3,177.2 

1989 1,271.7 14.0 3,992.3 19.3 2,845.3 4.7436 4.6028 286.9 3,344.7 

1990 1,270.5 30.5 4,182.5 18.6 2,969.3 4.5631 4.5323 298.4 3,573.9 1991 1,299.1 47.1 4,391.1 18.6 3,374.6 4.4871 4.3982 300.2 3,563.0 

1992 1,329.6 53.9 4,522.8 19.1 3,148.4 4.3350 4.2187 302.3 3,875.3 

1993 1,355.6 58.8 4,644.5 18.4 3,352.5 4.1602 3.9913 306.2 4,077.5 

1994 1,249.5 49.4 4,693.0 17.6 3,419.6 3.9462 3.9283 317.5 4,387.1 

1995 1,253.4 39.9 4,723.5 16.0 51.2 4,052.3 3.9134 3.8165 307.0 4,036.8 

1996 1,285.4 55.9 4,759.8 16.8 3,554.1 3.7763 3.7618 295.6 4,213.6 

Table 1. -- RRB-SSA Financial Interchange: Change in Balance of OASI Trust Fund at End of Each Calendar Year 1937-2018, and on September 30, 2019 (Continued)

(Dollar amounts in millions)

Interest factor4
11

Decrease in Trust

Calendar Appropriations Income Benefit Administrative Military Service Transfers to First Second Interest Creditable Fund Balance at

 Year (Payroll Taxes)1 Taxes Payments2 Expenses Adjustments SSEB Account3 Semi-Annual % Semi-Annual % to SSEB Account5 End of Year6

1997 $1,338.2 $55.5 $4,814.8 $16.2 $3,688.1 3.7287 3.6895 $298.5 $4,261.3 1998 1,407.9 72.1 4,825.1 14.1 3,662.2 3.6343 3.5192 288.6 4,246.9 1999 1,427.1 103.4 4,796.0 14.4 3,681.4 3.4594 3.4101 272.1 4,117.5 2000 1,413.3 124.5 4,815.2 13.2 $326.1 3,538.2 3.4051 3.3607 259.2 3,803.0 2001 1,401.5 89.5 4,858.7 14.0 3,273.1 3.3149 3.2369 248.7 4,160.3 2002 1,388.3 106.7 4,857.4 14.6 3,493.3 3.2021 3.1118 253.6 4,297.6 2003 1,405.3 108.6 4,879.8 15.4 3,580.0 3.0557 2.8726 242.5 4,341.4 2004 1,468.8 107.4 4,863.8 14.5 3,628.1 2.8360 2.7672 227.2 4,242.6 2005 1,543.2 111.5 4,921.7 21.4 3,579.3 2.7386 2.6368 212.3 4,164.0 2006 1,592.8 124.4 5,076.6 18.1 3,458.0 2.6274 2.6119 207.3 4,290.8 2007 1,654.5 128.3 5,196.5 19.1 3,574.6 2.6010 2.5769 210.2 4,359.2 2008 1,715.5 104.1 5,290.1 18.1 3,632.3 2.5465 2.4784 206.6 4,422.1 2009 1,622.8 128.5 5,646.0 19.1 3,689.7 2.4377 2.3513 207.3 4,853.5 2010 1,634.8 151.5 5,687.6 22.1 3,929.7 2.3340 2.2338 212.6 5,059.8 2011 1,755.6 170.1 5,764.7 19.0 4,109.5 2.2167 2.1109 203.5 5,011.8 2012 1,837.0 273.9 6,051.3 18.7 154.8 4,139.2 2.0820 1.9380 186.0 4,862.9 

2013 1,882.8 238.9 6,198.5 20.4 3,948.4 1.9143 1.8135 174.9 5,186.6 2014 2,036.1 244.0 6,364.0 20.3 4,257.1 1.8017 1.7191 170.0 5,203.7 2015 2,117.8 291.7 6,543.0 17.3 4,258.0 1.7046 1.6139 160.0 5,256.5 2016 1,835.1 295.5 6,624.3 20.8 228.9 4,286.9 1.6037 1.5197 155.9 5,411.1 

2017 1,854.7 287.8 6,720.1 18.3 4,315.8 1.5130 1.4498 154.7 5,845.9 2018 1,970.5 288.7 6,928.5 16.9 4,768.9 1.4470 1.4274 156.7 5,919.9 

2019 (9 month estimate) 1,558.6 198.0 5,350.1 12.7 4,880.4 1.4182 1.3640 118.0 4,763.7 

1 Appropriations are net of payroll tax refunds for the calendar year.2 Uncollectible benefits overpayments are included in annual benefit payments.3 Figures in parentheses represent amounts creditable or transferred to trust fund.4 Represents rate derived from average interest rate earned by trust fund in indicated six month period (calendar year for 1937-1952). Interest factors applied to balance at beginning of period plus weighted net income in period.5 The Social Security Equivalent Benefit (SSEB) Account replaced the Railroad Retirement Account (RRA) as the Financial Interchange depository beginning in 1984.6 Figures in parentheses represent increases in trust fund balances at end of year.NOTE - Detail may not add to totals shown because of rounding.

Table 1. -- RRB-SSA Financial Interchange: Change in Balance of OASI Trust Fund at End of Each Calendar Year 1937-2018, and on September 30, 2019 (Continued)

(Dollar amounts in millions)

Interest factor4
12

Decrease in Trust

Calendar Appropriations Income Benefit Administrative Military Service Transfers to First Second Interest Creditable Fund Balance at

 Year (Payroll Taxes)1 Taxes Payments2 Expenses Adjustments SSEB Account3 Semi-Annual % Semi-Annual % to SSEB Account5 End of Year6

Total $10,650.5 $120.9 $17,998.8 $237.6 $144.9 $8,007.4 $828.4 

1957 23.2 2.6 0.4 1.0830 1.1680 (0.2) ($20.4) 

1958 22.6 19.4 0.7 1.1900 1.2240 (0.5) (23.4) 

1959 22.7 26.0 0.9 (22.0) 1.2310 1.2560 (0.2) 2.6 

1960 23.8 31.8 1.1 (4.9) 1.2880 1.3160 0.3 16.9 

1961 20.9 34.3 1.2 5.1 1.3840 1.4460 0.6 27.0 

1962 20.7 36.5 1.3 11.0 1.4280 1.4720 0.9 34.0 

1963 19.9 38.1 1.6 19.6 1.4730 1.5060 1.0 35.2 

1964 19.7 39.3 2.0 19.1 1.5320 1.6030 1.2 38.9 

1965 19.2 48.1 1.7 23.6 1.5930 1.7350 1.4 47.3 

1966 33.0 52.1 2.0 25.0 1.8360 1.8570 1.7 45.1 

1967 33.0 53.2 2.3 30.6 1.9810 2.1040 1.6 38.6 

1968 48.0 59.0 2.0 20.4 1.9860 2.3090 1.5 32.7 

1969 48.0 59.5 1.7 21.3 2.4080 2.6100 1.4 26.0 

1970 55.1 67.8 2.6 10.4 2.7940 2.9450 1.6 32.5 

1971 54.8 71.0 3.5 13.2 2.9450 2.9580 2.0 41.0 

1972 60.0 75.2 2.8 24.2 2.9500 2.9520 2.0 36.8 

1973 69.7 91.7 4.2 19.5 2.9960 3.0870 2.3 45.8 

1974 85.1 103.4 1.9 22.3 3.1260 3.2700 2.7 46.4 

1975 84.2 112.5 2.2 28.5 3.2890 3.3320 3.1 51.5 

1976 93.0 123.1 2.5 28.4 26.4 3.3040 3.3450 2.7 32.0 

1977 100.0 137.2 2.2 3.8 (0.3) 3.4430 3.5700 3.7 71.6 

1978 143.6 146.3 2.8 29.8 3.5990 3.7240 4.3 51.6 1979 171.7 151.9 2.7 29.9 3.8690 3.9280 2.1 6.7 

1980 136.1 165.0 2.5 (12.1) 4.3330 4.2770 2.7 52.9 

1981 161.9 190.2 4.4 29.4 4.8340 5.0380 5.5 61.7 1982 198.0 195.7 4.4 26.4 5.5220 5.9770 6.3 43.7 1983 152.0 188.4 3.8 27.8 5.1070 5.0260 5.4 61.5 1984 126.7 1.8 186.8 2.3 21.6 5.1510 5.2820 8.9 109.4 

1985 121.3 2.0 183.4 1.4 42.7 5.3420 4.9420 12.6 140.8 

1986 118.8 2.1 182.5 2.3 67.7 4.9890 4.8360 14.0 151.0 

1987 118.9 (1.8) 179.6 3.3 56.9 4.8620 4.5870 15.1 175.0 

1988 123.6 (0.7) 187.3 3.3 61.3 4.6890 4.7030 17.0 198.4 

1989 121.9 0.2 197.1 3.4 88.2 4.7092 4.6612 18.3 206.9 

1990 135.7 0.3 193.4 3.8 79.9 4.6134 4.5708 18.6 206.8 

1991 139.2 0.6 216.3 2.8 82.1 4.5373 4.4280 18.6 222.6 

Table 2. -- RRB-SSA Financial Interchange: Change in Balance of DI Trust Fund at End of Each Calendar Year 1957-2018, and on September 30, 2019

(Dollar amounts in millions)

Interest factor4
13

Decrease in Trust

Calendar Appropriations Income Benefit Administrative Military Service Transfers to First Second Interest Creditable Fund Balance at

 Year (Payroll Taxes)1 Taxes Payments2 Expenses Adjustments SSEB Account3 Semi-Annual % Semi-Annual % to SSEB Account5 End of Year6

1992 $142.4 $0.8 $235.5 $3.1 $58.0 4.3697 4.3236 $21.6 $281.6 

1993 145.2 1.2 246.5 3.1 82.8 4.2213 4.1717 24.7 326.7 

1994 223.4 1.1 248.0 3.8 106.0 4.0431 3.9940 23.6 271.6 

1995 224.0 1.0 261.1 3.6 $41.5 67.8 3.9499 3.3458 18.3 220.3 

1996 229.7 1.2 272.6 4.9 2.2 3.3242 3.4263 17.0 281.7 

1997 212.6 1.5 301.4 4.5 59.1 3.4160 3.4207 20.7 335.1 

1998 223.7 1.8 314.1 6.4 156.8 3.3774 3.2997 20.2 293.5 

1999 226.7 2.6 337.8 6.2 134.6 3.2486 3.2498 18.2 291.8 

2000 240.0 3.5 369.1 4.4 145.0 159.4 3.2600 3.2483 15.6 133.0 

2001 237.9 2.9 395.9 5.6 9.7 3.2049 3.1466 13.6 297.6 

2002 235.7 3.8 440.8 4.2 153.5 3.1153 3.0480 19.7 369.3 

2003 238.7 4.5 524.8 5.3 167.4 2.9995 2.8445 24.6 513.4 

2004 249.4 4.8 567.1 6.5 215.4 2.8170 2.2766 28.8 646.2 

2005 262.1 5.0 587.1 10.4 337.9 2.7455 2.6705 34.2 672.9 

2006 270.5 5.8 629.5 9.3 388.3 2.6628 2.6440 34.1 681.2 

2007 280.9 6.4 677.5 8.1 445.2 2.6336 2.6097 33.5 667.8 

2008 291.2 5.5 690.6 5.4 417.6 2.5890 2.5282 33.0 682.5 

2009 275.6 7.6 727.9 7.1 447.6 2.4937 2.4602 32.8 719.5 

2010 277.6 7.5 738.4 6.1 461.9 2.4392 2.4164 34.1 751.1 

2011 298.1 6.7 735.0 7.9 464.7 2.3802 2.3650 34.1 758.6 

2012 311.9 4.4 742.4 6.7 (74.5) 511.8 2.3306 2.2930 33.2 787.3 

2013 319.7 4.6 718.6 5.2 550.6 2.2281 2.2010 30.6 666.8 

2014 345.7 8.0 699.2 4.4 443.7 2.2198 2.2442 26.8 599.8 

2015 359.6 6.2 668.8 5.8 418.6 2.2479 2.2560 23.7 513.7 

2016 433.9 6.1 623.8 3.7 0.7 375.7 1.9036 1.6935 14.7 339.5 

2017 438.3 7.0 538.8 4.4 206.7 1.6224 1.5138 8.8 239.5 

2018 465.6 1.2 501.9 4.3 173.5 1.5216 1.5720 4.9 110.3 

2019 (9 month estimate) 264.4 3.7 358.9 3.2 66.0 1.5628 1.5167 3.1 141.4 

1 Appropriations are net of payroll tax refunds for the calendar year.2 Uncollectible benefits overpayments are included in annual benefit payments.3 Figures in parentheses represent amounts creditable or transferred to trust fund.4 Represents rate derived from average interest rate earned by trust fund in indicated six month period. Interest factors applied to balance at beginning of period plus weighted net income in period.5 The Social Security Equivalent Benefit (SSEB) Account replaced the Railroad Retirement Account (RRA) as the Financial Interchange depository beginning in 1984.6 Figures in parentheses represent increases in trust fund balances at end of year.NOTE - Detail may not add to totals shown because of rounding.

