A period of disability protects your earnings record so that the time you are severely disabled will not count against you or your surviving dependents when the amount of monthly benefits is computed.

Although the period of disability is not a monthly cash benefit in itself, it provides that all or part of the entire Tier I portion of your annuity will be taxed in the same manner as a social security benefit. It also may provide the following:

• An increase in the amount of your monthly annuity payments.
• Including your dependents in the amount of your annuity payments.
• An increase in the amount of the monthly benefits payable to your surviving dependents.
• Early Medicare coverage for you.

Eligibility Requirements for a Period of Disability ("Disability Freeze")

To receive a period of disability, you must meet three requirements:

1. A disability requirement, and;
2. an earnings requirement, and;
3. a waiting period requirement for early Medicare.

A. Disability Requirement Defined

To meet this requirement, you must either:

• have a "permanent medical condition" (see definition) that prevents you from performing any "substantial gainful work" (see definition), or
• be at least age 55 and unable, due to "blindness" (see definition), to perform the substantial gainful work you used to do with some regularity over a period of time.

B. Earnings Requirement Defined

To meet this requirement, you must meet one of the following conditions:

• If your disability began at age 31 or later and there was no prior period of disability before age 31, you must meet two provisions:

1. You must have earned social security or railroad retirement work credits for each year after the later of either 1950, or age 21 up to the year disability began, and
2. you must also have earned credit for 20 calendar quarters of social security or railroad retirement work during a 40-quarter period ending in or after the quarter in which disability began.

Exception: If you are under age 62 and have less than 120 months of service but at least 60 months of service that were earned after 1995, you must have earned credit for 20 calendar quarters of coverage of social security or railroad work in the 10 years immediately preceding the onset of disability.

• If your disability began at age 31 or later, but there was a prior period of disability before age 31, you must have earned social security or railroad retirement work credits for at least half of the calendar quarters beginning with the first quarter after age 21 and ending with the quarter in which you again became disabled. The number of calendar quarters for which you earned social security or railroad retirement work credits in this period cannot be less than 6.
• If disability began between ages 24 and 31, you must have earned social security or railroad retirement work credits for at least half of the calendar quarters beginning with the first quarter after age 21 and ending with the quarter in which disability began. The number of calendar quarters for which you earned social security work credits in this period cannot be less than 6.

  Note: If you are at least age 55 and meet the definition of "blindness", you do not have to meet this part.

C. Waiting Period Requirement for Early Medicare Defined

To meet this requirement, you must be permanently disabled for at least 5 full calendar months after the date you meet both the disability and earnings requirement before a period of disability may be awarded. Therefore, the waiting period always starts on the first day of the 6^th month following the month you are rated disabled.

A waiting period is not required if a previous period of disability ended within 5 years of the month the current freeze began.

In addition, if you are applying for a period of disability after the disabling condition has ended, the freeze may be awarded only if the application was filed before the earliest of:

• 12 months after the month age 65 is attained, or
• 14 months after the month disability has ended.

When Your Period of Disability ("Disability Freeze") Can Begin

The period of disability begins on the first day both the earnings and disability requirements are met. A period of disability cannot be awarded if all or part of the waiting period falls in or after the month "full retirement age" is attained.

The beginning date of a period of disability does not determine when basic railroad retirement disability annuity payments may begin. It does however, determine when and if any increased payments may begin, and it also may affect the beginning date of early Medicare coverage.

When Your Period of Disability ("Disability Freeze") Could End

A period of disability ends with the earliest of:

• The last day of the 2^nd month after the month in which medical recovery occurs.
• The date determined by the RRB if you are doing or have done "substantial gainful work" since your period of disability began (see Trial Work Period).
• The last day of the month before the month full retirement age is attained.
• The last day of the month in which your death occurs.

The special ending date rules for cases involving substantial gainful work are not covered in this booklet due to their complexity. If you have any questions about them, contact the nearest field office of the RRB.