U.S. Railroad Retirement Board

RAILROAD

R E T I R E M E N T 

and SURVIVOR 

BENEFITS
The Railroad Retirement Board’s mission is to administer 

retirement/survivor and unemployment/sickness insurance benefit 

programs for railroad workers and their families under the Railroad 

Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. 

These programs provide income protection during old age and 

in the event of disability, death or temporary unemployment and 

sickness. The Railroad Retirement Board also administers aspects 

of the Medicare program and has administrative responsibilities 

under the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code. 

In carrying out its mission, the Railroad Retirement Board 

will pay benefits to the right people, in the right amounts, in a 

timely manner, and will take appropriate action to safeguard our 

customers’ trust funds. The Railroad Retirement Board will treat 

every person who comes into contact with the agency with courtesy 

and concern, and respond to all inquiries promptly, accurately and 

clearly. 

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board

MISSION STATEMENT
The Railroad Retirement Act is a Federal law that provides retirement and disability benefits for qualified 

railroad employees, spouse annuities for their wives/

husbands, and survivor benefits for family members of 

deceased employees who were insured under the Act. The 

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) administers these 

benefit programs, as well as the Railroad Unemployment 

Insurance Act, and has administrative responsibilities under the Social Security Act for certain benefit payments 

and railroad workers’ Medicare coverage.

This booklet describes the retirement and disability annuities provided for railroad employees under the Railroad 

Retirement Act, and the benefits available to their spouses 

and survivors. The information in this publication supersedes earlier editions. Medicare and unemployment/sickness insurance benefits are described in separate booklets. 

In addition, RRB publications covering benefits and other 

related topics are available at RRB.gov under the Benefits tab of the main menu. 

RRB customers can request the following documents 

through self-service options available online at RRB.gov/

myRRB and through the automated menu of the agency’s 

toll-free number (1-877-772-5772): 

• replacement Medicare card

• monthly rate verification letter

• duplicate tax statement for the most recently

 completed tax year

• statement of creditable railroad service and

 compensation.

Employees with myRRB accounts can log in to get annuity estimates, apply for or claim unemployment beneINTRODUCTION
fits, claim sickness benefits, view Railroad Unemployment 

Insurance Act account statements, and review service and 

compensation history.

This booklet is issued for the purpose of general 

information. Certain limitations, exceptions, 

and special cases are not covered. 
Page 

EMPLOYEE AND SPOUSE ANNUITIES

Service and Earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

- Military Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

- Service and Earnings Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Employee Annuities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

- Age and Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

- Disability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

- Supplemental Annuities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Current Connection Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Spouse Annuities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Employee and Spouse Annuity Estimates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Two-Tier Annuities and Dual Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

- Employees with Railroad Retirement and Social Security. . . . 13

- Employees with Public, Non-Profit, or Foreign Pensions . . . . 14

- Workers’ Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Spouses with Dual Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

- Social Security Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

- Public Pensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

- Employee Annuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Minimum Guaranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Cost-of-Living Increases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Working After Retirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

- Disability Work Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

When Annuities Stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

SURVIVOR BENEFITS

Types of Survivor Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Survivor Annuity Estimates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Survivor Annuity Tiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Survivors with Dual Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

- Social Security Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

- Public Pensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

- Employee Annuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Cost-of-Living Increases (Survivor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Work and Earnings Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

When Survivor Payments Stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Lump-Sum Death Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

CONTENTS
Page 

RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR INFORMATION

Applying for an Annuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

If Requirements are not Met . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Garnishments/Property Settlements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Monitoring Benefit Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

The Right to Appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Railroad Retirement Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Dual Tax Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

- Dual Railroad Retirement-Social Security Taxes . . . . . . . . .40

- Separation/Severance Allowances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Federal Income Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

ANNUITY FORMULA COMPONENTS

Employee Retirement Annuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

- Tier I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

- Tier II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

- Supplemental Annuity Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Spouse Annuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

- Tier I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

- Tier II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Dual Annuities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Survivor Annuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

- Tier I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

- Tier II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

RRB FIELD OFFICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
1

SERVICE AND EARNINGS

Railroad retirement benefits are based on months of service and earnings credits. Earnings are creditable up to certain annual maximums on the amount of compensation subject to railroad retirement taxes. 

An employee will receive credit for a month of railroad 

service for every month in which he or she had some compensated service for a covered employer (under the Railroad 

Retirement Act), even if the employee only performs one day 

of service in a given month. (However, any local lodge compensation earned after 1974 is disregarded if it is less than 

$25 for any calendar month.) Covered employers include 

interstate railroads and their affiliates engaged in railroadconnected operations, as well as employer associations and 

national railway labor organizations and their subordinate 

units. 

Service performed for a covered employer or as an employee representative is creditable toward all types of benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act. Service months need 

not be consecutive, and, in some cases, military service may 

be counted as railroad service. Special rules may apply when 

crediting service months resulting from a settlement for an 

on-the-job injury.

Additional service months may be deemed in some cases 

where an employee does not actually work in every month 

of the year. For additional service months to be deemed, 

the employee’s compensation for the year, up to the tier II 

maximum, must exceed an amount equal to 1/12 of the tier 

II maximum multiplied by the number of service months 

actually worked. The excess amount is then divided by 1/12 

of the tier II maximum; the result, rounded up to a whole 

number, equals the maximum number of months that may 

be deemed as service months for that year. The employee 

EMPLOYEE AND SPOUSE ANNUITIES
2 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

must be in an employment relation (on an approved leave 

of absence) with a covered railroad employer, or be an employee representative, during a deemed service month. An 

employee may never be credited with more than 12 service 

months in any calendar year. 

Except for benefits paid for on-the-job injuries, sickness 

benefits are subject to tier I railroad retirement taxes if paid 

within 6 months after the month in which the employee last 

worked. They are credited as compensation for tier I benefits 

but are not credited as service months. 

Military Service

Active duty military service may be credited towards retirement benefits under certain conditions. To be creditable 

as compensation under the Railroad Retirement Act, an employee's service in the U.S. Armed Forces must be preceded 

by railroad service in the same or preceding calendar year. 

With the exceptions noted, the employee must also have entered active military service when the United States was at 

war or in a state of national emergency, or have served in the 

Armed Forces involuntarily. 

If an employee's military service began during a war or 

national emergency period, any active duty service he or she 

was required to continue in beyond the end of the war or national emergency is creditable, except any voluntary service 

extending beyond September 14, 1978, is not creditable.

Railroad workers who voluntarily served in the Armed 

Forces between June 15, 1948, and December 15, 1950, when 

How much creditable railroad service is needed

for a regular employee annuity?

10 years (120 months)

OR

5 years (60 months) if performed after 1995
Employee and Spouse Annuities 3

there was no declared national state of emergency, can be 

given railroad retirement credit for their military service if 

they performed railroad service in the year they entered or 

the year before they entered military service, and if they returned to rail service in the year their military service ended 

or in the following year and had no intervening nonrailroad 

employment. 

Veterans should contact the RRB well in advance of retirement regarding required proof of military service. 

Service and Earnings Records

Employers are required to report their employees' service 

and earnings compensation to the RRB, which maintains a 

record of all covered railroad service and creditable earnings after 1936. The RRB saves this information under each 

employee's social security number (as reported by the employer). 

Each June, the RRB sends employees a Certificate of Service Months and Compensation (Form BA-6). This statement 

is important because it provides employees with a current 

and cumulative record of their railroad service and compensation. It includes deemed service months, separation 

(or severance) allowances, and miscellaneous compensation, 

such as taxable sickness payments. It also includes cumulative amounts of railroad retirement payroll taxes paid by the 

employee over and above social security equivalent payroll 

taxes, and reflects creditable military service previously reported to the RRB.

♦ August 2, 1990 to date as yet undetermined

♦ December 16, 1950 to September 14, 1978

♦ September 8, 1939 to June 14, 1948

WAR AND NATIONAL EMERGENCY PERIODS
4 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

Employees are encouraged to carefully review Form BA-6 

for accuracy upon receipt. If an employee disagrees with the 

information shown on Form BA-6, he or she should notify 

the RRB as early as possible. The law limits the period during which corrections can be made to 4 years. All correspondence reporting an inaccuracy on Form BA-6 must include 

the employee’s social security number, as well as any supporting documentation, such as copies of pay stubs. Employees can mail this information to RRB headquarters at:

Protest Unit - CESC

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board

844 North Rush Street

Chicago, IL 60611-1275

Similar information is available online to employees who 

have an account at RRB.gov/myRRB. After signing in, they 

can view their individual railroad retirement records of service months and compensation through the feature labeled 

View Service & Compensation. Though this alternative record 

does not replace Form BA-6, it will display the employee's 

service and compensation as soon as his/her employer posts 

it to RRB systems. This feature is only available to employees with myRRB accounts.

• Employees with 30 or more years of creditable

 service (commonly referred to as 60/30)

They are eligible for regular annuities based on age and 

service the first full month they are age 60. There is no 

age reduction for those who retire after 2001 with at least 

30 years of service.

EMPLOYEE ANNUITIES

AGE AND SERVICE ANNUITIES CAN BE PAID TO:
Employee and Spouse Annuities 5

- Employees retiring after the first full month they reach

 age 60 can have their annuities begin the first day they 

 are eligible, with up to 6 months' retroactivity.

• Employees with 10-29 years of creditable service, or

 5-9 years, if at least 5 years were after 1995 

They are eligible for regular annuities based on age and

service the first full month they are age 62. Early retirement annuity reductions are applied to annuities awarded 

before the employee's full retirement age, which is gradually rising to age 67 for those born in 1960 or later, the 

same as under social security.

Reduced annuities are still payable at age 62 to those with 

less than 30 years of service, but the maximum reduction 

is gradually rising to 30 percent by the year 2022. The tier 

II portion of an annuity (as defined on page 13) is not reduced beyond 20 percent if the employee had any creditable railroad service before August 12, 1983. (See pages 43-

47 for a detailed explanation of age reductions.)

- Employees retiring at or after age 62 with an age reduc-

 tion can have their annuities begin on the first day of

 the month they file their application.

An annuity based on age cannot be paid until the employee stops railroad employment, files an application, and 

gives up any rights to return to work for a railroad employer. 