Interest factor4

Table 2. -- RRB-SSA Financial Interchange: Change in Balance of DI Trust Fund at End of Each Calendar Year 1957-2018, and on September 30, 2019 (Continued)

(Dollar amounts in millions)
14

Increase in Trust

Calendar Appropriations Income Administrative Transfers to First Second Interest Creditable Tax Fund Balance at

Year (Payroll Taxes)1 Taxes Expenses HI Trust Fund Semi-Annual % Semi-Annual % to HI Trust Fund3 Refunds End of Year

Total $18,410.9 $10.9 $111.6 $19,111.9 $1,392.0 $18.5 

1966 33.1 0.4 16.3 2.1800 2.4200 0.5 $16.9 

1967 47.2 0.1 44.0 2.1400 2.3800 1.4 0.1 21.4 

1968 60.7 0.1 54.2 2.4200 2.5200 1.7 0.4 29.5 

1969 60.7 0.1 63.5 2.7100 2.8000 2.2 1.1 28.8 

1970 60.3 0.1 65.9 3.0900 3.1700 2.5 0.8 25.6 

1971 59.8 0.1 66.1 3.2900 3.2600 2.3 0.6 21.5 

1972 65.5 0.1 63.2 3.2800 3.1600 2.4 0.8 26.1 

1973 126.3 0.1 99.2 3.1800 3.2300 4.1 0.7 57.2 

1974 133.2 0.1 132.5 3.3800 3.5000 6.2 1.2 64.0 

1975 131.7 0.1 137.7 3.5500 3.5100 7.0 0.8 64.9 

1976 145.6 0.8 142.9 3.5700 3.6000 7.6 0.6 74.4 

1977 156.5 1.0 0.0 3.6200 3.7200 11.6 0.7 241.5 

1978 185.8 1.2 213.7 3.5900 3.7200 16.0 0.5 228.4 1979 240.1 1.7 191.1 3.8200 3.8900 19.0 1.5 294.7 1980 253.4 1.5 244.3 4.1000 4.1700 23.7 0.9 326.0 1981 323.2 1.9 276.5 4.4900 4.8800 31.4 0.7 402.2 1982 314.3 2.5 351.4 5.0700 5.4200 38.3 0.7 400.9 1983 312.5 2.3 357.7 5.4800 5.6000 40.0 0.6 393.4 1984 326.7 2.0 350.6 5.7800 5.9300 43.3 0.5 410.8 1985 327.2 2.1 371.4 5.8900 5.6600 43.7 0.8 408.2 1986 343.8 2.1 364.4 5.1500 4.9800 38.6 0.8 424.1 1987 344.9 2.2 368.0 4.8800 4.8400 38.5 0.5 437.3 1988 338.8 2.6 363.8 4.8500 4.8200 39.6 0.9 449.3 1989 333.5 2.7 378.8 4.8200 4.7200 39.2 0.9 440.5 1990 329.1 2.5 367.4 4.7100 4.6700 38.2 0.7 437.9 1991 347.3 2.4 352.2 4.6300 4.5400 38.0 0.5 468.6 1992 363.7 2.7 374.5 4.5200 4.4200 39.3 494.4 1993 375.3 2.7 400.5 4.3900 4.2700 40.2 506.7 

 19944 362.6 0.0 2.7 412.9 4.2600 4.2100 38.5 0.2 492.2 

1995 367.8 0.2 2.4 396.1 4.2200 4.1100 38.2 499.9 

Table 3. -- RRB-CMS Financial Interchange: Change in Balance of HI Trust Fund at End of Each Calendar Year 1966-2018, and on September 30, 2019

(Dollar amounts in millions)

Interest Factor2
15

Increase in Trust

Calendar Appropriations Income Administrative Transfers to First Second Interest Creditable ACA Fund Balance at

Year (Payroll Taxes)1 Taxes Expenses HI Trust Fund Semi-Annual % Semi-Annual % to HI Trust Fund3 Adjustments End of Year

1996 $375.1 $0.0 $3.2 $401.3 4.0900 4.0600 $37.9 $508.4 1997 382.2 (0.1) 3.0 419.1 4.0100 4.0100 37.2 505.6 1998 411.7 0.0 3.0 419.4 3.9800 3.9200 37.9 532.8 1999 416.4 0.0 2.8 429.9 3.8800 3.7200 38.1 554.6 2000 407.4 0.0 2.1 465.3 3.6800 3.6200 36.4 531.0 2001 397.6 (0.3) 2.4 469.7 3.5200 3.4100 32.7 488.9 2002 393.3 (0.3) 2.2 424.7 3.3400 3.2300 29.6 484.6 2003 402.8 0.1 2.4 426.3 3.1800 2.9200 27.4 486.2 2004 423.8 0.3 2.6 418.6 2.9500 2.9200 27.2 516.3 2005 447.2 0.0 3.5 444.9 2.8100 2.7000 27.0 542.1 2006 469.0 (0.4) 3.4 471.5 2.7000 2.6500 27.7 563.5 2007 488.5 (0.2) 3.5 483.3 2.6500 2.6200 28.6 593.6 2008 519.6 (0.2) 3.3 525.7 2.5900 2.5100 28.8 612.8 2009 470.9 0.0 3.3 524.3 2.4800 2.4200 27.4 583.5 2010 472.0 0.0 3.9 535.1 2.4000 2.3800 24.5 541.0 2011 517.8 0.3 3.7 477.2 2.3500 2.3700 25.1 603.3 2012 566.2 0.7 3.5 510.9 2.2900 2.2900 27.7 683.5 2013 548.1 0.7 2.5 576.6 2.2300 2.2200 28.4 681.6 2014 608.0 1.1 2.5 611.6 2.1900 2.1800 28.2 704.8 2015 625.0 1.4 2.6 594.7 2.1700 2.0900 29.6 763.5 2016 571.3 2.2 2.8 656.8 2.0300 1.8800 27.0 $1.2 705.6 2017 576.9 1.9 2.2 637.4 1.8500 1.8100 23.6 1.4 669.8 

2018 603.1 1.8 2.2 596.5 1.8200 1.7800 23.2 1.7 700.9 

2019 (9 month estimate) 446.4 1.7 1.7 570.3 1.7400 1.5900 17.6 596.4 

1 Appropriations are net of payroll tax refunds for the calendar year.2 Represents rate derived from average interest earned by trust fund in indicated six month period. Interest factor applied to balance at beginning of period plus weighted net income in period.3 Figures adjusted to allow for interest on cash transfers to trust fund, at rates shown in table, from date of transfer to end of year.4 Tax refunds ceased after 1994.NOTE - Detail may not add to totals shown because of rounding.

(Dollar amounts in millions)

Interest Factor2

Table 3. -- RRB-CMS Financial Interchange: Change in Balance of HI Trust Fund at End of Each Calendar Year 1966-2018, and on September 30, 2019 (Continued)

17

EXHIBIT 1 – BENEFIT, ADMINISTRATIVE COST, AND INCOME TAX CALCULATIONS

AND CORRESPONDENCE

Part I. Summary of Benefit, Administrative Cost, and Income Tax Calculations

Benefit Calculations

The benefit calculations for each determination include estimating, from one-percent sample data, the 

additional benefit amounts payable on the basis of railroad employment for the calendar year ending in 

the fiscal year covered by the determination. A preliminary estimate is also made of the benefit amounts 

for the last nine months of the fiscal year. In addition, adjustments in benefit calculations for prior years 

are made to reflect new information or to correct processing errors.

The railroad beneficiary universe for the calendar year, to which sample amounts are inflated, consists of 

all accounts on which a monthly benefit was in force (payable or withheld) under the Railroad 

Retirement Act (RRA) for at least one month of the year and on which a monthly benefit might have 

been payable under Social Security Administration (SSA) eligibility conditions. Also included are those 

on which an SSA lump sum based on death in the year would have been payable. The corresponding 

one-percent sample consists of cases carried over from earlier determinations and new cases in the 

universe with employee SSA account number ending in the digits "30."

The sample also includes cases with employee SSA number ending in "30" of non-retired employees full 

retirement age and over, employees (and their auxiliaries) eligible for RRA benefits but only paid 

benefits by SSA, and of widows ages 60 and over not on the RRB rolls (due to election of residual 

payment) where SSA benefits would have been payable in the year. The universe numbers for these 

railroad non-beneficiaries are assumed to be 100 times the sample numbers.

For each railroad employee beneficiary in the sample, a gross benefit amount was calculated on the basis 

of the employee's combined railroad and social security earnings record. Appropriate reductions for 

benefits payable on other earnings records and for earnings received during the year were then applied. 

Auxiliary benefits are either computed or estimated. Beginning with the 60th determination for calendar 

year 2010, auxiliary benefits are only computed when there is a spouse under full retirement age whose 

annuity is not reduced for early retirement. For all other cases, auxiliary benefits are estimated by 

applying factors based on SSA experience by gender (Tables 1 and 2) to the employee's benefit amounts. 

The gross amounts were reduced by the amounts of actual SSA payments, to obtain net additional 

amounts that would be paid on the basis of railroad employment. Separate OASI and DI amounts were 

developed for employee disability beneficiaries who were paid actual old-age benefits by SSA.

Separate OASI life and survivor amounts were developed in cases where the employee annuitant died 

during the year. For all survivor cases, the gross amount is computed based on the employee's combined 

earnings, with reduction when needed for beneficiary earnings in the year. Survivor gross amounts are 

reduced for actual SSA payments based on other earnings records (in most cases the beneficiary's) to 

obtain the net additional OASI amounts based on railroad service.

For employees who retired after 1956 and for non-retired employees who died after 1956, actual earnings 

under social security annual limits have been obtained from railroad employers. For cases on the rolls 

before 1957, however, annual benefits before reduction for SSA payments were increased by fixed ratios 

according to year of accrual. (Development of the ratios is described in the Financial Interchange

Summary and Documentation for Fiscal Year 1957-58, pages 135-142.) The distribution of OASI and 

DI sample amounts by type of benefit is shown in Table 3.

The sample and universe are stratified to improve the accuracy of the benefit estimates. The retirement 
18

beneficiary stratification is based on the employee's age in the determination year, the year their RRA 

annuity began and whether an RRA spouse annuity was payable. Monthly survivor beneficiary records 

are stratified on the basis of number of beneficiaries, type of benefit, beneficiary's age, and year of 

employee's death, or, if applicable, year retired employee had attained age 65. There is a single stratum 

for lump-sum death benefits and one for the railroad non-beneficiary group. Employee disability benefit 

strata are based entirely on employee's age. The composition of the 2018 strata is shown in Table 4.

Universe and sample counts were obtained for each stratum and the sample benefit payment amounts 

were tabulated by stratum (Tables 5 and 5a). These sample benefit payment amounts were then inflated 

by multiplying each stratum total by the ratio of the universe number to the sample number.

On an accrual basis the uninflated additional OASI benefits for 2018 totaled $70,052,000 and the inflated 

amount was $6,949,398,000. The standard error of the OASI inflated amount was $52,195,000 and the 

95-percent confidence interval for the amount of OASI benefits was $6,847,096,000 to $7,051,700,000.

The uninflated amount of additional DI benefits accrued in 2018 was $4,422,000. The inflated amount 

was $501,889,000. The standard error of the DI inflated amount was $14,308,000 and the 95-percent 

confidence interval for the amount of DI benefits was $473,846,000 to $529,932,000.

The preliminary estimates of additional benefit payments in January-September 2019 were made largely 

on the basis of the net sample amounts in current-payment status at the end of 2018. Allowances were 

made for lump-sum payments and the effect of family composition factors. The estimated cash amounts 

payable in the 9-month period were $5,350 million in OASI and $359 million in DI benefits. These 

figures will be superseded in the next determination by a calendar year 2019 estimate based on the onepercent sample.

Adjustments were made to the benefit calculations for years prior to 2018. These adjustments primarily 

involved the late receipt of data on benefit payments or earnings from RRB or SSA and the correction of 

processing errors. OASI adjustments decreased benefits by $127,825,000 for calendar years 2006-2017

and DI adjustments increased benefits by $4,030,000 for calendar years 2005-2017.

The inflated adjustments and adjusted benefit amounts are shown by Trust Fund in Tables 6 and 6a.

The adjusted benefit payments for a year are the latest estimates of the amounts that would have been 

payable for that period on an accrual basis. Beginning with the 39th determination, second-degree curves 

are fit to annual accrued benefit amounts to estimate accrued benefit payments by month. The payments 

are then converted from an accrual to a cash basis by adding the estimated amount accrued in the 

preceding year but paid in the current year to the estimated amount both accrued and paid in the current 

year. These amounts are estimated from the number of lag months, i.e., the average length of time from 

date of accrual to payment, under SSA experience.

Beginning with the 46th determination (see Financial Interchange Summary and Documentation for 

Fiscal Year 1997, pages 42-46), the calculation of the float period reflects cycled benefit payments 

initiated by SSA. The float is the average number of days between the beginning of the month and the 

day on which Treasury clears funds for benefit payments. Effective June 1997, SSA began paying 

monthly benefits on staggered Wednesdays in the month (cycles 2 through 4) in addition to the third of 

the month (cycle 1). Almost all the SSA benefits paid in cycles 2 through 4 payments are to new 

beneficiaries, and the formula assumes all cycle 2 through 4 payments are by electronic funds transfer

(EFT). The methodology to calculate a cycled float utilizes RRB experience on the percentage of 
19

annuitants receiving payments by EFT and SSA experience on the proportion of payments made in cycle 

1 versus cycles 2 through 4. Table 7 displays the calculation of the float.

Beginning with the 53rd determination (see Financial Interchange Summary and Documentation for 

Fiscal Year 2004, pages 36-48), benefit overpayments written off as uncollectible are included in the 

calculations. Table 8 displays the calculation of the uncollectible overpayment amounts included in the 

benefit calculations for calendar years 1999-2018.

The Financial Interchange is liable under Public Law 88-133 for crediting SSA with benefits they have 

paid that are associated with pre-1957 military service covered under both the RRA and SSA. These 

benefits paid during 1952-1972, 1973-1974, 1975-1979, 1980-1991, 1992-1997 and 1998-2005 were 

reimbursed in the 25th, 26th, 44th, 49th, 61st and 65th determinations, respectively. In the current 

determination, SSA did not receive any reimbursement related to the pre-1957 military service

adjustment.

Administrative Costs Calculations

The additional administrative expenses that would have been paid by the OASDHI Trust Funds with 

respect to coverage of railroad employment were estimated to total $23.5 million for 2018 (Tables 9 and 

9a). Expenses are based on unit cost factors supplied by SSA (see Correspondence) and workload 

estimates developed from the financial interchange one-percent sample of beneficiaries, the gross 

earnings one-percent sample of active railroad employees and actual RRB wage reports processing.

Beginning with the 38th determination, administrative expense calculations reflect an agreement on the 

treatment of dually entitled annuitants (discussed in the Financial Interchange Summary and 

Documentation for Fiscal Year 1986 (pages 76-95), Fiscal Year 1987 (pages 49-59) and Fiscal Year 

1988 (pages 70-77)). The following discussion is a simplified explanation of how cases receiving SSA 

benefits are treated under the agreement.

The estimated net additional number of OASI cases for which there would have been a determination of 

insured status and computation of the primary insurance amount (PIA) is based on the financial 

interchange sample. It is 100 times the difference between (1) the number of new awards to employees 

and survivors where no previous FI or SSA award had been based on the account and (2) the number of 

accounts on the FI employee and survivor rolls on which SSA awarded benefits in the determination 

year.

Additional DI cases requiring determination of insured status and computation of PIA are based on the 

inflated number of disability freeze decisions reached in the determination year, less the number where 

SSA made the first freeze determination.

The number of additional cases that would have required adjudication of OASI auxiliary benefits was 

estimated from financial interchange sample data. It is the difference (inflated) between (1) the number 

of new OASI awards to spouses and children not receiving SSA benefits or to survivors who were not 

receiving life benefits in the month prior to the employee's death and (2) the number of aged widows (not 

on the RRA rolls), spouses, and children on the FI rolls who were awarded SSA benefits in the 

determination year.

The approximate increase in administrative costs due to the maintenance of benefit rolls is based on the 

number of benefits in the financial interchange sample. It is the average of the inflated number of 
20

financial interchange benefits (excluding those to individuals receiving SSA benefits) payable at the end 

of the determination year and at the end of the preceding determination year.

The number of compensation reports that would have been received by SSA from railroad employers 

was estimated from RRB experience during the year. Included are allowances for compensation 

adjustments and additional reports for employees with more than one railroad employer. The cost is 

apportioned between the OASI, DI, and HI Trust Funds. A portion of the costs for both OASI and DI 

awards are charged to the HI Trust Fund as it pays the hospital insurance benefits that are charged to 

these accounts. This portion of the OASI and DI costs is supplied by SSA in the form of unit cost 

factors. The 2018 HI administrative cost calculation is shown in Table 9a.

