Railroad Retirement: Enhancing Portability Would Raise Cost and Policy Concerns

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the portability of Railroad Retirement Benefits, focusing on: (1) which, if any, Railroad Retirement benefits are portable; (2) what changes could be made to the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) that might enhance the portability of Railroad Retirement benefits into FERS for former railroad employees who secure federal civilian employment and the cost and administrative implications of those changes for FERS and whether such changes could be made cost-neutral to FERS; and (3) what changes could be made to Railroad Retirement that might enhance the overall portability of its retirement benefits and what are the cost and administrative implications of these changes for Railroad Retirement.