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213.1 Local Lodge Compensation 

213.1.1 Before 1937 

Compensation earned before 1937 in the service of a local lodge or division of railwaylabor organization employer is creditable if the service for which it was performed is 

creditable. 

213.1.2 After 1936 and Before 1975 

Compensation earned after 1936 in the service of a local lodge or division of a railwaylabor organization employer is disregarded for any calendar month in which it is less 

than $3.00, except that such compensation is creditable if: 

A. It was earned between 12-31-36 and 4-1-40; and 

B. Taxes were paid on the compensation before 7-1-40, under the Railroad 

Retirement Act (RRTA) and 

C. It was preceded by creditable railroad service. 

213.1.3 After 1974 

Compensation earned after 1974 in the service of a local lodge or division of a railwaylabor organization employer is disregarded for any calendar month in which it is less 

than $25.00. 

Any compensation earned after 1974 in the service of a local lodge or division of a 

railway-labor organization that is $25.00 or more must be preceded by creditable 

railroad service to a rail employer. 

213.2 Compensation for Insurance Commissions 

Commissions paid to the secretary-treasurer of a local lodge or division of a railway 

labor organization employer for collection of insurance premiums are creditable as 

compensation, even if the commission is less than $25.00 for a calendar month. 

213.3 Payment, Waiver or Refund of Organization Dues 

A payment, waiver, or refund of organization dues by the organization is creditable as 

compensation only if there is evidence showing it was intended and accepted as the 

discharge of an obligation of the organization to compensate the employee for his 

services. 

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An amount paid, waived, or refunded solely in consideration of membership is not 

creditable as compensation even though the payment, waiver, or refund is made by 

reason of performance of valuable services to the organization. 

A payment, waiver, or refund made solely as a courtesy or honor cannot be credited as 

compensation. 

If the dues waived include additional elements such as insurance premiums which the 

employee would normally have to pay, the amount waived may constitute compensation 

if the value has been agreed upon as remuneration for service rendered. 

Designation of a payment, waiver, or refund as a gratuity or by any other term which 

would normally indicate that the payment, waiver, or refund could not be considered as 

compensation, is not controlling. The facts in each case are to be considered on their 

merits. 

213.4 Services Rendered to a General Committee of a Railway-Labor 

Organization Employer 

When a person acts in the capacity of a general or assistant general chairman of a 

general committee which represents individuals rendering service in the United States 

to an employer and: 

A. His office or headquarters is located outside the United States; and 

B. The individuals represented by the general committee are employees of an 

employer not conducting the principal part of its business in the United States; 

only that proportion of his remuneration may be regarded as compensation as 

the proportion which the mileage in the United States under the jurisdiction of the 

general committee bears to the total mileage under its jurisdiction. If the mileage 

formula is inapplicable, RRB may adopt a different formula. 

If application of the prescribed mileage formula or any other formula prescribed by RRB 

would result in compensation of less than 10% of the remuneration for this service, no 

part of the compensation is creditable. 

Regardless of the place of performance, all remuneration for general committee service 

is as creditable compensation if the employee of the general committee represents a 

local lodge or division whose headquarters is in the U.S., or substantially all the 

employees represented by the general committee are employees of an employer 

conducting the principal part of its business in the U.S. 

213.5 Delegate Service to a Convention of a Railway Organization 

Prior to 1954, remuneration paid to delegates for attending union conventions was 

considered “compensation” under the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA). In 1954, the 

RRA was amended to exclude from the definition of “compensation” remuneration paid 

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to delegates to a national or international convention who had previously rendered no 

rail service, with the exception of service as a delegate. The Railroad Retirement Board 

(RRB) continued to consider remuneration paid to delegates who had previously 

rendered rail service as “compensation” under the RRA until 1994. Effective with 

compensation reports submitted in October 1994 and later, the RRB adopted the policy 

outlined below. 

To be considered creditable under the RRA, payment received by an individual must be 

for services rendered as an employee or employee representative. Delegates to a 

convention or similar meeting are not considered to be employees of the union if the 

delegates are not subject to the direction and control of the union while attending the 

convention, other than being subject to the convention’s rules of conduct or procedure. 

If the delegates are not considered to be employees of the union, payment received in 

connection with attendance at a convention is not creditable or reportable compensation 

under the RRA or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA). 

To determine whether payment received by a delegate is creditable compensation, 

consideration should be given to the following: 

	 Whether the employee was paid for any services at the meeting, other than acting 

as a delegate; and 

	 Whether the payment the employee received was reimbursement for more than 

accountable expenses. 

If either of the above conditions is met, the earnings may be creditable compensation. 

Document the services the employee provided and the breakdown of the payment 

received, and refer the case to the Compensation and Employer Services Center 

(CESC). CESC will determine if the earnings constitute creditable compensation. 

If the earnings are determined to be creditable compensation, the case should be 

treated as a return to railroad service for the month of attendance. If the payment 

received by the delegate is not creditable compensation, the earnings are not subject to 

railroad retirement taxes. However, the payments do constitute income for income tax 

purposes and could possibly affect railroad retirement annuities as follows: 

A. Employee Disability Annuities: If the payment for delegate service exceeds the 

monthly earnings amount, after expenses for attending the meeting, neither the 

employee nor spouse is entitled to an annuity for the month in which the payment 

is earned. (Withheld payments will be restored if earnings for the year are less 

than the yearly earnings amount.) If the payment for delegate service, after 

deduction for the accountable expenses is equal to or less than the monthly 

earnings amount, the earnings should be included in any report of earnings for 

work deduction purposes under the RRA or the Social Security Act. 

See FOM1 1125.5.2 

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B. Employee Age and Service Annuities: The earnings should be included in any 

report of earnings for work deduction purposes under the RRA or the Social 

Security Act. 

213.6 Employee Representative Compensation 

When a person occupied the position or office of employee representative and was paid 

remuneration in that office, all remuneration (subject to the Tier I and Tier II maximum) 

is credited as compensation, even though such person performed, either in connection 

with or outside that office or position, some services which were not directly related to 

the representation of employees. When a person did not occupy the position or office of 

employee representative and earned remuneration in another position or office not 

related to the representation of employees, the remuneration is not credited as 

compensation for employee representative service, even though he performed some 

services, either in connection with or outside his office or position, which were related to 

the representation of employees. 

When a person occupied, concurrently, the position or office of employee representative 

and another position in some non-employee representative capacity, only the 

remuneration earned in the capacity of employee representative as employee 

representative is credited as compensation. 

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