BNSF Today

Railroad Retirement Information Available

2001-12-27 -- BNSF people interested in learning more about how Railroad Retirement benefits have changed following President Bush's signature of the Railroad Retirement and Survivors Improvement Act of 2001 on Dec. 21, can take advantage of several sources of information. Many of the new provisions take effect Jan. 1, 2002.

For general information, log on to the Railroad Retirement Board's Web site at http://www.rrb.gov.

Information on Railroad Retirement benefits is available from the Railroad Retirement Board through its district offices. You can find the address and telephone number of the Board office serving your area by calling the Board's automated toll-free Help Line at 1-800- 808-0772, or on the Board's Web site. If you plan to visit a Board office, be sure to call for an appointment. Most Railroad Retirement Board field offices are open to the public from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., local time, Monday through Friday, except on federal holidays.

Scheduled employees interested in applying for Railroad Retirement benefits also should contact their health insurance provider: UnitedHealthcare at 1-800-842-5252 (active members that are covered by GA23000 or UTU should ask for information and forms for the retirement plan GA46000); Care Hospital Association at 1-800-334-1330, Extension 310; or the Coast Lines Hospital Association at 1-626-967-3550. Scheduled employees who intend to retire also must provide their supervisor with a letter of resignation. A copy of the letter also should be faxed to Doris Zwadyk at company line 551-2731 (use area code 913 if faxing from a non-network phone). Further questions can be directed to Zwadyk at company line 551-2725 (use area code 913 if calling from a non-network phone).

Salaried employees considering retirement can access BNSF's Intranet site and select Departments, Benefits, then Retirement, or access this address: http://bnsfweb.bnsf.com/departments/hr/benefits/retirement.html .

There you can read several frequently asked questions and answers, and print an application form. To avoid any delays in receiving benefits in a timely manner, the application form should be completed and returned about 90 days before your anticipated retirement date.

Questions regarding retiree medical and life insurance should be addressed to Sageo, BNSF's benefits administrator, at 1-877-847-2436.

Please call 352-3620 (area code 817 if using a non-network phone) with any other questions concerning retirement.