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
age
with an annuity beginning date of July 1974 or later,
and both attained age 60 and acquired 360 months of railroad
service before July 1984, |
retired at age 60 or later, |
not have an age reduction.
Note: For these cases, the spouse annuity could not have
begun before January 1, 1975. |
not have an age reduction. |
age
and either attained age 60 or acquired 360 months of railroad
service in July 1984 through December 2001, |
retired
at age 60 through age 61, and the employee annuity began
before January 2002, |
have
an age reduction based on the employee's age reduction
until both you and the employee have attained age 62.
You will then have an age reduction for the number
of months you are under
Full
Retirement Age when both you and the employee have
attained age 62. |
not have an age reduction. |
age
and either attained age 60 or acquired 360 months of railroad
service in July 1984 through December 2001, |
retired
at age 62 or later, |
not have an age reduction |
not have an reduction. |
age
with at least 360 months of railroad service and an employee
annuity beginning date in January 2002, or later, |
retired at age 60 or later, |
not have an age reduction. |
not have an age reduction. |
disability
with at least 360 months of railroad service and an
employee annuity
beginning date before July 1, 1984, |
has attained age 60. |
not have an age reduction. |
not have an age reduction. |
disability
with at least 360 months railroad service and an employee
annuity beginning date of July 1, 1984, or later,
|
has attained age 60, |
have an age reduction
depending on the date your spouse annuity begins.
- If your spouse annuity begins
before January 2002, and begins before your Full
Retirement Age, your Tier 1 will have an age reduction.
(If you are age 60-61 on the date your spouse annuity
begins, you are deemed to be age 62.)
- If your spouse annuity begins January 1, 2002, or
later, your Tier 1 will not have an age reduction.
|
not have an age reduction. |
Chart 2 - Age Requirements - Employee has 60-359 Months of
Railroad Service
before 1975 based on at least 120 months of railroad
service, |
age 65. |
your Full Retirement Age. |
age 65. |
in 1975, or later, based on at least 120 months of railroad
service, including some railroad service before August 12, 1983, |
age 62. |
your Full Retirement Age. |
age 65. |
in
1975, or later, based on at least 120 months of railroad
service, and no railroad service before August 12, 1983, |
age 62. |
your Full Retirement Age. |
your Full Retirement Age. |
in
January 2002, or later, based on the
5-year vesting provision
and some railroad service before August 12, 1983, |
age 62. |
your Full Retirement Age. |
age 65. |
in
January 2002, or later, based on the 5-year vesting
provision and no railroad service before August 12,
1983, |
age 62. |
your Full Retirement Age. |
your Full Retirement Age. |
Full
Retirement Age for Annuities Based on Less Than 30 Years
The term
Full Retirement Age
means the age at which the spouse
of an employee with less than 30 years of railroad service
can receive a full annuity (not reduced for early retirement).
If the employee
has less than 30 years of railroad service, Full Retirement
Age for spouses who were born before January 2, 1938, is age
65. The Full Retirement Age for persons born after January
1, 1938, will gradually increase over a 20-year period to
age 67, as illustrated in
Chart 3.
Your Tier 2 age reduction will remain
at age 65 if the employee has any creditable railroad service
before August 12, 1983. Otherwise, the Full Retirement Age
for your Tier 2 age reduction will gradually increase in the
same manner as the Full Retirement Age for your Tier 1 age
reduction.
Chart 3 - Determining Your
Full Retirement Age
Before 1-2-1938, |
65. |
1-2-1938 thru 1-1-1939, |
65 and 2 months. |
1-2-1939 thru 1-1-1940, |
65 and 4 months. |
1-2-1940 thru 1-1-1941, |
65 and 6 months. |
1-2-1941 thru 1-1-1942, |
65 and 8 months. |
1-2-1942 thru 1-1-1943, |
65 and 10 months. |
1-2-1943 thru 1-1-1955, |
66. |
1-2-1955 thru 1-1-1956, |
66 and 2 months. |
1-2-1956 thru 1-1-1957, |
66 and 4 months. |
1-2-1957 thru 1-1-1958, |
66 and 6 months. |
1-2-1958 thru 1-1-1959, |
66 and 8 months. |
1-2-1959 thru 1-1-1960, |
66 and 10 months. |
1-2-1960 and later, |
67. |
Note: Regardless of the number of the employee's years of
railroad service, Full Retirement Age also affects
Tier 1
component work deductions. |
Marriage
Requirements
In order to qualify for a spouse
annuity, you must be the legal spouse of the railroad
employee and you must have been legally married to the
employee for at least one year immediately prior to
filing your spouse annuity application. The one-year
marriage requirement is waived if any of the following
conditions exist:
- You are the natural parent
of the railroad employee’s child; or,
- you were eligible for a
widow(er)’s, parent’s, or disabled child’s annuity
under the Railroad Retirement Act in the month before
your marriage to the employee; or,
- you had met the one-year
marriage requirement for a previous spouse annuity
on the employee's earnings record before a divorce and
you later remarried that employee.
