I keep getting a earnings statement from Social Security saying i can collect a sum of $281.00 in pension but i am retired from the RailRoad for almost 14 years now. Why do i keep getting this. When i worked for the RailRoad i did have a side job and paid Social Security but should'nt that been included in my pension? What should i do with this statement i get ever year. Hope you can help. Thank you

Hi,

Social Security sends out those statements on an automated schedule, and I don't think there is any way to opt out of receiving them. They're sending them to you because they don't know that you're receiving Railroad Retirement (RR). You can just disregard them.

You are correct that the Railroad Retirement Board should be including your Social Security earnings when calculating your Tier 1 RR benefit rate, but the Tier 1 calculation isn't precisely the same as the calculation method for computing Social Security benefits. The only way that you would likely benefit from filing separately for Social Security (SS) is if your SS benefit rate would be higher than your Tier 1 RR rate. Otherwise, your SS benefit would simply result in a dollar for dollar offset of your RR benefits.

Best, Jerry