Total disability, at any age, if an employee is disabled from 

all regular work and has at least 10 years (120 months) of creditable railroad service. Employees with 5-9 years of creditable 

DISABILITY ANNUITIES CAN BE PAID FOR:

A physical or mental disability that prevents any

regular employment.

TOTAL DISABILITY
6 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

railroad service, if at least 5 years were performed after 1995, 

may qualify for tier I only (as defined on page 12) before retirement age on the basis of total disability if they also meet 

certain social security earnings requirements. An age reduced 

tier II amount would be payable at age 62.

Occupational disability, if an employee is disabled from 

his or her regular railroad occupation at age 60, and has at least 

10 years of railroad service, or at any age if the employee has at 

least 20 years (240 months) of service. A current connection 

(as defined on page 7) with the railroad industry is also 

required for an annuity based on occupational disability. 

A 5-month waiting period beginning with the month after 

the month of the onset of disability is required before any 

disability annuity payments can begin. 

An employee can be in compensated service while filing 

a disability annuity application as long as the compensated 

service is not active service and terminates within 90 days 

from the date of filing. However, in order for a supplemental annuity to be paid by the RRB, or for an eligible spouse 

to begin receiving annuity payments, a disabled annuitant 

under full retirement age must relinquish employment 

rights. 

• Age 60, if the employee has at least 30 years of creditable

 railroad service.

• Age 65, if the employee has 25-29 years of creditable 

 railroad service.

A SUPPLEMENTAL ANNUITY CAN BE PAID AT:

An employee is disabled for his or her regular 

railroad occupation (generally, the job he/she 

worked the longest in the last 5 years) and the 

condition is expected to last at least 12 months 

or longer.

OCCUPATIONAL DISABILITY
Employee and Spouse Annuities 7

In addition to the service requirements, a current connection with the railroad industry is required for all supplemental annuities. An employee must also be entitled to receive 

a railroad retirement age and service or disability annuity 

before a supplemental annuity can be paid. Eligibility is further limited to employees who had at least one month of 

creditable rail service before October 1981.

CURRENT CONNECTION REQUIREMENT

An employee who worked for a railroad in at least 12 

months in the 30 months immediately preceding the month 

his or her railroad retirement annuity begins will meet the 

current connection requirement for a supplemental annuity, occupational disability annuity, or the survivor benefits 

described later in this booklet. (If the employee died before 

retirement, railroad service in at least 12 months in the 30 

months before the month of death will meet the current 

connection requirement for the purpose of paying survivor 

benefits.) 

If an employee does not qualify on this basis, but has 12 

service months in an earlier 30-month period, he or she may 

still meet the current connection requirement. This alternative generally applies if the employee did not have any regular employment outside the railroad industry after the end 

of the last 30-month period which included 12 months of 

railroad service and before the month the annuity begins, 

or the month of death if earlier. Full or part-time work for a 

nonrailroad employer in the interval between the end of the 

last 30-month period including 12 months of railroad service 

and the month an employee’s annuity begins, or the month 

of death if earlier, can break a current connection. 

Self-employment in an unincorporated business will not 

break a current connection; however, self-employment can 

break a current connection if the business is incorporated. 
8 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

Working for certain U.S. Government agencies (Department of Transportation, National Transportation Safety 

Board, Surface Transportation Board, National Mediation 

Board, Transportation Security Administration, and the 

RRB) will not break a current connection. State employment 

with the Alaska Railroad, as long as that railroad remains an 

entity of the State of Alaska, will not break a current connection. Also, railroad service in Canada for a Canadian railroad will neither break nor preserve a current connection. 

A current connection can also be maintained, for purposes of supplemental and survivor annuities, but not for an 

occupational disability annuity, if the employee completed 

25 years of railroad service, was involuntarily terminated 

without fault from his or her last job in the railroad industry, 

and did not thereafter decline an offer of employment in the 

same class or craft in the railroad industry, regardless of the 

distance to the new position. 

A termination of railroad service is considered voluntary 

unless there was no choice available to the individual to 

remain in service. Generally, where an employee has no 

option to remain in the service of his or her railroad employer, the termination of the employment is considered 

involuntary, regardless of whether the employee does or 

does not receive a separation allowance. However, each 

case is decided by the RRB on an individual basis. This exception to the normal current connection requirements 

became effective October 1, 1981, but only for employees 

still living on that date who left the rail industry on or after 

October 1, 1975, or who were on leave of absence, on furlough, or absent due to injury on October 1, 1975. 

Once a current connection is established at the time the 

railroad retirement annuity begins, an employee never loses it no matter what kind of work is performed thereafter. 
Employee and Spouse Annuities 9

An employee must be retired in order for his or her spouse 

to receive a railroad retirement spouse annuity. Benefits can 

be paid to spouses (including those eligible in same-sex marriages) on the basis of age or caring for the employee's minor 

or disabled child. An employee's divorced spouse(s) may also 

be paid benefits based on age, even if the employee has not 

retired.

The employee must have been married to the spouse 

for at least 1 year, unless the spouse is the natural parent 

of their child; the spouse was eligible or potentially eligible 

for a railroad retirement widow(er)’s, parent’s, or disabled 

child’s annuity in the month before marrying the employee; or the spouse was previously married to the employee 

and received a spouse annuity. An employee's spouse is not 

eligible for railroad retirement benefits based solely on the 

spouse’s own disability.

The age requirements for a spouse annuity depend on the 

employee’s age, date of retirement, and years of railroad service. 

• Employee with 30 years of service, age 60:

Spouse is also eligible for an annuity the first full month 

she/he is age 60. Certain early retirement reductions 

are applied if the employee first became eligible for a 

60/30 annuity July 1, 1984, or later and retired at ages 

60 or 61 before 2002. If the employee was awarded a 

disability annuity, has attained age 60, and has 30 years 

of service, the spouse can receive an unreduced annuity the first full month she/he is age 60, regardless of 

whether the employee's annuity began before or after 

2002 as long as the spouse’s annuity beginning date is 

after 2001. 

SPOUSE ANNUITIES
10 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

• Employee with less than 30 years of service, age 62:

Spouse is also eligible for an annuity the first full month 

she/he is age 62. Early retirement reductions are applied to the spouse's annuity if she/he retires before full 

retirement age. Full retirement age for a spouse is gradually rising to age 67, just as for an employee, depending 

on the year of birth. Reduced benefits are still payable at 

age 62, but the maximum reduction is also rising (from 

25 percent) and will be 35 percent by the year 2022. The 

tier II portion of a spouse's annuity (as defined on page 

13) is not reduced beyond 25 percent if the employee had 

any creditable railroad service before August 12, 1983. 

• Employee receiving an age and service annuity - or

 disability annuitant otherwise eligible for an age

 and service annuity:

Spouse is eligible for an annuity at any age if caring for 

the employee’s unmarried child under age 18. The spouse 

is also eligible if caring for the employee’s disabled child 

of any age who became disabled before age 22. 

• Divorced spouses:

An annuity may also be payable to the divorced spouse 

of a retired employee if their marriage lasted for a period of at least 10 years immediately before the date 

the divorce became final, both have attained age 62 for 

a full month, and the divorced spouse is not currently 

married. The amount of a divorced spouse’s annuity 

is, in effect, equal to what social security would pay in 

the same situation and therefore less than the amount 

of the spouse annuity otherwise payable (tier I only). 

A divorced spouse can receive an annuity even if the 

employee has not retired, provided they have been divorced for a period of not less than 2 years, the employee and former spouse are at least age 62, and the 

employee is fully insured under the Social Security Act 
Employee and Spouse Annuities 11

using combined railroad and social security earnings. 

Also, a court-ordered partition payment may be paid 

even if the employee is not entitled to an annuity provided that the employee has 10 years of railroad service, or 5 years after 1995, and both the employee and 

former spouse are 62. 

EMPLOYEE AND SPOUSE ANNUITY ESTIMATES

Railroad employees who have a myRRB account can 

get estimates of future annuities for themselves and their 

spouses online using the feature labeled Get Retirement 

Benefits Estimate. The estimates are based on service and 

earnings records maintained by the RRB and show the earliest date the employee can receive a full annuity and, if 

applicable, the earliest date he or she can receive a reduced annuity. Employees can also contact any RRB field 

office to request an approximate estimate or to schedule 

an appointment for individual pre-retirement counseling, 

which is available in-person or over the phone. Please note 

that estimates can only be furnished for employees with at 

least 10 years of railroad service, or 5 years of service after 

1995; it is not possible to provide a precise amount if the 

employee is not currently eligible. 

The following tables show (1) fiscal year 2020 annuity 

awards to 30-year employees retiring before full retirement 

age and (2) fiscal year 2020 annuity awards to employees 

with an average of less than 30 years of service. Figures 

used in these tables for award amounts and years of service 

are monthly averages and include supplemental annuity 

amounts.
12 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

TWO-TIER ANNUITIES AND DUAL BENEFITS

Regular railroad retirement annuities are calculated under a two-tier formula. The annuity formula components for 

employees and spouses are described in the section on formulas at the back of this booklet. 

The first tier is based on railroad retirement credits and 

any social security credits an employee has acquired. The 

amount of the first tier is calculated using social security formulas, but with railroad retirement age and service requirements.

 EMPLOYEE IS... AWARD

YEARS OF

SERVICE

 Full retirement age or over $2,770 21.3

 Full retirement age or over and spouse $3,816 22.8

 Under full retirement age with less than

 30 years of service $2,150 16.4

 Under full retirement age with less than

 30 years of service and spouse $2,954 17.0

 Retiring because of disability $2,938 18.7

Table 2. Fiscal Year 2020 Annuity Awards

Based on Service Averaging Less than 30 Years

AWARD

YEARS OF

SERVICE

Employee $4,369 36.5

Employee and spouse $6,123 36.8

NOTE.-- A supplemental annuity may be payable to employees with at 

least 25 years of service and a current connection. The supplemental 

annuity amount is $23 plus $4 for each year of service over 25 years, up 

to a maximum of $43 for employees with 30 or more years of service. 

Table 1. Fiscal Year 2020 Annuity Awards to

30-Year Employees Retiring Before Full Retirement Age
Employee and Spouse Annuities 13

The second tier is based on railroad retirement credits 

only, and may be compared to the retirement benefits paid 

over and above social security benefits to workers in other 

industries. 

