Twenty-Fourth

Actuarial Valuation

of the Assets and Liabilities

Under the Railroad Retirement Acts

as of December 31, 2007

with

Technical Supplement

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board

Bureau of the Actuary

Chicago, Illinois
Twenty-Fourth Actuarial Valuation
 

of the Assets and Liabilities
 

Under the Railroad Retirement Acts
 

as of December 31, 2007
 

with
 

Technical Supplement
 

by

Frank J. Buzzi, Chief Actuary

with Statements of the
 

Railroad Retirement Board
 

and the
 

Actuarial Advisory Committee
 

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board
 

Bureau of the Actuary
 

August 2009
 

i 

CONTENTS 

Statement of the Railroad Retirement Board v

Statement of the Actuarial Advisory Committee vii

Report of the Actuary

I. Introduction 1

II. Summary of Recent Developments and Results 1

III. Regular and Supplemental Benefits and Their Financing 3

IV. The Financial Interchange and Dual Benefits 6

V. Assumptions, Methodology, and Valuation Results 8

VI. Statement of Actuarial Opinion 14

Appendix 

Outline of the benefit and financing provisions of the railroad retirement system as

 amended through December 31, 2008 29

Technical Supplement 

General Methodology and Assumptions 38

Mortality, Remarriage and Related Experience 57

Retirement Studies 71

Withdrawal Studies 78

Employee and Beneficiary Censuses, Family Composition, and Miscellaneous Statistics 81
ii 

TABLES

1. Employment, inflation and interest assumptions 15

2. Progress of the Combined National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust and Railroad 

Retirement Account, and Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account 17

3. Present value of benefits in millions of dollars 20

4. Present value of benefits as a percentage of the present value of tier 2 payroll 21

5. Balance of the Combined National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust and Railroad

 Retirement Account, and the Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account as of

 December 31, 2007 22

6. Actuarial surplus or (deficiency) for National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust and

 Railroad Retirement Account 23

7. Unfunded accrued liability 24

8. Vested dual benefit amounts and average number of beneficiaries 25

9. Supplemental annuity benefit amounts and average number of beneficiaries 26

10. Average number of railroad retirement annuitants and number of annuitants per full

 time employee 27

11. Transfers to railroad retirement system under financial interchange with social security

 system, 1937-2009 28

S-1. 2007 RRB Annuitants Mortality Table 43

S-2. 2007 RRB Disabled Mortality Table for Annuitants with Disability Freeze 44

S-3. 2007 RRB Disabled Mortality Table for Annuitants without Disability Freeze 45

S-4. 2003 RRB Active Service Mortality Table 46

S-5. 2007 RRB Spouse Total Termination Table 47

S-6. Probability of a retired employee having a spouse eligible for railroad retirement benefits 48

S-7. 1995 RRB Mortality Table for Widows 49

S-8. 1997 RRB Remarriage Table 50

S-9. 2004 RRB Total Termination Table for Disabled Children 51

S-10. Calendar year rates of immediate age retirement 52

S-11. Rates of immediate disability retirement and of eligibility for disability freeze 53

S-12. Calendar year rates of final withdrawal 54

S-13. Service months and salary scales 55

S-14. Family characteristics of railroad employees assumed for the valuation of survivor

 benefits 56

S-15. Mortality experience of railroad age annuitants between anniversaries of retirement

 in 2003 and 2006, by sex and type of retirement 58
iii 

S-16. Mortality experience of railroad age annuitants between anniversaries of retirement

 in 2003 and 2006, by year 59 

S-17. Mortality ratios for railroad age annuitants on a select and ultimate basis between

 anniversaries of retirement in 2003 and 2006 60 

S-18. Age specific death rates of railroad disability annuitants between anniversaries of

 retirement in 2003 and 2006, by age and duration 61 

S-19. Mortality experience of railroad disability annuitants between anniversaries of

 retirement in 2003 and 2006, by disability freeze status 62 

S-20. Percentages of railroad disability annuitants included in the 24th valuation mortality studies 

who would have qualified for a benefit under the social security disability standards 63 

S-21. Mortality experience of active railroad employees during calendar years 2001-2005 64 

S-22. Total termination experience of spouse annuitants between anniversaries of retirement

 in 2003 and 2006 65 

S-23. Mortality experience of spouse annuitants between anniversaries of retirement

 in 2003 and 2006 66 

S-24. Number of retired employees and number with a spouse eligible for railroad retirement

 benefits, by attained age of employee on December 31, 2006 67 

S-25. Mortality experience of widow annuitants between anniversaries of retirement

 in 2003 and 2006 68 

S-26. Remarriage experience of widows between 1994 and 2006 anniversaries of widowhood 69 

S-27. Total termination experience of disabled children annuitants between anniversaries of

 retirement in 2003 and 2006 70 

S-28. Rates of immediate age retirement 72 

S-29. Immediate age retirement experience of railroad employees with 5-29 years of

 service during calendar years 2004-2006 73 

S-30. Immediate age retirement experience of railroad employees with 30 or more years of

 service during calendar years 2004-2006 74 

S-31. Rates of immediate disability retirement 75 

S-32. Immediate disability retirement experience of railroad employees during calendar

 years 2004-2006 76 

S-33. Percentages of immediate disability retirements meeting the disability freeze standards

 of the Social Security Act 77 

S-34. Withdrawal experience of railroad employees during calendar years 2002-2005, 

by attained age and years of service 79 

S-35. Distribution of 2007 active employees by age and completed years of service 82 
iv 

S-36. Census of vested inactive employees in 2007 by age and completed years of service 83

S-37. Comparison between 2007 and 2004 of selected characteristics of active railroad

 employees 84

S-38. Census of employee and spouse annuitants on December 31, 2007 85

S-39. Census of survivor annuitants on December 31, 2007 86

S-40. Comparison of service months of railroad employees during calendar years 2003-2005

 with assumptions used in the 24th valuation 87

S-41. Average creditable compensation per service month during 2007 88

S-42. Age distribution of new entrants during calendar years 2003-2006 and comparison with

 assumptions of the 23rd valuation 89

S-43. Family characteristics of railroad employees who died in 2003-2006 with a current

 connection 90

S-44. Selected employment and benefit statistics for 2004 and 2007 91
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD 
 

844 NORTH RUSH STREET 
 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60611-2092 
 

BOARD MEMBERS: 

MICHAEL S. SCHWARTZ, CHAIRMAN 

V.M. SPEAKMAN, JR., LABOR MEMBER 
 

JEROME F. KEVER, MANAGEMENT
 MEMBER 

STATEMENT OF THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD 

Section 15(g) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 requires that the Railroad Retirement Board, 

at intervals not longer than three years, estimate the liabilities created by the Act and include the 

estimate in its annual report. Section 22 of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 requires that the 

Board submit to the President and the Congress, by July 1 of each year, a report containing a fiveyear projection of the revenues to and payments from the Railroad Retirement Account. Section 

502 of the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983, Public Law 98-76, requires that the Board 

submit to the Congress, by July 1 of each year, a report on the actuarial status of the railroad 

retirement system. The 24th valuation was prepared by the Board's Chief Actuary and meets these 

requirements. The Actuarial Advisory Committee reviewed the valuation as to assumptions and 

methods as required by Section 15(f) of the Railroad Retirement Act. 

The Chief Actuary's report describes the results of three valuations, each valuation differing from 

the others as to the employment assumption on which it is based. Cash flow problems occur only 

under the most pessimistic employment assumption. Even under that assumption, the' cash flow 

problems do not occur until the year 203 1. 

Section 502 of the Solvency Act requires recommendations with respect to tax rates and whether 

any part of the taxes on employers should be diverted to the Railroad Unemployment Insurance 

Account to aid in the repayment of any debt to the Railroad Retirement Account. The Chef 

Actuary's report does not recommend a change in the tax rate, nor does it recommend a diversion of 

taxes from the Railroad Retirement Account to the Railroad Unemployment hsurance Account. 

The Board Members believe that the 24th valuation presents a fair picture of the financial condition 

of the railroad retirement system, and we support the conclusions reached in the report. 
The Railroad Retirement Board wishes to thank the members of the Actuarial Advisory Committee 

for their assistance in this important project. 

Michael S. Schwartz & 

V. M. Speakman, Jr. W 

Jerome F. Kever 
STATEMENT OF THE ACTUARIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE 
 

May 27,2009 
 

This statement sets forth the Committee's review of the twenty-fourth actuarial valuation of the 

railroad retirement system. This valuation, performed as of December 3 1,2007, was completed in 

the spring of 2009 by Mr. Frank J. Buzzi, Chief Actuary of the Railroad Retirement Board, and his 

staff. In both the planning and carrying out of the valuation, the Committee has counseled with 

Mr. Buzzi as to the structure, actuarial methods, actuarial assumptions, and procedures of the 

valuation and as to the scope and content of his report. In all, the Committee has met with the 

Chief Actuary on August 5,2008, December 16,2008, and May 27,2009, for the purpose of 

reviewing and discussing the significant elements of the twenty-fourth valuation. 

The Committee believes that the actuarial assumptions are reasonable and that the valuation results 

present a fair picture of the financial condition of the railroad retirement system. 

Section 502 of the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act requires the Board to report to Congress on 

the actuarial status of the railroad retirement system each year. The report must include 

recommendations for any desirable financing changes. The Chief Actuary recommends no change 

in payroll tax rates under the railroad retirement system. 

The Chief Actuary's report indicates that the average cost of the program over the projection period 

as measured by the excess of present value of tier 2 payroll taxes over the actuarial surplus ranges 

from 16.13% to 21.57% of payroll, depending on assumed future employment levels. This 

compares to a range of 14.19% to 18.63% of payroll in the twenty-third valuation. 

The Committee acknowledges the valuable help of the Board, the Chief Actuary and his staff in the 

Committee's review of this valuation. 

Respectfblly submitted, -

n 

Albert Pike 3rd, M.A.A.A., Chair 

Peter A. Bleyler, M.A.A.A. 

Maynard I. Kagen, M.A.A.A. 

1

REPORT OF THE ACTUARY 

I. INTRODUCTION

Section 15 of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 requires that the Railroad Retirement Board, at 

intervals of not more than three years, prepare actuarial valuations of the railroad retirement system. 

Section 22 of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 requires the Railroad Retirement Board to 

prepare an annual report containing a five-year projection of revenues to and payments from the 

Railroad Retirement Account and to submit the report to the President and the Congress by July 1. 

This report must also contain a five-year projection of the account benefits ratio and average 

account benefits ratio. If the five-year projection indicates that funds in the Railroad Retirement 

Account will be insufficient to pay full benefits, (1) representatives of railroad employees, railroad 

carriers and the President must submit proposals to the Congress to preserve the financial solvency 

of the Railroad Retirement Account, and (2) the Railroad Retirement Board must issue regulations 

to reduce annuity levels during any fiscal year in which there would be insufficient funds to make 

full payments. 

Section 502 of the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983 requires the Railroad Retirement 

Board to prepare an annual report on the actuarial status of the railroad retirement system and to 

submit the report to the Congress by July 1. The report must contain recommendations for any 

financing changes which might be advisable, including (1) changes in the tax rates, and (2) whether 

any part of the taxes on employers should be diverted to the Railroad Unemployment Insurance 

Account to aid in the repayment of any debt to the Railroad Retirement Account. 

This report, the 24th actuarial valuation, is intended to meet these three requirements for 2009. 

II. SUMMARY OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND RESULTS

Recent actuarial reports have discussed in detail the importance of the level of railroad employment 

to the railroad retirement system's financial stability. The payroll tax on railroad employment has 

been the major source of income to the system since its establishment in the 1930s. It is clear that 

the fewer railroad workers there are, the less money the retirement account collects in payroll taxes, 

and the more likely the system is to require additional funds. Declines in railroad employment over 

a long period, coupled with inflation and subsequent benefit increases, required legislation to 

strengthen the system's financial condition in 1974, 1981, 1983, and 1987. 

