Railroad Retirement Board Records
Overview
The National Archives at Atlanta has received approximately 54,000 cubic feet of Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) Inactive Claims Folders from the National Archives Great Lakes Region.
The information found within these records will be of interest to genealogists and historical researchers. The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board administers a Federal retirement benefit program covering the nation's railroad workers. The Inactive Claim Folders deal primarily with the administration and payment of these benefits. We will provide information on deceased persons for the purpose of genealogical or historical research. However, we will not release information on a person who is still living without the written consent of that person.
The Railroad Retirement Board continues to retain ownership of claim files deemed to be active. Records transferred to NARA have been inactive for at least seven years. If you are looking for information in your own claim file, or are researching someone whose file may have been recently active (claims filed, payments made, etc), you should begin by contacting the Railroad Retirement Board (https://www.rrb.gov or (877) 772-5772).
The RRB Inactive Claims Folders are limited to individuals who worked in the rail industry after 1936. Please do not contact us with requests for records before that date. We do not have that information, nor do we generally have any pertinent records for an individual whose rail service was performed on a casual basis and/or was of short duration. Also, the claim folders are only on persons whose employers were covered under the Railroad Retirement Act. Employers such as streetcar, interurban, or suburban electric railways are not covered under this Act.
Fee:
Based on information provided by the researcher, staff from the National Archives and Records Administration will attempt to confirm if a claim folder exists. If a claim folder does exist, NARA will provide a cost estimate for copying based on the National Archives fee of $0.80 per page (full schedule is available at: http://www.archives.gov/research/order/fees).
What We Need:
Please provide as much of the following information about the claimant or pensioner as possible:
- First Name, Middle Name/Initial, Last Name
- Railroad Retirement Board Claim Number
- Social Security Number
- Year of Birth
- Year of Death
Where to Send Requests:
National Archives at Atlanta
5780 Jonesboro Road
Morrow, Georgia 30260
Email: atlanta.archives@nara.gov
Sample Railroad Retirement Board Files:
To help clarify the type of information found within a RRB file, please view the following sample files:
- Full Version of RRB File for Edward Hoff
- Abbreviated Version of RRB File for Edward Hoff