Income Tax Calculations

At the beginning of each quarter, Treasury transfers the estimated increase in tax liability to the OASI 

and DI Trust Funds and the Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account for benefit payments to be 

received during such quarters. Proper adjustments to the transfers are made whenever the actual increase 

in tax liability is determined.

Income tax transfers in the financial interchange are calculated as a proportion of railroad retirement Tier 

1 to social security equivalent benefit income taxes. Children of life annuitants are excluded from the 

calculations because it can be assumed that they would have negligible tax liability. All other non-RRB 

annuitants (primarily widow(er)s and spouses) are assumed to have proportionate tax liability.

Beginning with the 36th determination, income tax calculations reflect prior year income tax 

reconciliations. Financial interchange income tax adjustments are made in the year of the Treasury 

reconciliation.

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 legislation passed in 1994 raised the level of taxes 

imposed on Social Security beneficiaries. The increased tax revenues resulting from this legislation are 

payable to the HI Trust Fund. The manner of financial interchange tax liability calculations and 

Treasury payments to the HI Trust Fund are similar to that for OASDI. Beginning with the 43rd

determination, annual adjustments are calculated to equate Treasury's quarterly and adjustment payments 

to what they would have been had they been calculated under the financial interchange methodology.

Table 10 shows the results of the OASDI calculations for calendar years 1984-2018 and JanuarySeptember 2019. Table 10a shows the results of the HI calculations for calendar years 1994-2018 and 

January-September 2019. 

Communications

The Correspondence and Memoranda section in Part V contains letters and memoranda sent between the 

RRB and SSA and the RRB and CMS on financial interchange related matters.
21

Part II. Tables Pertaining to Benefit Calculations

 

(A) (B) (C)

Family Family

Age Last Birthday of Child Composition Composition

 Old-Age Beneficiary Factors Factors I Factors II

(1)-(7)+(3)-(9) (5)+(6) (2)-(5)+(3)+(10)-(6)

(1)-(7) (5) (2)-(5)

62 1.0274 ..... .....

63 1.0265 ..... .....

64 1.0233 ..... .....

65 1.0197 1.0145 1.0187

66 1.0168 1.0125 1.0177

67 1.0156 1.0105 1.0165

68 1.0144 1.0108 1.0151

69 1.0131 1.0110 1.0138

70 1.0115 1.0098 1.0122

71 1.0105 1.0103 1.0110

72 1.0102 1.0113 1.0104

73 1.0096 1.0124 1.0096

74 1.0091 1.0139 1.0088

75 1.0084 1.0143 1.0081

76 1.0081 1.0159 1.0076

77 1.0076 1.0178 1.0071

78 1.0073 1.0192 1.0068

79 1.0071 1.0213 1.0064

80-84 1.0061 1.0203 1.0054

85 and over 1.0047 1.0144 1.0042

NOTE - Numbers in above column formulae correspond to the columns in Table 1a, which is supplied annually by SSA.

Column (A) - Factors to be applied to amounts of male old-age benefits in area of actual life benefits.

Column (B) - Factors to be applied to amounts of male old-age benefits in area of presumptive life benefits with a spouse on the rolls.

Column (C) - Factors to be applied to amounts of male old-age benefits in area of presumptive life benefits with no spouse on the rolls.

Table 1. -- Computation of Family Composition Factors and Factors for Child's Benefits for Calendar Year 2018

Applied to Male Old-Age Employees

Social Security Data
22

Table 1a. — Selected benefit estimates relating to male old-age (primary) beneficiary families in current-payment status on 12/31/2018

Beneficiary families consisting of a Beneficiary families consisting of a male

male old-age beneficiary with an old-age beneficiary with a wife whose

aged wife receiving a full benefit entitlement is based on having an eligible

All old-age families whether or not children are present child in her care and is receiving a full benefit

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Old-age Monthly rate Child Old-age Monthly rate Child Old-age Monthly rate Child Wife 

Age benefits of PIA benefits benefits of PIA benefits benefits of PIA benefits benefits 

62 $388,050,210 $524,874,921 $11,661,954 $1,504,682 $2,036,152 $26,523 $1,951,187 $2,642,005 $1,084,154 $838,091

63 596,478,598 788,246,500 17,331,357 3,071,275 4,052,641 56,461 2,943,815 3,899,916 1,598,150 1,267,414

64 716,303,084 918,955,641 18,313,442 4,621,037 5,862,913 83,932 3,210,149 4,133,974 1,695,877 1,353,537

65 894,208,124 1,104,790,884 19,260,577 8,161,837 9,816,925 142,262 3,356,090 4,180,904 1,703,888 1,390,585

66 2,093,723,688 2,318,604,602 38,189,079 45,882,464 48,683,388 608,399 6,961,117 7,722,516 3,144,781 2,568,308

67 2,187,179,396 2,404,697,289 36,837,638 79,009,908 82,516,468 865,748 6,199,408 6,798,492 2,773,161 2,282,533

68 2,125,797,599 2,331,179,645 32,903,536 95,690,034 99,009,229 1,070,427 5,371,438 5,870,754 2,406,134 1,965,507

69 2,176,545,864 2,387,441,569 30,725,159 113,169,805 116,005,974 1,276,387 4,924,579 5,343,306 2,184,508 1,797,661

70 2,448,655,384 2,609,520,787 29,958,909 166,952,904 157,091,880 1,533,510 4,396,146 4,630,610 1,884,704 1,565,409

71 2,488,056,588 2,668,495,212 27,773,019 154,387,191 146,196,620 1,498,661 4,028,223 4,232,276 1,742,981 1,434,735

72 2,200,200,410 2,376,596,881 23,703,465 122,525,161 117,427,695 1,323,107 3,067,393 3,269,969 1,347,078 1,089,290

73 1,733,731,911 1,880,659,943 17,464,828 82,734,307 79,932,415 994,946 2,038,336 2,170,842 904,556 727,385

74 1,674,894,798 1,829,338,877 15,918,992 69,760,781 68,423,467 952,692 1,633,115 1,750,643 718,738 588,086

75 1,674,104,932 1,841,606,408 14,742,153 61,746,978 61,229,950 877,390 1,582,982 1,702,511 705,655 569,967

76 1,565,128,861 1,726,292,388 13,160,303 50,649,538 51,039,973 811,032 1,229,915 1,308,816 542,339 441,048

77 1,343,677,868 1,484,140,123 10,674,814 39,788,282 40,455,936 720,280 918,782 995,474 415,593 339,056

78 1,193,019,425 1,317,477,927 9,069,995 33,171,976 34,015,606 654,024 699,879 754,149 313,633 252,767

79 1,056,288,632 1,164,560,623 7,667,530 26,915,577 27,673,279 589,214 495,459 535,677 219,913 183,202

80 981,948,420 1,081,171,507 6,648,321 23,804,186 24,564,576 519,386 406,857 435,780 179,005 149,087

81 860,757,383 943,511,234 5,502,141 20,532,131 21,164,905 434,670 271,372 292,810 121,892 97,678

82 737,292,150 807,987,194 4,415,526 17,393,853 17,969,401 350,489 191,045 206,064 86,983 70,254

83 656,790,737 719,236,718 3,848,572 15,845,907 16,377,351 339,187 147,927 158,574 64,039 53,756

84 579,915,082 631,767,369 3,251,235 15,477,154 15,778,977 301,927 125,257 134,093 54,682 46,160

85 499,285,169 539,957,346 2,674,457 14,928,732 14,871,178 264,803 90,596 94,222 38,139 32,289

86 466,126,375 502,816,603 2,418,508 14,870,312 14,536,353 230,773 83,864 88,260 34,595 30,576

87 402,849,985 431,009,862 1,995,366 13,580,925 12,967,991 184,693 57,885 58,502 23,826 19,476

88 355,573,804 379,622,360 1,750,345 12,141,726 11,471,956 155,795 50,689 53,022 20,897 19,371

89 289,810,437 308,196,619 1,403,919 9,751,737 9,148,663 126,719 29,109 30,841 11,964 10,746

90 247,920,011 264,215,376 1,132,443 8,130,948 7,711,737 103,968 36,085 38,932 16,086 13,910

91 205,614,421 218,506,889 932,737 6,096,117 5,747,733 74,044 20,283 21,340 8,660 7,278

92 157,734,350 167,751,643 638,830 4,419,667 4,201,287 46,014 16,235 15,909 6,260 5,767

93 122,991,267 130,489,522 504,821 3,402,026 3,227,776 40,541 15,275 15,678 6,448 5,612

94 91,937,147 97,547,715 345,494 2,490,715 2,366,049 22,408 11,012 10,648 4,305 3,556

95 65,479,029 68,936,999 240,599 1,672,061 1,589,374 16,732 4,340 4,568 1,954 1,588

96 45,408,932 47,614,107 169,784 1,048,496 994,970 13,693 1,637 1,560 367 322

97 31,586,624 33,001,821 108,510 678,524 636,486 4,017 0 0 0 0

98 19,330,111 20,079,751 76,263 367,666 347,033 5,271 0 0 0 0

99 11,641,543 12,051,561 46,789 203,373 192,974 4,091 0 0 0 0

100 7,725,964 8,013,378 28,848 116,981 112,539 951 0 0 0 0

101+ 10,320,927 10,659,624 35,738 192,950 186,641 1,662 0 0 0 0

Total 35,404,085,236 39,101,625,415 413,525,995 1,346,889,922 1,337,636,459 17,326,825 56,567,477 63,603,635 26,065,941 21,222,004
23

 

(A) (B) (C)

Family Family

Age Last Birthday of Child Composition Composition

 Old-Age Beneficiary Factors Factors I Factors II

(1)-(7)+(3)-(9) (5)+(6) (2)-(5)+(3)+(10)-(6)

(1)-(7) (5) (2)-(5)

62 1.0067 ..... .....

63 1.0064 ..... .....

64 1.0056 ..... .....

65 1.0045 1.0027 1.0039

66 1.0040 1.0026 1.0038

67 1.0037 1.0026 1.0036

68 1.0034 1.0028 1.0033

69 1.0030 1.0027 1.0029

70 1.0025 1.0025 1.0026

71 1.0022 1.0029 1.0023

72 1.0022 1.0022 1.0022

73 1.0019 1.0024 1.0020

74 1.0018 1.0027 1.0018

75 1.0016 1.0024 1.0017

76 1.0015 1.0022 1.0016

77 1.0015 1.0035 1.0016

78 1.0013 1.0013 1.0014

79 1.0012 1.0014 1.0013

80-84 1.0009 1.0030 1.0011

85 and over 1.0004 1.0022 1.0006

NOTE - Numbers in above column formulae correspond to the columns in Table 2a, which is supplied annually by SSA.

Column (A) - Factors to be applied to amounts of female old-age benefits in area of actual life benefits.

Column (B) - Factors to be applied to amounts of female old-age benefits in area of presumptive life benefits with a spouse on the rolls.

Column (C) - Factors to be applied to amounts of female old-age benefits in area of presumptive life benefits with no spouse on the rolls.

Table 2. -- Computation of Family Composition Factors and Factors for Child's Benefits for Calendar Year 2018

Applied to Female Old-Age Employees

Social Security Data
24

Table 2a. — Selected benefit estimates relating to female old-age (primary) beneficiary families in current-payment status on 12/31/2018

Beneficiary families consisting of a Beneficiary families consisting of a female

female old-age beneficiary with an old-age beneficiary with a husband whose

aged husband receiving a full benefit entitlement is based on having an eligible

All old-age families whether or not children are present child in his care and is receiving a full benefit

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Old-age Monthly rate Child Old-age Monthly rate Child Old-age Monthly rate Child Husband

Age benefits of PIA benefits benefits of PIA benefits benefits of PIA benefits benefits 

62 $342,045,979 $448,183,710 $2,295,144 $2,135,307 $2,886,250 $12,133 $21,050 $28,562 $10,783 $9,380

63 516,479,570 657,673,954 3,333,006 4,243,389 5,548,248 20,946 22,202 29,303 11,306 10,851

64 629,077,626 768,952,403 3,527,149 6,560,731 8,168,326 21,540 16,102 20,352 7,443 6,838

65 793,767,733 924,827,479 3,575,432 9,183,895 10,933,991 29,394 18,332 22,901 8,689 8,446

66 1,582,798,471 1,685,233,658 6,325,589 24,400,495 26,215,823 67,897 22,848 26,023 9,759 9,218

67 1,638,930,983 1,720,636,363 6,128,305 26,906,173 28,393,114 74,446 22,132 24,426 8,496 8,239

68 1,589,284,009 1,649,767,403 5,416,878 21,458,171 22,498,173 63,025 14,022 16,068 5,565 6,239

69 1,631,080,279 1,681,503,354 4,895,947 16,490,466 17,259,923 46,634 8,801 10,591 4,444 3,725

70 1,848,663,191 1,842,528,226 4,706,795 17,219,094 16,427,178 40,608 7,701 8,423 3,397 2,963

71 1,871,354,184 1,843,633,420 4,166,509 12,360,955 11,936,990 34,175 2,061 2,378 892 892

72 1,650,201,304 1,621,334,361 3,620,132 8,786,756 8,623,862 18,941 6,030 6,547 2,519 1,372

73 1,301,248,971 1,260,404,081 2,497,838 5,522,233 5,487,777 13,108 2,343 3,072 1,054 1,054

74 1,266,525,562 1,216,693,471 2,232,240 4,396,271 4,434,068 11,817 3,490 3,491 1,501 741

75 1,270,404,460 1,210,108,649 2,027,894 3,559,950 3,644,806 8,893 404 534 133 133

76 1,185,758,513 1,118,843,002 1,782,612 3,022,054 3,101,954 6,960 0 0 0 0

77 1,026,570,181 961,039,053 1,509,153 2,202,742 2,272,571 7,933 0 0 0 0

78 920,663,048 850,088,642 1,163,611 1,838,968 1,899,918 2,509 0 0 0 0

79 831,151,833 751,949,555 998,830 1,557,174 1,612,363 2,231 0 0 0 0

80 782,907,801 695,793,456 841,058 1,282,724 1,312,419 3,130 674 847 212 212

81 699,497,002 606,767,502 725,742 1,011,884 1,032,035 3,709 0 0 0 0

82 623,140,189 522,740,503 524,373 763,367 774,683 4,338 0 0 0 0

83 571,766,862 466,972,516 438,943 594,394 595,092 849 0 0 0 0

84 518,397,330 413,970,504 337,348 483,156 487,383 616 0 0 0 0

85 458,361,555 359,963,567 277,661 375,447 368,915 794 0 0 0 0

86 438,656,529 341,663,164 236,678 290,421 286,774 291 0 0 0 0

87 392,859,728 294,744,367 196,925 227,686 224,153 608 0 0 0 0

88 360,858,054 263,472,006 170,157 185,206 172,133 160 0 0 0 0

89 313,942,128 223,067,766 109,411 131,660 126,742 623 0 0 0 0

90 283,453,933 201,977,314 102,037 90,391 82,265 0 0 0 0 0

91 248,348,828 175,875,125 95,745 60,651 58,288 25 0 0 0 0

92 206,770,950 143,700,898 66,963 56,084 53,418 486 0 0 0 0

93 172,557,488 120,725,171 55,356 44,475 40,255 0 0 0 0 0

94 139,692,570 95,552,810 31,737 24,364 22,748 0 0 0 0 0

95 106,987,254 72,086,591 26,765 14,976 14,078 0 0 0 0 0

96 80,971,206 53,826,287 19,851 7,173 4,816 183 0 0 0 0

97 62,488,982 40,857,483 15,451 3,146 2,570 0 0 0 0 0

98 43,519,936 28,097,564 10,083 591 514 0 0 0 0 0

99 28,585,968 19,122,545 4,274 853 1,037 0 0 0 0 0

100 20,172,706 14,102,343 7,960 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