The 23rd valuation (2006 actuarial report) projected a surplus of 0.33 percent of tier 2 payroll and an 

average tier 2 tax rate of 16.52 percent under the intermediate employment assumption. Although 

employment experience has been favorable, large investment losses have resulted in lower trust 

fund balances, which in turn have produced higher projected taxes due to the tier 2 tax rate 

schedule. The average tier 2 tax rate has increased to 18.97 percent, and the surplus has increased 

to 0.35 percent of tier 2 payroll. The combined effect of a 2.45 percent of payroll increase in 

projected future tier 2 tax rates net of a 0.02 percent of payroll increase in projected surplus results 

in an overall decline equal to 2.43 percent of tier 2 payroll. If the same rates of decline in freight 
2

employment were used in the 24th valuation as in the 23rd, the measured decline in financial position 

would have been somewhat greater. 

Legislation enacted since the 23rd valuation liberalizing benefits payable under court ordered 

partitions, expanding eligibility for divorced spouse benefits and increasing the disability earnings

limit has not had a significant impact on the system’s financial stability. 

The 24th valuation has been prepared under three assumptions as to the future behavior of railroad 

employment. These employment assumptions are similar to the employment assumptions used in 

the 23rd valuation, differing mainly because of lower rates of decline assumed for freight 

employment. Employment assumptions I and II assume stable passenger employment and different 

rates of decline in freight employment. Employment assumption III follows the structure of 

assumptions I and II, except that it has declines in passenger employment and steeper declines in 

freight employment than employment assumptions I and II. Employment assumptions I, II and III 

are intended to provide an optimistic, moderate and pessimistic outlook, respectively. The specific 

results of the projections made in this report of the railroad retirement system's financial condition 

are as follows: 

1. Under employment assumption I, the average tier 2 tax rate is 16.51 percent, and an 

actuarial surplus of 0.38 percent of tier 2 payroll exists as of December 31, 2007. There are 

no cash flow problems during the 75-year projection period, and the tier 2 payroll tax rate 

ranges from 8.2% to 20.0%. 

2. Under employment assumption II, the average tier 2 tax rate is 18.97 percent, and an 

actuarial surplus of 0.35 percent of tier 2 payroll exists as of December 31, 2007. There are 

no cash flow problems during the 75-year projection period, and the tier 2 payroll tax rate 

ranges from 8.2% to 27.0%. 

3. Under employment assumption III, the average tier 2 tax rate is 21.54 percent, and an 

actuarial deficiency of 0.03 percent of tier 2 payroll exists as of December 31, 2007. Cash 

flow problems arise in 2031 and remain to the end of the 75-year projection period. The tier 

2 payroll tax rate ranges from 16.0% to 27.0%. 

The average tier 2 tax rate is calculated by dividing the present value of tier 2 payroll taxes by the 

present value of tier 2 payroll as of January 1, 2008. The surplus or deficiency figures given above 

represent the change in the average tier 2 tax rate which would produce a balance of zero in the 

combined National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust, Railroad Retirement Account and Social 

Security Equivalent Benefit Account at the end of the 75-year projection period. 

The conclusion is that, barring a sudden, unanticipated, large drop in railroad employment or 

substantial investment losses, the railroad retirement system will experience no cash flow problems 

during the next 22 years. The long-term stability of the system, however, is not assured. Under the 

current financing structure, actual levels of railroad employment and investment return over the 

coming years will determine whether additional corrective action is necessary. 
3

As mentioned earlier, this report is intended to meet the requirements of Section 502 of the 1983 

Solvency Act. Section 502 requires recommendations with regard to (1) the tax rates and (2) 

whether any part of the taxes on employers should be diverted to the Railroad Unemployment 

Insurance Account to aid in the repayment of its debt to the Railroad Retirement Account. 

1. This report recommends no change in the rate of tax imposed on employers and employees. 

The tier 2 tax rate schedule maintains a close balance between the present value of future 

income and expenditures. Although future financing problems are projected to occur under 

employment assumption III, as discussed above, the absence of projected cash flow 

problems for at least 22 years under each employment assumption indicates that an 

immediate change in the tax rate schedule is not required. 

2. No diversion of taxes from the Railroad Retirement Account to the Railroad Unemployment 

Insurance Account is recommended. As of May 27, 2009, there are no loans outstanding 

from the Railroad Retirement Account to the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Account. 

Section V of this report presents details of the valuations under the three employment assumptions. 

III. REGULAR AND SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS AND THEIR FINANCING

The Appendix contains a detailed description of the provisions of the current law. Sections III and

IV provide a more general summary of the law. 

Amounts available for payment of railroad retirement benefits are held in four Accounts: the 

National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust (NRRIT), the Railroad Retirement (RR) Account, 

the Social Security Equivalent Benefit (SSEB) Account, and the Dual Benefits Payments Account. 

Because of their intertwined nature, the NRRIT, RR Account and SSEB Account are discussed 

together in this section. Dual benefits and the Dual Benefits Payments Account are discussed in a 

separate section, Section IV. 

Amounts held in the NRRIT, RR Account and SSEB Account are mainly used to pay monthly 

benefits to retired or disabled employees, their spouses, and survivors. The various types of 

benefits and their eligibility requirements are described in the Appendix. The Accounts also pay 

out relatively small amounts in lump sums to employees and their survivors in certain cases. The 

monthly benefits consist of three components, known as tier 1, tier 2 and supplemental annuity. 

For all categories of recipients, the gross tier 1 benefit is generally equivalent to the benefit that the 

social security system would pay if all the employee's earnings (railroad and non-railroad) had been 

covered under the Social Security Act. Any benefit actually received from social security is 

subtracted to determine the net tier 1 benefit payable. Section IV explains the logic behind this 

determination. The cost-of-living increase paid to social security beneficiaries automatically carries 

over to the tier 1 component of railroad retirement annuities. 
4

There are some differences between social security benefits and tier 1 benefits. The most 

significant are as follows: 

1. An employee may not retire before age 62 under the social security system. Under the 

railroad retirement system, an employee may retire at age 60 with 30 years of service. A 

spouse of a 30-year employee may also retire at age 60. If the employee retired after 2001, 

there is no age reduction in either case. 

2. Railroad retirement pays an occupational disability benefit under tier 1 and tier 2. Social 

security requires total and permanent disability. A five-month waiting period applies under 

both systems. 

3. Widow(er)s who retire at age 60 or 61 under railroad retirement are deemed age 62 in the 

computation of the tier 1 benefit, resulting in a smaller age reduction than under social 

security. 

4. From the start of the railroad retirement system through 1984, earnings up to a monthly 

maximum amount were taxed and credited for benefit computation purposes. Social 

security has always used an annual earnings limit. The 1983 Solvency Act changed railroad 

retirement to an annual earnings limit for 1985 and later years, but benefit computations for 

new beneficiaries will reflect the pre-1985 use of a monthly limit for many years into the 

future. All benefits awarded before 1985 reflect a monthly limit exclusively. 

The formula used to compute the tier 2 component of railroad retirement is comparable to a private 

pension formula. Under the formula adopted in 1981, the employee tier 2 benefit is equal to 0.7 

percent of the employee's average monthly railroad earnings for the 60 months of highest earnings, 

multiplied by the number of years of railroad service, less 25 percent of any vested dual benefit. 

Unlike private pensions, tier 2 benefits (1) provide automatic cost-of-living increases, and (2) are 

paid to spouses and survivors without any reduction in employee benefit for the payment of these 

auxiliary benefits. 

The tier 2 benefit for spouses is equal to 45 percent of the employee's tier 2 benefit. The survivor's 

tier 2 benefit is a specified percentage of the employee's tier 2 benefit. The Appendix lists the 

percentages and describes an initial minimum widow(er)’s amount which became payable 

beginning in calendar year 2002. 

The tier 2 cost-of-living increases for employees, spouses and survivors are equal to 32.5 percent of 

the percentage increase which is used in computing social security increases (and tier 1 increases). 

The increase is paid at the same time as the tier 1 cost-of-living increase. 

The portion of tier 1 benefits which is considered equivalent to social security benefits is subject to 

Federal income tax under the rules that apply to social security benefits. Tier 2 benefits, the portion 

of tier 1 benefits in excess of social security benefits, supplemental annuity benefits, and vested dual 

benefits are subject to Federal income tax under the rules that apply to private pensions. 
5

A railroad retiree may receive a supplemental annuity in addition to his regular annuity if (1) the 

retiree has a "current connection" with the railroad industry at the time of retirement, and (2) the 

retiree has attained age 65 with 25 years of railroad service, or attained age 60 with 30 years of 

railroad service. A current connection is generally defined as at least 12 months of railroad service 

in the 30 months preceding retirement. 

The 1981 amendments added the requirement that an employee must have worked in the railroad 

industry before October 1, 1981, to receive a supplemental annuity. This provision results in 

phasing out the supplemental annuity over a long period. The last supplemental annuity check will 

probably not be paid until after 2060. 

The monthly supplemental annuity benefit is $23, plus $4 for each year of service in excess of 25, 

with a maximum benefit of $43. No cost-of-living increases are applied. Spouses and survivors do 

not receive a supplemental annuity. 

If the recipient of a supplemental annuity receives a private pension from his railroad employer, the 

supplemental annuity is reduced by the portion of the private pension that is attributable to the 

employer's contributions. This reduction is not made if the private pension is reduced for receipt of

the supplemental annuity. 

Benefits paid from the NRRIT, RR Account and SSEB Account are financed by the following 

sources of income: 

1. Payroll tax. Employees and employers pay a tax at the social security rate on earnings in a 

year up to the social security, or tier 1, earnings limit. (The Medicare hospital insurance 

portion of this rate is not subject to an earnings limit.) This tax is called the tier 1 tax. In 

addition, employers and employees pay a tier 2 tax equal to a percentage of the employee's 

earnings up to the tier 2 earnings limit. The tier 2 earnings limit is what the social security 

limit would be if the 1977 social security amendments had not been enacted. The 2009 

earnings limits are $106,800 and $79,200 for tier 1 and tier 2, respectively. 

Tier 2 taxes on both employers and employees are based on a 10-year average of the ratio of 

certain asset balances to the sum of benefits and administrative expenses (the average 

account benefits ratio). Depending on the average account benefits ratio, the tier 2 tax rate 

for employers will range between 8.2 percent and 22.1 percent, while the tier 2 tax rate for 

employees will be between 0 percent and 4.9 percent. This calculation is described in the 

Appendix. 

2. Income tax. The tax on tier 1 benefits up to the social security level is credited to the SSEB 

Account and then to social security through the financial interchange. Revenue derived 

from taxing RR Account benefits (tier 2 and the excess of tier 1 over the social security 

level) is transferred to the RR Account. 

3. Investment income. 
6

4. The financial interchange with the social security system. This extremely important 

arrangement, which will be discussed in detail in Section IV, has resulted in the large annual 

lump sum transfers of money from social security to railroad retirement shown in Table 11. 

5. Advances from general revenues related to certain features of the financial interchange. 

Financial interchange transfers are made in a lump sum for a whole fiscal year in the June 

following the end of that fiscal year. For example, the transfer reflecting transactions which 

occurred from October 2006 through September 2007 (fiscal year 2007) took place in June 

2008. At any time, therefore, there are between 9 and 21 months' worth of financial 

interchange transfers that are, in a sense, owed to the railroad retirement system. Railroad 

retirement receives interest on this money, so this practice does no long-term harm to the 

financial condition of the railroad retirement system. The lag in the transfers, however, 

could cause short-term cash flow problems. 