An additional amount may also be payable as part of the 

regular annuity if an employee had at least 10 years of railroad service and acquired sufficient quarters of coverage for 

an insured status under the Social Security Act before 1975 

and also met certain vesting requirements. 

Employees with Railroad Retirement and Social Security

If a retired or disabled railroad retirement annuitant is 

also awarded social security benefits, the Social Security Administration determines the amount of the social security 

benefit due. The RRB then issues a combined monthly benefit payment after the railroad retirement annuity has been 

reduced by the amount of the social security benefit. 

The tier I portion of an employee's annuity is based on 

his or her combined railroad retirement and social security 

credits, computed under social security formulas, and approximates what social security would pay if railroad work 

were covered by that system. It is reduced by the amount 

of any actual social security benefit paid on the basis of the 

employee’s nonrailroad employment in order to prevent 

a duplication of benefits based on social security covered 

earnings. The tier I amount is also reduced in the event a 

social security benefit is payable to the employee on the 

basis of another person’s earnings. This reduction follows 

principles of social security law, which limit payment to 

the higher of any two or more benefits payable to an individual at one time. An annuitant is required to advise the 

RRB if any benefits are received directly from the Social 

Security Administration or if those benefits increase other 

than for a cost-of-living increase. 
14 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

Employees with Public, Non-Profit, or Foreign Pensions

For employees first eligible for a railroad retirement annuity and a Federal, State, or local government pension 

after 1985, there may be a reduction in the tier I amount 

for receipt of a public pension based, in part or in whole, 

on employment not covered by social security or railroad 

retirement after 1956. This may also apply to certain other payments not covered by railroad retirement or social 

security, such as payments from a non-profit organization, 

a foreign government, or a foreign employer. This does not 

include military service pensions, payments by the Department of Veterans Affairs, or certain benefits payable by a 

foreign government as a result of a totalization agreement 

between that government and the United States. 

Workers’ Compensation

If an employee is receiving a disability annuity, the tier I 

portion may, under certain circumstances, be reduced for receipt of workers’ compensation or public disability benefits. 

If an annuitant becomes entitled to any pensions or benefits as described above, the RRB must be notified immediately. 

SPOUSES WITH DUAL BENEFITS

Social Security Benefits

The tier I portion of a spouse annuity is reduced for any

social security entitlement, regardless of whether the social security benefit is based on the spouse’s own earnings, 

the employee’s earnings, or the earnings of another person. This reduction follows principles of social security law, 

which limit payment to the higher of any two or more benefits payable to an individual at one time. 
Employee and Spouse Annuities 15

Public Pensions

The tier I portion of a spouse annuity may also be reduced for receipt of any Federal, State, or local government 

pension separately payable to the spouse based on the 

spouse’s own earnings. The reduction generally does not 

apply if the employment on which the pension is based was 

covered under the Social Security Act throughout the last 

60 months of public employment. 

Most military service pensions and payments from the 

Department of Veterans Affairs will not cause a reduction. 

Pensions paid by a foreign government or interstate instrumentality will also not cause a reduction. For spouses subject to the public pension reduction, the tier I reduction is 

equal to 2/3 of the amount of the public pension. 

Employee Annuity

If both individuals in a marriage are railroad employees and both started railroad employment after 1974, the 

amount of any spouse or divorced spouse annuity is reduced 

by the amount of the employee annuity to which the spouse 

or divorced spouse is also entitled. 

If either one had some railroad service before 1975, the 

spouse or divorced spouse tier I amount is reduced by the 

amount of the railroad employee tier I to which the spouse 

or divorced spouse is entitled. The spouse or divorced spouse 

tier I amount cannot be reduced below zero. The initial reduction is restored in the spouse tier II amount. Divorced 

spouses are not entitled to a tier II component and are not 

eligible to have the reduction restored.

MINIMUM GUARANTY

Under a special minimum guaranty provision, railroad 

families will not receive less in monthly benefits than they 

would have if railroad earnings were covered by social secu-
16 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

rity rather than railroad retirement laws. This guaranty is 

intended to cover situations in which one or more members 

of a family would otherwise be eligible for a type of social 

security benefit which is not provided under the Railroad 

Retirement Act. 

For example, social security provides children’s benefits 

when an employee is totally disabled, retired, or deceased. 

The Railroad Retirement Act only provides children’s benefits if the employee is deceased. Therefore, if a retired rail 

employee has children who would otherwise be eligible for a 

benefit under social security, the employee’s annuity would 

be increased to reflect what social security would pay the 

family, unless the annuity is already more than that amount.

COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES

After retirement, the tier I portions of both employee and 

spouse annuities are generally increased for higher living 

costs at the same time, and by the same percentage, as social security benefits. These increases, effective December 1 

and included in the January payment, are based on the rise 

in the Consumer Price Index from the third quarter of the 

last year a cost-of-living adjustment became effective to 

the corresponding period of the current year. Generally, if 

the Index increases by 5 percent, for example, the tier I portion increases by 5 percent. Under certain circumstances, 

the increase can be based on average national wage increases 

rather than price increases. 

If an annuitant is receiving both railroad retirement and 

social security benefits, the increased tier I portion is reduced by the increased social security benefit. 

The tier II portions of retired employee and spouse annuities are normally increased by 32.5 percent of the increase in 

the Consumer Price Index. 
Employee and Spouse Annuities 17

Tier II cost-of-living increases are generally payable at the 

same time as tier I cost-of-living increases. Supplemental annuities are not increased by these cost-of-living adjustments.

WORKING AFTER RETIREMENT

Neither a regular annuity, a supplemental annuity, nor 

a spouse annuity is payable for any month in which a retired or disabled employee, regardless of age, works for an 

employer covered under the Railroad Retirement Act. This 

includes labor organizations. However, service for less than 

$25 a month to a local lodge will not prevent payment of the 

annuity for that month. 

Retired employees and spouses, regardless of age, who 

work for their last pre-retirement nonrailroad employer are 

also subject to an earnings deduction in their tier II and supplemental annuity benefits, if applicable, of $1 for every $2 

in earnings up to a maximum reduction of 50 percent. Last 

pre-retirement nonrailroad employment is employment 

that continues through the annuity beginning date or ended 

within 6 months of the annuity beginning date. These reductions continue after full retirement age. Work that begins on 

the same day as the annuity beginning date is not last preretirement nonrailroad employment. 

Retired employees and spouses who have not yet attained 

full social security retirement age, which ranges from age 66 

for those born from 1943 through 1954 to age 67 for those 

born in 1960 or later, may also be subject to additional earnings deductions for any earnings, in or outside the rail industry, that exceed certain exempt amounts. The tier I benefit of 

these employee and spouse annuities is subject to deduction 

if earnings exceed the exempt amounts applicable to social 

security beneficiaries. Prior to the calendar year in which 

full social security retirement age is attained, the deduction 

is $1 in benefits for every $2 of annual earnings exceeding an 

exempt amount ($18,960 in 2021). 
18 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

If the employee or spouse has a tier I reduction for social 

security benefits, the tier I benefit is not reduced for excess 

earnings. 

In the first year in which an employee subject to these 

earnings deductions is both entitled to an annuity and 

has a non-work month, a full tier I benefit can be paid for 

those months in which the employee had low earnings or 

did not have substantial self-employment, no matter what 

total earnings for the year were. A non-work month is one 

in which the employee neither earns over 1/12 of the annual exempt amount nor has substantial self-employment. 

Non-work months can be claimed in only one calendar year, 

which need not necessarily be the first year of entitlement.

 In the calendar year in which an individual attains full 

social security retirement age, deductions of $1 are made in 

the tier I benefit for every $3 earned in excess of an exempt 

amount ($50,520 in 2021), but only counting those earnings 

in the months prior to the month full retirement age is attained. This tier I benefit deduction stops effective with the 

month full retirement age is attained. 

Earnings received for services rendered, plus any net 

earnings from self-employment, are considered when assessing deductions for earnings. Interest, dividends, certain 

rental income, or income from some stocks, bonds, or other 

investments are not generally considered earnings for this 

purpose. 

Annuitants under full retirement age who work after retirement and expect that their earnings for a year will be 

more than the annual exempt amount must promptly notify the RRB and furnish an estimate of their expected earnings in order to prevent an overpayment and penalties. They 

should also notify the RRB if their original estimate changes 

significantly. 
Employee and Spouse Annuities 19

Retired employees and spouses who return to work for a 

railroad or for their last pre-retirement nonrailroad employer must notify the RRB, regardless of earnings or age. 

A spouse annuity is subject to reductions not only for 

the spouse’s earnings, but also for the earnings of the employee, regardless of whether the earnings are from service 

for the last pre-retirement nonrailroad employer or other 

post-retirement employment. An annuity paid to a divorced 

spouse may continue despite the employee's work activity. 

However, the employee's nonrailroad earnings over the annual earnings exempt amount may reduce a divorced spouse 

benefit.

A spouse annuity is not payable for any month in which 

the employee’s annuity is not payable, or for any month in 

which the spouse, regardless of age, works for an employer covered under the Railroad Retirement Act. A divorced 

spouse annuity is not payable for any month in which the divorced spouse, regardless of age, works for an employer covered under the Railroad Retirement Act. A divorced spouse 

can receive an annuity even if the employee has not retired, 

provided they have been divorced for at least 2 years, the 

employee and former spouse are at least age 62, and the employee is fully insured under the Social Security Act using 

combined railroad and social security earnings. 

Disability Work Restrictions

If an employee's annuity is based on disability, there are 

certain work restrictions that can affect payment, depending on the amount of earnings. The annuity is not payable 

for any month in which the disabled annuitant works for an 

employer covered under the Railroad Retirement Act. The 

annuity is not payable for any month in 2021 in which the 

annuitant earns more than $1,020 in any employment or 

net self-employment, exclusive of disability-related work 
20 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

expenses. Withheld payments will be restored if earnings 

for the year are less than $12,750 (after disability-related 

work expenses are deducted). Failure to report such earnings 

could involve a significant penalty charge. 

These disability work restrictions apply until the disabled employee annuitant attains full retirement age, 

which ranges from age 66 to age 67, depending on the year 

of birth. These work restrictions apply even if an annuitant 

has 30 years of railroad service. Earnings deductions continue to apply to those working for their last pre-retirement 

nonrailroad employer. 

Any work performed by a disabled annuitant, whether 

for payment or not, may be considered an indication of recovery from disability and must be reported promptly. 

