I worked for Union Pacific Railroad for 11 1/2 years and just took a job back in the private sector, since i was vested at 5 years at UP I was told that when do retire that my retirement check will always come from the RRRB. Does all the SS I've paid in roll over into the RR retirement?

Hi,

It sounds like you will eventually qualify for both Social Security (SS) and Railroad Retirement (RR) benefits. When that occurs, Social Security calculates your benefit rate using just your Social Security covered earnings and then certifies your benefits to the Railroad Board. The Railroad Board determines how much additionally that you are due in RR benefits, and then pays the combined benefits to you.

Railroad Retirement benefits are 2-tiered. Tier 1 is essentially a substitute for Social Security, so you can't get both the full RR tier 1 rate and your Social Security benefit. Instead, you will receive the higher of those two rates (https://www.rrb.gov/opa/qa/pub_1606.asp). The Railroad board will also calculate and pay any tier 2 RR benefits to which you are entitled based on your railroad earnings.

Best, Jerry