Federal Black Lung Benefits Rates for 2018: Benefits Increase By 1.4%
Recently the U.S. Department of Labor increased by 1.4% the modest amount of money that disabled coal miners and their families who receive federal black lung benefits get each month. This is slightly more than last year’s increase of 1%.
As posted online by the Division of Coal Mine Workers’ Compensation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation, the monthly benefits rates for 2018 are:
- Primary beneficiary (e.g., a single miner or a widow without any dependent children) – $660.10/month
- Primary beneficiary and one dependent (e.g., a married miner or a widow a dependent child) – $990.10/month
- Primary beneficiary and two dependents (e.g., a married miner with one dependent child) – $1,155.10/month
- Primary beneficiary and three or more dependents (e.g., a married miner with two or more dependent children) – $1,320.00/month
Note that sometimes benefits are decreased because a miner or survivor has another benefits award under a federal or state workers’ compensation program. Many beneficiaries also effectively get less because an award of federal black lung benefits can decrease the amount that someone gets from an award of Social Security Disability.
This is an increase of 1.4% over last year’s benefits amounts. (The 2017 black lung benefits rates were: $651.00 for a primary beneficiary, $976.40 for primary with one dependent, $1,139.10 for a primary with two dependents, and $1,301.00 for a primary with three or more dependents.)
Because black lung benefits are paid on the 15th day of the month after the month of entitlement, current beneficiaries will see the January 2018 increase on their February 15th payment.
The 1.4% increase for 2018 happened because federal employees got a 1.4% raise. Black lung benefits for a primary beneficiary are set by law as 37.5% of the base salary of a Federal employee at level GS-2, Step 1. See 30 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1). One dependent results in 50% more, two dependents in 75% more, and three or more dependents in 100% more. Id. § (a)(4).
In addition to monthly monetary benefits, disabled coal miners also receive medical benefits to treat their lung disease. See 20 C.F.R. § 725.701. For many miners, the medical benefits prove more valuable than the monetary benefits.
Disabled coal miners by black lung and their families deserve more, but every little bit—including this year’s 1.4% increase—always helps.
2 Responses to “Federal Black Lung Benefits Rates for 2018: Benefits Increase By 1.4%”
My husband they say don’t have black lung bad enough to draw but yet he has a lung disease and he is in oxygen. We cant get anything after he worked in the mines for years. There should be a law passed that if you worked in the mines 10 years or more that a person could draw automatically. My husband is getting a very small settlement from the dust mask case but here is the bad the lawyers took almost half of his settlement, yes 40% .. How sad is that when they didn’t work one day in that mines in high risk condition that will follow them until death. It is never really to help those poor miners it’s to line pockets
I am praying that your family gets what they have coming to y’all for black lung me to I have work in bad conditions all my younger days I have bad breathing and spots and sure it’s came from the way we had to work in all that dirt and coal dust
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