101+ 32,294,147 24,426,007 7,699 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 28,482,237,040 27,392,906,271 64,505,279 177,493,470 187,005,653 498,996 168,189 203,518 76,193 70,300
25

Total OASI DI

Type of Benefit Net Combined1 Actual SSA Net Combined1 Actual SSA Net Combined Actual SSA

Chargeable Earnings Offsets Chargeable Earnings Offsets Chargeable Earnings Offsets

Total $74,474 $82,367 $7,893 $70,052 $77,772 $7,720 $4,422 $4,595 $173

Retired Employees, Total 50,275 53,934 3,659 46,118 49,612 3,494 4,157 4,321 165

 Full Rate 14,689 16,459 1,770 10,550 12,156 1,605 4,139 4,304 165

 Reduced Rate 35,586 37,474 1,889 35,568 37,457 1,889 18 18 - 

Non-Retired Employees, Total 5 69 64 5 69 64 - - - 

 Presumptives2 - - - - - - - - -  Regular3 5 69 64 5 69 64 - - - Auxiliaries of Retired Employees, Total 9,635 9,694 60 9,369 9,421 51 265 274 8

 Spouses, Full Rate, Full Retirement Age and Over 609 617 8 596 604 8 13 13 -  Spouses, Reduced Rate 8,760 8,803 43 8,608 8,651 43 151 151 - 

 Spouses, Full Rate, Under Full Retirement Age 73 73 - 65 65 - 8 8 - 

 Children4 193 202 8 100 100 - 93 101 8Auxiliaries of Non-Retired Employees, Total - - - - - - - - - 

Survivors, Total 14,560 18,671 4,111 14,560 18,671 4,111 - - - 

 Aged Widow(er)s, Full Rate 2,431 3,434 1,003 2,431 3,434 1,003 - - - 

 Aged Widow(er)s, Reduced Rate 10,644 13,533 2,889 10,644 13,533 2,889 - - -  Disabled Widow(er)s 552 669 117 552 669 117 - - - 

 Widowed Mothers/Fathers 70 70 - 70 70 - - - - 

 Children and Parents 847 931 84 847 931 84 - - - 

 Widow(er)s Not on RRB Rolls 1 20 19 1 20 19 - - - 

 Lump Sum 14 14 - 14 14 - - - - 

1 Includes amounts due to child and family composition factors.2 Benefits for period between earliest retroactivity of application and date of first payment by RRB or SSA.3 Benefits paid by SSA, but not RRB.4 Actual SSA offsets under OASI were below $500, and thus were rounded down to $0.NOTE - For retired employees and auxiliaries, combined earnings are after reduction for receipt of SSA benefits based on other than retired employee's earnings. SSA offsets for retired employees and auxiliaries include only payments based on retired employee's earnings. For survivors, SSA offsets are payments based on other than the employee's earnings. Detail may not add to totals shown because of rounding.

Table 3. -- Analysis of Net Benefit Amounts (Uninflated) for 2018, By Type of Benefit (Accrual Basis)

(in thousands)
26

Stratum Type of RRA Benefit Age of Beneficiary on RRA Spouse Annuity Number in

Number Payable Birthday in 2018 Payable in 2018 Criterion Year1 Survivor Family

1 Employee 62-65 --- Before 2019 -2 Employee 66 or older Yes Before 1988 -

3 Employee 66 or older Yes 1988-1991 -4 Employee 66 or older Yes 1992-2002 -5 Employee 66 or older Yes 2003-2007 -6 Employee 66 or older Yes 2008-2018 -7 Employee 66 or older No Before 1988 -8 Employee 66 or older No 1988-1991 -9 Employee 66 or older No 1992-2002 -

10 Employee 66 or older No 2003-2007 -

11 Employee 66 or older No 2008-2018 -

12 Aged Widow(er) 60-61 --- Before 2019 1

13 Aged Widow(er), Parent 62 or older --- Before 1971 114 Aged Widow(er), Parent 62 or older --- 1971-1975 115 Aged Widow(er), Parent 62 or older --- 1976-1982 116 Aged Widow(er), Parent 62 or older --- 1983-1987 117 Aged Widow(er), Parent 62 or older --- 1988-1994 118 Aged Widow(er), Parent 62 or older --- 1995-1998 119 Aged Widow(er), Parent 62 or older --- 1999-2018 120 Child --- --- Before 2019 121 Disabled Widow(er) --- --- Before 2019 1

22 Monthly Survivor --- --- Before 2019 2 or more

23 Monthly Survivor, Lump Sum --- --- 20183 -

24 None4 --- --- --- -

1 Employee Disability 64-FRA5 --- --- -2 Employee Disability 60-63 --- --- -3 Employee Disability 55-59 --- --- -

4 Employee Disability Under 55 --- --- -

1 For employee benefits, employee annuity accrual year; for monthly survivor benefits, year employee attained age 65, where employee had retired and died at age 65 or older; in all other cases year of employee death.2 Excludes all interim widow(er) benefits, survivor-option annuities, and other survivor benefits based on deaths before April 1938.3 Employee death in 2018, without regard to employee's age or annuity accrual date.4 Non-retired employees at full retirement age and older, employees (and their auxiliaries) with 10 or more years of railroad service (or 5 or more years of railroad service after 1995) paid benefits by SSA but not RRB, and widow(er)s age 60 and older who are not on the rolls.5 Full retirement age gradually increases from age 65 to age 67, for those born between 1937 and 1960. It is age 67 for those born after 1959 and age 65 for those born before 1938.

Table 4. -- Stratification of Universe of RRB Beneficiaries, Calendar Year 2018

DISABILITY INSURANCE TRUST FUND

OLD-AGE AND SURVIVORS INSURANCE TRUST FUND2
27

 

Stratum Universe Sample Sum of Sum of Squares of 

Number1 Number Number Net Benefit Amounts Net Benefit Amounts

Total2 364,365 3,679 $70,051,714 $1,760,549,079,422 

1 31,053 365 7,833,753 204,863,612,130 

2 4,247 41 725,312 15,299,347,461 

3 7,299 66 1,334,929 31,365,353,683 

4 42,155 403 10,000,050 280,672,867,760 

5 30,395 302 8,197,367 250,817,176,048 

6 49,062 515 14,087,223 442,866,822,341 

7 7,077 57 734,535 11,415,978,134 

8 7,958 87 1,185,311 20,941,051,322 

9 25,964 253 4,187,680 82,005,099,455 

10 13,413 130 2,303,189 48,183,510,072 

11 27,340 273 4,898,118 106,075,019,108 

12 1,066 10 143,707 2,326,446,587 

13 1,792 21 126,435 1,261,673,917 

14 2,061 20 176,733 2,157,661,725 

15 7,820 80 877,992 13,688,022,822 

16 13,084 137 1,627,086 24,593,936,906 

17 28,029 289 3,468,644 57,785,552,454 

18 12,870 125 1,602,782 27,486,964,494 

19 31,202 314 4,496,176 90,970,977,682 

20 5,229 55 568,090 7,603,294,040 

21 3,863 45 560,963 8,846,279,985 

22 5,585 33 896,003 29,304,415,677 

23 5,401 54 13,770 --- 

24 400 4 5,866 18,015,619 

1

 For description of strata, see Table 4.

2

 Universe and sample numbers exclude 5,801 and 55 retirement annuities, respectively, from a group that consists

 almost entirely of non-disabled annuitants under age 62.

NOTE - The inflated amount, A , of the benefits and the sample error, , of the inflated amount are computed from the

 following formulas:

where is the benefit amount for the jth individual in the ith stratum and the remaining symbols are defined by the table

caption headings. Detail may not add to totals shown because of rounding.

Table 5. -- Basic Data Used to Compute Inflated Amount of OASI Benefits and Sampling Error, 2018

i NNii nnii �XXiiii

2

nni

ii=1

�XXiiii

nni

ii=1

AA = �NNii

nnii

24

ii=1

∗�MMiiii

nni

ii=1

SSa

MMiiii

sa

2 = �NNii(NNii − nnii)

nnii

2(nnii − 1) nnii�MMiiii

2 − �MMiiii

nni

ii=1

2 nni

ii=1

24

ii=1
28

 

Stratum Universe Sample Sum of Sum of Squares of 

Number1 Number Number Net Benefit Amounts Net Benefit Amounts

Total2 21,455 188 $4,422,185 $118,755,163,403 

1 8,206 61 1,334,827 35,012,664,907 

2 7,412 72 1,799,805 48,625,101,185 

3 3,250 32 712,688 17,384,392,084 

4 2,587 23 574,865 17,733,005,227 

1

 For description of strata, see table 4.

2

 Universe and sample numbers exclude 8,557 and 106 disability annuities, respectively, composed largely of annuitants

 denied a disability freeze. Of these, 4,949 and 72, respectively, were annuitants ages 62 to 66 who were included in 

 the OASI strata.

NOTE - The inflated amount, A , of the benefits and the sample error, , of the inflated amount are computed from the

 following formulas:

where is the benefit amount for the jth individual in the ith stratum and the remaining symbols are defined by the table

caption headings. Detail may not add to totals shown because of rounding.

Table 5a. -- Basic Data Used to Compute Inflated Amount of DI Benefits and Sampling Error, 2018

i NNii nnii

AA = �NNii

nnii

4

ii=1

∗�MMiiii

nni

ii=1

SSa

MMiiii

�XXiiii

2

nni

ii=1

�XXiiii

nni

ii=1

sa

2 = �NNii(NNii − nnii)

nnii

2(nnii − 1) nnii�MMiiii

2 − �MMiiii

nni

ii=1

2 nni

ii=1

4

ii=1
29

Benefit Payments

Before Adjustments Adjusted Benefit

Year (Accrual Basis) Adjustments1 Payments

Total $214,991,041,226 ($127,825,335) $214,863,215,891 

1937-19702 11,739,327,167 --- 11,739,327,167 

1971 1,128,570,194 --- 1,128,570,194 

1972 1,210,965,811 --- 1,210,965,811 

1973 1,471,457,246 --- 1,471,457,246 

1974 1,590,141,425 --- 1,590,141,425 

1975 1,724,239,005 --- 1,724,239,005 

1976 1,845,392,953 --- 1,845,392,953 

1977 1,955,837,142 --- 1,955,837,142 

1978 2,079,934,396 --- 2,079,934,396 

1979 2,281,435,049 --- 2,281,435,049 

1980 2,552,252,439 --- 2,552,252,439 

1981 2,892,694,764 --- 2,892,694,764 

1982 3,187,533,843 --- 3,187,533,843 

1983 3,257,653,071 --- 3,257,653,071 

1984 3,383,732,525 --- 3,383,732,525 

1985 3,515,602,903 --- 3,515,602,903 

1986 3,623,833,354 --- 3,623,833,354 

1987 3,700,591,036 --- 3,700,591,036 

1988 3,843,574,962 --- 3,843,574,962 

1989 4,009,931,952 --- 4,009,931,952 

1990 4,199,908,201 --- 4,199,908,201 

1991 4,402,929,123 --- 4,402,929,123 

1992 4,531,315,765 --- 4,531,315,765 

1993 4,653,171,768 --- 4,653,171,768 

1994 4,694,292,958 --- 4,694,292,958 

1995 4,726,567,302 --- 4,726,567,302 

1996 4,764,123,499 --- 4,764,123,499 

1997 4,816,342,931 --- 4,816,342,931 

1998 4,822,260,567 --- 4,822,260,567 

1999 4,796,837,227 --- 4,796,837,227 

2000 4,819,396,869 --- 4,819,396,869 

2001 4,849,956,379 --- 4,849,956,379 

2002 4,855,267,294 --- 4,855,267,294 

2003 4,884,810,004 --- 4,884,810,004 

2004 4,860,606,010 --- 4,860,606,010 

2005 4,937,109,169 --- 4,937,109,169 

2006 5,084,761,993 (777,191) 5,083,984,802 

2007 5,206,820,425 (2,917,527) 5,203,902,898 

2008 5,318,226,332 (4,214,179) 5,314,012,153 

2009 5,658,083,982 (5,721,671) 5,652,362,311 

2010 5,696,255,582 (7,395,174) 5,688,860,408 

2011 5,798,880,155 (7,936,306) 5,790,943,849 

2012 6,073,918,198 (10,479,754) 6,063,438,444 

2013 6,221,867,012 (11,809,443) 6,210,057,569 

2014 6,396,094,432 (16,536,365) 6,379,558,067 

2015 6,566,827,018 (19,373,136) 6,547,453,882 

2016 6,653,777,273 (20,498,023) 6,633,279,250 

2017 6,756,534,316 (20,166,566) 6,736,367,750 

2018 6,949,398,206 --- 6,949,398,206 

1

 Includes revision of work deduction amounts and adjustments based on information received subsequent to the previous determination.

2

 Data for years 1937-1970 are not shown separately as they are not adjusted in this determination.

Table 6. -- OASI Benefit Payments, 1937-2018, Including Adjustments, on an Accrual Basis
30

Benefit Payments

Before Adjustments Adjusted Benefit

Year (Accrual Basis) Adjustments1 Payments

Total $17,669,375,619 $4,029,882 $17,673,405,501 

1957-19882 3,259,212,386 --- 3,259,212,386 

1989 197,740,405 --- 197,740,405 

1990 193,105,261 --- 193,105,261 

1991 220,337,476 --- 220,337,476 

1992 235,789,575 --- 235,789,575 

1993 248,045,289 --- 248,045,289 

1994 247,567,099 --- 247,567,099 

1995 263,632,596 --- 263,632,596 

1996 273,373,545 --- 273,373,545 

1997 305,386,677 --- 305,386,677 

1998 313,779,875 --- 313,779,875 

1999 341,164,897 --- 341,164,897 

2000 370,410,146 --- 370,410,146 

2001 398,061,910 --- 398,061,910 

2002 446,311,624 --- 446,311,624 

2003 533,554,116 --- 533,554,116 

2004 566,071,157 --- 566,071,157 

2005 590,577,343 6,317 590,583,660 

2006 632,592,821 6,577 632,599,398 

2007 680,721,501 6,890 680,728,391 

2008 690,350,010 6,885 690,356,895 

2009 729,234,971 15,569 729,250,540 

2010 737,292,653 36,263 737,328,916 

2011 735,182,421 48,177 735,230,598 

2012 740,285,502 47,832 740,333,334 

2013 714,863,933 46,654 714,910,587 

2014 696,554,818 273,272 696,828,090 

2015 662,058,927 519,710 662,578,637 

2016 618,009,270 397,683 618,406,953 

2017 526,218,300 2,618,053 528,836,353 

2018 501,889,114 --- 501,889,114 

1

 Includes revision of work deduction amounts and adjustments based on information received subsequent to the previous determination.

