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How to Obtain Records About Yourself

If you believe that the RRB has records about you in one of its Privacy Act Systems of Records, you may obtain those records by:

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Special Disclosure Restrictions

Information obtained by the RRB in the administration of its major benefit programs is subject to special disclosure restrictions contained in the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. These disclosure restrictions are in addition to those contained in the Privacy Act. They provide that unless the information is disclosed to another agency engaged in functions related to those administered by the RRB, it cannot be disclosed unless the RRB finds that disclosure would be clearly in the furtherance of interest of the subject or subject's estate.

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Benefit information

When a person is found entitled to benefits, the RRB must compute the amount of the benefits and determine when they begin. Benefit information includes these two items of information. It also includes the periods for which benefits were due, when the benefits were paid, and the various amounts of benefits due and paid over a period of time -- the person's benefit payment history, in other words.

Unlike the other two types of information, benefit information is created by the RRB rather than obtained by it.

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Application and Post-Application Information

Whenever an application for benefits is filed on the earnings and service of a railroad employee, the RRB needs to gather information in addition to the earnings and service information that it already has. The purpose of gathering the additional information is to establish the applicant's entitlement, and possibly also, the applicant's continued entitlement to benefits.

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Service and Compensation Information

The RRB maintains a record for each person who worked in the railroad industry at anytime since 1936. The information in the record includes the railroad(s) for whom the employee worked, the number and identity of the months for which he worked, and the monthly amount the employee earned (but only up to the maximum amount taxable for the given year). The RRB obtains this information directly from the railroad employers, who are required by law to provide this information to the RRB.

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Information On Individuals in the Railroad Industry

The mission of the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) as a Federal agency is to administer several benefit programs for railroad workers and their families. To accomplish this mission, the RRB must often gather and maintain a great amount of information on particular individuals. This information can be broadly classified as follows.

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Assistance

If you need assistance in finding the system of records you want to see or in learning which systems might contain a record on you, you may call the Chief Privacy Officer at 312-751-3389 or contact the nearest field office.

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Other situations:

If you received a benefit and were overpaid or erroneously paid and we have not been able to collect the amount due us, a record may be maintained on you in:

RRB-42 Overpayment Accounts

If you were the subject of an investigation by the Board's Office of Inspector General, a record may be maintained on you in:

RRB-43 Investigation Files

If you were the subject of a legal opinion by the Board's General Counsel, a record may be maintained on you in:

Read more about Other situations:

You Never Worked for a Railroad but Filed for Benefits under the RRA on the Earnings Record of Someone Who Did Work for a Railroad

If you are the spouse, divorced spouse, child, widow, surviving divorced spouse, or parent of a current or former railroad employee and have filed for recurring benefits on that employee's earnings, a record may be maintained on you in the following systems of records identified above (RRB-17, RRB-20, RRB-22, RRB-26).