In order to avoid the cash flow problems caused by this lag, the 1983 Solvency Act provided 

for monthly loans to railroad retirement from U.S. Treasury general funds. Each loan is 

equal to the transfer the Railroad Retirement Board estimates railroad retirement would have 

received in the preceding month, with interest, if the financial interchange with social 

security were on an up-to-date basis. Railroad retirement must repay these loans when it 

receives the transfer from social security against which the money was advanced. 

The 1983 Solvency Act created the SSEB Account, effective October 1, 1984. Before that date, all 

tier 1 benefits, tier 2 benefits, lump sums and administrative expenses had been paid from the RR 

Account, and all the income described above had been credited to the RR Account. Since then, the 

SSEB Account has paid the social security level of benefits and the administrative expenses 

allocable to that level of benefits. The tier 1 portion of the payroll tax, the income taxes on the 

social security level of benefits, the income from the financial interchange, and the advances from

general revenues are credited to the SSEB Account. Repayment of the advances is made from the 

SSEB Account. 

The Railroad Retirement and Survivors’ Improvement Act of 2001 created the National Railroad 

Retirement Investment Trust to manage and invest amounts collected in the RR Account and SSEB 

Account. The portion of the RR Account that is not needed to pay current administrative expenses 

and the balance of the SSEB Account not needed to pay current benefits and administrative 

expenses must be transferred from time to time to the NRRIT in such manner as will maximize 

investment returns to the Railroad Retirement system. 

IV. THE FINANCIAL INTERCHANGE AND DUAL BENEFITS

In the early 1950s, an arrangement known as the financial interchange was established between the 

railroad retirement and social security systems. The purpose of the financial interchange is to place 

the social security trust funds in the same financial position they would have been if railroad 

employment had always been covered under social security. If railroad employment had been 

covered under social security, social security would have collected taxes on railroad employment, 

and it would have paid benefits based on railroad employment. Under the financial interchange, the 
7

railroad retirement system gives the social security system the taxes social security would have 

collected, and the social security system gives the railroad retirement system the additional benefits 

social security would have paid to railroad workers and their families over what it actually pays 

them. 

The word "additional" in the preceding sentence is important, because it is possible for a railroad 

employee to be covered under both railroad retirement and social security. The social security 

coverage may be based on earnings from moonlighting while in a railroad job or from coverage 

under the two systems at different times. Fulfilling the purpose of the financial interchange requires 

deducting from social security's fund only the difference between what social security would have 

paid had it covered railroad employment and what it actually pays the person based on his nonrailroad employment. Under the financial interchange, therefore, social security subtracts an 

employee's social security benefit from the amount it would otherwise give to the railroad

retirement system. 

This arrangement gave rise to problems that became acute in the early 1970s. The problems arose 

from the weighting in the social security formula in favor of low-earning, short-service workers. A 

railroad employee's non-railroad earnings usually added little to the benefit social security would 

have paid on combined railroad and non-railroad earnings (called gross tier 1 today). However, the 

employee might qualify for the minimum social security benefit, receiving much more from social

security than his non-railroad earnings added to his gross tier 1 benefit. 

In order to improve the system's financial condition, the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 provided 

that the tier 1 component of the railroad retirement annuity be reduced by any social security 

benefit. This essentially integrated the two systems and eliminated the advantage of qualifying for 

benefits under both systems. 

It was generally considered unfair to eliminate this advantage entirely for those already retired or 

close to retirement when the 1974 Act became effective. The 1974 Act, therefore, provided for a 

restoration of social security benefits that were considered vested at the end of 1974. The restored 

amount is known as the "vested dual benefit." This benefit was available to qualifying spouses and 

survivors as well as to qualifying employees. 

For employees retiring in 1975 or later, the vested dual benefit was to be equal to 

(1) a social security benefit based on social security earnings, plus 

(2) a social security benefit based on railroad earnings, minus 

(3) a social security benefit based on combined railroad and social security earnings. 

Social security or railroad earnings after 1974 were not to be included in this calculation. The 

"social security benefit" referred to in (1), (2) and (3) is the one which would have been calculated 

at the end of 1974. The resulting amount was to be increased by all the automatic social security 

cost-of-living adjustments between 1974 and the date the employee retired. 
8

For spouses and survivors, the formulas were different and more complicated than those for 

employees. 

The 1981 amendments made significant changes regarding vested dual benefits. Spouses and 

survivors were not to be awarded vested dual benefits after August 13, 1981, though they would 

continue to receive these benefits if they were awarded before that date. Also, vested dual benefits 

awarded to employees would take into account cost-of-living increases only through 1981, rather 

than through the date of retirement. 

Since October 1981, vested dual benefits have been paid from a segregated Dual Benefits Payments 

Account, and appropriations have been made to that account. This means that, starting in fiscal year 

1982, each annual appropriation is to be sufficient to pay the benefits for that year. If the 

appropriation for a fiscal year is less than required for full funding, the Railroad Retirement Board 

must reduce benefits to a level that the amount appropriated will cover. 

The appropriation for vested dual benefits in fiscal year 1982 was less than required for full 

funding, resulting in a cutback in benefits during that year. Full funding was restored for the last

two months of fiscal year 1982. The appropriation was less than required in fiscal year 1986, 

resulting in a cutback during April-September of that year. The appropriation was again less than 

required in fiscal year 1988, which resulted in a cutback during April-September. Benefits were cut 

back in January 1996 due to a lapse in government funding and then restored later that same month. 

For years other than those mentioned, full benefits have been paid. 

V. ASSUMPTIONS, METHODOLOGY, AND VALUATION RESULTS

A. Assumptions and Methodology

Average railroad employment is assumed to be 234,000 in 2008 under each of the three 

employment assumptions. This is the estimated average for the year (subject to later adjustment) 

and is equal to the number assumed for 2008 under employment assumption I contained in the 2008 

Section 502 report. 

Employment assumptions I and II, based on a model developed by the Association of American 

Railroads, assume that (1) passenger employment will remain at the level of 43,000, and (2) the 

employment base, excluding passenger employment, will decline at a constant annual rate (0.5 

percent for assumption I and 2.0 percent for assumption II) for 25 years, at a reducing rate over the 

next 25 years, and remain level thereafter. 

Employment assumption III differs from employment assumptions I and II by assuming that (1) 

passenger employment will decline by 500 per year until a level of 35,000 is reached and then 

remain level, and (2) the employment base, excluding passenger employment, will decline at a 

constant annual rate of 3.5 percent for 25 years, at a reducing rate over the next 25 years, and 

remain level thereafter. 
9

The assumed rates of decline in freight employment are 0.5% lower during the first 25 years under 

each employment assumption than those assumed in the 23rd valuation. 

Because inflation has been fairly stable at relatively low levels in recent years, only one set of 

earnings and price inflation assumptions was used in this valuation. The ultimate earnings increase, 

cost-of-living increase and investment return assumptions are the same as those used in the 23rd

valuation. Table 1 shows the employment, inflation and investment return assumptions used in the 

24th valuation. A comparison of historical and projected employment is illustrated in Figure 1. 

Only one combination of non-economic assumptions (for example, rates of mortality, disability, 

retirement, and withdrawal) was used in this valuation. These assumptions, some of which were 

changed from the 23rd valuation to reflect recent experience, are discussed in the Technical 

Supplement to this report. 

Projections were made for the various components of income and outgo under each employment 

assumption for the 75 calendar years 2008-2082. The projections of these components were 

combined and the investment income calculated to produce the projected balances in the combined 

NRRIT and RR Account and in the SSEB Account separately for each year. The results are 

summarized in Table 2. Present values of the various components of NRRIT and RR Account 

income and outgo were calculated by discounting amounts in each projection year to December 31, 

2007, using a constant 7.5% interest rate. The present values were combined to calculate the 

NRRIT and RR Account actuarial surplus or deficiency. The derivation of the surplus or deficiency 

appears in Table 6. 

B. Valuation Results

This section sets forth the results of the valuation in the form of a discussion of the tables in which 

the results appear. Because it is desirable for the discussion of a table to be reasonably selfcontained, there is some repetition between tables and between this section and preceding sections 

of this report. 

Table 2. Progress of the Combined National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust (NRRIT) and

Railroad Retirement (RR) Account, and the Social Security Equivalent Benefit (SSEB) Account. 

Projections were made for the various components of income and outgo under each employment 

assumption for the 75 calendar years 2008-2082. The projections of these components were 

combined and the investment income calculated to produce the projected balances in the combined 

NRRIT and RR Account, and the SSEB Account at the end of each projection year. The results are 

summarized in Table 2. 

Table 2 consists of three tables, one for each of employment assumptions I, II, and III. The tables

show, for the SSEB Account and the combined NRRIT and RR Account for each projection year, 

(1) the various elements of income and outgo, (2) the account balance on December 31, and (3) the 

account benefits ratio, average account benefits ratio and combined employer and employee tier 2 

tax rate. 
10

The balances of the RR Account and NRRIT are combined because amounts not needed to pay 

current administrative costs are transferred from the RR Account to the NRRIT for investment. The 

SSEB Account is assumed to maintain a target balance of approximately 1.5 months of benefit 

payments in order to meet benefit obligations and contingencies, and to transfer any excess to the 

NRRIT. 

Table 2 indicates that no cash-flow problems arise under employment assumptions I and II (Tables 

2-I and 2-II). 

Under employment assumption I, the combined account balance declines through 2021 and then 

grows through the end of the projection period. The combined employer and employee tier 2 tax 

rate increases to 20% in 2022-2032, decreases to 8.2% in 2053-2064 and then increases to 10.0% in 

2065-2082. 

Under employment assumption II, the combined account balance declines through 2023, and grows 

thereafter through the end of the projection period. The combined employer and employee tier 2 tax 

rate increases to 27% in 2026-2032, and then decreases until reaching the minimum rate of 8.2% in 

2071-2082. 

Under employment assumption III, the combined account balance declines until the balance 

becomes negative in 2031. Negative after-transfer balances indicate the amount that would be 

owed, including interest, if unreduced benefits were paid by borrowing from some unknown source. 

The combined account deficit grows until 2068, when the balance reaches -$81,990 million. The 

balance then begins to improve, but remains negative through the end of the projection period. The 

combined employer and employee tier 2 tax rate increases to 27% in 2023 and remains at that level 

through the end of the projection period. Under this assumption, the tax rate mechanism does not 

respond quickly enough to avoid cash flow problems. 

Table 3. Present value of benefits in millions of dollars. This table shows, for each employment 

assumption, the present value of tier 2 benefits, supplemental annuity benefits and the portion of 

tier 1 benefits which exceeds the social security level of benefits. The portion of tier 1 benefits in 

excess of the social security level is referred to as "tier 1 liability." The most important components 

of this liability were described in Section III. Supplemental annuity benefits are included with tier 2 

benefits in this table. The present values are shown separately by type of beneficiary (employee, 

spouse, survivor) and by employee status on the valuation date (retired, retired and deceased, active, 

inactive, future entrants). 

Table 4. Present value of benefits as a percentage of the present value of tier 2 payroll. The format 

for this table is the same as for Table 3. Each number in Table 4 was obtained by dividing the 

corresponding number in Table 3 by the appropriate present value of one percent of tier 2 payroll. 

The payroll figures are shown in Table 6. 

Table 5. Balance of the Combined National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust and Railroad 

Retirement Account, and the Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account as of December 31, 2007. 

This table derives the balance in the accounts as of December 31, 2007. No accrual adjustments are 

made either for financial interchange amounts due and unpaid on that date or for benefits due on 
11

January 2, 2008, because these amounts are included in the projected future cash flows. For the 

purpose of the present value calculations, an adjustment is made for calendar year 2008 market 

value losses as discussed in Table 6 below. 

Table 6. Actuarial surplus or (deficiency) for National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust and 

Railroad Retirement Account. The top half of Table 6 expresses the asset and liability components 

of the actuarial balance as present values in dollars. The bottom half expresses these components as 

a percentage of tier 2 payroll. The actuarial surplus or deficiency was calculated for the NRRIT and 

RR Account, but not for the SSEB Account, for the following reason. 