2

 Data for years 1957-1988 are not shown separately as they are not adjusted in this determination.

Table 6a. -- DI Benefit Payments, 1957-2018, Including Adjustments, on an Accrual Basis
31

 Cycles 2-4 Cycle 1 Cycles 2-4 Combined RRB EFT EFT Check Float RRB EFT EFT Check Float Year PCT OASI DI OASI DI Float Float Float OASI DI PCT OASI DI OASI DI Float Float Float OASI DI 1997 63.60% 100.00% 100.00% 63.60% 63.60% 2.8333 7.6333 4.5805 4.5805 66.30% 99.29% 99.47% 66.06% 66.12% 2.6667 8.1000 17.4339 4.6025 4.5760 1998 68.90% 97.38% 97.31% 68.06% 68.04% 2.5000 7.8333 18.2673 4.5718 4.5828 71.50% 95.35% 94.39% 70.11% 69.81% 2.6667 8.1333 17.4339 4.9114 5.0531 1999 74.20% 93.34% 91.37% 72.36% 71.76% 2.3333 7.7667 18.4339 4.8067 5.1246 75.20% 91.14% 88.11% 72.79% 71.85% 2.5000 8.3000 17.7673 5.2904 5.7536 2000 76.20% 88.87% 85.00% 73.22% 72.00% 2.8333 7.7667 17.9339 5.6883 6.2728 77.00% 85.57% 82.20% 73.12% 72.02% 2.3333 8.1000 18.1006 5.9350 6.4663 2001 77.70% 83.21% 79.38% 73.20% 71.91% 2.3333 7.8000 18.9339 6.3404 6.9760 78.80% 81.06% 76.97% 73.85% 72.46% 2.3333 8.1000 18.2673 6.5735 7.2252 2002 80.90% 78.82% 74.33% 75.77% 74.30% 2.3333 7.6000 17.9339 6.6432 7.3440 81.70% 76.64% 72.06% 76.12% 74.60% 2.5000 8.0000 18.3768 7.2153 7.9428 2003 82.20% 74.55% 70.21% 76.12% 74.65% 2.8333 7.6333 18.1006 7.5731 8.2365 82.90% 72.43% 68.26% 76.39% 74.95% 2.6667 8.1000 17.4339 7.6666 8.2822 2004 83.60% 70.28% 66.68% 76.67% 75.41% 2.6667 7.8000 18.7673 8.2932 8.8730 84.10% 68.29% 65.52% 76.72% 75.73% 2.5000 8.3000 17.7673 8.2635 8.6864 2005 84.80% 66.05% 64.35% 76.99% 76.38% 2.6667 7.8000 17.4339 8.4597 8.7120 85.30% 64.13% 63.29% 77.08% 76.77% 2.3333 7.9333 19.1006 9.1709 9.3114 2006 85.90% 62.05% 62.39% 77.28% 77.40% 2.8333 7.9667 17.6006 9.1610 9.1114 86.40% 60.27% 62.11% 77.43% 78.10% 2.3333 8.1000 18.1006 9.3820 9.0922 2007 87.00% 58.30% 61.26% 77.70% 78.78% 2.3333 7.8000 18.9339 9.9660 9.4751 87.50% 56.61% 61.31% 77.92% 79.61% 2.3333 8.1000 18.2673 9.9672 9.2190 2008 87.90% 54.72% 60.44% 77.89% 79.98% 2.5000 7.6333 18.4339 10.3358 9.4242 88.40% 52.90% 59.97% 78.07% 80.66% 2.6667 8.1000 17.4339 10.2529 9.2087 2009 89.00% 51.00% 59.58% 78.43% 81.54% 2.5000 7.8333 18.2673 10.8124 9.4597 89.60% 49.05% 59.05% 78.80% 82.39% 2.6667 8.1333 17.5459 10.8169 9.3290 2010 90.10% 47.24% 58.37% 79.04% 83.04% 2.3333 7.7667 18.4339 11.3665 9.5746 90.60% 45.47% 57.17% 79.33% 83.56% 2.5000 8.3000 17.7673 11.3703 9.5838 2011 91.30% 43.85% 56.85% 80.16% 84.70% 2.6667 7.8000 17.4339 11.4052 9.4851 93.00% 42.36% 56.61% 83.47% 87.64% 2.3333 7.9333 19.1006 12.3904 10.0003 2012 94.70% 40.85% 56.41% 87.02% 90.60% 2.5000 7.8333 18.1006 12.0112 9.5834 96.00% 39.44% 56.30% 89.86% 92.90% 2.3333 8.1000 18.2673 12.2142 9.5266 2013 98.00% 37.93% 56.36% 94.73% 96.45% 2.3333 7.6000 17.9339 12.1215 9.2469 98.90% 36.60% 56.43% 96.99% 98.05% 2.5000 8.0000 18.3768 12.6268 9.4773 2014 99.00% 35.33% 56.54% 97.17% 98.23% 2.8333 7.6333 18.1006 12.7545 9.5168 99.10% 34.15% 56.70% 97.36% 98.41% 2.6667 8.1000 17.4339 12.4395 9.1098 2015 99.20% 32.97% 56.79% 97.57% 98.59% 2.5000 7.8333 18.2673 13.1118 9.3554 99.20% 31.86% 56.90% 97.49% 98.59% 2.6667 8.1333 17.5459 12.8489 9.1235 2016 99.20% 30.82% 56.94% 97.40% 98.59% 2.1667 7.8000 17.7673 13.0042 8.9298 99.20% 29.86% 56.97% 97.32% 98.60% 2.3333 7.9333 19.1006 14.1393 9.5925 2017 99.20% 28.84% 57.06% 97.23% 98.60% 2.8333 7.9667 17.6006 13.3834 9.2158 99.20% 27.93% 57.10% 97.14% 98.60% 2.3333 8.1000 18.1006 13.7424 9.1436 2018 99.30% 26.97% 57.25% 97.40% 98.78% 2.3333 7.8000 18.9339 14.4947 9.4690 99.30% 26.14% 57.25% 97.32% 98.78% 2.3333 8.4667 18.2673 14.1454 9.1887

2019 99.30% 25.28% 57.21% 97.23% 98.78% 2.3333 7.6000 17.9339 14.0267 9.0464 99.30% 24.52% 57.11% 97.15% 98.77% 2.5000 8.0000 18.3196 14.4790 9.3239

Percentage EFT PCT Percentage EFT PCT

Table 7. -- Summary of Float Days for Financial Interchange, 1997-2019

Cycle 1-4 Payments

First Half Second Half

Cycle 1 Combined
32

SSA Equivalent Sample Overpayment DI Ratio of

Uncollectible SSEB Amount Trust Fund Overpayments

Year Overpayments Percentage1 Charged Proportion2 OASI DI to FI Benefits3

1999 $3,503,422 66.21% $2,319,615 0.54260 $1,060,986 $1,258,629 0.0452%

2000 2,781,767 66.21% 1,841,808 0.57705 778,989 1,062,819 0.0355%

2001 1,770,787 66.21% 1,172,438 0.58205 490,016 682,422 0.0223%

2002 1,867,458 66.21% 1,236,444 0.61212 479,590 756,854 0.0233%

2003 1,867,671 66.21% 1,236,585 0.64232 442,303 794,282 0.0229%

2004 3,292,057 69.08% 2,274,153 0.64730 802,090 1,472,063 0.0419%

2005 2,304,781 69.08% 1,592,143 0.65336 551,905 1,040,238 0.0289%2006 2,373,485 69.08% 1,639,603 0.68148 522,241 1,117,362 0.0287%2007 2,262,935 69.08% 1,563,235 0.68956 485,285 1,077,950 0.0266%2008 3,612,941 69.08% 2,495,820 0.64568 884,311 1,611,509 0.0417%

2009 2,979,389 60.85% 1,812,958 0.61575 696,620 1,116,338 0.0285%

2010 3,205,170 60.85% 1,950,346 0.62428 732,786 1,217,560 0.0304%

2011 2,246,004 60.85% 1,366,693 0.62373 514,240 852,454 0.0210%2012 1,826,605 60.85% 1,111,489 0.63365 407,196 704,293 0.0164%2013 1,503,658 60.85% 914,976 0.61118 355,757 559,219 0.0132%

2014 2,162,281 62.78% 1,357,480 0.59252 553,142 804,338 0.0192%2015 2,633,041 62.78% 1,653,023 0.53843 762,986 890,037 0.0229%2016 1,225,186 62.78% 769,172 0.48793 393,874 375,298 0.0106%

2017 924,273 62.78% 580,259 0.45594 315,694 264,565 0.0080%

2018 817,161 62.78% 513,013 0.40540 305,037 207,977 0.0069%

1 Percentage of SSA equivalent uncollectible overpayments attributable to the SSEB portion of the Tier 1 benefit. Percentages are recalculated every 5 years based on a sample of railroad annuity overpayments written off as uncollectible in the first year of the 5 year grouping.2 OASI/DI allocation is based on overall SSA OASI/DI overpayment experience for the calendar year.3 The uncollectible overpayment amount, when expressed as a fraction of total benefit payments for the calendar year, is limited to the corresponding ratio of uncollectible overpayments to total benefits experienced by SSA. 

Table 8. -- Summary of Uncollectible Benefit Overpayment Calculations

Amount Charged

By Trust Fund
33

Part III. Tables Pertaining to Administrative Cost Calculations Source Total cost Number of Items (thousands) Total SSA Chargeable Unit cost OASI Trust Fund Total........................................................... $16,922 Determination of eligibility and benefit computations, OASI.................. 8,202 20,300 2,400 17,900 Retired employees................................... 4,055 11,000 2,300 8,700 $466.14 Dependents of retired employees......... 3,065 6,900 100 6,800 450.68 Non-retired employees............................ - - - - 466.14 Widow(er)s not on RRB rolls................. - - - - 450.68 Survivor monthly beneficiaries.............. 1,082 2,400 - 2,400 450.68 Maintenance of benefit rolls................................ 8,599 413,700 - 413,700 $20.79 Handling compensation reports.......................... 121 331,100 - 331,100 0.37 DI Trust Fund Total........................................................... $4,336 Determination of eligibility and benefit computations, DI........................ 3,285 1,900 100 1,800

Retired employees................................... 2,348 1,400 100 1,300 $1,806.50Dependents of retired employees......... 937 500 - 500 1,873.70

Maintenance of benefit rolls................................ 1,033 19,000 - 19,000 54.37Handling compensation reports.......................... 18 331,100 - 331,100 0.06

Table 9. -- Calculation of OASDI Administrative Expenses - 2018
34

Source Total cost Number of Items

(thousands) Total SSA Chargeable Unit cost

HI Trust Fund

Total........................................................... $2,204

Initial enrollment, OASI......................................... 1,080 20,300 2,400 17,900

Retired employees................................... 534 11,000 2,300 8,700 $61.38Dependents of retired employees......... 404 6,900 100 6,800 59.34Non-retired employees............................ - - - - 61.38Widow(er)s not on RRB rolls................. - - - - 59.34Survivor monthly beneficiaries.............. 142 2,400 - 2,400 59.34

Initial enrollment, DI.............................................. 815 1,900 100 1,800

Retired employees................................... 583 1,400 100 1,300 $448.14Dependents of retired employees......... 232 500 - 500 464.81

Maintenance of benefit rolls, OASI.................... 173 413,700 - 413,700 0.42

Maintenance of benefit rolls, DI.......................... 96 19,000 - 19,000 5.07

Handling compensation reports.......................... 40 331,100 - 331,100 0.12

Table 9a. -- Calculation of HI Administrative Expenses - 2018
35

Part IV. Summary of Income Tax Calculations

Year Amount FI Adjusted1 Amount FI Adjusted Total OASI4 DI4

1984 $68.0 $58.8 $36.0 $31.1 $58.8 $57.0 $1.8 

1985 77.0 67.0 33.4 29.1 67.0 65.0 2.0 

1986 69.0 70.4 29.3 29.9 70.4 68.3 2.1 

1987 48.0 49.2 30.4 31.2 (13.8) (12.0) (1.8) 

1988 41.0 42.0 32.4 33.2 3.5 4.2 (0.7) 

1989 36.0 36.8 39.0 39.9 14.2 14.0 0.2 

1990 39.0 39.6 45.0 45.7 30.8 30.5 0.3 

1991 44.0 44.6 47.0 47.7 47.7 47.1 0.6 

1992 48.0 48.6 46.0 46.6 54.7 53.9 0.8 

1993 56.0 56.9 47.0 47.7 60.0 58.8 1.2 

1994 52.0 52.5 48.0 48.5 50.5 49.4 1.1 

1995 50.0 50.1 59.0 59.2 40.9 39.9 1.0 

1996 57.0 57.1 75.0 75.1 57.1 55.9 1.2 

1997 61.0 61.0 86.0 86.0 57.0 55.5 1.5 

1998 74.0 73.9 88.0 87.9 73.9 72.1 1.8 

1999 79.0 78.9 94.0 93.9 106.0 103.4 2.6 

2000 102.0 102.0 105.0 105.0 128.0 124.5 3.5 

2001 94.0 93.4 100.0 99.3 92.4 89.5 2.9 

2002 97.0 96.5 93.0 92.5 110.5 106.7 3.8 

2003 97.0 98.1 85.0 86.0 113.1 108.6 4.5 

2004 109.0 109.2 91.0 91.2 112.2 107.4 4.8 

2005 117.0 116.5 125.0 124.4 116.5 111.5 5.0 

2006 125.0 124.3 149.0 148.2 130.2 124.4 5.8 

2007 135.0 134.7 170.0 169.6 134.7 128.3 6.4 

2008 144.0 143.7 168.0 167.6 109.6 104.1 5.5 

2009 144.0 144.1 164.0 164.2 136.1 128.5 7.6 

2010 159.0 159.0 182.0 182.1 159.0 151.5 7.5 

2011 160.0 160.9 192.0 193.1 176.8 170.1 6.7 

2012 194.0 195.6 211.0 212.8 278.3 273.9 4.4 

2013 199.0 200.3 230.0 231.5 243.5 238.9 4.6 

2014 250.0 252.0 251.0 253.0 252.0 244.0 8.0 

2015 263.0 265.7 297.9 291.7 6.2 

2016 281.0 284.4 301.6 295.5 6.1 

2017 292.0 294.8 294.8 287.8 7.0 

2018 255.0 257.7 289.9 288.7 1.2 

1/2019-9/2019 200.0 201.7 201.7 198.0 3.7 

1

 Total amount of quarterly transfers from Treasury originally received for the calendar year.

