Employee Guide To Unemployment/Sickness Benefits 

(Over) 

U.S. Railroad ReƟrement Board Office of the Labor Member 

The Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) 

provides qualified railroad employees with benefits to 

restore part of their lost wages arising from periods of 

unemployment or sickness (including, for female 

employees, health conditions related to pregnancy, 

miscarriage, or childbirth). 

Benefit payments are based on biweekly claims filed 

with the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). The funds 

to pay unemployment and sickness benefits are 

provided by payroll taxes on railroad employers only. 

Employees do not pay unemployment insurance taxes. 

(*UB-9 page 2)

The following describes the requirements for railroad 

unemployment and sickness benefits, the amounts 

payable, and how to claim them.

How You Qualify 

Payments are made for days of unemployment or 

sickness in a benefit year (which generally begins 

every July 1) to employees who had sufficient earnings 

in the preceding calendar year (called the base year) to 

meet the qualifying conditions. To qualify in the 

benefit year that began July 1, 2023, you must have 

base year earnings of at least $4,387.50 in calendar 

year 2022, counting no more than $1,755 per 

month. In the benefit year beginning July 1, 2024, 

these amounts will increase to $4,737.50 and $1,895, 

and they will then refer to annual and monthly 

earnings in calendar year 2023. If the base year was 

your first year of railroad service, you must also have 

worked in 5 months of that year. (UB-9 page 2)

Amounts Payable 

The maximum daily benefit rate payable in the benefit 

year that began July 1, 2023, is $87 and, for biweekly 

claims, maximum benefits can total $870. However, 

under provisions of the Budget Control Act of 2011 

and a subsequent sequestration order, unemployment 

and sickness benefits are being reduced by 5.7 percent. 

As a result, maximum biweekly benefits are reduced to 

$820.41. The same percentage reduction amount will 

remain in effect through September 30, 2031. 

Unless benefits are being paid for an on-the-job 

injury, sickness benefits payable for the first 6 

months after the month you last worked are subject 

to tier I railroad retirement taxes. This reduces the 

maximum biweekly sickness benefits payable to 

$803.45 ($757.65 under sequestration). 

Benefits are normally paid for the number of days of 

unemployment or sickness over 4 in 14-day 

registration periods. Initial sickness claims must 

also begin with 4 consecutive days of sickness. 

However, during the first 14-day claim period in a 

benefit year, benefits are only payable for each day 

of unemployment or sickness in excess of 7 which, 

in effect, results in a 1-week waiting period. 

Separate waiting periods are required for 

unemployment and sickness benefits. Only one 7-day 

waiting period is required during any period of 

continuing unemployment or sickness, even if that 

period continues into a subsequent benefit year. 

(UB-9 pages 2-3)

DuraƟon Of Benefits 

Normal benefits are paid for up to 130 days (26 

weeks) in a benefit year. Benefit rights are exhausted 

when a benefit year ends (normally June 30) or 

earlier if benefit payments equal base year creditable 

earnings. Maximum normal benefits payable in the 

benefit year that began July 1, 2023, cannot exceed 

your railroad earnings in base year 2022, counting 

monthly earnings of up to $2,267. In the benefit year 

beginning July 2024, monthly earnings up to $2,448 

in base year 2023 will be counted. 

In order to qualify for normal unemployment 

benefits, you must not have voluntarily quit work 

without good cause and not have voluntarily retired. 

If you have 10 or more years of service (at least 120 

cumulative service months) and exhaust your normal 

unemployment or sickness benefits, or if you are not 

qualified for benefits in the current benefit year, you 

may, under certain circumstances, be eligible to 

receive extended or accelerated benefits. (UB-9 

pages 3-4)

*Additional information can be found on these pages of our 

Railroad Unemployment and Sickness Benefits (Form UB-9) 

publication. 
 

General Eligibility Requirements 

To be eligible for unemployment benefits, you must be 

ready, willing, and able to work and be available for work. 

A day of unemployment is a day on which you meet these 

conditions and do not receive any pay, are not disqualified, 

and have properly registered for unemployment benefits. 