The SSEB Account pays the social security level of benefits and administrative expenses allocable 

to those benefits, and it receives as income the social security level of taxes. If there were no other 

source of income or outgo during the course of a year, a surplus or deficiency would build up, 

depending on whether taxes exceeded or were less than benefits. However, the SSEB Account also 

receives or pays any financial interchange transfers. The financial interchange transfer, subject to 

qualifications described in the next paragraph, should be enough to offset any surplus or deficit for 

the year. Furthermore, this would be the case even if the social security level of benefits or taxes 

are raised or lowered. The SSEB Account can thus be regarded as automatically funded, the 

financial interchange being the mechanism for correcting any surplus or deficiency. Therefore, the 

concept of actuarial balance is not meaningful when applied to the SSEB Account. 

The qualification mentioned above arises because, in a relatively small number of cases, the railroad 

retirement system does not pay benefits when social security would pay benefits. In these cases, 

mainly dependent children of retired railroad employees, the SSEB Account collects an amount 

through the financial interchange but does not pay a corresponding benefit. This imbalance 

between outgo and income is transferred from time to time to the NRRIT. The value of these 

transfers, or amounts available for transfer, is included as an asset in Table 6 as “Available from

SSEB Account.” 

Revenue derived from taxing NRRIT and RR Account benefits (tier 2 and the excess of tier 1 over 

the social security level) is transferred to the RR Account. The present value of these transfers is 

shown as an asset in Table 6 as “Income taxes on benefits.” 

Although the actual return of the trust funds during calendar year 2008 was approximately -31.1%, 

this rate is not used in the present value calculations because the large negative rate of return 

distorts the present values of income and expenditure. Instead, the present value calculations use 

7.5% as the rate for 2008, as well as for the remaining 74 years of the projection. This avoids 

having present values that would be over 50% higher, thereby facilitating comparison with other 

years. In order to properly measure the surplus, however, the calendar year 2008 loss must be taken 

into account, which is done by adjusting the beginning asset value for the anticipated loss. The 

adjusted balance as of December 31, 2007, is calculated so that, assuming a 7.5% rate of return for 

2008, the combined RRA, NRRIT, and SSEBA balance projected on December 31, 2008, is equal 

to the actual balance on that date. 
12

The cost of the system to the railroad industry may be considered as the excess of “Retirement 

taxes” over “Actuarial surplus or (deficiency).” Table 6 shows that the cost of the system is much 

more stable when expressed in dollars than when expressed as a percentage of payroll. For 

example, the cost of the system under employment assumption III is $53,817 million, or 21.57 

percent of payroll, whereas the cost under employment assumption I is $59,885 million, or 16.13 

percent of payroll. Using employment assumption III as the base, the percentage cost variation in 

dollars between the two valuations is 11.28 percent. As a percentage of payroll, the percentage cost 

variation is 25.22 percent. 

Table 7. Unfunded accrued liability. The railroad retirement program is a social insurance program 

rather than a private pension plan. A private pension plan should build up funds in an orderly way 

over the working lifetimes of the participants. With a fully funded program, the value of the 

accumulated assets will be sufficient to discharge all liabilities for the accrued benefits. Pay-asyou-go funding, where the pension costs are charged to the retirement years as the benefits are paid, 

is not acceptable for a private pension plan because of a lack of participant security. Because 

private pension plans can terminate, they should, ideally, be fully funded to protect the rights of 

active and retired participants. 

For a social insurance plan, however, the situation is different, and full funding is not necessary. 

The program is expected to operate indefinitely. Because the program is compulsory, new entrants 

will constantly be entering the program, and they and their employers will be paying taxes to 

support the program. 

Unlike some other social insurance programs, the railroad retirement program relies on payroll 

taxes from the employers and employees of a single industry. Although the railroad retirement 

program is not subject to the funding standards of a private pension plan, it is still of interest to 

calculate the normal cost and the accrued liability for the plan.

Table 7 illustrates what the funding requirements would be for the railroad retirement system as of 

December 31, 2007, using the entry age normal actuarial funding method. The present value of 

future benefits and the present value of future administrative expenses for former and present 

employees are shown on lines 1 and 2, respectively. The portion of the actuarial present value of 

benefits assigned to a particular year is called the normal cost. For the entry age normal actuarial 

funding method, the normal cost rate is the average cost expressed as a level percentage of payroll 

(line 4) that would fund the average employee’s benefits, including dependent benefits, and 

expenses over the employee’s working lifetime. The accrued liability for the program, shown on 

line 6, is equal to the difference between the present value of benefits and administrative expenses 

for former and present employees and the present value of future normal costs. Then the unfunded 

accrued liability (line 8) is the difference between the accrued liability and the funds on hand as of 

December 31, 2007 (line 6 minus line 7). This is the amount needed, in excess of funds on hand 

and future normal costs, to fund combined NRRIT and RR Account benefits and expenses for 

former and present employees. Line 10 shows the level tax rate that would be required to fund the 

unfunded accrued liability and meet the normal costs for the next 30 years. The level tax rate after 

30 years if all assumptions were realized is shown on line 11. 
13

Table 8. Vested dual benefit amounts and average number of beneficiaries. This table shows a 

projection of vested dual benefit payments for every fiscal year from 2010 through 2030. After 

2030, the amounts become insignificant. The amounts shown assume that the benefits are fully 

funded. Fiscal years are shown because vested dual benefit appropriations are made on a fiscal year 

basis. The table also indicates the average number of vested dual beneficiaries in each fiscal year. 

The table applies to all the employment assumptions discussed in this report. 

The revenue derived from taxing pre-October 1988 vested dual benefits was transferred to the RR 

Account. The revenue derived from taxing vested dual benefits in fiscal years 1989 and later is 

transferred to the Dual Benefits Payments Account, and it reduces the amount of the appropriation 

by the same amount. Therefore, the amount available for the payment of vested dual benefits is 

unaffected by income tax revenues derived from these benefits. 

The 1981 amendments removed much of the uncertainty from projections of future vested dual 

benefit payments. The volatility caused by inflation is gone, since future awards take into account 

cost-of-living increases from 1975 through 1981, rather than through the date of retirement. Also, 

awards of these benefits to spouses and widow(er)s ceased after August 13, 1981. Uncertainties 

which remain in projecting future vested dual benefit payments are when employees will retire, 

what their benefits will be, and when beneficiaries will die. 

The projections of vested dual benefit payments by the Railroad Retirement Board are the basis for 

the agency's requests for appropriated amounts. Generally, a margin of about 2 percent is added to 

projected amounts to determine the appropriated amounts requested. This margin is needed because 

of the uncertainties in making projections and to ensure that adequate funds are available for the full 

payment of vested dual benefits. Appropriated amounts remaining in a fiscal year after all benefit 

payments have been made are returned to the Treasury. 

Table 9. Supplemental annuity benefit amounts and average number of beneficiaries. This table 

shows a projection of supplemental annuity benefits for every calendar year from 2009 through 

2045. Since service before October 1, 1981, is required for a supplemental annuity, benefit amounts 

after 2045 will continue to decline. 

Table 10. Average number of railroad retirement annuitants and number of annuitants per full time

employee. The left half of Table 10 shows the average number of annuitants under each 

employment assumption, and the right half shows the average number per full time employee. 

Under employment assumption I, the average number of annuitants per full time employee 

generally declines throughout the projection period. Under employment assumption II, the average 

number of annuitants per full time employee increases until reaching a maximum of 2.65 in 2019-

2022 and then declines. Under employment assumption III, the average number of annuitants per 

full time employee increases steadily to 3.48 in 2035 and declines thereafter. 
14 

VI. STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION

It is my opinion that (1) the techniques and methodology used herein to evaluate the financial and 

actuarial status of the Railroad Retirement System are generally accepted within the actuarial 

profession; and (2) the assumptions used and the resulting actuarial estimates are, in the aggregate, 

reasonable for the purpose of evaluating the financial and actuarial status of the trust funds, taking 

into consideration the experience and expectations of the program. 

 

 Frank J. Buzzi 

 Chief Actuary, Railroad Retirement Board 

 Fellow of the Society of Actuaries 

 Member of the American Academy of Actuaries 

 Enrolled Actuary #08-4940 
 15

Table 1. Employment, inflation and interest assumptions 

Calendar Average employment (thousands) Percentage increase over prior year Investment

year I II III Earnings Cost of living return

2008 234 234 234 4.8% 2.3% -31.1% 

2009 233 230 227 4.0 5.8 7.5 

2010 232 226 220 4.0 0.0 7.5 

2011 231 223 213 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2012 230 219 206 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2013 229 215 200 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2014 228 212 194 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2015 227 209 188 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2016 226 205 182 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2017 225 202 177 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2018 224 199 172 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2019 224 196 166 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2020 223 193 161 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2021 222 190 157 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2022 221 187 152 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2023 220 184 147 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2024 219 181 143 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2025 218 178 139 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2026 217 176 135 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2027 216 173 132 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2028 216 170 129 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2029 215 168 125 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2030 214 165 122 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2031 213 163 119 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2032 212 160 116 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2033 211 158 113 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2034 211 156 111 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2035 210 154 108 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2036 209 152 106 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2037 208 150 104 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2038 208 148 102 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2039 207 147 100 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2040 206 145 99 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2041 206 144 97 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2042 205 143 96 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2043 205 141 94 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2044 204 140 93 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2045 204 139 92 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2046 204 138 91 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2047 203 138 90 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2048 203 137 90 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2049 203 136 89 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2050 202 135 88 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2051 202 135 88 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2052 202 135 87 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2053 202 134 87 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2054 202 134 87 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2055 202 134 86 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2056 202 133 86 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2057 202 133 86 4.0 3.0 7.5 

2058-2082 202 133 86 4.0 3.0 7.5 
Figure 1. Average Railroad Employment 1937-2082, Historical and Projected 

50,000 

100,000 200,000 400,000 

600,000 

800,000 

1,000,000 1,400,000 1,800,000 

EmploEmploEmplo

1937 1947 1957 1967 1977 1987 1997 2007 2017 2027 2037 2047 20

Calendar Year 
 17 

Table 2-I. Progress of the Combined National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust (NRRIT) and Railroad Retirement (RR) Account, and

the Social Security Equivalent Benefit (SSEB) Account under Employment Assumption I

(Dollar amounts in millions)

Average Combined NRRIT and RR Account SSEB Account 

Account account Tier 2 Benefits Benefits Other Combined 

Calendar benefits benefits tax and admin- Tax Other Balance, and admin- Tax income and Balance, balance, 

year ratioa ratiob rate istration incomec incomed end year istration incomec expense e end year end year 

2009 4.74 6.90 16.0% $4,516 $2,762 $1,744 $20,973 $6,293 $2,722 $3,508 $783 $21,756 