Failure to report work activity timely could result in overpaid annuities, which must be repaid, as well as severe financial penalties.

WHEN ANNUITIES STOP

Payment of any annuity stops upon the annuitant’s death, 

and the annuity is not payable for any day in the month of 

death. 

A disability annuity stops after the employee recovers from 

the disability; it can be reinstated if the disabling condition 

recurs. 

A spouse annuity stops if the employee’s annuity terminates, or the spouse annuity was based on caring for a child 

and the child is no longer under age 18 or disabled or the 

child is no longer in the spouse’s care. However, the spouse 

annuity may continue if she or he is qualified without the 

child or it can resume when the spouse attains a qualifying 

age. 

While a divorce ends eligibility for a spouse annuity, a divorced spouse may, under conditions described previously, 
Survivor Benefits 21

qualify for a divorced spouse annuity. 

A divorced spouse’s annuity stops upon remarriage or upon 

entitlement to a social security benefit based on their own 

earnings if the unreduced social security benefit is equal to

or greater than 1/2 of the employee’s unreduced tier I amount. A divorced spouse’s annuity may be reduced or stopped 

if the divorced spouse is also entitled to a railroad retirement 

annuity. 

It is important to notify the RRB promptly if one of the 

above changes occurs. Failure to report can result in an overpayment, which the RRB will take action to recover, sometimes with interest or penalties. Failure to report changes 

promptly or making a false statement can also result in a fine 

or imprisonment.

Annuities are payable to surviving widow(er)s, children, 

and certain other dependents. Lump-sum benefits are payable after the death of a railroad employee only if there are 

no qualified survivors of the employee immediately eligible for monthly annuities. With the exception of a residual 

lump-sum death benefit, eligibility for survivor benefits depends on whether or not the employee was insured under the 

Railroad Retirement Act at the time of death. 

An employee is insured if he or she has at least 10 years of 

railroad service, or 5 years performed after 1995, and a current connection with the railroad industry as of the month 

the annuity begins or the month of death, whichever occurs 

first. The current connection requirement is described on 

pages 7-8 of this booklet. 

If a deceased employee was not so insured, jurisdiction of 

any survivor benefits payable is transferred to the Social SeSURVIVOR BENEFITS
22 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

curity Administration and any survivor benefits are paid by 

that agency instead of the RRB. Regardless of which agency 

has jurisdiction, the deceased employee’s railroad retirement and social security credits will be combined for the 

purpose of benefit computations. 

Annuities are payable to widow(er)s and unmarried children. In certain cases, benefits are also payable to parents, 

remarried widow(er)s, grandchildren, and surviving divorced spouses. 

• Age 60; age reductions are applied to annuities awarded 

before full retirement age. The eligibility age for unreduced 

annuities is rising to age 67, depending on the year of birth. 

• Ages 50-59 if the widow(er) is totally disabled and unable to work in any regular employment. The disability 

must have begun within 7 years after the employee’s death or 

within 7 years after the termination of an annuity based on 

caring for a child of the deceased employee. In most cases, a 

5-month waiting period is required after the onset of disability before a disability annuity can begin. 

• Any age if the widow(er) is caring for an unmarried 

child of the deceased employee under age 18 or a disabled 

child of any age who became disabled before age 22. 

Generally, the widow(er) must have been married to the 

employee for at least 9 months prior to death, unless she or 

he was the natural or adoptive parent of their child, the employee’s death was accidental or while on active duty in the 

U.S. Armed Forces, the widow(er) was potentially entitled to 

TYPES OF SURVIVOR BENEFITS

WIDOW(ER)S' ANNUITIES ARE PAYABLE AT:
Survivor Benefits 23

certain railroad retirement or social security benefits in the 

month before the month of marriage, or the marriage was 

postponed due to State restrictions on the employee’s prior 

marriage and divorce due to mental incompetence or similar 

incapacity. 

Survivor annuities may also be payable to a surviving divorced spouse or remarried widow(er). Benefits are 

limited to the amounts social security would pay and therefore are less than the amount of the survivor annuity otherwise payable. However, a former spouse may be paid a courtordered partition amount. 

A surviving divorced spouse may qualify if she or he 

was married to the employee for a period of at least 10 years 

immediately before the date the divorce became final, is unmarried or remarried under the conditions described in the 

next paragraph, and is age 60 or older (age 50 or older if disabled). A surviving divorced spouse who is unmarried can 

qualify at any age if caring for the employee’s child and the 

child is under age 16 or disabled, in which case the 10-year 

marriage requirement does not apply. 

The portion of a survivor annuity equivalent to a social 

security benefit (tier I) may be paid to a widow(er) or surviving divorced spouse who remarries after age 60, or to a disabled widow(er) or disabled surviving divorced spouse who 

remarries after age 50; however, remarriage prior to age 60 

(or age 50 if disabled) would not prevent eligibility if such 

remarriage ends. Such social security level benefits may also 

be paid to a younger widow(er) or surviving divorced spouse 

caring for the employee’s child who is under age 16 or disabled, if the remarriage is to a person entitled to railroad 

retirement or social security benefits, or if the remarriage 

ends.
24 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

• An unmarried child under age 18. 

• An unmarried child age 18 in full-time attendance at an

elementary or secondary school or in approved homeschooling until the student attains age 19, or the end of the school 

term in progress when the student attains age 19. In most 

cases where a student attains age 19 during the school term, 

benefits are limited to the 2 months following the month age 

19 is attained. These benefits will be terminated earlier if the 

student gets married, graduates from school, or ceases fulltime attendance. 

• An unmarried disabled child over age 18 if the child became totally disabled before age 22. 

• An unmarried dependent grandchild meeting any of the 

requirements described above for a child, if both the grandchild’s parents are deceased or found disabled by the Social 

Security Administration.

• A parent at age 60 who was dependent on the employee for 

at least half of the parent’s support. If the employee was also 

survived by a widow(er), surviving divorced spouse, or child 

who could ever qualify for an annuity, the parent’s annuity is 

limited to the amount that social security would pay.

SURVIVOR ANNUITY ESTIMATES

Survivors can call the agency toll-free (1-877-772-5772) 

to speak with a field service representative and request an 

annuity estimate. Active or retired employees who are concerned about the amount of benefits which would be payable to their survivors may also receive estimates from field 

service staff. Pre-retirement counseling is also available by 

appointment at any RRB field office or over the phone. 

The average annuity awarded to widow(er)s in fiscal year 

OTHER SURVIVOR ANNUITIES ARE PAYABLE TO:
Survivor Benefits 25

2020, excluding remarried widow(er)s and surviving divorced 

spouses, was $2,333 a month. On average, children received 

$1,549 per month, while total family benefits for widow(er)s

with children averaged $4,395 a month. The average annuity awarded to remarried widow(er)s or surviving divorced 

spouses in fiscal year 2020 was $1,301 a month. 

SURVIVOR ANNUITY TIERS

Survivor annuities, like retirement annuities, consist of 

tier I and tier II components. 

Tier I is based on the deceased employee’s combined railroad retirement and social security credits, and is generally 

equivalent to the amount that would have been payable under social security. 

Tier II amounts are percentages of the deceased employee’s tier II amount, as described in the section on formulas at 

the back of this booklet. 

Survivor annuity amounts may also be determined under certain minimum provisions which guarantee that a 

widow(er)’s annuity will be at least equal to the two-tier 

benefit the deceased employee would have received at the 

time of the award of the widow(er)’s annuity, minus certain 

reductions including those for age and receipt of social security benefits, and no less than the spouse annuity she or he 

was receiving just prior to the employee’s death. 

SURVIVORS WITH DUAL BENEFITS

Social Security Benefits

The tier I portion is reduced by the amount of any social 

security benefits received by a survivor annuitant, even if 

the social security benefits are based on the survivor’s own 

earnings. This reduction follows the principles of social security law which, in effect, limit payment to the higher of any 
26 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

two or more benefits payable to an individual at one time. 

When both railroad retirement annuities and social security benefits are payable, they are generally combined into 

a single payment issued through the RRB. A survivor annuitant must notify the RRB if any benefits are received directly 

from the Social Security Administration or if those benefits 

increase other than for a cost-of-living increase. 

Public Pensions

The tier I portion of a widow(er)’s annuity may be reduced 

for receipt of any Federal, State, or local government pension based on the widow(er)’s own earnings. The reduction 

generally does not apply if the employment on which the 

pension is based was covered under the Social Security Act 

throughout the last 60 months of public employment. 

Most military service pensions and payments from the 

Department of Veterans Affairs will not cause a reduction. 

Pensions paid by a foreign government or interstate instrumentality will also not cause a reduction. For those subject 

to a public pension reduction, the tier I reduction is equal to 

2/3 of the amount of the public pension. 

Employee Annuity

If a widow(er) is also entitled to a railroad retirement employee annuity, and both the widow(er) and the deceased 

employee started railroad employment after 1974, the survivor annuity (tier I and tier II) payable to the widow(er) 

is reduced by the full amount of the widow(er)’s own employee annuity. 

If the widow, dependent widower, or the deceased employee had at least 120 months of service before 1975, the 

tier I portion of the survivor annuity is reduced by the net 

tier I portion of the widow(er)'s own employee annuity. The 

tier I reduction may, under certain circumstances, be partially restored in the survivor tier II amount. This restored 
Survivor Benefits 27

amount is only payable if the survivor benefit calculated 

under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 would result in 

a higher annuity than the amount awarded under current 

law.

If either the deceased employee or the survivor annuitant had some railroad service before 1975 but less than 10 

years of service, the widow(er)’s own employee annuity and 

the tier II portion of the survivor annuity would be payable 

to the widow(er). The tier I portion of the survivor annuity 

would be payable only to the extent that it exceeds the tier I 

portion of the widow(er)’s own employee annuity.

COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES

Cost-of-living increases, effective December 1 and included in the January payment, are made on the basis of increases in national prices or, in some circumstances, average 

national wages, and calculated the same way as cost-of-living 

increases in employee and spouse annuities. 

However, in the case of widow(er)s’ annuities computed 

on the basis of the initial minimum amount provided under 

2001 legislation, the monthly amount will not increase until the amount payable under previous law plus subsequent 

cost-of-living increases is higher than the initial minimum 

amount. 

