Policy and Systems

Age Requirement

The requirement for a spouse annuity based on age depends on the employee's years of creditable railroad service, the employee's age, and your age. The employee must be receiving an annuity and you must file an application for your spouse annuity. When all eligibility requirements are met, a spouse annuity based on your age can begin as explained in Chart 1 and Chart 2.

Chart 3 explains Full Retirement Age.

Chart 1 - Age Requirements - Employee has at Least 360 Months of Railroad Service

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General Conditions Under Which a Person is Entitled to a Railroad Retirement Spouse Annuity

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Any earnings can have an effect on disability annuities.

Your Last Pre-Retirement Nonrailroad Employer (LPE) is defined as any nonrailroad individual, company, or institution for whom you are working on the date your employee annuity begins or for whom you stopped working in order to receive an employee age and service or disability annuity. (For more information, see Form G-177L General Information about Continuing in or Returning to Nonrailroad Employment after Retirement under the Railroad Retirement Act).

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Tier I Deductions for Nonrailroad Earnings

Any earnings can have an effect on disability annuities.

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Deemed Current Connection

If you do not have a regular Current Connection , you may have a Deemed Current Connection for only a supplemental annuity or for future survivor benefits if you:

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Regular Current Connection

You must have a Current Connection with the railroad industry to qualify for an occupational disability annuity, a supplemental annuity or for future survivor benefits. You have a regular current connection with the railroad industry if you meet either of the following conditions:

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Supplemental Annuity

Some retired railroad employees may be eligible to receive a supplemental annuity of $23 through $43 from the RRB. This is in addition to your regular age and service or disability annuity.

The amount of your supplemental annuity is reduced if you receive monthly pension payments, or lump-sum pension payments, from your former railroad employer, which are based in whole or in part on contributions from that railroad employer. Your own contributions to your pension account do not cause a reduction.

To be eligible for the supplemental annuity, you must:

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Stop Railroad Employment

In order to receive your employee railroad retirement age and service or disability annuity, you must stop all railroad work for pay (no longer carried on the payroll). For an age and service annuity, you must also relinquish rights to railroad employment. Also note that, after the annuity is awarded, payment cannot be made for any month in which you return to work for a railroad employer.

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Substantial Gainful Activity

To qualify for a total and permanent disability annuity, you must stop all Substantial Gainful Activity. Substantial Gainful Activity is the performance of significant duties, which are usually done for pay or profit, over a reasonable period of time. Significant duties are activities that are useful in a job, or operation of a business, and that have economic value.

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Annuity Based on Total Disability

You must file an application to receive a railroad retirement total and permanent disability annuity. Under the law, a disability annuity cannot begin earlier than the first day of the sixth full month following the month in which disability onset occurs.

You may be eligible for a tier I component based on total disability at any age if you:

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