The most a laid-off railroad worker can collect in unemployment benefits is expected to climb by about 61 percent over the next decade. The Railroad Retirement Board says maximum benefit rates are projected to go from $99 in 2025 to $159 in 2036, according to its September 2026 question-and-answer release on its annual financial reports.
What the board projected
The board is the federal agency that runs retirement and unemployment benefits for railroad workers. Each year it publishes reports on how well the two programs are funded. The release covers both and was issued by the agency’s public affairs office. It does not quote any named official.
The unemployment projections run from 2026 through 2036. Over that stretch the board says maximum benefit rates increase from $99 to $159. The release does not say whether those figures are daily amounts, but the board’s separate benefits release puts the current maximum at a daily rate, $103 for the benefit year that began July 1, 2026. A projected $159 would be a much larger payment than that, and the board presents it as a projection and not a promise.
The question for a rail worker is how a higher cap could change a claim after a furlough or layoff. Someone who collects the maximum today is paid under the $103 daily rate, and the board’s projection is where it expects the cap to stand in 2036.
The first date to watch in the board’s outlook is 2028, when an employer surcharge of 1.5 percent is expected under its moderate assumptions.
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Who gets these benefits
Railroad workers are covered by their own unemployment and sickness insurance program, separate from state unemployment systems. The board’s benefits release says normal benefits are payable for up to 130 days, or 26 weeks, in a benefit year. Employees with at least 10 years of service can get up to 65 more days of extended benefits.
To qualify for the benefit year that began in July, an employee needed base-year railroad earnings of at least $5,162.50 in 2025, counting no more than $2,065 for any one month. The release says almost all qualified employees get the maximum daily rate of $103.
Who pays and the 2028 surcharge
Unemployment benefits for railroad workers are paid for by railroad employers. The board’s release says no surcharge or pooled credit is expected in 2027 under any of its assumptions. For 2028, it expects a 1.5 percent surcharge under the optimistic and moderate assumptions, and 2.5 percent under the pessimistic one. The surcharges could continue into 2029.
The unemployment insurance cash balance stood at $392.4 million at the end of fiscal year 2025, the release says. Under the pessimistic scenario, loans are possible in fiscal year 2029 and would be repaid in fiscal year 2030. The average employer contribution rate stays below the maximum throughout the projection period.
The board recommended no changes to how unemployment insurance is financed.
The retirement side of the report
The same release covers the retirement system, which pays pensions to railroad workers and their families. The board says the system “remains financially solvent and stable,” with a projection period from 2026 through 2050. Under every employment assumption, it should have no cash flow problems unless there is a sudden, large drop in railroad employment, major investment losses or changes to benefits or applicable laws.
The board did not recommend changing employer or employee retirement tax rates under current law. Total retirement system assets were $30.9 billion as of Sept. 30, 2025, combining the National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust and Treasury accounts. The 2025 investment return was 13.4 percent, 6.4 percentage points above expectations, and combined account balances at the end of 2025 were about $1.8 billion higher than expected.
Projected retirement account balances are higher than in last year’s report under all three employment assumptions.
What the numbers do not say
The projections do not change anyone’s payment today. A rail worker who files for unemployment now is paid under the current $103 maximum, and the projected $159 is a forecast tied to assumptions about wages and employment. If railroad employment falls sharply or wages grow more slowly than expected, the path could be different.
The release also does not give year-by-year amounts between 2025 and 2036, so the steps along the way are not known.
Filing a railroad unemployment claim
Railroad workers who lose their jobs apply through a myRRB account at rrb.gov or by mail with Form UI-1, and the board’s benefits release says the application must be filed within 30 days of becoming unemployed. Sickness benefits use a different form, SI-1a, with a health care provider’s statement. The board’s toll-free number is 1-877-772-5772.
Before filing, it helps to have railroad earnings records from 2025 on hand, since eligibility turns on base-year earnings. Form BA-6 shows whether an employee qualifies, the release says. Workers with at least 10 years of service should ask about extended and accelerated benefits at the same time.
The board’s annual reports are where next year’s projections will appear, and any change to the $99-to-$159 path would show up there first.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