WORK AND EARNINGS LIMITATIONS 

A survivor annuity is not payable for any month the survivor works for an employer covered under the Railroad Retirement Act, regardless of the survivor’s age. 

Survivors who are receiving social security benefits have 

their railroad retirement annuity and social security benefit combined for earnings limitations purposes. Prior to the 

calendar year in which full retirement age is attained, there 

is a deduction of $1 in benefits for every $2 earned over an 
28 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

exempt amount ($18,960 in 2021). The deduction is $1 for 

every $3 earned over an exempt amount ($50,520 in 2021) 

for the months in the calendar year in which the individual 

attains full retirement age, up to the month of attainment. 

Work deductions stop effective with the month full retirement age is attained. In the first year in which a survivor is 

both entitled to an annuity and has a non-work month, a full 

annuity can be paid for those months in which the survivor 

had low earnings or did not have substantial self-employment, no matter what total earnings for the year were. 

As work and earnings may affect the payment of an annuity, they must be reported promptly to the RRB in order to 

prevent potential overpayments. 

These earnings restrictions do not apply to disabled children or to disabled widow(er)s under age 60. However, annuitants receiving disability benefits must report any work 

or earnings to the RRB. The agency reviews such information to determine whether recovery from the disability is 

indicated.

WHEN SURVIVOR PAYMENTS STOP

All survivor payments stop upon death; no annuity is 

payable for the month of death. 

A widow(er)’s annuity will be reduced upon remarriage, 

and in some cases, payment will be prevented. A widow(er)’s, 

surviving divorced spouse’s, and remarried widow(er)’s annuity could also end upon entitlement to another survivor 

or spouse annuity under the Railroad Retirement Act which 

is greater than the widow(er)’s annuity. 

A surviving divorced spouse’s or remarried widow(er)’s 

annuity could stop when entitled to a social security benefit 

which equals or exceeds the deceased employee’s basic tier I 

amount and reduces the annuity amount to zero. 
Survivor Benefits 29

A widow(er)’s, remarried widow(er)’s, or surviving divorced spouse’s annuity which is based on a child in care will 

end if the child is no longer in the person’s care, the child’s 

eligibility ceases, or, in most situations, remarriage occurs. 

Provided the child in care is not disabled, this type of annuity also ends when the child reaches age 18 (for widow(er)s), 

or age 16 (for remarried widow(er)s and surviving divorced 

spouses).

A child’s or grandchild’s annuity stops when he or she 

turns 18, or if the child marries or recovers from their disability upon which the annuity was based. Similarly, an annuity 

based on a parent’s disability stops if the Social Security Administration subsequently determines that the parent is no 

longer disabled. If the child is 18 and a full-time elementary 

or high school student, the annuity stops when full-time attendance ceases, at graduation, or upon attainment of age 

19. In most cases, when a student attains age 19 during the 

school term, benefits are extended to the 2 months following 

the month age 19 is attained. 

An annuity will stop if it was based on disability and the 

beneficiary recovers from the disability before age 60. A 

disability annuity can be reinstated if the disability recurs 

within 7 years and the widow(er) is still under age 60. 

A parent’s survivor annuity may stop upon remarriage; in 

certain cases a remarried parent is entitled to a tier I benefit.

Any of these occurrences must be reported to the RRB 

timely in order to prevent an overpayment. 

LUMP-SUM DEATH BENEFITS

A lump-sum death benefit is payable to certain survivors 

of an employee with 10 or more years of railroad service, or 

less than 10 years if at least 5 years were after 1995, and a 

current connection with the railroad industry if there is no 

survivor immediately eligible for a monthly annuity upon 
30 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

the employee’s death. 

If the employee did not have 10 years of service before 

1975, the lump sum is limited to $255 and is payable only to 

the widow(er) living in the same household as the employee 

at the time of the employee’s death. 

If the employee had less than 10 years of service but had 

5 years after 1995, he or she must have met social security’s 

insured status requirements for the lump sum to be payable. 

If the employee had 10 years of service before 1975, the 

lump sum is payable to the living-with widow(er). If there is 

no such widow(er), the lump sum may be paid to the funeral 

home or the payer of the funeral expenses. These lump sums 

averaged $1,030 in fiscal year 2020. 

If a widow(er) is eligible for monthly benefits at the 

time of the employee’s death, but the widow(er) had excess 

earnings deductions which prevented annuity payments 

or for any other reason did not receive monthly benefits 

in the 12-month period beginning with the month of the 

employee’s death totaling at least as much as the lump sum, 

the difference between the lump-sum benefit and monthly 

benefits actually paid, if any, is payable in the form of a 

deferred lump-sum benefit. 

The average for all types of lump sums was $933 in fiscal 

year 2020. 

Residual Lump-Sum Payment

The railroad retirement system also provides, under certain conditions, a residual lump-sum death benefit which 

ensures that a railroad family receives at least as much in 

benefits as the employee paid in railroad retirement taxes 

before 1975. This benefit is, in effect, a refund of an employee’s pre-1975 railroad retirement taxes, after subtraction of 

any benefits previously paid on the basis of the employee’s 

service. This benefit is seldom payable.
31

APPLYING FOR AN ANNUITY

Applications for railroad retirement or survivor benefits 

are generally filed at one of the RRB’s field offices, with a 

traveling RRB representative at a customer outreach program service location, or by telephone and mail. The agency 

accepts applications up to 3 months in advance of an annuity beginning date, which allows the agency to complete the 

processing of most new claims by a person’s retirement date. 

An employee can be in compensated service while filing a 

disability application provided that the compensated service 

is not active service and terminates within 90 days from the 

date of filing. When an employee files a disability application 

while still in compensated service, it will be necessary for the 

employee to provide a specific ending date of the compensation. Compensated service includes not only compensation 

with respect to active service performed by an employee for 

an employer, but also includes pay for time lost, wage continuation payments, certain employee protection payments, 

and any other payment for which the employee will receive 

additional creditable service. 

Persons applying for railroad retirement benefits are required to enroll in either the Direct Deposit Program, which 

electronically transfers payments into an individual’s checking or savings account, or the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Direct Express program, which electronically transfers 

Federal payments to an individual’s Direct Express-issued 

Debit MasterCard®. Enrollment waivers are available only 

under very limited conditions.

Applicants for railroad retirement and survivor benefits 

can check with an RRB field office as to when they can expect their first payment. Customer service standards and 

progress reports are available at RRB.gov and in all RRB 

field offices. 

RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR INFORMATION
32 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

To expedite filing, applicants may schedule an appointment for individual pre-retirement counseling, which is 

provided at any RRB field office or over the phone. Certain 

documents are required when filing a railroad retirement 

annuity application, including:

• Proof of an employee’s age.

• Proof of any military service.

• Proof of marriage if the spouse is eligible or will shortly

 become eligible for a spouse annuity.

• Divorced spouse must furnish proof of divorce from the

 employee.

• Proof of the spouse’s or divorced spouse’s age.

• Proof of a child’s relationship and age if the spouse is

 applying for an annuity based on caring for the 

 employee's child.

• Information about any public service pension for which

 the applicant qualifies.

• Banking information for Direct Deposit of benefit

 payments (needed at time application is filed).

• Supporting medical evidence if applying for a disability

 annuity.

A photocopy of a record is not accepted as an official document. 

To avoid delays in application processing, any proof submitted 

must be an original or certified copy.

FOR EMPLOYEES AND SPOUSES:
Retirement and Survivor Information 33

The best proof of age is a certified copy of civil or church 

documents recorded at or close to the time of birth. The best 

proof of marriage is a certified copy of the public or church 

record or the original marriage certificate. A divorced 

spouse would be expected to furnish a certified copy of 

the final divorce decree. Proof of military service may be a 

certificate of discharge, or any official military record that 

shows the dates of service. 

Employees and spouses are encouraged to submit their 

proofs well in advance of retirement in order to expedite the 

annuity application process and avoid delays resulting from 

inadequate proofs. Information will be recorded and stored 

electronically, and proofs will be promptly returned.

Applicants for disability annuities are required to submit 

supporting medical information. They are sometimes asked 

to take a special medical examination given by a doctor designated by the RRB. 

An annuity is effective as of the first full month throughout which the employee and/or spouse is age 60, or age 62 

in the case of reduced annuities. An annuity is effective the 

first day of the month full retirement age is attained in the 

case of unreduced annuities with less than 30 years of service. 

The retroactivity of a retirement annuity application is 

limited to 1 year for disability annuities and 6 months for 

full age annuities. There is generally no retroactivity for 

reduced age annuities. 

Any social security benefits due the retired employee or 

family member are paid through the RRB. Even though the 

RRB processes payment, the Social Security Administration is responsible for all adjudication.
34 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

• A widow(er) must furnish proof of age, proof of

 marriage, and proof of the employee’s death.

• A surviving divorced spouse must furnish proof of

 divorce from the employee.

• If applying for a disability annuity, the widow(er)

 must also provide supporting medical evidence.

• A parent must furnish proof of relationship to the

 employee and proof of support from the employee.

• For eligible children, proof of the relationship and age

 of each child is needed. Supporting medical evidence

 is required if a child is over age 18 and disabled. Proof

 of full-time elementary or high school attendance is

 needed for eighteen-year-old students. The employee's

 stepchildren must furnish proof of their dependency

 on the employee.

Retroactivity of a survivor annuity application is 1 year for 

disabled widow(er)s and 6 months for full retirement age 

widow(er)s, mothers (fathers), children, and parents. For widow(er)s between ages 60-61, retroactivity is 6 months if it 

does not increase the age reduction, although this does not 

apply to surviving divorced spouses or remarried widow(er)s. 

Otherwise, there is generally no retroactivity for reduced age 

widow(er)s’ annuities. Lump-sum death benefit applications 

must be filed within 2 years after an employee's death. There 

is no time limit on filing for a residual payment. 

FOR SURVIVORS:
Retirement and Survivor Information 35

IF REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT MET

Retirement annuities are not payable by the RRB unless 

the employee has 5 years of creditable service after 1995, or 

10 years of service at any time. Service includes any creditable military service. 

Survivor annuities are not payable unless the employee 

had a current connection with the railroad industry and either 5 years of creditable service after 1995 or 10 years of 

service at any time. 

