The New Jersey Senate committee advanced a measure to make disabled railroad workers who receive disability payments under the federal Railroad Retirement Act eligible for a homestead property tax reimbursement.
Under current law, disabled people who receive Social Security Disability Insurance payments can receive a homestead property tax reimbursement under the Senior Freeze Program.
However, since federal awards are often more generous, eligible beneficiaries for both disability benefits typically only receive combined payments through the Railroad Retirement Board. As a result, current law excludes seniors who would otherwise qualify for state relief.
Under the bill, S-1285, which the State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee voted 4-0 to advance, the program’s eligibility requirements would be clarified to allow individuals receiving disability payments from the federal Railroad Retirement Act to be eligible for the Senior Freeze program.
“With rising housing costs across the State, it is extremely important that we do everything we can to help seniors stay in their homes,” state Sen. James Beach, D-Camden/Burlington, said in a release. “By clarifying existing statute, we can ensure that approximately [300] New Jersey seniors who collect railroad disability benefits also receive the Senior Freeze tax reimbursement that they are entitled to.”
