"Old Time" RR Social Security Numbers

I don't know if this is the right thread for this topic, but it seemed to be the closest shot.

One of the Medics that I work with is a big Genealogy nut, and shared with me that he found somewhere along the line that "Old Time" RR SSN's at one time started with the 700's (700-xx-xxxx) because of the Railroader's Insurance. I don't know if they are strictly 700... as above, or if they could be 7xx-xx-xxxx. I don't know if he saw actual SSNs, or if he just saw a statement similar to what I am typing. The way I understand, the younger generation of railroaders now keep their birth given SSN now instead of changing.

I have access to SSNs in my job for billing purposes. I won't be, and legally can't share any info because of HIPPA, but I will now be watching for 700 series SSN's.

Please correct, or add details if anyone knows further info.

First know that railroaders were not covered by Social Security until quite recently...like the late 70s or early 80s...but were covered under the Railroad Retirement Act. The RRA was eventually administerd by the SSA but RRA predates SS. Plus there is an era when railroaders had a choice of RR or SS.

So I guess it wasn't as "Old Time" as I thought. If I am understanding correctly, the 7xx-xx-xxxx is actually not a SSA #, but a RRA # then?

If I researched correctly, the SSA and RRA were started in 1935. Everyone that is a US Citizen gets a SSN, so if the seperate SSA and the RRA numbers existed at the same time for the time in question, did railroaders have a SSN for citizenship, and also a RRA # for the retirement...or just the RRA #?

I don't think citizenship enters into the equation, neither, in fact is required for citizenship. All earnings from railroad work was Railroad Retirement and any minor income from another source would be the same if your primary account was RR. Best place to find out about this is from labor unions, the AARR, the RRB, the SSA, and thier attendant archives.

I got my SS number in 1949 with my first employment, which was a summer vacation job on the P&LE in Pittsburgh. The number I got, and still have, of course, is 7xxx-xx-xxxx. I have to assume that the 7xx prefix was around before that, possibly going back to 1935. By the way, the RRRA preceded Social Security, although not by much.

This topic answers a long-standing question of mine. Often, when I have to give someone my SS#, they raise their eyebrows and ask where and when I got it, since they'd never seen a number like that before.

Hopefully, this little tidbit will help...

Before becoming a licensed amateur radio operator, I was very active as a shortwave listener and scanner monitor. About 15 years ago, I purchased a book titled "Latest Intelligence-An International Directory of Codes Used by Government, Law Enforcement, Military and Surveilance Agencies", authored by James E. Tunnell. Among the 10 codes and frequency listings is a list for the "Social Security numbering index system". The listing gives the initial 3 Social Security Numbers and the state where the number was issued. For example, numbers 001-003 are issued in New Hampshire. (My own 1xx number originates in New York State, where I was born.) The numbers run through 586 (American Samoa, Guam and all other Pacific Territories).

However, at the very end of the list is 700, which is labeled "Railroad Employees under the Special Retirement Act".

Hope this information is of use.

I suppose it's worth mentioning that railroaders are also under a separately administered Medicare program although, as far as I know, all the rules and charges are identical to "regular" Medicare. This sometimes causes delays and other problems when doctors, hospitals, etc. don't know the difference and send the claims through the regular Medicare channels.

I wasn't aware that career railroaders ever had a choice between Railroad Retirement and Social Security. But I assume that someone who worked in both railroad and non-railroad jobs had some kind of choice, and that may have depended on the length of time under each system. Generally, Railroad Retirement was/is more financially advantageous, but also more expensive to pay into.

Also, as far as I know, Railroad Retirement is still administered by the Railroad Retirement Board in Chicago and not Social Security. Anyway, I still get my checks from them.

Number Prefix State Issued
001-003 New Hampshire
004-007 Maine
008-009 Vermont
010-034 Massachusetts
035-039 Rhode Island
040-049 Connecticut
050-134 New York
135-158 New Jersey
159-211 Pennsylvania
212-220 Maryland
221-222 Delaware
223-231 & 691-699 Virginia
232 West Virginia – North Carolina
233-236 West Virginia
237-246 & 681-690 North Carolina
247-251 & 654-658 South Carolina
252-260 & 667-675 Georgia
261-267 & 589-595 & 765-772 Florida
268-302 Ohio
303-317 Indiana
318-361 Illinois
362-386 Michigan
387-399 Wisconsin
400-407 Kentucky
408-415 & 756-763 Tennessee
416-424 Alabama
425-428 & 587-588 & 752-755 Mississippi
429-432 & 676-679 Arkansas
700-728 Railroad
729-733 Enumeration of Entery
433-439 & 659-665 Louisiana
440-448 Oklahoma
449-467 & 627-647 Texas
468-477 Minnesota
478-485 Iowa
486-500 Missouri
501-502 North Dakota
503-504 South Dakota
505-508 Nebraska
508-515 Kansas
516-517 Montana
518-519 Idaho
520 Wyoming
521-524 & 650-653 Colorado
525 & 585 & 648-649 New Mexico
526-527 & 600-601 & 764-765 Arizona
528-529 Utah
530 & 680 Nevada
531-539 Washington
540-544 Oregon
545-573 & 602-626 California
574 Alaska
575-576 & 750-751 Hawaii
577-579 District of Columbia
580 Virgin Islands
586 Guam, American Samoa & Philippines
596-599 Puerto Rico

I hadn't known anything about the prefix being based on your application number until I moved to Illinois for my first railroad job on BN. We had a sign in sheet where we had to use our SS# for some reason instead of employee number. Being from Connecticut, my number was of a different series than all the rest who were mostly locals.