In either of the above circumstances, if the requirements

are not met, the employee’s railroad retirement credits are 

treated as social security credits by the Social Security Administration. Benefits paid by that agency would accordingly take into account both railroad and social security covered earnings. 

The Railroad Retirement Act does not allow a former 

railroad employee to withdraw his or her retirement taxes. 

Like social security taxes, railroad retirement taxes are not 

refundable unless retirement tax withholding has exceeded 

annual maximums.

GARNISHMENT AND PROPERTY SETTLEMENTS 

Garnishment 

Certain percentages of an employee, spouse, or survivor 

annuity may be subject to legal process (i.e., garnishment) to 

enforce an obligation for child support and/or alimony payments. 

Property Settlements

Tier I benefits are not subject to property settlements. 

Employee tier II benefits and supplemental annuities are 

subject to court-ordered property settlements in proceedings related to divorce, annulment, or legal separation. 
36 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

MONITORING PAYMENTS

Under several monitoring programs now in effect, the 

RRB maintains contact with retirement and survivor beneficiaries in order to ensure the reporting of events which 

would require suspension or termination of monthly benefits. The records of beneficiaries are also checked with the 

Social Security Administration because annuities may be affected by nonrailroad earnings and because entitlement to 

social security benefits affects the amount of all annuities. 

The monitoring programs between the Social Security Administration and the RRB do not replace an annuitant's responsibility to notify the RRB directly when he/she becomes 

entitled to a benefit under the Social Security Act. 

THE RIGHT TO APPEAL

Railroad workers, spouses, or survivors whose claims for 

benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act are denied, or 

those who are dissatisfied with a decision on their claims, 

have the right to appeal; that is, they may ask for a reconsideration of any such unfavorable determinations. The notification letter sent to the applicant at the time of the original 

award or denial of the claim informs him or her of the right 

to appeal.

An individual has 60 days from the date of the initial notice of a decision on his or her claim to file a written statement requesting reconsideration from the RRB unit that 

denied the claim. This step is mandatory before a decision 

may be appealed to the RRB’s Bureau of Hearings and Appeals.

In cases involving overpayments, requests for waiver of 

recovery of the overpayment must be filed within 60 days of 

the date of the overpayment notice. In such cases, recovery 

of the overpayment will be deferred and a personal conference may be held, if requested. A request for waiver received 
Retirement and Survivor Information 37

after 60 days will be considered but will not defer collection 

of the overpayment, and any amount of the overpayment 

recovered prior to the date on which the waiver request is 

filed will not be subject to waiver.

An individual has 60 days from the date of the reconsideration or waiver decision to file an appeal with the RRB’s Bureau of Hearings and Appeals, a bureau independent of the 

units responsible for reconsideration decisions. This appeal 

must be filed using RRB Form HA-1, which is available at 

RRB.gov under the Resources tab (Appeals), and at every 

RRB field office. The Bureau of Hearings and Appeals may, 

if necessary, further investigate the case and obtain reports 

through field representatives, designated medical examiners, 

and others who may be in a position to furnish information 

pertinent to the appellant’s claim. If the appeal involves a 

question of fact, the appellant has the right to request an oral 

hearing. In most cases, videoconferencing or phone hearings 

are held. In cases where an in-person hearing is held, it may 

be conducted in the RRB office closest to the appellant’s 

home.

If an appellant is not satisfied with the Bureau of Hearings 

and Appeals’ decision, he or she may appeal to the threemember Board, which heads the agency, within 60 days from 

the date on which notice of the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals’ decision is mailed. This appeal must be filed using RRB 

Form HA-1, which, as stated previously, may be obtained 

from RRB.gov, or the agency’s field offices. The three-member Board will base its decision on the evidence before the 

hearings officer and ordinarily will not accept additional evidence or conduct a hearing.

An appellant who is not satisfied with the Board’s final 

decision may apply for a review of the case by a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The petition for review must be filed 

within one year after notice of the three-member Board’s 
38 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

decision has been mailed to the appellant.

RAILROAD RETIREMENT TAXES

By law, railroad retirement tier I payroll taxes are coordinated with social security taxes and increase automatically 

when social security taxes rise. Employees and employers 

pay tier I taxes which are the same as social security taxes. 

In addition, both employees and employers pay tier II taxes 

to finance railroad retirement benefit payments over and 

above social security levels. 

The tier I tax on employees and employers is 7.65 percent 

in 2021. The tier II tax on employees is 4.90 percent, while 

the tier II tax rate on rail employers, rail labor organizations, 

and rail employee representatives is 13.10 percent in 2021. 

An employee representative is a labor official of a noncovered labor organization who represents employees covered 

under the Acts administered by the RRB. 

The ratio of certain asset balances to the sum of benefits 

and administrative expenses (the average account benefits 

ratio) determines tier II taxes on employers and employees. Depending on the average account benefits ratio, tier II 

taxes for employers range between 8.20 percent and 22.10 

percent, while the tier II tax rate for employees is between 

0 and 4.90 percent. 

Railroad retirement taxes apply to earnings on an annual 

basis. The amounts of earnings subject to these taxes are determined annually on the basis of national wage levels. 

DUAL TAX PAYMENTS

Railroad employees who also worked for a social security 

covered employer in the same year may, under certain circumstances, receive a tax credit equivalent to any excess so-

(Text continues on page 40.)
Retirement and Survivor Information 39

TAX

RATE

MAXIMUM

ANNUAL

TAXABLE

EARNINGS

TIER I

Employees & Employers 7.65%* $142,800

TIER II

Employees 

Employers

 4.90%

13.10%

$106,200

$106,200

Annual regular taxes on employees earning $142,800: 

 TIER I TIER II TOTAL

Employees $10,924.20 $5,203.80 $16,128.00

Employers $10,924.20 $13,912.20 $24,836.40

*The tier I tax rate is divided into 6.20 percent for railroad retirement 

and 1.45 percent for Medicare hospital insurance. The 2021 maximum 

earnings base for railroad retirement is $142,800, and the Medicare 

hospital insurance tax is applied to all earnings. Consequently, employee and employer contributions continue to be made at the 1.45 

percent rate, even after the employee has earned $142,800.

An additional 0.9 percent in hospital insurance taxes (2.35 percent 

in total) applies to on an individual’s income exceeding $200,000, or 

$250,000 for a married couple filing a joint tax return. While employers will begin withholding the additional Medicare tax as soon as an 

individual’s wages exceed the $200,000 threshold, the final amount 

owed or refunded will be calculated as part of the individual’s Federal 

income tax return. 

Table 3. 2021 Regular Railroad Retirement Taxes
40 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

cial security taxes withheld. 

Employees who worked for two or more railroads in a 

year, or who had tier I taxes withheld from their RRB sickness insurance benefits in addition to their railroad earnings, may be eligible for a tax credit of any excess tier I or 

tier II railroad retirement taxes withheld. Employees who 

had tier I taxes withheld from their supplemental sickness 

benefits may also be eligible for a tax credit of any excess 

tier I tax. Such tax credits may be claimed on an employee’s 

Federal income tax return. 

Employees who worked for two or more railroads, or had 

both railroad retirement and social security taxes withheld 

from their earnings, should see Internal Revenue Service 

publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, for information on how to figure any excess railroad retirement or 

social security tax withheld. 

Dual Railroad Retirement-Social Security Taxes Paid,

1951-74

An employee with 10 or more years of railroad service may 

be entitled to a refund of excess social security taxes if his or 

her combined taxable earnings from the railroad retirement 

and social security systems in any year in the period 1951-

1974 exceeded a maximum annual amount creditable under 

the Railroad Retirement Act. Eligible employees will receive 

their refunds from the RRB at retirement without applying 

for them. In the event an employee should die before receiving the refund, payment will be made to the employee’s survivors. 

Separation or Severance Allowances

A lump sum, approximating railroad retirement tier II 

payroll taxes deducted from separation (or severance) allowances, may be paid upon retirement to employees meeting 

minimum service requirements, or their survivors, to the 
Retirement and Survivor Information 41

extent the separation allowances did not yield additional 

railroad retirement service or earnings credits. The lumpsum provision applies to separation allowances made after 

1984. 

FEDERAL INCOME TAX ON 

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BENEFITS

The tier I portion of a railroad retirement annuity that 

is actually equivalent to a social security benefit is treated 

as a social security benefit for Federal income tax purposes. 

Depending on the amount of other income received in the 

taxable year, a portion of these benefit payments may be 

subject to Federal income tax. 

Tier I benefits exceeding social security benefits, such as 

retirement benefits payable between ages 60 and 62, and 

many occupational disability annuities, plus the tier II portion of railroad retirement annuities and supplemental annuities paid by the RRB are treated like private pensions for 

Federal income tax purposes. The Railroad Retirement Act 

specifically exempts benefits paid by the RRB from State 

and local income tax. 

The RRB and the Social Security Administration issue 

tax information statements to annuitants each January. In 

the absence of a request not to withhold, taxes are withheld 

from U.S. citizens or residents whose railroad retirement 

benefits in excess of the social security equivalent level 

total more than certain annual threshold amounts. Any 

amounts withheld during the taxable year are reflected on 

the annual statements. 
42 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

The amount of a regular annuity is the total of portions 

called tiers, which are computed separately under different 

formulas. 

The first tier is calculated the same way as a social security benefit. Any social security credits of an employee are 

combined with his or her railroad retirement credits for tier 

I computation purposes. 

An employee’s creditable earnings are adjusted to consider 

the changes in wage levels over a worker’s lifetime. This procedure, called indexing, increases creditable earnings from 

past years to reflect average national wage levels just prior to 

the employee’s first year of eligibility. The adjusted earnings 

are used to calculate average indexed monthly earnings, and a 

benefit formula is then applied to determine the gross tier 

I amount. 

 For those first eligible in 2021, the gross tier I is equal to: 

 • 90% of the first $996 of average indexed monthly earnings, plus

 • 32% of the amount of these earnings over $996 up to $6,002, plus

 • 15% of these earnings in excess of $6,002.

For employees with less than 10 years of creditable railroad service, tier I benefits are calculated only if the employee has at least 5 years of service after 1995 and an insured 

status under Social Security Act rules (usually 40 quarters of 

EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT ANNUITY

ANNUITY FORMULA COMPONENTS

The following describes railroad retirement annuity formula components 

as applied to new awards. The cost-of-living adjustments applied to annuities are described in previous pages of this booklet. 

