This bill restructures how the Railroad Retirement Board pays for its administrative operations. It creates a new Railroad Retirement Board Administrative Account within the Treasury, allowing the Board to transfer money from three existing funds—the Railroad Retirement Account, the Social Security Equivalent Benefits Account, and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Administration Fund—to cover its operating costs, subject to annual caps based on a percentage of benefits paid or trust fund assets. It also establishes a dedicated Technology Fund, with at least $10 million in 2027 and $20 million annually from 2028 through 2031, specifically to modernize the Board's outdated legacy computer systems used for processing retirement and unemployment benefit claims. The Government Accountability Office must study best practices for this technology upgrade, consulting Board officials, railroad companies, unions, and beneficiaries, and report initial findings within 10 months and a follow-up assessment after fiscal year 2031. Separately, the bill delays a pension insurance premium deadline for single-employer pension plans for one specific two-year window (2036–2037), giving those employers extra time to pay premiums to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Overall, the legislation affects railroad retirees, current railroad workers, and pension plan sponsors, aiming to give the agency more stable, predictable funding to modernize its aging technology while maintaining existing congressional budget oversight requirements.
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