2

 The FI Amount is the total original Treasury transfers multiplied by a ratio of for the appropriate year.

3

 Revised Total Amount and FI Amount based on subsequent reconciliations.

4

 Sum of FI Amount original transfers and any adjustments made in the year for prior calendar years. Amount for 9-month estimate 

 year is calculated separately based on projected SSEB and FI Benefits for that period.

5

 OASI/DI allocation is based on overall SSA OASI/DI income tax allocation experience for the calendar year.

Taxes Due Original Treasury Transfers 2 Cash Basis3

Table 10. -- Financial Interchange OASDI Income Tax Transfers, Calendar Years 1984-2018 and

(in millions)

Adjusted Accrual Basis Final FI Adjusted Taxes Due

January-September 2019

FII BBennefits

SSSSEBB BBennefits
36

Final FI

Adjusted

Year Amount FI Adjusted Amount FI Adjusted Total

1994 $14.0 $14.0 $1.0 $0.9 $0.0 

1995 30.0 30.2 29.0 29.2 0.2 

1996 30.0 30.0 35.0 35.0 0.0 

1997 30.0 30.0 39.0 39.0 (0.1) 

1998 31.0 31.0 27.0 27.0 0.0 

1999 55.0 55.0 60.0 60.0 0.0 

2000 50.0 50.0 52.0 52.0 0.0 

2001 57.0 56.7 52.0 51.7 (0.3) 

2002 58.0 57.7 53.0 52.7 (0.3) 

2003 55.0 55.1 42.0 42.0 0.1 

2004 53.0 53.3 46.0 46.3 0.3 

2005 54.0 54.0 61.0 60.9 0.0 

2006 64.0 63.6 81.0 80.5 (0.4) 

2007 67.0 66.8 91.0 90.7 (0.2) 

2008 76.0 75.9 97.0 96.9 (0.2) 

2009 78.0 78.0 84.0 84.0 0.0 

2010 86.0 86.0 89.0 89.0 0.0 

2011 101.0 101.3 107.0 107.3 0.3 

2012 121.0 122.0 129.0 130.1 0.7 

2013 111.0 111.7 112.0 112.7 0.7 

2014 153.0 154.1 159.0 160.1 1.1 

2015 155.0 156.4 1.4 

2016 177.0 179.1 2.2 

2017 180.0 181.9 1.9 

2018 176.0 177.8 1.8 

1/2019-9/2019 165.0 166.7 1.7 

1

 Total amount of quarterly transfers from Treasury directly to the HI trust fund for the calendar year.

2

 The FI Amount is the total original Treasury transfers multiplied by a ratio of for the appropriate year.

3

 Revised Total Amount and FI Amount based on subsequent reconciliations.

4

 Since the original Treasury transfers and subsequent reconciliations are made directly to the HI trust fund, the final FI

 amount results only from the difference between FI Benefits and SSEB Benefits.

Table 10a. -- Financial Interchange HI Income Tax Transfers, Calendar Years 1994-2018 and

Treasury Adjustment

Original Treasury Transfers1 Accrual Basis

January-September 2019

(in millions)

FII BBennefits

SSSSEBB BBennefits
37

Part V. Correspondence and Memoranda 
38
39
40
41
42
43

Table 1 — Selected benefit estimates relating to male old-age (primary) beneficiary families in current-payment status on 12/31/2018

Beneficiary families consisting of a Beneficiary families consisting of a male

male old-age beneficiary with an old-age beneficiary with a wife whose

aged wife receiving a full benefit entitlement is based on having an eligible

All old-age families whether or not children are present child in her care and is receiving a full benefit

Old-age Monthly rate Child Old-age Monthly rate Child Old-age Monthly rate Child Wife 

Age benefits of PIA benefits benefits of PIA benefits benefits of PIA benefits benefits 

62 $388,050,210 $524,874,921 $11,661,954 $1,504,682 $2,036,152 $26,523 $1,951,187 $2,642,005 $1,084,154 $838,091

63 596,478,598 788,246,500 17,331,357 3,071,275 4,052,641 56,461 2,943,815 3,899,916 1,598,150 1,267,414

64 716,303,084 918,955,641 18,313,442 4,621,037 5,862,913 83,932 3,210,149 4,133,974 1,695,877 1,353,537

65 894,208,124 1,104,790,884 19,260,577 8,161,837 9,816,925 142,262 3,356,090 4,180,904 1,703,888 1,390,585

66 2,093,723,688 2,318,604,602 38,189,079 45,882,464 48,683,388 608,399 6,961,117 7,722,516 3,144,781 2,568,308

67 2,187,179,396 2,404,697,289 36,837,638 79,009,908 82,516,468 865,748 6,199,408 6,798,492 2,773,161 2,282,53368 2,125,797,599 2,331,179,645 32,903,536 95,690,034 99,009,229 1,070,427 5,371,438 5,870,754 2,406,134 1,965,507

69 2,176,545,864 2,387,441,569 30,725,159 113,169,805 116,005,974 1,276,387 4,924,579 5,343,306 2,184,508 1,797,661

70 2,448,655,384 2,609,520,787 29,958,909 166,952,904 157,091,880 1,533,510 4,396,146 4,630,610 1,884,704 1,565,40971 2,488,056,588 2,668,495,212 27,773,019 154,387,191 146,196,620 1,498,661 4,028,223 4,232,276 1,742,981 1,434,735

72 2,200,200,410 2,376,596,881 23,703,465 122,525,161 117,427,695 1,323,107 3,067,393 3,269,969 1,347,078 1,089,29073 1,733,731,911 1,880,659,943 17,464,828 82,734,307 79,932,415 994,946 2,038,336 2,170,842 904,556 727,385

74 1,674,894,798 1,829,338,877 15,918,992 69,760,781 68,423,467 952,692 1,633,115 1,750,643 718,738 588,086

75 1,674,104,932 1,841,606,408 14,742,153 61,746,978 61,229,950 877,390 1,582,982 1,702,511 705,655 569,967

76 1,565,128,861 1,726,292,388 13,160,303 50,649,538 51,039,973 811,032 1,229,915 1,308,816 542,339 441,048

77 1,343,677,868 1,484,140,123 10,674,814 39,788,282 40,455,936 720,280 918,782 995,474 415,593 339,056

78 1,193,019,425 1,317,477,927 9,069,995 33,171,976 34,015,606 654,024 699,879 754,149 313,633 252,767

79 1,056,288,632 1,164,560,623 7,667,530 26,915,577 27,673,279 589,214 495,459 535,677 219,913 183,202

80 981,948,420 1,081,171,507 6,648,321 23,804,186 24,564,576 519,386 406,857 435,780 179,005 149,087

81 860,757,383 943,511,234 5,502,141 20,532,131 21,164,905 434,670 271,372 292,810 121,892 97,678

82 737,292,150 807,987,194 4,415,526 17,393,853 17,969,401 350,489 191,045 206,064 86,983 70,254

83 656,790,737 719,236,718 3,848,572 15,845,907 16,377,351 339,187 147,927 158,574 64,039 53,756

84 579,915,082 631,767,369 3,251,235 15,477,154 15,778,977 301,927 125,257 134,093 54,682 46,160

85 499,285,169 539,957,346 2,674,457 14,928,732 14,871,178 264,803 90,596 94,222 38,139 32,289

86 466,126,375 502,816,603 2,418,508 14,870,312 14,536,353 230,773 83,864 88,260 34,595 30,576

87 402,849,985 431,009,862 1,995,366 13,580,925 12,967,991 184,693 57,885 58,502 23,826 19,476

88 355,573,804 379,622,360 1,750,345 12,141,726 11,471,956 155,795 50,689 53,022 20,897 19,371

89 289,810,437 308,196,619 1,403,919 9,751,737 9,148,663 126,719 29,109 30,841 11,964 10,746

90 247,920,011 264,215,376 1,132,443 8,130,948 7,711,737 103,968 36,085 38,932 16,086 13,910

91 205,614,421 218,506,889 932,737 6,096,117 5,747,733 74,044 20,283 21,340 8,660 7,278

92 157,734,350 167,751,643 638,830 4,419,667 4,201,287 46,014 16,235 15,909 6,260 5,767

93 122,991,267 130,489,522 504,821 3,402,026 3,227,776 40,541 15,275 15,678 6,448 5,612

94 91,937,147 97,547,715 345,494 2,490,715 2,366,049 22,408 11,012 10,648 4,305 3,556

95 65,479,029 68,936,999 240,599 1,672,061 1,589,374 16,732 4,340 4,568 1,954 1,588

96 45,408,932 47,614,107 169,784 1,048,496 994,970 13,693 1,637 1,560 367 322

97 31,586,624 33,001,821 108,510 678,524 636,486 4,017 0 0 0 0

98 19,330,111 20,079,751 76,263 367,666 347,033 5,271 0 0 0 0

99 11,641,543 12,051,561 46,789 203,373 192,974 4,091 0 0 0 0

100 7,725,964 8,013,378 28,848 116,981 112,539 951 0 0 0 0

101+ 10,320,927 10,659,624 35,738 192,950 186,641 1,662 0 0 0 0

Total 35,404,085,236 39,101,625,415 413,525,995 1,346,889,922 1,337,636,459 17,326,825 56,567,477 63,603,635 26,065,941 21,222,004

Social Security AdministrationOffice of the Chief ActuaryJanuary 16, 2020
44

Table 2 — Selected benefit estimates relating to female old-age (primary) beneficiary families in current-payment status on 12/31/2018

Beneficiary families consisting of a Beneficiary families consisting of a female

female old-age beneficiary with an old-age beneficiary with a husband whose

aged husband receiving a full benefit entitlement is based on having an eligible

All old-age families whether or not children are present child in his care and is receiving a full benefit

Old-age Monthly rate Child Old-age Monthly rate Child Old-age Monthly rate Child Husband

Age benefits of PIA benefits benefits of PIA benefits benefits of PIA benefits benefits 

62 $342,045,979 $448,183,710 $2,295,144 $2,135,307 $2,886,250 $12,133 $21,050 $28,562 $10,783 $9,38063 516,479,570 657,673,954 3,333,006 4,243,389 5,548,248 20,946 22,202 29,303 11,306 10,851

64 629,077,626 768,952,403 3,527,149 6,560,731 8,168,326 21,540 16,102 20,352 7,443 6,83865 793,767,733 924,827,479 3,575,432 9,183,895 10,933,991 29,394 18,332 22,901 8,689 8,446

66 1,582,798,471 1,685,233,658 6,325,589 24,400,495 26,215,823 67,897 22,848 26,023 9,759 9,218

67 1,638,930,983 1,720,636,363 6,128,305 26,906,173 28,393,114 74,446 22,132 24,426 8,496 8,23968 1,589,284,009 1,649,767,403 5,416,878 21,458,171 22,498,173 63,025 14,022 16,068 5,565 6,239

69 1,631,080,279 1,681,503,354 4,895,947 16,490,466 17,259,923 46,634 8,801 10,591 4,444 3,725

70 1,848,663,191 1,842,528,226 4,706,795 17,219,094 16,427,178 40,608 7,701 8,423 3,397 2,96371 1,871,354,184 1,843,633,420 4,166,509 12,360,955 11,936,990 34,175 2,061 2,378 892 892

72 1,650,201,304 1,621,334,361 3,620,132 8,786,756 8,623,862 18,941 6,030 6,547 2,519 1,37273 1,301,248,971 1,260,404,081 2,497,838 5,522,233 5,487,777 13,108 2,343 3,072 1,054 1,054

74 1,266,525,562 1,216,693,471 2,232,240 4,396,271 4,434,068 11,817 3,490 3,491 1,501 741

75 1,270,404,460 1,210,108,649 2,027,894 3,559,950 3,644,806 8,893 404 534 133 13376 1,185,758,513 1,118,843,002 1,782,612 3,022,054 3,101,954 6,960 0 0 0 0

77 1,026,570,181 961,039,053 1,509,153 2,202,742 2,272,571 7,933 0 0 0 0

78 920,663,048 850,088,642 1,163,611 1,838,968 1,899,918 2,509 0 0 0 0

79 831,151,833 751,949,555 998,830 1,557,174 1,612,363 2,231 0 0 0 0

80 782,907,801 695,793,456 841,058 1,282,724 1,312,419 3,130 674 847 212 212

81 699,497,002 606,767,502 725,742 1,011,884 1,032,035 3,709 0 0 0 0

82 623,140,189 522,740,503 524,373 763,367 774,683 4,338 0 0 0 0

83 571,766,862 466,972,516 438,943 594,394 595,092 849 0 0 0 0

84 518,397,330 413,970,504 337,348 483,156 487,383 616 0 0 0 0

85 458,361,555 359,963,567 277,661 375,447 368,915 794 0 0 0 0

86 438,656,529 341,663,164 236,678 290,421 286,774 291 0 0 0 0

87 392,859,728 294,744,367 196,925 227,686 224,153 608 0 0 0 0

88 360,858,054 263,472,006 170,157 185,206 172,133 160 0 0 0 0

89 313,942,128 223,067,766 109,411 131,660 126,742 623 0 0 0 0

90 283,453,933 201,977,314 102,037 90,391 82,265 0 0 0 0 0

91 248,348,828 175,875,125 95,745 60,651 58,288 25 0 0 0 0

92 206,770,950 143,700,898 66,963 56,084 53,418 486 0 0 0 0

93 172,557,488 120,725,171 55,356 44,475 40,255 0 0 0 0 0

94 139,692,570 95,552,810 31,737 24,364 22,748 0 0 0 0 0

95 106,987,254 72,086,591 26,765 14,976 14,078 0 0 0 0 0

96 80,971,206 53,826,287 19,851 7,173 4,816 183 0 0 0 0

97 62,488,982 40,857,483 15,451 3,146 2,570 0 0 0 0 0

98 43,519,936 28,097,564 10,083 591 514 0 0 0 0 0

99 28,585,968 19,122,545 4,274 853 1,037 0 0 0 0 0

100 20,172,706 14,102,343 7,960 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

101+ 32,294,147 24,426,007 7,699 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 28,482,237,040 27,392,906,271 64,505,279 177,493,470 187,005,653 498,996 168,189 203,518 76,193 70,300

Social Security AdministrationOffice of the Chief ActuaryJanuary 16, 2020
45

EXHIBIT 2 – PAYROLL CALCULATIONS AND GROSS EARNINGS SAMPLE

Part I. Payroll Calculations Summary and Tables

Accrued Taxable Payroll

Accrued taxable payroll, as developed for financial interchange purposes, is the amount of railroad 

compensation to which combined employee and employer tax rates are applied to obtain additional 

accrued gross taxes (including overpayments of employee taxes) that would have been paid into the OldAge and Survivors Insurance (OASI), Disability Insurance (DI) or Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Funds if 

railroad employment were covered by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA).

Table 1 shows the maximum taxable earnings bases under the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) and 

FICA. Tables 2 and 3 summarize the various components that determine accrued taxable payroll for 

calendar years 1937-1965 and 1966-2018, respectively.