TIER I
Annuity Formula Components 43

coverage), counting both railroad retirement and social security covered earnings. 

Delayed Retirement Credits

Tier I benefits are increased by a certain percentage for 

each month an employee delays retirement past full retirement age, up until age 70. For those born January 2, 1943, or 

later, the delayed retirement credit is 2/3 of 1 percent per 

month (8 percent per year). Those born prior to January 2, 

1943, earn a lesser percentage credit. Delayed retirement 

credits are not given to an employee with less than 10 years 

of railroad service (even if the employee is over full retirement age when retiring from his or her railroad job) if the 

employee is also entitled to an age-reduced social security 

benefit, and the beginning date of that social security benefit precedes the beginning date of his or her railroad retirement annuity.

Age Reductions

For employees retiring between age 62 and full retirement age with less than 30 years of service, age reductions 

are applied separately to the components of an annuity. As 

mentioned earlier, the full retirement age is gradually rising to 67, depending on the year of birth (see Table 4 on 

page 45). The maximum annuity reduction for retirement 

at age 62 is also gradually increasing to 30 percent. There 

is no age reduction for those who retire after 2001 with 30 

years of service.

The full retirement age is 66 for employees and spouses 

born in the years 1943 through 1954. The full retirement age 

increases gradually for those born in 1955 to 1960, until it 

reaches age 67. For people who were born in 1960 or later, 

the full retirement age will be age 67. 

Reduced benefits continue to be available at age 62, but 

at greater reductions. The early-retirement reduction factor 
44 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

for an employee is 1/180 for each of the first 36 months of 

the reduction period regardless of the age of initial entitlement and decreases to 1/240 for each month (if any) over 36, 

as mentioned earlier. This will result in a gradual increase in 

the reduction at age 62 to 30 percent for an employee once 

the age 67 retirement age is in effect. 

If an employee has less than 10 years of railroad service 

and is already entitled to an age-reduced social security benefit, the age reduction in his or her tier I will be based on 

the age reduction applicable on the beginning date of the 

employee’s social security benefit, even if the employee is 

already of full retirement age on the beginning date of his 

or her railroad retirement annuity. 

Age reductions were required in the tier I annuity amounts 

of 30-year employees who retired at ages 60-61 before 2002 

and attained age 60 or completed 30 years of service after 

June 1984. The age reductions were applied only to the tier 

I annuity portion. If an employee affected by this provision 

was born before 1938 and attained 60/30 eligibility after 

December 1985, tier I was permanently reduced by approximately 20 percent. For those born after 1937 who retired 

before 2002, the reduction gradually increased as described 

earlier. In both cases, the tier I amount was frozen until the 

first month throughout which the employee was age 62. It 

was then recomputed to reflect interim increases in national 

wage levels and became subject to future cost-of-living increases. There was no reduction if the employee retired at 

age 62 or older with 30 years of service, or at age 60 with 30 

years of service and retirement is after 2001.

Workers’ Compensation or Public Disability Benefit Reductions

For employees who are under full retirement age and receiving a disability annuity, the tier I amount is, under certain circumstances, reduced for receipt of workers’ compensation or public disability benefits. 
Annuity Formula Components 45

Social Security Reductions 

After any required age reduction, the tier I amount is reduced by the amount of any social security benefits also payable, 

but not to an amount below zero. 

Reductions for Public, Non-Profit, or Foreign Pensions 

For employees who attain eligibility for both tier I benefits 

and certain government pension or other payments after 

1985, a reduction may be required for receipt of a public pension based, in part or in whole, on employment not covered 

by railroad retirement or social security after 1956. This also 

applies to payments from non-profit organizations, certain 

foreign governments, and foreign employers. Usually, an employee’s tier I benefit will not be reduced by more than 1/2 of 

his or her pension from noncovered employment. However, 

if the employee is under full retirement age and receiving a 

disability annuity, the tier I benefit may be reduced by an 

added amount if the pension from noncovered employment 

is a public disability benefit. 

 BIRTH YEAR*

FULL

RETIREMENT AGE

ANNUITY REDUCTION

(AT AGE 62)

1943 -- 1954 66 25.00%

1955 66 and 2 months 25.833%

1956 66 and 4 months 26.667%

1957 66 and 6 months 27.50%

1958 66 and 8 months 28.333%

1959 66 and 10 months 29.167%

1960 or later 67 30.00%

Table 4. Employee Retiring with Less than 30 Years of Service

*A person attains a given age the day before his or her birthday, and those 

born on the first or second day of a month are eligible for an annuity beginning date on the first of that month.
46 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

The second tier of a regular annuity is computed under 

a separate formula, and is based on railroad service alone. 

Tier II benefits are equal to 7/10 of 1 percent of the employee’s average monthly earnings using the tier II tax base in 

the 60 months of highest earnings, times his or her years of 

service in the rail industry.

Age Reductions 

Age reductions required for those employees retiring between age 62 and full retirement age with less than 30 years 

of service are also applied to the tier II component of an annuity. The reduction is 1/180 for each of the first 36 months 

the employee is under full retirement age when his or her 

annuity begins and 1/240 for each additional month (if any). 

Full retirement age is gradually rising, as mentioned earlier. However, if an employee has any creditable railroad service before August 12, 1983, the retirement age for tier II 

purposes will remain 65. 

Employees with 5-9 years of creditable railroad service, if 

at least 5 years were after 1995, are eligible for tier II benefits 

the first full month they are age 62. Their tier II benefits are 

subject to the same age reductions that apply to employees 

with 10-29 years of service. If eligible on the basis of total 

disability, a tier II benefit is not payable until age 62, and 

that amount is reduced for early retirement. 

Supplemental Annuity Formula

The amount of a supplemental annuity awarded after 1974 

is equal to $23 plus $4 for each year of service over 25, up to a 

maximum of $43. A fraction of $4 is added for each fractional 

year of service.

If a retired employee also receives a private pension paid 

for entirely or in part by a railroad, the supplemental anTIER II
Annuity Formula Components 47

nuity is subject to reduction. The reduction is equal to the 

amount of the pension that is based on the employer’s contributions. The reduction applies whether the employee receives a monthly pension or elects a lump sum instead of 

a monthly pension. There is no reduction for any part of a 

private pension based on the employee’s own contributions. 

If the employer reduces the private pension because of the 

supplemental annuity, the amount of the reduction is restored to the supplemental annuity, but not over the $43 

maximum. There is no reduction to the supplemental annuity for a pension paid by a railroad labor organization.

The spouse annuity formula is based on certain percentages of the employee’s tier I and tier II amounts. 

The tier I portion of a spouse annuity, before any applicable reductions, is 50 percent of the railroad employee's unreduced tier I amount. 

Spouse Age Reductions 

Age reductions required for those spouses (between age 

62 and full retirement age) of employees retiring with less 

than 30 years of service are applied separately to each annuity component. Full retirement age for a spouse is gradually 

rising, just as for an employee. Actuarially reduced benefits 

continue to be available but at greater reductions. The tier I 

reduction is 1/144 for each of the first 36 months the spouse 

is under full retirement age when her or his annuity begins 

and will decrease to 1/240 for each month (if any) over 36. 

This will result in a gradual increase in the reduction at age 

62 from 25 percent to 35 percent for a spouse once the age 

67 retirement age is in effect. If an employee has less than 10 

SPOUSE ANNUITY

TIER I
48 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

years of railroad service and the spouse is already entitled to 

an age-reduced social security benefit, the age reduction in 

her or his tier I will be based on the age reduction applicable 

on the beginning date of the spouse’s social security benefit, 

even if the spouse is already of full retirement age on the 

beginning date of her or his railroad retirement annuity. 

December 2001 legislation eliminated the tier I age reduction for employees ages 60 or 61 with 30 or more years of 

service whose railroad retirement annuities begin January 1, 

2002, or later. The spouses of these employees are also eligible for full annuities at age 60. 

Age reductions required for spouses of employees with 30 

years of service who attained 60/30 eligibility after June 1984 

but whose annuities began before January 2002 are applied 

only to the tier I portion of the spouse annuity. If the employee attained 60/30 eligibility before July 1984, retired at age 

62 with 30 years of service, or began receiving an annuity at 

ages 60 or 61 after 2001 with 30 years of service, the spouse 

tier I portion is not subject to these reductions. 

The spouse of an employee subject to the 60/30 age reductions may receive a reduced tier I benefit, unless the spouse 

is already of full retirement age. 

In reduced 60/30 spouse cases, the tier I benefit is equal 

to 1/2 of the employee’s reduced tier I on the employee’s 

annuity beginning date and is also frozen until the first full 

month throughout which the spouse is age 62. Then it is recomputed based on 1/2 of the employee’s gross tier I amount 

and reduced for each month the spouse is under full retirement age at that time. If at the time of recomputation the 

spouse has a minor or disabled child in care, no age reduction would apply. 
Annuity Formula Components 49

The spouse of a disability annuitant who was otherwise 

eligible for a 60/30 age annuity received an age reduction if 

the spouse’s annuity beginning date was before 2002. If the 

spouse’s annuity beginning date is January 1, 2002, or later, 

the spouse can receive an unreduced annuity as early as age 

60. If the spouse is entitled based on having a minor or disabled child in care, there is no age reduction. 

Reductions for Other Benefits 

After any applicable age reduction required for a spouse’s 

early retirement, the spouse tier I amount is reduced by the 

amount of any social security benefit to which the spouse is 

entitled. 

The tier I amount may also be reduced for certain Federal, 

State, or local government pension payments based on the 

spouse’s own earnings. This tier I reduction is equal to 2/3 

of the public pension. 

The spouse tier I amount may also be reduced if the employee under full retirement age is receiving a disability annuity and a workers’ compensation or public disability benefit. 

While these offsets can reduce or even erase the tier I benefit amount otherwise payable to a spouse, they do not affect 

the tier II benefit potentially payable to that spouse. 

Divorced Spouses

The annuity of a divorced spouse is limited to the tier I 

amount and thus equal to what social security would pay.

The spouse tier II amount, before any applicable reductions, is 45 percent of the employee’s unreduced tier II 

amount.

