Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 Law and Legal Definition
The Railroad Retirement Act (“Act”) is a U.S. federal legislation enacted by Congress in 1937. The Act provides a special system of annuity, pension, and death benefits to railroad workers. The first version of the law was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1935 claiming that it was unconstitutional. After that, President Franklin D. Roosevelt worked with Congress to reformulate the act, and in 1937 the Railroad Retirement Act was passed.
The Railroad Retirement Board was established pursuant to the Act. The Borad was tasked withn the responsibility of administering the benefits program. The Board also administers the benefits programs under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act and manages other railroad-related issues.
The Railroad Retirement Act was amended a number of times to make it similar to the benefits scheme of the Social Security Act.