The general methodology and assumptions governing the development of the OASDHI taxable payroll 

for financial interchange purposes are covered individually below.

RRA Creditable Payroll

The RRA creditable payroll for 2018, including sickness payments and miscellaneous compensation, was 

$19,655.7 million. This amount is based on reports submitted by the railroads and third party payors to 

the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). Beginning in 1985, RRA compensation is creditable up to an 

annual limit rather than a monthly limit. This limit, $128,400 in 2018, is the same as FICA.

Prior year adjustments of $13.24 million were added to the RRA creditable payrolls for 1982-2017. No 

prior year adjustments for years before 1982 were made in this determination, and the 1981 prior year 

adjustment amount remains unchanged.

Inflation Factor for HI Payroll

Inflation factors are developed from the sample gross earnings data, as described in Part II. Prior to 

1985, inflation factors were the ratio of compensation under the annual FICA limit to compensation

under the monthly RRA limit. Beginning in 1985, the RRA creditable limit became annual and equal to 

the FICA limit, so inflation factors were unnecessary for calendar years 1985-1990. Beginning in 1991, 

a higher taxable limit applied to payroll under the HI portion of the FICA contribution rate. 

Consequently, inflation factors were reinstated for HI payroll calculations. Beginning in 1994, the HI 

limit was removed entirely and all wages are subject to HI payroll taxes.

The amount of earnings that would have been subject to the HI portion of the FICA tax rate was 

estimated from a sample of accounts for which records of gross earnings (including sickness payments 

and miscellaneous compensation) were obtained from railroad employers. From these records, annual 

earnings data were gathered that indicated the RRA creditable compensation and total HI earnings for 

each sample record.

For 2018, the total sample amounts subject to HI and RRA taxes were, respectively, $202,646,473 and 

$192,685,774. Therefore, the 2018 ratio for inflating OASDI and HI taxable payroll is 1.0517. HI payroll 

calculations are elaborated upon further in Part II.
46

RRA Payroll up to FICA Limit

Prior to 1985, various adjustments and factors have been applied to RRA payroll to inflate it to OASDI 

levels. A summary of such adjustments and factors is included in the 41st determination report, pp. 62-

63, with accompanying tables. Since 1985, OASDI payroll has been equal to RRA creditable payroll 

plus other adjustments. HI payroll has equaled OASDI payroll through 1990. Since 1991, HI payroll 

equals the OASDI payroll times the inflation factor.

The 68th determination incorporated an additional $4.12 million payroll adjustments that were effective 

in calendar years 2006 through 2015 for retroactive coverage rulings. These adjustments reflect FICA 

covered payroll that was subsequently determined to have been subject to RRA taxes. Since the taxes 

originally levied on this payroll have remained with the OASDHI trust funds, this payroll is backed out 

so the trust funds do not double collect.

Multiple Railroads Employment and Miscellaneous Compensation Adjustment

Beginning in 1985, the employer RRA tax applies to the taxable compensation up to the annual limit 

earned by each employee, as has been the case under FICA. Under both systems, the employee's overall 

tax is limited by the annual maximum, even if the employee works for more than one employer. Thus, 

when an employee works with multiple employers and earns more than the FICA limit over the course of 

a year, the employee excess taxes are refundable, but the employer excess is not.

This is complicated somewhat by the inclusion of miscellaneous compensation, primarily sick pay, 

which became taxable and creditable in 1982. Third party miscellaneous compensation payors such as 

insurance companies and the RRB automatically withhold FICA taxes from the employee's payment. 

Consequently, such withholdings that exceed the maximum taxable amount are refundable to the 

employee.

The situation for railroad employers, however, is different. Insurance companies and the RRB notify 

them of the amount of benefits paid, and they in turn remit to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) only 

that amount payable up to the annual limit for the employee. Consequently, employers generally do not 

pay excess FICA taxes on miscellaneous compensation.

Thus, it is necessary to determine both the amount and the source of payroll amounts in excess of annual 

FICA limits. Excess tax amounts resulting from multiple employment are paid for by both employers 

and employees, but refundable only to employees. Excess amounts resulting from miscellaneous 

compensation are paid only by employees and are fully refundable.

Full records of employer and miscellaneous payroll have been kept since 1989. Since records for 1982-

1988 are not available, experience for these years was extrapolated from 1989-1991 experience.
47

The following equations are used to determine the miscellaneous pay/multiple railroad employment 

adjustment since 1989. They employ the following definitions relating to data for employee i and 

railroad employer j:

Cij = Compensation for employee i from railroad j

Bi = Railroad Retirement Board sickness payments for employee i

Ii = Insurance company sickness payments for employee i

L = Annual FICA payroll limit

R = Number of annual railroad employers

N = Number of employees

The total excess payroll, A, for a given year is calculated as follows:

AA = �MMMMMM � ��Ciiii

RR

=1

� + BBii + IIii − LL , 0 �

NN

ii=1

That portion of total excess payroll due to multiple railroads employment, B, is:

BB = �MMMMMM � ��Ciiii

RR

=1

� − LL , 0 �

NN

ii=1

Therefore, the amount of excess payroll due to multiple railroads employment is given by B, and the 

excess payroll attributable to miscellaneous compensation is given by (A - B). These formulas are 

problematic in certain cases where there is a combination of multiple employment and miscellaneous 

compensation within a year. Experience indicates, however, that these instances are very rare.

Dual Coverage Wage Adjustment and Sampling Error

Dual coverage is the estimate of the amount of Social Security wages earned and taxed that would have 

exceeded FICA limits had all railroad compensation been subject to FICA. For 2018, the amounts 

involved for an affected employee would be combined earnings under both systems in excess of 

$128,400 but not in excess of $128,400 under either system separately.

We estimate this adjustment using data received from SSA that contains OASDI wages for the Gross 

Earnings (see Part II) sample individuals. Combined earnings over the OASDI limit that are subject to 

the OASDI limits under either system are inflated to yield an estimate of the universe amount of 

employee refunds that would have been payable from this source.

The dual coverage wage adjustment estimate of $43.4 million for 2018 was obtained using the formula:

AA = NN

nn �XXii

nn

ii=1

where A = estimated dual coverage adjustment for the universe

Xi = dual coverage amount in excess of the Social Security wage base for sample account i

N = universe number

n = sample number
48

The standard error of $16.2 million for 2018 was computed for these estimates from the formula:

SSAA

2 = NN(NN − nn)

nn(nn − 1) ��XXii

2 −

nn

ii=1

1

nn � �XXii

nn

ii=1

�

2

�

Using the standard error, the 95 percent confidence interval was $11.7 million to $75.1 million for 2018.

Only the employee tax rates apply to dual coverage refunds. For 2018, the OASI inflated tax refund 

amount was $2.18 million and the 95 percent confidence interval was $0.59 million to $3.77 million, 

while the DI inflated tax refund amount was $0.51 million and the 95 percent confidence interval was 

$0.14 million to $0.89 million.

Final FICA Accrued Payroll

The final annual FICA accrued payroll, as shown in Tables 2 and 3, is the amount of railroad 

compensation to which combined employee and employer tax rates may be applied to obtain additional 

gross taxes (including overpayments of employee taxes) that would have been paid into the OASI, DI or 

HI Trust Funds if railroad employment were covered by FICA.

For years 1937-1965, the final accrued payroll is calculated as the net of (1) RRA payroll not in excess of 

the FICA limit, plus (2) compensation over the RRA monthly limit but not over the FICA limit, plus (3) 

the multiple railroad employment adjustment, less (4) 75 percent of dual coverage self-employment 

adjustment.

For years 1966-1987, the final accrued payroll is calculated as the net of (1) RRA creditable payroll inflated 

to under the annual FICA limit, plus (2) the multiple railroad employment adjustment, less (3) 50 percent 

of tips, less (4) sickness payments, less (5) the self-employment adjustment.

For years 1988 and later, the final accrued payroll is obtained by adding to the RRA creditable payroll up 

to the FICA limit the multiple railroad employment/miscellaneous compensation adjustment.

The OASDI accrued payroll for 2018 is $19,668.7 million. The HI accrued payroll for 2018 is 

$20,671.8 million.

Accrued Payroll under the Affordable Care Act

Beginning in calendar year 2013, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposes an additional employee 

Medicare tax of 0.9 percent on earnings above $200,000 (for those who file an individual return) or 

$250,000 (for those who file a joint return). The 0.9 percent tax is withheld from earnings above 

$200,000 regardless of filing status. Because the taxable thresholds are applied separately to FICA 

earnings and railroad compensation, households with both FICA earnings and railroad compensation 

whose combined earnings are in excess of the taxable limits pay less tax than if all of their earnings were 

covered under FICA. An adjustment to the total accrued amount over $200,000, the HI ACA payroll, is 

therefore required for the resulting shortfall of additional taxes that would have been collected if railroad 

employment was covered under FICA.

The $403.6 million HI ACA payroll for 2018, was derived from gross earnings data reported by 

employers. A shortfall adjustment of $1.8 million for 2016 was made in December 2018. Table 4 

summarizes the various components that determine the HI ACA payroll and the shortfall adjustment. 
49

FICA Payroll Taxes on Cash Basis

The financial interchange requires that both the amount and pattern of FICA taxes that would have been 

collected from the final accrued OASDHI payroll be determined. To determine the pattern, a quarterly 

payroll distribution was estimated using the Gross Earnings study (see Part II). Quarterly pay for sample 

employees was accumulated over each quarter, up to the $128,400 annual limit for 2018 for each 

employee. The resulting sample quarterly distribution was then applied to the overall population.

Beginning with the 39th determination, the pattern of payment was further refined by applying seconddegree curves to the quarterly payrolls to determine hypothetical monthly distributions (see Financial 

Interchange Summary and Documentation: 35th determination, pages 60-70; 36th determination, pages 

41-43; 39th determination, pages 73-77). Finally, for calendar years before 1993, the monthly payroll 

results were further adjusted to reflect the measurable lag period between payroll disbursement and 

actual collection of FICA taxes thereon. This was discontinued beginning with calendar year 1993.

The table below shows the quarterly dollar and percentage distributions of the sample OASDI accrued 

payroll for 2018 and the resulting distribution of the accrued OASDI payroll. For the purpose of these 

tables, the sample amounts were limited to those employees for whom quarterly data were reported.

Sample Percentage OASDI Payroll

Amount Distribution (millions)

Total ................................................... $151,596,577 100.00 $19,668.7

1st Quarter ......................................... 41,980,536 27.69 5,446.3

2nd Quarter ........................................ 36,899,956 24.34 4,787.4

3rd Quarter ........................................ 37,254,853 24.58 4,834.6

4th Quarter ........................................ 35,461,232 23.39 4,600.4

Similar calculations were performed for HI payroll, with the exception of the application of any annual 

covered earnings limit.

Sample Percentage HI Payroll

Amount Distribution (millions)

Total ................................................... $156,882,513 100.00 $20,671.8

1st Quarter ......................................... 42,849,416 27.31 5,645.5

2nd Quarter ........................................ 37,249,376 23.74 4,907.5

3rd Quarter ........................................ 38,178,862 24.34 5,031.5

4th Quarter ........................................ 38,604,858 24.61 5,087.3
50

The table below shows the quarterly dollar and percentage distribution of the sample HI ACA accrued 

payroll for 2018 and the resulting distribution of the HI ACA accrued payroll.

Sample Percentage HI ACA Payroll

Amount Distribution (millions)

Total ................................................... $1,687,075 100.00 $403.6

1st Quarter ......................................... 529,577 31.39 126.7

2nd Quarter ........................................ 212,019 12.57 50.7

3rd Quarter ........................................ 379,618 22.50 90.8

4th Quarter ........................................ 565,862 33.54 135.4

Preliminary estimates were made of the quarterly accrued payroll for the first nine months of 2019 based 

on presumed employment levels and wage increases. Under the OASDI annual limit of $132,900 for 

2019, estimated accrued payroll for January-September 2019 was $14,730.2 million. The total HI 

estimated accrued payroll for January-September 2019 was $15,283.0 million of which $357.0 million 

was subject to the 0.9 percent additional Medicare tax.
51

Year RRA Limit1 OASDI HI

1937-1950 $300 $3,000 --- 

1951 300 3,600 --- 

1952 300 3,600 --- 

1953 300 3,600 --- 

1954 300/3502 3,600 --- 

1955 350 4,200 --- 

1956 350 4,200 --- 

1957 350 4,200 --- 

1958 350 4,200 --- 

1959 350/4003 4,800 --- 

1960 400 4,800 --- 

1961 400 4,800 --- 

1962 400 4,800 --- 

1963 400/4504 4,800 --- 

1964 450 4,800 --- 

1965 450 4,800 --- 

1966 550 6,600 $6,600 

1967 550 6,600 6,600 

1968 650 7,800 7,800 

1969 650 7,800 7,800 

1970 650 7,800 7,800 

1971 650 7,800 7,800 

1972 750 9,000 9,000 

1973 900 10,800 10,800 

1974 1,100 13,200 13,200 

1975 1,175 14,100 14,100 

1976 1,275 15,300 15,300 

1977 1,375 16,500 16,500 

1978 1,475 17,700 17,700 

1979 1,908 22,900 22,900 

1980 2,158 25,900 25,900 

1981 2,475 29,700 29,700 

1982 2,700 32,400 32,400 

1983 2,975 35,700 35,700 

1984 3,150 37,800 37,800 

See footnotes at the end of table.

Table 1. -- Annual Maximum Taxable Earnings Under the RRA and FICA

FICA Limits
52

Year RRA Limit1 OASDI HI

1985 $39,600 $39,600 $39,600 

1986 42,000 42,000 42,000 

1987 43,800 43,800 43,800 

1988 45,000 45,000 45,000 

1989 48,000 48,000 48,000 

1990 51,300 51,300 51,300 

1991 53,400 53,400 125,000 

1992 55,500 55,500 130,200 

1993 57,600 57,600 135,000 

1994 60,600 60,600 No Limit

1995 61,200 61,200 No Limit

1996 62,700 62,700 No Limit

1997 65,400 65,400 No Limit

1998 68,400 68,400 No Limit

1999 72,600 72,600 No Limit

2000 76,200 76,200 No Limit

2001 80,400 80,400 No Limit

2002 84,900 84,900 No Limit

2003 87,000 87,000 No Limit

2004 87,900 87,900 No Limit

2005 90,000 90,000 No Limit

2006 94,200 94,200 No Limit

2007 97,500 97,500 No Limit

2008 102,000 102,000 No Limit

2009 106,800 106,800 No Limit

2010 106,800 106,800 No Limit

2011 106,800 106,800 No Limit

2012 110,100 110,100 No Limit

2013 113,700 113,700 No Limit

2014 117,000 117,000 No Limit

2015 118,500 118,500 No Limit

2016 118,500 118,500 No Limit

2017 127,200 127,200 No Limit

2018 128,400 128,400 No Limit

2019 132,900 132,900 No Limit

1

 Earnings bases are monthly through 1984 and annual thereafter.

