History of SSA During the Johnson Administration 1963-1968

COORDINATION WITH THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

Approximately ten million persons with social security account numbers have worked in the railroad industry since 1936. Originally the administration of the railroad retirement program and the social security program ways separate and distinct. However, beginning with the amendments to the Railroad Retirement Act in 1940, coordination between the programs was established. Since that time, successive amendments to both the Railroad Retirement Act and the Social Security Act have narrowed the gap and a close relationship between the two programs now exists. Basically, the coordination involves (1) division of jurisdiction over the survivors insurance program, (2) treatment of railroad compensation as social security wages in certain cases, (3) use of the special social security guaranty by the Railroad Retirement Board and (4) the financial interchange programs. Wage records of individuals who have worked in employment covered by both acts are so earmarked that when a claim is made in either agency, it can be established whether data is necessary from the other agency. This transfer of information is vital in determining whether the two wage records can be combined, with only one agency paying, or whether the claimant meets the requirements of each program based solely on his work covered by that program. There is as a result of this interrelationship, a constant interchange of wage and benefit data between the two agencies.