2010 4.56 6.70 16.0% 4,644 2,851 1,618 20,798 6,333 2,813 3,525 787 21,585 

2011 4.32 6.60 16.0% 4,843 2,949 1,541 20,445 6,566 2,913 3,682 816 21,261 

2012 4.09 6.30 17.0% 5,046 3,221 1,558 20,178 6,815 3,018 3,827 847 21,025 

2013 3.87 6.10 17.0% 5,239 3,333 1,538 19,809 7,083 3,130 3,986 881 20,690 

2014 3.68 5.80 18.0% 5,431 3,630 1,518 19,527 7,366 3,248 4,153 916 20,443 

2015 3.50 5.50 18.0% 5,617 3,757 1,500 19,167 7,651 3,371 4,315 951 20,118 

2016 3.30 5.10 18.0% 5,780 3,889 1,362 18,639 7,949 3,502 4,456 960 19,599 

2017 3.15 4.70 18.0% 5,917 4,025 1,411 18,158 8,251 3,640 4,677 1,026 19,184 

2018 3.01 4.20 18.0% 6,036 4,166 1,413 17,701 8,548 3,784 4,800 1,063 18,764 

2019 2.91 3.90 19.0% 6,136 4,527 1,396 17,489 8,834 3,935 4,935 1,098 18,587 

2020 2.85 3.70 19.0% 6,217 4,686 1,391 17,347 9,105 4,081 5,057 1,132 18,479 

2021 2.79 3.50 19.0% 6,282 4,850 1,268 17,183 9,357 4,233 5,155 1,163 18,346 

2022 2.80 3.40 20.0% 6,333 5,261 1,400 17,511 9,594 4,391 5,232 1,192 18,703 

2023 2.86 3.20 20.0% 6,382 5,445 1,437 18,011 9,815 4,554 5,289 1,220 19,231 

2024 2.93 3.10 20.0% 6,438 5,634 1,485 18,692 10,027 4,720 5,334 1,246 19,938 

2025 3.03 3.10 20.0% 6,500 5,827 1,546 19,565 10,238 4,888 5,376 1,272 20,837 

2026 3.15 3.00 20.0% 6,564 6,026 1,528 20,554 10,453 5,061 5,418 1,299 21,853 

2027 3.31 3.00 20.0% 6,635 6,231 1,703 21,853 10,675 5,240 5,463 1,326 23,179 

2028 3.48 3.00 20.0% 6,725 6,441 1,809 23,377 10,908 5,421 5,515 1,355 24,732 

2029 3.68 3.10 20.0% 6,832 6,656 1,931 25,131 11,152 5,606 5,577 1,385 26,516 

2030 3.90 3.10 20.0% 6,949 6,881 2,070 27,133 11,409 5,798 5,643 1,417 28,550 

2031 4.14 3.20 20.0% 7,074 7,114 2,170 29,343 11,683 5,997 5,719 1,451 30,794 

2032 4.42 3.40 20.0% 7,197 7,354 2,401 31,900 11,980 6,203 5,813 1,488 33,388 

2033 4.69 3.50 19.0% 7,314 7,249 2,586 34,422 12,308 6,420 5,929 1,528 35,950 

2034 4.98 3.70 19.0% 7,448 7,496 2,784 37,254 12,653 6,644 6,052 1,571 38,825 

2035 5.29 3.90 19.0% 7,614 7,752 3,006 40,399 13,003 6,873 6,173 1,614 42,013 

2036 5.58 4.20 18.0% 7,770 7,628 3,208 43,464 13,371 7,117 6,300 1,660 45,124 

2037 5.89 4.40 18.0% 7,925 7,896 3,475 46,911 13,760 7,373 6,435 1,708 48,619 

2038 6.23 4.70 18.0% 8,110 8,174 3,742 50,717 14,170 7,637 6,584 1,759 52,476 

2039 6.58 4.90 18.0% 8,302 8,464 4,036 54,915 14,614 7,912 6,757 1,814 56,729 

2040 6.97 5.20 18.0% 8,493 8,769 4,361 59,551 15,086 8,203 6,942 1,873 61,424 

2041 7.36 5.50 18.0% 8,741 9,087 4,710 64,608 15,570 8,502 7,128 1,933 66,541 

2042 7.71 5.80 18.0% 9,063 9,417 5,107 70,069 16,061 8,806 7,316 1,994 72,063 

2043 8.03 6.20 17.0% 9,371 9,254 5,500 75,452 16,615 9,127 7,556 2,062 77,514 

2044 8.35 6.50 16.0% 9,645 9,068 5,888 80,763 17,239 9,467 7,849 2,140 82,903 

2045 8.69 6.80 16.0% 9,922 9,407 6,299 86,548 17,880 9,827 8,133 2,220 88,768 

2046 8.97 7.20 15.0% 10,262 9,195 6,721 92,202 18,531 10,199 8,413 2,300 94,502 

2047 9.15 7.50 14.0% 10,678 8,955 7,132 97,611 19,191 10,580 8,693 2,382 99,993 

2048 9.33 7.90 14.0% 11,077 9,295 7,540 103,370 19,921 10,981 9,030 2,473 105,843 

2049 9.46 8.20 12.0% 11,452 8,381 7,926 108,225 20,720 11,403 9,416 2,572 110,797 

2050 9.49 8.50 10.0% 11,843 7,385 8,248 112,016 21,537 11,845 9,794 2,673 114,689 

2055 9.22 9.30 8.2% 14,066 7,498 9,558 128,919 26,088 14,357 11,852 3,238 132,157 

2060 8.77 9.30 8.2% 16,601 9,089 10,763 144,639 31,460 17,460 14,141 3,905 148,544 

2065 8.38 8.90 10.0% 19,642 13,152 12,154 163,767 37,721 21,231 16,656 4,682 168,449 

2070 8.41 8.50 10.0% 23,434 15,969 14,553 196,246 45,187 25,803 19,584 5,609 201,855 

2075 8.44 8.50 10.0% 28,168 19,401 17,533 236,625 54,280 31,361 23,164 6,738 243,363 

2080 8.44 8.50 10.0% 34,068 23,588 21,192 286,187 65,489 38,127 27,664 8,129 294,316 

2082 8.44 8.50 10.0% 36,805 25,509 22,870 308,893 70,686 41,231 29,785 8,774 317,667 

a

 The fair market value of the assets in the RR Account and NRRIT as of the close of the fiscal year (September 30) divided by the total benefits and administrative

 expenses paid from the RR Account and NRRIT during the fiscal year. b The average of the account benefits ratios for the 10 most recent fiscal years ending before the calendar year.

Includes payroll taxes and income taxes on benefits. d Includes investment income and transfers from SSEB Account. 

e Other income includes financial interchange income, advances from general revenues, and interest income. Other expense includes repayment of advances 

from general revenues and transfers to the NRRIT.

c
 18 

Table 2-II. Progress of the Combined National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust (NRRIT) and Railroad Retirement (RR) Account, and

the Social Security Equivalent Benefit (SSEB) Account under Employment Assumption II

(Dollar amounts in millions)

Average Combined NRRIT and RR Account SSEB Account 

Account account Tier 2 Benefits Benefits Other Combined 

Calendar benefits benefits tax and admin- Tax Other Balance, and admin- Tax income and Balance, balance, 

year ratioa ratiob rate istration incomec incomed end year istration incomec expense e end year end year 

2009 4.74 6.90 16.0% $4,516 $2,745 $1,743 $20,955 $6,293 $2,705 $3,524 $783 $21,738 

2010 4.54 6.70 16.0% 4,644 2,805 1,615 20,731 6,333 2,767 3,570 787 21,518 

2011 4.29 6.60 16.0% 4,843 2,872 1,532 20,293 6,566 2,836 3,758 816 21,109 

2012 4.04 6.30 17.0% 5,046 3,104 1,542 19,894 6,815 2,909 3,937 847 20,741 

2013 3.79 6.10 17.0% 5,238 3,179 1,510 19,346 7,083 2,984 4,132 881 20,227 

2014 3.56 5.80 18.0% 5,429 3,426 1,475 18,817 7,365 3,064 4,337 916 19,733 

2015 3.33 5.50 18.0% 5,615 3,508 1,436 18,147 7,651 3,147 4,539 951 19,098 

2016 3.08 5.00 18.0% 5,776 3,593 1,274 17,238 7,948 3,235 4,722 959 18,197 

2017 2.85 4.60 18.0% 5,912 3,680 1,291 16,297 8,249 3,327 4,988 1,026 17,323 

2018 2.63 4.10 18.0% 6,030 3,769 1,257 15,293 8,545 3,424 5,158 1,062 16,355 

2019 2.44 3.70 19.0% 6,128 4,050 1,196 14,411 8,829 3,524 5,341 1,098 15,509 

2020 2.26 3.50 19.0% 6,207 4,147 1,138 13,490 9,097 3,617 5,513 1,131 14,621 

2021 2.09 3.30 20.0% 6,268 4,448 963 12,633 9,345 3,712 5,663 1,162 13,795 

2022 1.96 3.10 20.0% 6,316 4,556 1,031 11,904 9,575 3,811 5,793 1,190 13,094 

2023 1.92 2.80 23.0% 6,361 5,300 1,011 11,855 9,789 3,911 5,905 1,217 13,072 

2024 1.90 2.70 23.0% 6,413 5,427 1,016 11,885 9,992 4,012 6,005 1,242 13,127 

2025 1.90 2.50 23.0% 6,470 5,554 1,025 11,995 10,191 4,111 6,104 1,266 13,261 

2026 2.01 2.40 27.0% 6,528 6,594 984 13,044 10,391 4,212 6,204 1,291 14,335 

2027 2.19 2.20 27.0% 6,595 6,746 1,162 14,358 10,596 4,314 6,307 1,316 15,674 

2028 2.38 2.20 27.0% 6,680 6,900 1,267 15,845 10,808 4,415 6,419 1,342 17,187 

2029 2.59 2.20 27.0% 6,778 7,055 1,384 17,505 11,027 4,517 6,538 1,370 18,875 

2030 2.81 2.20 27.0% 6,884 7,215 1,514 19,350 11,253 4,621 6,660 1,397 20,747 

2031 3.05 2.20 27.0% 6,995 7,381 1,600 21,337 11,491 4,728 6,791 1,427 22,764 

2032 3.31 2.30 27.0% 7,101 7,550 1,812 23,597 11,746 4,839 6,939 1,458 25,055 

2033 3.49 2.50 23.0% 7,196 6,654 1,944 24,999 12,025 4,955 7,105 1,493 26,492 

2034 3.65 2.60 23.0% 7,302 6,812 2,055 26,565 12,312 5,075 7,273 1,528 28,093 

2035 3.82 2.80 23.0% 7,435 6,975 2,180 28,283 12,596 5,198 7,433 1,564 29,847 

2036 3.90 3.00 20.0% 7,555 6,284 2,253 29,265 12,890 5,331 7,596 1,600 30,865 

2037 3.99 3.20 20.0% 7,667 6,447 2,360 30,405 13,198 5,472 7,764 1,638 32,043 

2038 4.08 3.30 20.0% 7,806 6,615 2,451 31,666 13,518 5,618 7,940 1,678 33,344 

2039 4.15 3.50 19.0% 7,945 6,480 2,539 32,739 13,859 5,770 8,131 1,720 34,459 

2040 4.23 3.70 19.0% 8,074 6,661 2,626 33,952 14,215 5,935 8,324 1,765 35,717 

2041 4.30 3.80 19.0% 8,251 6,851 2,716 35,268 14,571 6,105 8,510 1,809 37,077 

2042 4.36 3.90 19.0% 8,483 7,048 2,829 36,662 14,922 6,276 8,690 1,852 38,514 

2043 4.39 4.00 18.0% 8,678 6,906 2,921 37,812 15,326 6,462 8,914 1,902 39,714 

2044 4.46 4.10 18.0% 8,836 7,115 3,012 39,103 15,777 6,662 9,171 1,958 41,061 

2045 4.54 4.20 18.0% 8,997 7,339 3,121 40,566 16,221 6,876 9,400 2,014 42,580 

2046 4.61 4.30 18.0% 9,212 7,575 3,239 42,167 16,660 7,097 9,618 2,068 44,235 

2047 4.66 4.40 18.0% 9,484 7,821 3,369 43,873 17,096 7,324 9,826 2,122 45,995 

2048 4.73 4.40 18.0% 9,717 8,080 3,500 45,736 17,586 7,567 10,080 2,183 47,919 

2049 4.84 4.50 18.0% 9,922 8,351 3,647 47,812 18,120 7,825 10,361 2,249 50,061 

2050 4.96 4.60 18.0% 10,143 8,638 3,816 50,123 18,644 8,097 10,612 2,314 52,437 

2055 5.79 5.00 18.0% 11,400 10,310 4,952 65,972 21,442 9,677 11,838 2,662 68,634 

2060 7.22 5.80 18.0% 12,781 12,445 6,843 92,723 24,567 11,697 12,951 3,050 95,773 

2065 8.89 7.20 15.0% 14,464 12,718 9,472 129,015 28,094 14,170 14,017 3,487 132,502 

2070 10.00 8.70 10.0% 16,620 10,643 12,237 165,866 32,316 17,172 15,258 4,011 169,877 

2075 9.93 9.80 8.2% 19,401 10,807 14,203 191,895 37,620 20,825 16,939 4,670 196,565 

2080 9.73 10.00 8.2% 23,028 13,109 16,490 222,871 44,429 25,284 19,331 5,515 228,386 

2082 9.61 9.90 8.2% 24,747 14,168 17,504 236,545 47,668 27,332 20,541 5,917 242,462 

a

 The fair market value of the assets in the RR Account and NRRIT as of the close of the fiscal year (September 30) divided by the total benefits and administrative

 expenses paid from the RR Account and NRRIT during the fiscal year. b The average of the account benefits ratios for the 10 most recent fiscal years ending before the calendar year.