Definition of Child-in-Care
A wife may qualify for a spouse
annuity, or a husband may qualify for a Tier 1 component,
at any age, based on a child of the employee in care.
The employee must have attained age 62 (or age 60 with
30 years of service) to qualify the spouse for this
annuity. The child must be either:
- a minor child under age
18; or,
- a child age 18 or older
with a permanent disability which began before the
child attained age 22 and prevents any type of regular
employment.
The term
Child-in-Care
includes the railroad employee's
unmarried natural child, adopted child or dependent
stepchild, or under certain conditions, a grandchild
whose parents are deceased or disabled. A child is in
your care if you exercise parental control over, and
are responsible for, the welfare and care of the child.
If the child is permanently disabled, but mentally competent,
he or she is considered to be in your care if you perform
personal services. The RRB will make the final determination
regarding the personal services you perform and whether
or not they constitute the child being in your care.
Tier 1 Deductions for Non-railroad Earnings
Your Tier 1 component
is not reduced for your nonrailroad earnings
if you are receiving social security benefits.
Otherwise, the
Annual
Earnings Exempt Amount is
the amount of nonrailroad earnings you can have in
a calendar year without losing part of your Tier 1 component.
Use Chart
3 to determine your
Full Retirement Age. Then refer to Chart 4 below and
Form
G-77a,
How
Work Affects Your Railroad Retirement Annuities.
The employee’s nonrailroad
earnings over the Annual Earnings Exempt Amount for
the employee’s age group may also cause work
deductions in your Tier 1 component.
Chart 4 - Determining
Your Work Deductions
you attain Full Retirement Age. |
$3.00
of earnings over the Annual
Earnings Exempt Amount for your age group. However,
your earnings are only counted for months before the month
in which you attain Full Retirement Age. |
is removed effective the month in which you attain Full
Retirement Age. |
you are under your Full Retirement Age for the entire year. |
$2.00 of earnings over the Annual Earnings Exempt Amount for
your age group. |
applies for the full year. |
you work outside the U.S. for 45 or more hours per month, |
$2.00 of earnings. There is no Annual Earnings Exempt
Amount for work outside the U.S.. However, your earnings
are only counted for months before the month in which you attain
Full Retirement Age. |
is removed effective the month in which you attain Full
Retirement Age. |
5-Year Vesting Cases
If the employee's annuity is
based on 60-119 months of railroad service with at least 60
months of railroad service after 1995 (5-year vesting case),
you qualify for a spouse annuity Tier 1 component only when
the employee qualifies for a Tier 1 component. Refer to Form
G-177 General Conditions
Under Which a Person is Entitled to a Railroad Retirement
Employee Annuity for further
information about the employee's requirement for an SSA
Insured Status for a Tier
1 component.
Tier 2 Deductions for Last Pre-Retirement
Nonrailroad Earnings
Your Last Pre-Retirement
Nonrailroad Employer is defined as any nonrailroad individual,
company or institution for whom you are working on the date
your spouse annuity begins or for whom you stopped working
in order to receive a spouse 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.)
After the date your spouse annuity begins, any earnings from
your Last Pre-Retirement Nonrailroad Employer, at any age,
may cause work deductions to your Tier 2 component. The deduction
is $1 for every $2 earned (subject to the maximum reduction
of 50% of your Tier 2 component). If the employee has a Last
Pre-Retirement Nonrailroad Employer and the employee works
for that employer after the date your spouse annuity begins,
those Last Pre-Retirement Nonrailroad Employer earnings can
also cause work deductions to your Tier 2 component.
When a Spouse Annuity is not Payable
A spouse annuity is not payable
for any month in which:
- the employee’s annuity is not payable;
or,
- you work for a railroad employer;
or,
- you become entitled to a railroad
retirement annuity based on your own earnings record that
exceeds the amount of your spouse annuity on a different
earnings record and neither earnings record includes railroad
service before 1975; or,
- you become entitled to a
railroad retirement survivor annuity based on a different
earnings record that exceeds the spouse annuity rate.
When
a Spouse Annuity Ends A spouse annuity ends the month
before the month in which:
- you die; or,
- the employee dies (a widow(er)’s
annuity may become payable at this time); or,
- the employee’s entitlement to an
employee annuity terminates due to recovery from disability;
or,
- your marriage to the employee ends
by absolute divorce (a divorced spouse annuity may become
payable at this time); or,
- your marriage to the employee is
dissolved by annulment; or,
- the child qualifying you for an
annuity is no longer in your care or attains age 18 or recovers
from disability. Your spouse annuity will end unless you
are old enough to receive a spouse annuity based on age.
If you would like more information
concerning spouse annuities, please review Booklet
RB-30, Spouse/Divorced
Spouse Annuity before
you come in to file for your annuity. |