Age Requirement
The age requirement for an age and service annuity depends on your years of
creditable railroad service. You must file an application to receive a railroad
retirement annuity. When all eligibility requirements are met, your age and
service annuity can begin as explained in
Chart 1.
Chart 2 explains
Full
Retirement Age
Chart 1 -
Determining Your Age and Service Annuity Beginning Date
360 months of railroad service, |
the first full month you are age 60. |
all of the following apply:
- you first met the age or service requirements in a month
after June 1984 and before January 2002; and,
- you have an annuity beginning date before January 1, 2002;
and,
- you retired before attaining age 62.
|
not have an age reduction. |
120-359 months of railroad service, with service before
8/12/1983 |
the first full month you are age 62. |
you retire before attaining your Full Retirement Age. |
have an age reduction if you retire before attaining age 65. |
120-359 months of railroad service, without service before
8/12/1983, |
the first full month you are age 62 |
you retire before attaining your Full Retirement Age. |
have an age reduction if you retire before attaining your Full
Retirement Age. |
60-119 months of railroad service after 1995, |
the first full month you are age 62. |
you retire before attaining your Full Retirement Age.
Note: You must have an SSA
insured status (40 quarters of coverage based on combined
railroad and SSA earnings) to receive a Tier 1 component. |
have an age reduction if you retire before attaining your Full
Retirement Age. |
Full Retirement Age (FRA)The term Full
Retirement Age means the age at which an employee with
less than 30 years of railroad service can receive a full
annuity (not reduced for early retirement).
If you have less than 30 years of railroad service, this applies
to you. Full Retirement Age for your Tier 1 age reduction
is age 65 if you were born before January 2, 1938. 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 the following chart. Full Retirement Age for your Tier
2 age reduction will remain at age 65 if you had 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 2 - 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: Full Retirement Age also affects Tier 1 component
work deductions as described in Chart 3, regardless of your
total years of railroad service. |
Annuity Based on Occupational Disability
You may qualify for an employee
occupational disability annuity if you are permanently disabled
for work in your
Regular
Railroad Occupation and you have a
Current
Connection with the railroad industry. The earliest
date the occupational disability can begin depends on your
railroad service. You are eligible:
- at any age, if you have at least 240 months of creditable
railroad service; or,
- at age 60, if you have 120-239 months of creditable
railroad service. Note: If you have less than 120 months
of creditable railroad service, you cannot receive an
annuity based on occupational disability.
You must file an application to receive a railroad retirement
occupational 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.
Regular
Railroad Occupation
Your Regular
Railroad Occupation is the one in which you worked:
- in more months than you worked in any other occupation,
in or outside of the railroad industry, during the last
5 years in which you were employed (the 5 years do not
have to be consecutive); or,
- in at least one-half of all the months worked in the
last 15 consecutive years.
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 1 component based on total
disability at any age if you:
- are Permanently Disabled
for all possible types of work. (Employees are considered
to be Permanently Disabled if they qualify for a Disability
Freeze under SSA rules and the impairment is expected
to last at least 12 months or result in death . (See Booklet
RB-1D
Employee Disability Benefits for an explanation
of a Disability Freeze. The Disability Freeze cannot
be deemed.) ; and,
- have stopped any
Substantial
Gainful Activity ; and,
- meet the railroad service requirement. You must
either:
- have at least 120 months of creditable
railroad service; or,
- have at least 60 months of creditable
railroad service after 1995.
If you have at least 120 months of creditable railroad
service, both your Tier 1 and Tier 2 components can begin
on your annuity beginning date. If you have less than 120
months of creditable railroad service, your Tier 1 component
can begin on your annuity beginning date, but your Tier
2 component cannot begin until the first full month you
are age 62.
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.
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.
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:
- be at least age 65 with at least 300 months (25 years)
of railroad service, or be at least age 60 with at least
360 months (30 years) of railroad service; and,
- have at least 1 month of railroad service before October
1, 1981; and,
- have a
Current
Connection or
Deemed Current Connection with the railroad industry (as
explained below); and,
- be receiving your employee railroad retirement annuity.
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:
- you worked for a railroad in at least 12 of the 30
consecutive months immediately before the month in which
your annuity begins; or,
- you worked in the railroad industry in at least 12
months in any earlier period of 30 consecutive months
and you did not work in any significant nonrailroad employment
between the end of that 30 -month period and the month
in which your annuity begins.
However, work for certain government agencies will not
break your current connection. Also, self-employment or
employment after your employee annuity beginning date will
not break your current connection.
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:
- have at least 25 years of railroad service; and,
- stopped working in the railroad industry involuntarily
and without fault for a non-medical reason on or after
October 1, 1975; and,
- did not decline an offer to remain in or return to
railroad employment in the same class or craft as your
most recent railroad service (regardless of the number
of miles you would have had to move to accept such job).
Tier 1
Deductions for Non-railroad Earnings
Any earnings can have an effect on disability
annuities.
If your annuity is based on age and service and you are
receiving social security benefits, your Tier 1 component
is not reduced for your non-railroad earnings. If you
are not receiving social security benefits, the
Annual Earnings Exempt Amount
is the amount of non-railroad earnings you can have in
a year without losing part of your Tier 1 component and/or
the Tier 1 component of your spouse. There are separate
Annual Earnings Exempt Amounts for persons at
Full
Retirement Age and those under Full Retirement Age.
Use
Chart
2, to determine your Full Retirement Age and then refer
to Chart 3 below and Form
G-77a , How Work
Affects Your Railroad Retirement Benefits.
Chart 3 - Determining the Amount of Your
Work Deduction
in which 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. |
Tier 2 Deductions for Last Pre-Retirement
Nonrailroad Earnings
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).
Any earnings can have an effect on disability annuities.
For age and service annuities, any earnings after the date
your annuity begin s from your Last Pre-Retirement Nonrailroad
Employer, at any age, may cause a work deduction to your supplemental
annuity, your Tier 2 component and the Tier 2 component of
your spouse.
The deduction is $1 for every $2 earned (subject to the
maximum deduction of 50% of the employee and spouse Tier 2
components and 50% of any supplemental annuity).
If
you would like more information, please contact the nearest
RRB field
office. Please review Booklet
RB-1 Age and Service
Employee Annuities or Booklet
RB-1D Employee
Disability Benefits before you come in to file
for your annuity.
|