Includes payroll taxes and income taxes on benefits. d Includes investment income and transfers from SSEB Account. 

e Other income includes financial interchange income, advances from general revenues, and interest income. Other expense includes repayment of advances 

from general revenues and transfers to the NRRIT.

c
 19 

Table 2-III. Progress of the Combined National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust (NRRIT) and Railroad Retirement (RR) Account, and

the Social Security Equivalent Benefit (SSEB) Account under Employment Assumption III

(Dollar amounts in millions)

Average Combined NRRIT and RR Account SSEB Account 

Account account Tier 2 Benefits Benefits Other Combined 

Calendar benefits benefits tax and admin- Tax Other Balance, and admin- Tax income and Balance, balance, 

year ratioa ratiob rate istration incomec incomed end year istration incomec expense e end year end year 

2009 4.74 6.90 16.0% $4,516 $2,725 $1,742 $20,935 $6,293 $2,686 $3,543 $783 $21,718 

2010 4.53 6.70 16.0% 4,644 2,752 1,611 20,654 6,333 2,715 3,623 787 21,441 

2011 4.26 6.60 16.0% 4,842 2,784 1,523 20,119 6,566 2,749 3,846 816 20,935 

2012 3.98 6.30 17.0% 5,045 2,972 1,524 19,570 6,815 2,784 4,062 847 20,417 

2013 3.70 6.10 17.0% 5,237 3,006 1,479 18,818 7,083 2,821 4,296 881 19,699 

2014 3.42 5.80 18.0% 5,428 3,198 1,426 18,015 7,365 2,859 4,541 916 18,931 

2015 3.13 5.40 18.0% 5,612 3,234 1,365 17,002 7,650 2,899 4,786 951 17,953 

2016 2.82 5.00 18.0% 5,773 3,271 1,175 15,675 7,947 2,943 5,012 959 16,634 

2017 2.52 4.50 18.0% 5,907 3,307 1,159 14,233 8,247 2,989 5,325 1,025 15,258 

2018 2.21 4.00 18.0% 6,024 3,343 1,085 12,639 8,541 3,037 5,541 1,062 13,701 

2019 1.91 3.60 19.0% 6,119 3,544 977 11,040 8,823 3,087 5,771 1,097 12,137 

2020 1.63 3.30 20.0% 6,196 3,749 870 9,463 9,087 3,128 5,992 1,130 10,593 

2021 1.33 3.00 20.0% 6,254 3,789 634 7,633 9,331 3,170 6,190 1,160 8,793 

2022 1.10 2.70 23.0% 6,298 4,340 648 6,323 9,555 3,213 6,370 1,188 7,511 

2023 0.96 2.40 27.0% 6,339 5,073 584 5,642 9,761 3,255 6,531 1,213 6,855 

2024 0.85 2.20 27.0% 6,387 5,129 539 4,923 9,953 3,298 6,679 1,237 6,160 

2025 0.72 1.90 27.0% 6,438 5,188 490 4,163 10,138 3,341 6,820 1,260 5,423 

2026 0.58 1.70 27.0% 6,490 5,249 344 3,266 10,323 3,385 6,961 1,282 4,548 

2027 0.45 1.40 27.0% 6,547 5,311 373 2,404 10,509 3,429 7,103 1,305 3,709 

2028 0.30 1.20 27.0% 6,618 5,372 311 1,468 10,699 3,471 7,251 1,329 2,797 

2029 0.15 1.00 27.0% 6,701 5,432 243 443 10,891 3,512 7,403 1,353 1,796 

2030 0.09 0.90 27.0% 6,787 5,496 848 - 11,084 3,555 6,874 697 697 

2031 0.01 0.70 27.0% 6,876 5,563 751 (562) 11,283 3,599 6,987 - (562) 

2032 -0.18 0.60 27.0% 6,958 5,631 19 (1,870) 11,495 3,645 7,850 - (1,870) 

2033 -0.37 0.40 27.0% 7,024 5,703 (77) (3,267) 11,722 3,695 8,027 - (3,267) 

2034 -0.58 0.30 27.0% 7,099 5,782 (179) (4,763) 11,949 3,749 8,200 - (4,763) 

2035 -0.79 0.20 27.0% 7,198 5,865 (290) (6,386) 12,165 3,803 8,362 - (6,386) 

2036 -1.02 -0.10 27.0% 7,278 5,958 (437) (8,143) 12,386 3,865 8,521 - (8,143) 

2037 -1.25 -0.20 27.0% 7,351 6,062 (537) (9,969) 12,612 3,934 8,678 - (9,969) 

2038 -1.50 -0.40 27.0% 7,444 6,171 (671) (11,913) 12,843 4,005 8,838 - (11,913) 

2039 -1.75 -0.60 27.0% 7,533 6,288 (814) (13,973) 13,084 4,081 9,003 - (13,973) 

2040 -2.01 -0.80 27.0% 7,607 6,420 (963) (16,123) 13,327 4,168 9,159 - (16,123) 

2041 -2.27 -1.00 27.0% 7,720 6,560 (1,130) (18,413) 13,558 4,257 9,302 - (18,413) 

2042 -2.54 -1.20 27.0% 7,867 6,706 (1,291) (20,866) 13,777 4,347 9,431 - (20,866) 

2043 -2.83 -1.50 27.0% 7,954 6,866 (1,469) (23,423) 14,041 4,451 9,590 - (23,423) 

2044 -3.13 -1.70 27.0% 8,005 7,039 (1,653) (26,042) 14,329 4,566 9,764 - (26,042) 

2045 -3.44 -2.00 27.0% 8,061 7,230 (1,842) (28,715) 14,589 4,690 9,898 - (28,715) 

2046 -3.73 -2.20 27.0% 8,165 7,430 (2,037) (31,488) 14,834 4,818 10,016 - (31,488) 

2047 -4.02 -2.50 27.0% 8,306 7,639 (2,239) (34,393) 15,065 4,949 10,117 - (34,393) 

2048 -4.33 -2.80 27.0% 8,385 7,864 (2,448) (37,363) 15,344 5,094 10,250 - (37,363) 

2049 -4.65 -3.10 27.0% 8,436 8,101 (2,660) (40,357) 15,642 5,249 10,392 - (40,357) 

2050 -4.97 -3.30 27.0% 8,506 8,356 (2,875) (43,382) 15,907 5,414 10,494 - (43,382) 

2055 -6.46 -4.90 27.0% 8,900 9,872 (3,960) (58,610) 17,233 6,387 10,846 - (58,610) 

2060 -7.61 -6.30 27.0% 9,319 11,871 (4,928) (71,942) 18,622 7,664 10,958 - (71,942) 

2065 -8.01 -7.50 27.0% 9,957 14,344 (5,568) (80,483) 20,218 9,234 10,985 - (80,483) 

2070 -7.35 -7.90 27.0% 10,978 17,365 (5,645) (80,962) 22,319 11,145 11,174 - (80,962) 

2075 -5.53 -7.30 27.0% 12,523 21,062 (4,844) (68,887) 25,242 13,482 11,759 - (68,887) 

2080 -2.64 -5.60 27.0% 14,678 25,586 (2,701) (37,627) 29,287 16,350 12,937 - (37,627) 

2082 -1.21 -4.60 27.0% 15,719 27,665 (1,321) (17,641) 31,277 17,671 13,607 - (17,641) 

a

 The fair market value of the assets in the RR Account and NRRIT as of the close of the fiscal year (September 30) divided by the total benefits and administrative

 expenses paid from the RR Account and NRRIT during the fiscal year. b The average of the account benefits ratios for the 10 most recent fiscal years ending before the calendar year.

Includes payroll taxes and income taxes on benefits. d Includes investment income and transfers from SSEB Account. 

e Other income includes financial interchange income, advances from general revenues, and interest income. Other expense includes repayment of advances 

from general revenues and transfers to the NRRIT.

c
 20 

Table 3. Present valuea of benefits in millions of dollars 

Employment assumption I 

Tier 1 

Tier 2b liability Total 

Employment assumption II 

Tier 1 

Tier 2b liability Total 

Employment assumption III 

Tier 1 

Tier 2b liability Total 

Employee annuities 

Retired 

Active 

Inactive 

Future entrants 

Total 

$16,549 

18,627 

1,309 

6,508

42,994 

$ 6,281 

9,229 

446 

2,668

18,624 

$22,831 

27,856 

1,755 

9,176

61,618 

$16,549 

18,627 

1,309 

4,813

41,298 

$ 6,281 

9,229 

446 

1,977

17,933 

$22,831 

27,856 

1,755 

6,790

59,231 

$16,549 

18,627 

1,309 

3,333

39,818 

$ 6,281 

9,229 

446 

1,370

17,327 

$22,831 

27,856 

1,755 

4,703 

57,145 

Spouse annuities 

Retired 4,178 1,610 5,788 4,178 1,610 5,788 4,178 1,610 5,788 

Active 4,525 2,669 7,193 4,525 2,669 7,193 4,525 2,669 7,193 

Inactive 278 85 363 278 85 363 278 85 363 

Future entrants 1,269 439 1,708 943 328 1,271 654 229 883 

Total 10,250 4,802 15,053 9,924 4,692 14,615 9,635 4,592 14,227 

Survivor annuities 

Retired & deceased 5,216 870 6,086 5,216 870 6,086 5,216 870 6,086 

Active 2,142 278 2,421 2,142 278 2,421 2,142 278 2,421 

Inactive 60 23 83 60 23 83 60 23 83 

Future entrants 816 175 991 610 130 740 425 90 515 

Total 8,234 1,347 9,581 8,028 1,302 9,329 7,843 1,262 9,105 

All annuities combined 

Retired & deceased 25,943 8,762 34,705 25,943 8,762 34,705 25,943 8,762 34,705 

Active 25,294 12,176 37,470 25,294 12,176 37,470 25,294 12,176 37,470 

Inactive 1,647 554 2,201 1,647 554 2,201 1,647 554 2,201 

Future entrants 8,594 3,281 11,876 6,365 2,435 8,800 4,412 1,689 6,101 

Total annuities $61,478 $24,773 $86,252 $59,249 $23,926 $83,176 $57,296 $23,181 $80,477 

Lump sum payments 62 62 62 

Total benefits $86,314 $83,238 $80,539 

Note: Detail may not add to totals due to rounding. 

a Present values are determined using a 7.5% interest rate for all years. 