To be eligible for sickness benefits, you must be unable to 

work because of illness or injury. A day of sickness is a day 

on which you meet this condition, and for which you do not 

receive any pay and have filed an application for sickness 

benefits including a statement of sickness signed by your 

doctor or other authorized individual. This statement 

provides evidence of your medical condition and its 

expected duration. 

You may not receive benefits for any day for which you 

receive pay. This includes railroad and nonrailroad wages, 

salary, pay for time lost, pay while sick, dismissal 

allowances, most wage guaranty payments, scheduled 

vacation pay, holiday pay, military reservist pay, earnings 

from self-employment, or pay for work performed other 

than subsidiary remuneration. If you are receiving a 

military service pension or benefits under any social 

insurance law for days in which you are entitled to benefits 

under the RUIA, railroad unemployment or sickness 

benefits are payable only to the extent to which they exceed 

the other payments for those days. In many cases, the 

amount of a military service pension precludes the payment 

of unemployment or sickness benefits by the RRB. 

Also, an earnings test is applied to unemployment claims. 

If a claimant's earnings for days worked, and/or days of 

vacation or paid leave, in a 14-day registration period are 

more than a certain indexed amount, no benefits are 

payable for any days of unemployment in that period. 

(UB-9 pages 4-6, 11)

How To Get Benefits 

In order to receive unemployment benefits, you must file an 

application for benefits through the RRB's website, or by 

mail. To file electronically, you must first establish an 

online account by visiting RRB.gov/myRRB, and clicking 

on the button labeled Sign in with login.gov. 

The RRB encourages employees to establish their myRRB 

accounts while still working to expedite the filing process 

for future unemployment benefits, and for access to other 

online services. 

If you choose to file by mail, you must obtain an 

Application for Unemployment Benefits (Form UI-1) from 

RRB.gov, your employer or labor organization, or any RRB 

field office. The completed application should be mailed to 

your local RRB field office as soon as possible and, in any 

case, must be filed within 30 days of the date on which you 

became unemployed or the first day for which you wish to 

claim benefits. Benefits may be lost if the application is 

filed late. 

Whether you file online or by mail, your local RRB field 

office will review the completed unemployment 

application and notify your current employer, and your 

base-year railroad employer if different. Your employer 

has the right to provide information about your benefit 

application. 

Biweekly claim forms are then made available for 

completion on our website and/or mailed to you, as long 

as you remain unemployed and eligible for benefits. 

Completed unemployment claims must be received by 

an RRB field office within 15 days of the end of the 

claim, or the date the claim form was made available 

online or mailed to you, whichever is later. 

An Application for Sickness Benefits (Form SI-1a) can 

be obtained from RRB.gov, railroad employers, railroad 

labor organizations, or any RRB field office. Attached to 

each application is a Statement of Sickness (Form SI-1b) 

which must be completed by your doctor. An application 

and a doctor's statement of sickness are required at the 

beginning of each period of continuing sickness for 

which benefits are claimed. If you become unable to 

work because of sickness or injury, complete your 

application and take or send it to your doctor for 

completion of the statement of sickness. 

Completed forms must be received by the RRB within 

10 days of the first day for which you want to claim 

benefits. Once received, the RRB will review your 

application and statement of sickness to determine 

eligibility. Biweekly claim forms will then be made 

available for completion on the RRB's website and/or 

mailed to you, as long as you remain unable to work due 

to an illness or injury and are eligible for benefits. 

Completed sickness claims must be received at the RRB 

within 30 days of the last day of the claim period, or 

within 30 days of the date the claim form was mailed to 

you or made available online, whichever is later. 

Benefits may be lost if an application or claim is filed 

late. (UB-9 pages 6-9) 

Note that once you submit an unemployment or sickness 

claim online, all subsequent claim forms will be made 

available online only, and will no longer be mailed. 

For More InformaƟon 

The material presented here is issued for the purpose of 

general information. Certain limitations, exceptions, and 

special cases are not covered. Publications covering 

benefits and other related topics are available online at 

RRB.gov under the Benefits tab of the main menu. For 

additional information and assistance, please contact 

your local RRB field office by calling us toll-free at 

1-877-772-5772. You can also find the address of the 

RRB office serving your area by calling this toll-free 

number, or by visiting RRB.gov and clicking on Field 

Office Locator. (UB-9 page 15)

Form G-508A, July 2023