TIER II
50 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

Age Reductions 

As mentioned earlier, age reductions are gradually increasing. The tier II age reduction for spouses of employees 

retiring with less than 30 years of service is 1/144 for each of 

the first 36 months the spouse is under full retirement age 

when her or his annuity begins and decreases to 1/240 for 

each month (if any) over 36. However, if a railroad employee 

had any creditable railroad service before August 12, 1983, 

the employee and spouse retirement age for tier II purposes 

remains age 65. Age reductions are not applied to spouse annuities based on the spouse’s caring for a child.

DUAL ANNUITIES 

If a spouse is also a railroad employee annuitant and both 

the employee and spouse started railroad employment after 

1974, the amount of any spouse or divorced spouse annuity 

is reduced by the amount of the employee annuity to which 

the spouse is also entitled. 

If both the employee and spouse are railroad employees 

and either one had some railroad service before 1975, the 

spouse tier I amount is reduced by the amount of the railroad employee tier I to which the spouse is entitled and that 

initial reduction is restored in the spouse tier II amount. The 

spouse tier I amount cannot be reduced below zero. 

A spouse who is also entitled to a survivor annuity on a 

different earnings record will receive only the higher benefit. 

The survivor tier I amount is based on the deceased employee’s combined railroad retirement and social security 

credits, and is computed using social security formulas. In 

general, the survivor tier I amount is equal to the amount 

SURVIVOR ANNUITY

TIER I
Annuity Formula Components 51

of survivor benefits that would have been payable under social security. 

The gross survivor tier I amount (before reductions for early retirement, or other benefits) is generally equivalent to the 

unreduced tier I retirement benefit the deceased employee 

had, or would have, received. 

For surviving aged or disabled widow(er)s, remarried widow(er)s, and surviving divorced spouses, the tier I amount 

is based on average indexed monthly earnings. If the annuity 

begins a year or more after the employee’s death and the employee died before age 62, the RRB can recalculate this indexed amount using a later year if it would result in a higher benefit. The recalculation considers changes in national 

earnings levels which occur after the employee’s death but 

before the survivor becomes eligible for benefits. This provides a benefit consistent with earnings levels at the time 

of the survivor’s eligibility, rather than the time of the employee’s death. 

A widow(er), remarried widow(er), or surviving divorced 

spouse whose annuity begins at full retirement age or later 

receives the full tier I amount unless the deceased employee 

received an annuity that was reduced for early retirement. 

The eligibility age for a full widow(er)’s annuity is gradually rising from 65 to 67. The maximum age reductions will 

range from 17.1 percent to 20.36 percent, depending on the 

widow(er)’s date of birth. For a surviving divorced spouse or 

remarried widow(er), the maximum age reduction is 28.5

percent. For a disabled widow(er), disabled remarried widow(er), or surviving divorced spouse, the maximum reduction is 28.5 percent, even if the annuity begins at age 50. 
52 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

A widow(er) or surviving divorced spouse whose eligibility is based on caring for a child of the employee receives 

75 percent of the full tier I amount. Benefits to a surviving divorced spouse end when the child is 16. An eligible 

child also receives 75 percent of the full tier I amount. The 

total amount the family can receive is subject to a maximum (usually applicable if there are three or more family 

members, not counting aged or disabled surviving divorced 

spouses, entitled to survivor annuities). 

A dependent parent can receive 82.5 percent of his or her 

full tier I amount, but if both parents are eligible, the total 

amount cannot be more than 150 percent of the full tier I 

amount. 

Dual Benefit Reduction

The tier I amount previously described is reduced by the 

amount of any social security benefit or by the tier I amount 

of any railroad retirement employee annuity the survivor 

also receives. In the case of a widow or dependent widower 

who is also a railroad employee annuitant, and either the 

widow(er) or the deceased employee had at least 10 years 

of railroad service before 1975, the tier I reduction may, 

under certain circumstances, be partially restored in the 

survivor tier II amount. If either the deceased employee or 

the widow(er) had some railroad service before 1975 but less 

than 10 years, the survivor tier I portion is payable only to 

the extent that it exceeds the tier I portion of the widow(er)’s 

own employee annuity. 

If a widow(er) qualifies for a railroad retirement employee annuity and neither the widow(er) nor the deceased employee had any railroad service before 1975, the survivor 

annuity payable to the widow(er) is reduced by the total 

amount of the widow(er)’s own employee annuity. 
Annuity Formula Components 53

The tier I amount may also be reduced by certain Federal, 

State, or local government pensions which are based on a 

widow(er)’s own earnings. For widow(er)s subject to the government pension reduction, the tier I reduction is equal to 

2/3 of the public pension. 

Widow(er)s

December 2001 legislation established an initial minimum 

amount which yields, in effect, a widow(er)’s tier II benefit 

equal to the tier II benefit the employee would have received at the time of the award of the widow(er)’s annuity, 

minus any applicable age reduction. It does this by providing an additional amount, initially set at 50 percent of the 

employee’s tier II, to the 100 percent tier I and 50 percent 

tier II benefits provided under prior law. 

This additional amount is offset each year by the dollar 

amount of any cost-of-living increases payable in both the 

tier I and tier II benefits provided under prior law. Consequently, such a widow(er)’s net benefit payment will not increase until such time as the widow(er)’s annuity, as computed under prior law with all interim cost-of-living increases 

otherwise payable, exceeds the widow(er)’s annuity computed under the initial minimum amount formula. 

The initial minimum amount provision applies to widow(er)s whose annuities begin February 1, 2002, or later, and 

to some, but not all, widow(er)s on the rolls before that date. 

If, because of previous cost-of-living adjustments, annuities 

awarded before February 2002 were already higher than the 

annuity that would be payable under the December 2001 

legislation, the provision did not apply.

In most cases, the same age reductions that apply to tier I 

amounts also apply to tier II amounts.

TIER II
54 RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND SURVIVOR BENEFITS

Other survivors

Each child receives 15 percent of the deceased employee’s 

tier II amount, and each surviving parent receives 35 percent. The minimum total tier II amount payable to a family 

is 35 percent of the employee’s tier II amount, and the maximum, 130 percent.

A tier II benefit is not provided for a surviving divorced 

spouse or a remarried widow(er). However, partition payments may be extended to surviving former spouses pursuant to divorce agreements. A tier II benefit is not payable 

to surviving parents if other family members may receive 

benefits or if the parent has remarried.
ALABAMA

Birmingham

ARIZONA

Mesa

ARKANSAS

Little Rock

CALIFORNIA

Covina

Oakland

Roseville

COLORADO

Denver

FLORIDA

Jacksonville

Tampa

GEORGIA

Atlanta

ILLINOIS

Chicago

Decatur

Joliet

INDIANA

Indianapolis

IOWA

Des Moines

KANSAS

Wichita

KENTUCKY

Louisville

LOUISIANA

New Orleans

MARYLAND

Baltimore

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston

MICHIGAN

Detroit

MINNESOTA

Duluth

St. Paul

MISSOURI

Kansas City

St. Louis

MONTANA

Billings

NEBRASKA

Omaha

NEW JERSEY

Newark

NEW MEXICO

Albuquerque

NEW YORK

Albany

Buffalo

Central Islip

New York

NORTH CAROLINA

Charlotte

NORTH DAKOTA

Fargo

OHIO

Cincinnati

Cleveland

OREGON

Portland

PENNSYLVANIA

Altoona

Harrisburg

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

Scranton

TENNESSEE

Nashville

TEXAS

Fort Worth

Houston

UTAH

Salt Lake City

VIRGINIA

Richmond

Roanoke

WASHINGTON

Bellevue

Spokane

WEST VIRGINIA

Huntington

WISCONSIN

Milwaukee

RRB FIELD OFFICES

RRB field offices are currently located in the cities listed below. 

Find contact information for any office by going to RRB.gov and 

clicking on Field Office Locator, or by calling 1-877-772-5772

and using the automated self-serve menu. Offices are also listed in

telephone directories with other U.S. Government agencies. Most 

field offices are open to the public on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 

3:30 p.m., except for Wednesdays when offices are open from 9:00 

a.m.to noon. All RRB offices are closed on Federal holidays.

Note: At the time this booklet was printed, most field offices remained closed to the public due to the pandemic.

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Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and RRB 

regulations, no qualified person may be discriminated against 

on the basis of disability. The RRB’s programs and activities 

must be accessible to all qualified applicants and beneficiaries, 

including those with impaired vision and/or hearing. Individuals with disabilities needing assistance (including auxiliary aids 

or program information in accessible formats) should contact 

the nearest RRB office.

Complaints of alleged discrimination by the RRB on the basis 

of disability must be filed within 90 days in writing with the 

Director of Administration, U. S. Railroad Retirement Board, 

844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-1275. Questions 

about individual rights under this regulation may be directed 

to the RRB’s Director of Equal Opportunity at the above address. 

NON-DISCRIMINATION ON THE

BASIS OF DISABILITY

COMMENTS?

If you have any comments or suggestions regarding 

the presentation of information in this publication, 

please let us know.

Public Affairs

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board

844 North Rush Street, Chicago, IL 60611-1275

email: opa@rrb.gov | fax: 312-751-7154

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The RRB’s Office of Inspector General(OIG) established its 

Hotline as a public service. The Hotline provides individuals with 

a means to report or discuss any suspected misconduct relating

to the RRB, its programs, or employees. 

If you believe a doctor, hospital, or other health care provider 

is billing Medicare for services not provided or for unnecessary 

medical procedures or supplies; someone is illegally receiving 

RRB benefits; or you wish to report or discuss any other suspected misconduct relating to the RRB, its programs, or employees, 

please contact the OIG at: 

Toll-Free Hotline: 1-800-772-4258

Mailing address: RRB-OIG Hotline Officer

 844 North Rush Street, 4th Floor 

 Chicago, Illinois 60611-1275 

fax: (312) 751-4342 

email: hotline@oig.rrb.gov 

Please review the RRB’s email notice and Internet

privacy policy at RRB.gov before submitting any 

information online. 

Note: Please do not contact the OIG’s Hotline with questions 

regarding benefit eligibility requirements, delayed payments, 

or similar issues. These types of matters should be directed to 

any RRB field office.

FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE HOTLINE

1-800-772-4258
RRB.gov

Chicago, Illinois 60611-1275 844 North Rush Street U.S. RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD 

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

 THIRD CLASS

OFFICIAL BUSINESS 

February 20IB-2

 PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, $300

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