b Includes supplemental annuity benefits. 
 21 

Table 4. Present valuea

 of benefits as a percentage of the present valuea of tier 2 payroll 

Employment assumption I 

Tier 1 

Tier 2b liability Total 

Employment assumption II 

Tier 1 

Tier 2b liability Total 

Employment assumption III 

Tier 1 

Tier 2b liability Total 

Employee annuities 

Retired 

Active 

Inactive 

Future entrants 

Total 

4.46% 

5.02 

0.35 

1.75 

11.58 

1.69% 

2.49 

0.12 

0.72 

5.02 

6.15% 

7.50 

0.47 

2.47 

16.60 

5.43% 

6.11 

0.43 

1.58 

13.55 

2.06% 

3.03 

0.15 

0.65 

5.88 

7.49% 

9.14 

0.58 

2.23 

19.43 

6.63% 

7.47 

0.52 

1.34 

15.96 

2.52% 

3.70 

0.18 

0.55 

6.95 

9.15% 

11.17 

0.70 

1.89 

22.91 

Spouse annuities 

Retired 1.13 0.43 1.56 1.37 0.53 1.90 1.68 0.65 2.32 

Active 1.22 0.72 1.94 1.48 0.88 2.36 1.81 1.07 2.88 

Inactive 0.07 0.02 0.10 0.09 0.03 0.12 0.11 0.03 0.15 

Future entrants 0.34 0.12 0.46 0.31 0.11 0.42 0.26 0.09 0.35 

Total 2.76 1.29 4.05 3.26 1.54 4.79 3.86 1.84 5.70 

Survivor annuities 

Retired & deceased 1.40 0.23 1.64 1.71 0.29 2.00 2.09 0.35 2.44 

Active 0.58 0.07 0.65 0.70 0.09 0.79 0.86 0.11 0.97 

Inactive 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.03 

Future entrants 0.22 0.05 0.27 0.20 0.04 0.24 0.17 0.04 0.21 

Total 2.22 0.36 2.58 2.63 0.43 3.06 3.14 0.51 3.65 

All annuities combined 

Retired & deceased 6.99 2.36 9.35 8.51 2.87 11.38 10.40 3.51 13.91 

Active 6.81 3.28 10.09 8.30 3.99 12.29 10.14 4.88 15.02 

Inactive 0.44 0.15 0.59 0.54 0.18 0.72 0.66 0.22 0.88 

Future entrants 2.31 0.88 3.20 2.09 0.80 2.89 1.77 0.68 2.45 

Total annuities 16.56% 6.67% 23.23% 19.44% 7.85% 27.28% 22.97% 9.29% 32.26% 

Lump sum payments 0.02 0.02 0.02 

Total benefits 23.25% 27.30% 32.29% 

Note: Detail may not add to totals due to rounding. 

a Present values are determined using a 7.5% interest rate for all years. 

b Includes supplemental annuity benefits. 
 22 

Table 5. Balance of the Combined National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust

and Railroad Retirement Account, and the Social Security

Equivalent Benefit Account as of December 31, 2007

(Dollar amounts in millions)

Combined NRRIT SSEB 

and RR Account Account 

Securities: 

Market value of NRRIT investments 

Par value specialsa (including accrued interest) 

Cash accounts 

$ 32,098 

357 

13

$ -

750 

1 

Balance 

Adjustment due to 2008 market value lossb 

Adjusted balance for use in present value calculation $ 

32,468 

11,433

21,035 $ 

751 

-

751 

a Par value specials are securities issued by the Treasury directly to the RR and SSEB

 Accounts, maturing on the first business day of the month following the month of issue.

 Their yield rate each month is the average yield rate, computed as of the last day of the

 previous month, of marketable Treasury notes with maturity dates not less than three

 years away. 

b The adjusted balance as of December 31, 2007, is calculated so that, when projected with

 a 7.5% rate of return, the combined NRRIT, RR Account and SSEB Account balance

 projected on December 31, 2008, is equal to the actual balance on that date. This

 adjustment is used to allow recognition of known losses when comparing assets with

 present values calculated using a 7.5% rate of return. 
 23 

Table 6. Actuarial surplus or (deficiency) for National Railroad Retirement

Investment Trust and Railroad Retirement Account

Employment assumption

I II III

Present values in millions of dollars 

Adjusted funds on hand, 12/31/2007 $ 21,035 $ 21,035 $ 21,035 

Retirement taxes 61,286 57,820 53,739 

Income taxes on benefits 6,002 5,783 5,590 

Available from SSEB Account 2,025 2,094 1,966 

Total, present and prospective assets 90,417 86,663 82,330 

Benefit payments 86,314 83,238 80,539 

Administrative expenses 2,355 2,702 1,869 

Total liabilities 85,593 89,016 82,408 

Actuarial surplus or (deficiency) 1,070 1,401 (78) 

One percent of tier 2 payroll $ 3,713 $ 3,048 $ 2,494 

Present values as a 

percentage of tier 2 payroll 

Adjusted funds on hand, 12/31/2007 5.67% 6.90% 8.43% 

Retirement taxes 16.51 18.97 21.54 

Income taxes on benefits 1.62 1.90 2.24 

Available from SSEB Account 0.56 0.66 0.79 

Total, present and prospective assets 24.35 28.43 33.01 

Benefit payments 23.25 27.30 32.29 

Administrative expenses 0.73 0.77 0.75 

Total liabilities 23.97 28.08 33.04 

Actuarial surplus or (deficiency) 0.38 0.35 (0.03) 
 24 

Table 7. Unfunded accrued liability 

(Dollar amounts in millions) 

Amount or rate 

1. Present value of benefits for former and present employees $ 74,438 

2. Present value of administrative expenses for former and present 

employees 2,106 

3. Present value of tier 2 payroll for present employees 128,929 

4. Normal cost as a level percentage of tier 2 payroll 6.26% 

5. Present value of future service costs for present employees = 8,071 

(3) x (4) 

6. Accrued liability = (1) + (2) - (5) 68,473 

7. Funds on hand, 12/31/2007a 21,786 

8. Unfunded accrued liability = (6) - (7) 46,687 

9. Level amount to fund unfunded accrued liability in 30 years 3,800 

Employment Assumption 

I II III 

10. Level tax rate to fund unfunded accrued liability and meet 

normal costs for next 30 years 24.03% 26.44% 29.46% 

11. Tax rate after 30 years (normal cost rate) 6.26% 6.26% 6.26% 

a The amount shown is the sum of the NRRIT, RR Account and SSEB Account balances shown

 in Table 5. 
 25

Table 8. Vested dual benefit amounts and average number of beneficiaries

Vested dual Average 

Fiscal benefit amountsa number of 

year (Millions) beneficiaries 

2010 $64 33,000 

2011 57 29,000 

2012 50 25,000 

2013 44 22,000 

2014 38 19,000 

2015 33 17,000 

2016 28 14,000 

2017 24 12,000 

2018 20 10,000 

2019 17 9,000 

2020 14 7,000 

2021 12 6,000 

2022 10 5,000 

2023 8 4,000 

2024 6 3,000 

2025 5 3,000 

2026 4 2,000 

2027 3 2,000 

2028 3 1,000 

2029 2 1,000 

2030 2 1,000 

a When projected amounts are used to determine the appropriation

 needed for benefit payments, a margin must be added to ensure

 payment of full benefits. 
 26

Table 9. Supplemental annuity benefit amounts and average number of beneficiaries

Supplemental Average 

Calendar benefit amounts number of 

year (Millions) beneficiariesa 

2009 $61 121,000 

2010 61 121,000 

2011 61 121,000 

2012 61 122,000 

2013 61 122,000 

2014 61 121,000 

2015 60 121,000 

2016 60 119,000 

2017 59 118,000 

2018 58 115,000 

2019 56 112,000 

2020 55 109,000 

2021 53 105,000 

2022 50 100,000 

2023 48 96,000 

2024 45 91,000 

2025 43 86,000 

2026 40 81,000 

2027 38 76,000 

2028 36 71,000 

2029 33 66,000 

2030 31 61,000 

2031 28 57,000 

2032 26 52,000 

2033 24 48,000 

2034 22 44,000 

2035 20 39,000 

2036 18 35,000 

2037 16 32,000 

2038 14 28,000 

2039 12 25,000 

2040 11 22,000 

2041 9 19,000 

2042 8 16,000 

2043 7 14,000 

2044 6 12,000 

2045 5 10,000 

a Average number in a year. Excludes cases where the supplemental annuity is totally 

eliminated because of a private pension. On January 1, 2008, there were about 32,000

 of these cases. 
 27

Table 10. Average number of railroad retirement annuitants and number of annuitants per full time employee

Average number of annuitants Average number of annuitants 

Calendar under each employment assumption per full time employee 

year I II III I II III 

2009 559,500 559,500 559,500 2.40 2.43 2.47 

2010 554,100 554,100 554,100 2.39 2.45 2.52 

2011 549,500 549,500 549,500 2.38 2.47 2.58 

2012 545,700 545,700 545,700 2.37 2.49 2.64 

2013 542,100 542,100 542,100 2.37 2.52 2.71 

2014 539,200 539,200 539,200 2.36 2.54 2.78 

2015 536,000 535,900 535,900 2.36 2.57 2.85 

2016 532,500 532,400 532,400 2.35 2.59 2.92 

2017 528,400 528,300 528,200 2.34 2.61 2.98 

2018 523,700 523,500 523,400 2.33 2.63 3.05 

2019 518,100 517,900 517,600 2.32 2.65 3.11 

2020 511,600 511,300 510,800 2.30 2.65 3.16 

2021 504,100 503,600 503,000 2.27 2.65 3.21 

2022 495,800 495,100 494,200 2.24 2.65 3.25 

2023 487,000 486,000 484,900 2.21 2.64 3.29 

2024 478,100 476,700 475,300 2.18 2.63 3.33 

2025 469,000 467,300 465,500 2.15 2.62 3.35 

2026 460,000 457,900 455,600 2.12 2.61 3.36 

2027 451,200 448,600 445,800 2.08 2.59 3.38 

2028 442,900 439,800 436,300 2.05 2.58 3.39 

2029 435,100 431,300 427,200 2.03 2.57 3.41 

2030 427,700 423,100 418,100 2.00 2.56 3.42 

2031 420,600 415,100 409,200 1.97 2.55 3.44 

2032 414,000 407,500 400,600 1.95 2.54 3.45 

2033 407,800 400,200 392,200 1.93 2.53 3.46 

2034 402,200 393,400 384,000 1.91 2.52 3.47 

2035 397,000 386,900 376,100 1.89 2.51 3.48 

2036 391,900 380,400 368,200 1.88 2.50 3.47 

2037 387,100 374,000 360,400 1.86 2.49 3.47 

2038 382,900 368,200 353,000 1.84 2.48 3.46 

2039 379,200 362,800 345,900 1.83 2.47 3.45 

2040 375,800 357,500 338,700 1.82 2.46 3.44 

2041 372,900 352,600 331,800 1.81 2.45 3.42 

2042 370,700 348,100 325,300 1.81 2.44 3.40 

2043 368,900 343,900 318,800 1.80 2.43 3.38 

2044 367,400 339,900 312,400 1.80 2.42 3.35 

2045 366,000 335,800 305,900 1.79 2.41 3.32 

2046 365,000 332,100 299,600 1.79 2.40 3.29 

2047 364,400 328,600 293,600 1.79 2.39 3.25 

2048 364,100 325,300 287,700 1.79 2.38 3.21 

2049 363,900 322,100 281,800 1.80 2.37 3.17 

2050 363,700 318,800 275,700 1.80 2.35 3.12 

2055 363,100 302,300 246,400 1.80 2.26 2.85 

2060 360,200 284,700 218,400 1.79 2.13 2.53 

2065 354,700 266,800 193,900 1.76 2.00 2.25 

2070 348,600 251,100 174,500 1.73 1.88 2.02 

2075 343,500 239,200 161,100 1.70 1.79 1.87 

2080 340,200 231,400 152,800 1.69 1.73 1.77 

2082 339,300 229,300 150,700 1.68 1.72 1.75 
 28 

Table 11. Transfers to railroad retirement system under financial interchange with social security system, 1937-2009a 

