Skip to Content

Pursuing Your Rightful Benefits

Special provisions provide disability annuities to qualifying railroad workers, much as the Social Security program makes payments to individuals with a disability in the general population. Annuities are based upon the worker’s years of service and his or her disability.

Founded in 1986, the railroad retirement disability attorneys at Mike Murburg, P.A. concentrate exclusively on disability benefits recovery. Our lawyers represent injured and ill railroad workers throughout Florida and across the United States. We review your claim to determine which benefits you are eligible for, gather essential evidence and prepare an organized, compelling application to submit to the Railroad Board. As your steadfast advocates, our goal is to obtain your rightful benefits as soon as possible.


Total Disability Annuity

Total disability annuity is paid for permanent disability that affects all employment. You are considered totally disabled if you have a permanent physical or mental condition that prevents you from engaging in any type of regular or gainful employment. To be classified as permanent, your condition must either have lasted or be expected to last continuously for 12 months or to result in death.

You are eligible for total disability annuity at any age if you were employed in the railroad industry for at least 10 years or, in certain specified circumstances, for five to nine years.

Occupational Disability Annuity

An occupational disability annuity is based on age or length of service and your inability to perform your regular railroad occupation. An occupational disability is a physical or mental condition that prevents you from performing duties of your regular railroad job, regardless of whether you can handle tasks required to do another type of job. Your regular job is the one for which you were hired in more months than any other job title during the last five years. In other words, the Railroad Board may still find you meet the definition even if you were recently promoted or attempted to take a less demanding, lower paying job to accommodate your condition. The number of months you hold a specific job title does not need to be consecutive to meet the definition.

You can begin to receive occupational disability annuity payments at age 60 if you have been employed in the railroad industry for at least 10 years, or at any age if you have been employed in a railroad job for at least 20 years. Also, you must retain a current connection to the industry, meaning you worked for the railroads during at least 12 of the previous 30 consecutive months from the date your annuity payments begin.

Railroad Retirement Disability Attorneys Recovering Annuity Benefits

Mike Murburg, P.A. assists railroad workers who have a disability obtain their rightful annuity benefits through the Railroad Board. Your case evaluation is free. Our RRB disability attorneys do not charge you for lawyers’ fees and expenses unless we successfully recover benefits on your behalf. Call a Railroad Board disability attorney at our Tampa law firm today at (813) 264-5363 or contact us online to schedule an appointment.