2

 The RRA limit was $300 for the first six months of 1954, raised to $350 for the last six months of the year.

3

 The RRA limit was $350 for the first six months of 1959, raised to $400 for the last six months of the year.

4

 The RRA limit was $400 for the first six months of 1963, raised to $450 for the last six months of the year.

Table 1. -- Annual Maximum Taxable Earnings Under the RRA and FICA (Continued)

FICA Limits
53

RRA Payroll FICA Level Payroll Multiple RR Final FICA

RRA Creditable Up to FICA Exceeding RRA Employment Dual Coverage Accrued

Year Payroll Limit1 Monthly Limit Adjustment Self Employment Payroll

1937 $2,264.3 $2,136.2 $4.0 $0.5 $2,140.7 

1938 2,007.5 1,912.1 4.0 0.5 1,916.6 

1939 2,145.3 2,118.1 4.0 0.5 2,122.6 

1940 2,248.2 2,217.6 3.9 0.6 2,222.1 

1941 2,656.9 2,616.8 4.8 0.8 2,622.4 

1942 3,301.7 3,228.5 8.3 1.4 3,238.2 

1943 3,944.4 3,825.8 13.0 2.3 3,841.1 

1944 4,301.4 4,134.2 15.0 3.3 4,152.5 

1945 4,340.0 4,181.3 16.4 3.1 4,200.8 

1946 4,639.5 4,423.9 22.5 4.3 4,450.7 

1947 4,750.3 4,486.8 20.8 5.2 4,512.8 

1948 4,951.5 4,592.5 24.8 7.1 4,624.4 

1949 4,609.3 4,262.7 26.0 6.8 4,295.5 

1950 4,704.3 4,334.1 29.6 7.3 4,371.0 

1951 5,111.4 5,111.4 111.9 5.7 $1.6 5,227.8 

1952 5,046.2 5,046.2 118.4 6.5 2.5 5,169.2 

1953 4,989.3 4,989.3 106.3 7.9 1.2 5,102.6 

1954 4,706.7 4,527.0 55.7 8.4 2.2 4,589.5 

1955 4,924.6 4,924.6 116.7 7.0 10.3 5,040.6 

1956 5,059.7 5,059.7 126.5 13.1 14.8 5,188.2 

1957 4,859.5 4,859.5 127.8 16.7 6.6 4,999.1 

1958 4,246.4 4,246.4 149.9 18.4 8.5 4,408.3 

1959 4,377.1 4,377.1 321.4 22.7 9.7 4,713.9 

1960 4,403.8 4,403.8 137.8 16.8 10.6 4,550.5 

1961 4,076.5 4,076.5 127.6 14.7 10.1 4,211.2 

1962 3,990.8 3,990.8 129.3 15.3 9.8 4,128.1 

1963 3,954.8 3,906.7 113.7 18.1 15.7 4,026.7 

1964 4,210.9 3,890.4 75.9 17.4 20.1 3,968.6 

1965 4,139.5 3,794.1 63.5 16.2 23.1 3,856.5 

1 Taxable payroll for employees age 65 and over is excluded in 1937-1938.

Table 2. -- Summary of Accrued Taxable Payroll Calculations, 1937-1965

(in millions)
54

Prior Year1 RRA Payroll Multiple Railroad Final OASDI HI Payroll Final HI Final HI ACA

RRA Creditable & Coverage Up to FICA & Miscellaneous Miscellaneous Accrued Inflation Accrued Accrued 

Year Payroll Adjustments Limit Comp Adjustment 1/2 Tips Adjustments2 Payroll Factor Payroll3 Payroll4

1966 $4,717.0 $1.8 $4,834.4 $11.4 $0.5 $20.9 $4,824.5 

1967 4,611.6 1.4 4,747.4 11.7 0.3 4,758.9 

1968 4,994.8 5.1 5,126.1 8.8 0.2 5,134.7 

1969 4,960.3 6.1 5,122.5 8.8 0.1 5,131.2 

1970 4,893.6 2.1 5,062.2 10.9 0.1 5,073.1 

1971 4,824.4 5.5 5,023.2 12.6 0.0 1.2 5,034.5 

1972 5,346.5 3.1 5,526.3 8.8 0.0 2.4 5,532.7 

1973 6,262.1 2.6 6,471.2 9.2 0.0 3.6 6,476.9 

1974 7,268.0 2.8 7,458.0 11.3 0.0 3.6 7,465.7 

1975 7,105.8 6.3 7,361.0 9.6 0.0 5.1 7,365.5 

1976 7,833.1 15.0 8,115.7 15.2 0.0 5.6 8,125.3 1977 8,468.3 14.9 8,725.6 4.7 0.0 1.2 8,729.2 

1978 8,991.1 10.6 9,383.4 8.8 0.0 0.3 9,392.0 

1979 11,132.3 36.6 11,557.3 13.5 0.0 0.2 11,570.6 1980 11,828.3 42.9 12,163.2 9.7 0.0 12,172.8 

1981 12,333.3 (64.4) 12,572.5 6.3 0.0 12,578.8 

1982 11,785.5 (14.8) 12,152.7 6.8 0.0 12,159.5 

1983 11,711.6 (7.0) 11,964.4 13.4 0.0 11,977.8 

1984 12,332.0 (2.1) 12,570.0 5.6 0.0 12,575.6 

1985 12,113.9 (1.8) 12,112.1 14.2 0.2 12,126.1 

1986 11,968.9 (1.4) 11,967.6 14.2 0.0 11,981.8 

1987 11,878.0 (1.9) 11,876.1 35.3 0.0 11,911.4 

1988 11,661.2 (13.2) 11,648.1 20.5 11,668.5 

1989 11,517.8 (5.0) 11,512.8 12.2 11,525.0 

1990 11,390.4 (7.3) 11,383.1 9.9 11,393.0 

1991 11,575.3 (11.4) 11,563.9 12.4 11,576.3 1.0415 $12,043.9 1992 11,901.4 (4.9) 11,896.5 15.7 11,912.3 1.0581 12,588.2 1993 11,719.8 (3.0) 11,716.8 12.3 11,729.1 1.0612 12,434.4 1994 11,888.5 2.7 11,891.2 9.8 11,901.0 1.0522 12,511.6 1995 11,918.0 (3.1) 11,914.9 13.5 11,928.3 1.0644 12,682.2 1996 12,224.1 (3.4) 12,220.7 14.2 12,234.9 1.0585 12,935.7 1997 12,508.5 (1.7) 12,506.8 17.2 12,524.0 1.0538 13,179.2 1998 13,166.0 (3.3) 13,162.7 19.6 13,182.3 1.0785 14,195.7 1999 13,325.6 (3.8) 13,321.8 38.8 13,360.5 1.0777 14,357.3 2000 13,362.1 (3.8) 13,358.3 9.5 13,367.8 1.0516 14,047.1 

Table 3. -- Summary of Accrued Taxable Payroll Calculations, 1966-2018

(Dollar amounts in millions)
55

Prior Year1 RRA Payroll Multiple Railroad Final OASDI HI Payroll Final HI Final HI ACA

RRA Creditable & Coverage Up to FICA & Miscellaneous Miscellaneous Accrued Inflation Accrued Accrued 

Year Payroll Adjustments Limit Comp Adjustment 1/2 Tips Adjustments2 Payroll Factor Payroll3 Payroll4

2001 $13,247.6 ($3.3) $13,244.3 $8.1 $13,252.4 1.0352 $13,711.0 

2002 13,113.6 (3.5) 13,110.0 7.9 13,117.9 1.0345 13,562.6 

2003 13,262.9 (1.5) 13,261.5 9.7 13,271.2 1.0474 13,889.6 2004 13,871.3 (0.8) 13,870.5 7.8 13,878.3 1.0535 14,612.7 2005 14,565.0 (0.9) 14,564.1 8.6 14,572.7 1.0588 15,420.6 2006 15,033.5 (0.4) 15,033.2 9.5 15,042.7 1.0759 16,174.0 2007 15,619.3 (0.7) 15,618.6 10.7 15,629.3 1.0785 16,844.7 2008 16,203.1 (0.5) 16,202.6 11.0 16,213.7 1.1057 17,915.7 2009 15,342.3 (0.5) 15,341.8 7.6 15,349.4 1.0585 16,239.3 2010 15,439.9 (0.4) 15,439.4 7.7 15,447.1 1.0541 16,274.9 2011 16,572.8 (0.4) 16,572.4 10.3 16,582.7 1.0775 17,856.6 2012 17,350.7 (0.3) 17,350.3 11.4 17,361.7 1.1252 19,522.5 2013 17,772.3 (0.4) 17,771.8 12.7 17,784.5 1.0532 18,717.3 $593.1 2014 19,217.3 (0.5) 19,216.8 16.9 19,233.7 1.0772 20,699.7 851.6 

2015 19,992.3 (0.5) 19,991.8 13.2 20,005.0 1.0684 21,358.2 624.1 

2016 18,317.6 18,317.6 9.8 18,327.4 1.0648 19,504.0 629.1 

2017 18,509.8 18,509.8 12.7 18,522.5 1.0637 19,689.4 656.8 

2018 19,655.7 19,655.7 13.0 19,668.7 1.0517 20,671.8 403.6 

1 Prior year adjustments for 1966-1981. Beginning with 1982, prior year adjustments are reflected in the RRA creditable payroll column.

2 Self-employment income in 1966, sickness payments in 1971-1979.3 RRA payroll up to FICA limit times HI inflation factor. After 1993, HI limit on taxable pay was removed and all compensation is taxable.

4 RRA payroll above $200,000 per individual subject to additional 0.9 percent HI tax under ACA. 

Table 3. -- Summary of Accrued Taxable Payroll Calculations, 1966-2018 (Continued)

(Dollar amounts in millions)
56

Final HI ACA Shortfall

Accrued Shortfall1 Adjustment

Year Regular Miscellaneous Payroll Amount Date2

2013 $592.1 $1.1 $593.1 $1.2 Dec 2015

2014 839.5 12.1 851.6 1.4 Dec 2016

2015 624.1 0.0 624.1 1.7 Dec 2017

2016 629.1 0.0 629.1 1.8 Dec 2018

2017 656.8 0.0 656.8

2018 403.6 0.0 403.6

1 Difference between payroll taxes actually collected and the amount that would have been collected under FICA.

2

 Adjustments are scheduled for December of the second year after the year for which the tax is collected.

Compensation

Additional Medicare Tax

(in millions)

Table 4. -- Summary of Accrued Taxable Payroll Calculations Under ACA, 2013-2018
57

Part II. 2018 Gross Earnings Sample for Financial

Interchange Payroll Calculations

Design of the Sample

All railroad employers were asked to report the 2018 gross earnings of a one-percent sample of their

employees. Sample employees were those with social security account numbers ending in "30". Employers 

with 5,000 or more employees were asked to supply monthly or quarterly gross earnings data for the sample 

employees. Smaller employers could supply monthly, quarterly or annual gross earnings figures. The full 

2018 gross earnings one-percent sample consisted of 2,591 records.

The gross earnings sample is used to determine the dual coverage payroll adjustment, the inflation factor for 

calculating the HI payroll, and the quarterly payroll distribution estimate.

A comparison of the average RRA creditable compensation (exclusive of miscellaneous compensation) and 

average service months for all employees based on the tabulation of all 2018 creditable earnings records 

and the gross earnings sample is as follows:

Number of Average Average Months

Employees Compensation of Service

All employees.............................................. 265,601 $73,353 10.13

Gross earnings sample................................. 2,591 $73,674 10.22

In addition, the representation of the universe by the sample was checked by means of Chi-square tests 

applied to distributions of employees by service months and by compensation (excluding miscellaneous 

compensation) creditable under the RRA. The Chi-square statistics of the gross earnings sample versus the 

expected numbers based on 100-percent data were tested at a 95 percent credibility level.

Results are shown in the following table.
58

The above Chi-square values are below the acceptable limit defined by the 95 percent credibility level. 

From this, and the comparison of averages, it may be concluded that the 2018 gross earnings sample 

adequately represents the universe of employee data, and should produce valid estimates.

Gross Gross

Service earnings Expected Taxable earnings Expected

months sample number compensation sample number

Total 2,591 2,591 2,591 2,591

0 142 162 Under $5,000 168 184

1 37 38 $5,000-$9,999 60 60

2 38 43 $10,000-$14,999 37 47

3 37 45 $15,000-$19,999 50 40

4 52 43 $20,000-$24,999 42 37

5 47 41 $25,000-$29,999 19 35

6 51 44 $30,000-$34,999 35 35

7 39 43 $35,000-$39,999 41 37

8 39 44 $40,000-$44,999 56 45

9 54 50 $45,000-$49,999 57 56

10 76 58 $50,000-$54,999 88 74

11 78 77 $55,000-$59,999 85 95

12 1,901 1,903 $60,000-$64,999 150 140

$65,000-$69,999 178 198

$70,000-$74,999 176 173

$75,000-$79,999 171 157

$80,000-$84,999 156 150

$85,000-$89,999 153 143

$90,000-$94,999 135 132

$95,000-$99,999 115 119

$100,000-$104,999 100 108

$105,000-$109,999 97 98

$110,000-$114,999 63 76

$115,000-$119,999 68 63

$120,000-$124,999 52 51

$125,000-$128,399 47 38

$128,400 192 200

Degrees of

 freedom 12 26

Chi-square 15.236 31.721

95% Threshold 21.026 38.885
59

Sampling Errors in Financial Interchange HI Tax Calculation

It is estimated that accrued HI taxes (excluding ACA amounts) on railroad payrolls in calendar year 2018, 

had railroad employment been covered under HI, would have amounted to $599.5 million. The estimate 

was obtained by applying the HI tax rate to the RRA taxable payroll after it was adjusted to include 

compensation in excess of the OASDI limit. The estimated 95 percent confidence interval for this 

adjustment was +/- $9.5 million. Since the RRA total taxable payroll is available on a 100-percent basis, 

this is the only error inherent in the estimate. Thus, the 95 percent confidence interval for 2018 HI taxes 

was $590.0 million to $609.0 million.

The adjustment calculation uses the following definitions:

A = estimated difference between payroll under the RRA annual 

creditable limit and total HI taxable payroll

Xi = HI taxable payroll for sample account i

Yi = RRA creditable payroll for sample account i 

N = universe number

n = sample number

B = universe amount of RRA creditable payroll

 

The formula for the adjustment amount, A, is:

AA = �

∑ XXii

nn

ii=1

∑ YYii

nn

ii=1

− 1� BB

This calculation gave A = $1,016.1 million.

The standard error SA associated with this estimate is computed from the formula:

SSAA

2 = NN(NN − nn)

nn(nn − 1) ��XXii

2 +

nn

ii=1

RR2�YYii

2 − 2RR�XXiiYYii

nn

ii=1

nn

ii=1

�

where

RR = ∑ XXii

nn

ii=1

∑ YYii

nn

ii=1

The standard error computed by the formula was $167.4 million. The 95 percent confidence interval was 

$688.0 million to $1,344.1 million.