(Millions of dollars) 

Benefit Tax Cash transfers toc 

Fiscal credits to credits to railroad retirement 

Determination years railroad social Year of 

number covered retirementb security Amount transfer 

1-20 1937-71 d 12,981.3 6,572.3 6,636.9 d 1953-72 d

21 1972 1,217.1 470.9 802.5 1973

22 1973 1,412.8 556.4 930.9 1974

23 1974 1,575.6 653.5 1,010.3 1975

24 1975 1,853.3 718.7 1,238.7 1976

25 1976 1,872.2 f 772.0 1,207.5 1977

26 1977 e 2,556.6 f 1,060.8 1,618.5 1978

27 1978 2,230.3 902.6 1,477.4 1979

28 1979 2,389.5 1,089.9 1,429.9 1980

29 1980 2,683.4 1,204.8 1,614.4 1981

30 1981 2,973.7 1,322.5 1,819.6 1982

31 1982 3,321.9 1,296.0 2,278.6 1983

32 1983 3,471.8 1,287.9 2,425.6 1984

33 1984 3,524.1 1,472.8 2,352.9 1985

34 1985 3,658.5 1,443.1 2,652.8 1986

35 1986 3,744.8 1,398.7 2,614.2 1987

36 1987 3,864.4 1,305.0 2,851.3 1988

37 1988 4,028.8 1,427.3 2,933.5 1989

38 1989 4,149.5 1,418.9 3,049.1 1990

39 1990 4,415.3 1,451.1 3,456.7 1991

40 1991 4,434.7 1,476.5 3,206.4 1992

41 1992 4,720.1 1,523.1 3,435.4 1993

42 1993 4,796.5 1,583.3 3,525.5 1994

43 1994 5,199.6 1,515.5 4,120.1 1995

44 1995 4,836.2 f 1,545.1 3,556.3 1996

45 1996 5,008.0 1,566.8 3,747.2 1997

46 1997 5,114.1 1,615.4 3,819.1 1998

47 1998 5,173.5 1,641.9 3,816.0 1999

48 1999 5,195.6 1,767.5 3,697.6 2000

49 2000 4,767.8 f 1,750.9 3,282.8 2001

50 2001 5,180.5 1,756.9 3,646.8 2002

51 2002 5,217.5 1,748.2 3,747.3 2003

52 2003 5,350.6 1,731.1 3,843.5 2004

53 2004 5,480.8 1,820.0 3,917.3 2005

54 2005 5,527.6 1,906.1 3,846.3 2006

55 2006 5,746.8 1,976.5 4,019.8 2007

56 2007 5,853.6 2,076.6 4,049.9 2008

57 2008 6,005.5 2,095.6 4,137.3 2009

Total 1937-2008 161,534.0 58,922.3 111,815.7 

a

 Financial interchange transactions with the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund are not included. These involve mainly a transfer of collected

 taxes to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, with some adjustments for difference in earnings bases under the two systems. 

b Amounts include allowances for administrative expenses and adjustments to previous determinations. 

Transfers include interest which is not shown in table. 

d First determination covered period January 1937-June 1952. Initial balance of $488.2 million was never transferred to social security;

 only interest was paid until debt was liquidated by subsequent offsets in favor of railroad retirement. 

e

 1977 figure covered 15 months (July 1976 - September 1977) because of change in definition of fiscal year. 

f

 Includes adjustment for pre-1957 military service. 

c
29

A P P E N D I X 

Outline of the benefit and financing provisions 

of the railroad retirement system as amended through December 31, 2008

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

1. Normal age annuity 

Requirement of 10 years of service or 5 years of service after 1995 for retirement at social security retirement age (see definition at end of 

outline). Employees with less than 10 years of service must meet Social Security Act eligibility requirements to receive a tier 1 benefit. 

2. Prenormal age annuity

A. Eligible for unreduced benefit upon later of (1) attainment of age 60 and (2) completion of 30 years of service (60/30 eligibility). 

B. Eligible for reduced benefit with less than 30 years of service upon later of (1) attainment of age 62 and (2) completion of 10 years

of service or 5 years of service after 1995. The benefit is reduced by 1/180 for each of the first 36 months and by 1/240 for each 

additional month the employee is under social security retirement age. (Reduction for age in excess of 36 months applies only to

tier 1 benefit if employee had any service before 8-12-1983.) 

3. Total and permanent disability annuity

10-year service requirement or 5 years of service after 1995. Benefit may not begin earlier than the later of (1) the first day of the sixth 

month following date disability begins and (2) the first day of the twelfth month before the month in which the application is filed. 

Employees with less than 10 years of service and at least 5 years of service after 1995 who meet Social Security eligibility requirements 

may qualify for a tier 1 benefit only (an age reduced tier 2 benefit would be payable at age 62). 

4. Occupational disability annuity

Requirement of 20 years of service or attainment of age 60 with 10 years of service; current connection (see definition at end of outline)

required. Benefit may not begin earlier than the later of (1) the first day of the sixth month following date disability begins and (2) the first

day of the twelfth month before the month in which the application is filed.

5. Supplemental annuity 

Requirement of attainment of age 60 with 30 years of service if retired on or after 7-1-1974, or age 65 with 25 years of service. Must have 

service before 10-1-1981. Current connection required. 

6. Vested dual benefit 

A. Requirement of fully insured (see definition at end of outline) status under Social Security Act effective 12-31-1974 and either 

(1) 25 years of railroad service before 1975 or (2) 10 years of railroad service before 1975, with some railroad work in 1974 or a 

current connection on 12-31-1974 or at the time the annuity begins, or 

B. Requirement of fully insured status under Social Security Act as of last year of railroad work before 1975 and 10 years of railroad 

service before 1975. 
30

7. Work restrictions

Suspension of annuity for any month annuitant is employed by a railroad. For disabilities in 2009, loss of one month's annuity for each 

$770 in excess of $9,240 earned in a year with the last $385 of such excess treated as $770 (no annuity is lost for any month with earnings 

below $770). In addition, the tier 1 portion of a regular annuity based on railroad earnings (see definition at end of outline) after 1974 and 

all social security earnings (see definition at end of outline) is subject to social security work restrictions, unless a social security benefit is 

also being paid. If annuitant is employed by last non-railroad employer preceding retirement, the tier 2 portion and the supplemental 

annuity are also affected, being reduced one dollar for each two dollars of earnings, subject to a maximum reduction of 50 percent. All 

vested dual benefits are subject to social security work restrictions. 

8. Creditable service (continuity not required) 

All service after December 31, 1936. Service before 1937 may be used if annuitant had employment relation on August 29, 1935 or 6

months of service after August 29, 1935 and before 1946. No limit on service except 30-year maximum if pre-1937 service used. 

Additional service months may be deemed, for years after 1984, where employee does not work in every month of year, but railroad 

earnings exceed monthly prorations of annual tier 2 maximum earnings creditable. 

9. Creditable and taxable railroad earnings 

From 1966 through 1978, the maximum monthly earnings were one-twelfth of the annual social security maximum. The 1977 social 

security amendments introduced a difference between the maximum monthly earnings creditable for tier 1 and tier 2 benefits starting 

in 1979. 

before July 1, 1954 $ 300 Tier 1 Tier 2 

July 1, 1954 - May 31, 1959 350 1979 $1,908.33 $1,575 

June 1, 1959 – Oct. 31, 1963 400 1980 2,158.33 1,700 

Nov. 1, 1963 – Dec. 31, 1965 450 1981 2,475 1,850 

1966-67 550 1982 2,700 2,025 

1968-71 650 1983 2,975 2,225 

1972 750 1984 3,150 2,350 

1973 900 

 1974 1,100 

 1975 1,175 

 1976 1,275 

 1977 1,375 

 1978 1,475 

Starting in 1985, earnings are credited on an annual rather than a monthly basis. The annual maximums are: 

Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 1 Tier 2

 1985 $39,600 $29,700 1998 $68,400 $50,700 

1986 42,000 31,500 1999 72,600 53,700 

1987 43,800 32,700 2000 76,200 56,700 

1988 45,000 33,600 2001 80,400 59,700 

1989 48,000 35,700 2002 84,900 63,000 

1990 51,300 38,100 2003 87,000 64,500 

1991 53,400 39,600 2004 87,900 65,100 

1992 55,500 41,400 2005 90,000 66,900 

1993 57,600 42,900 2006 94,200 69,900 

1994 60,600 45,000 2007 97,500 72,600 

1995 61,200 45,300 2008 102,000 75,900 

1996 62,700 46,500 2009 106,800 79,200 

1997 65,400 48,600 
31

10. Creditable military service and earnings 

Military service is creditable in war and national emergency periods, and in some cases between June 15, 1948 and December 15, 1950, if

preceded by railroad service in the year of entry into military service or the preceding year. 

Earnings: $160 before 1968 

$260 after 1967 but before 1975 

For each calendar year after 1974, earnings are the same as that credited under social security. 

11. Basic monthly annuity computation 

Tier 1: Social security benefit based on combined railroad and social security earnings, less social security benefit actually payable (based 

on social security earnings only). See item 2 for computation of tier 1 benefit for employees with 60/30 eligibility.

Tier 2: 0.7% of the average monthly compensation (AMC) multiplied by the number of years of service. This amount is then reduced by

25% of the employee's gross vested dual benefit. The AMC is the average of an individual's highest 60 months of railroad earnings 

up to the tier 2 maximum. For each month of service in a year for which the Railroad Retirement Board's records do not show 

earnings on a monthly basis, the total earnings for the year divided by the months of service in that year will be considered the 

monthly earnings for each month of service in the year. 

12. Vested dual benefit computation

A. For employees satisfying requirements in item 6.A., benefit is social security benefit based on railroad earnings through 1974, plus 

social security benefit based on social security earnings through 1974, less social security benefit based on combined railroad and

social security earnings through 1974. 

B. For employees satisfying requirements of item 6.B., benefit is the same as in A., except for the exclusion of all earnings after last 

pre-1975 year employee had railroad employment. 

In both cases, benefit might be proportionally reduced so that the total amount paid out in vested dual benefits in any fiscal year does 

not exceed the total amount appropriated for that year (see item 39). 

13. Supplemental annuity computation 

For employees who were entitled to supplemental annuities or who would have been entitled, but for last person service, prior to 1975, the 

monthly benefit is a minimum of $45 increased by $5 for each year of service over 25, with a maximum benefit of $70. These employees

have a reduction in their regular railroad retirement annuity because of the supplemental annuity. For employees first entitled or potentially

entitled after 1974, the monthly benefit is a minimum of $23 increased by $4 for each year of service over 25, with a maximum benefit of 

$43. These employees have no reduction in their regular railroad retirement annuity. Supplemental annuity will be reduced if employee 

receives a private pension from railroad employer based on employer contributions. 

14. Cost-of-living increases (annually, effective with January 1 payments) 

Tier 1: Same as social security increases. 

Tier 2: 32.5% of social security increases.

Vested dual benefits: Frozen at the 1974 level, except that social security cost-of-living increases effective between 12-31-1974 and the 

earlier of January 1, 1982 and the annuity beginning date are included in the benefit computation.

Supplemental annuity: None. 

15. Tax rebate lump sum 

Employee who has at least 10 years of railroad service and is not eligible for the vested dual benefit will receive a lump sum at retirement 

computed by summing for each year from 1951 through 1974 the product of the social security tax rate for the year times the excess of the 

employee's combined railroad and social security earnings for the year over (approximately) the maximum creditable for the year under the 

1937 Act. Survivors of employee may receive refund if employee dies before receiving it. 
32

16. Separation/severance lump sum 

Lump sum, equal to tier 2 payroll taxes deducted from separation or severance payments, will be paid at retirement to employees with at 

least 10 years of service or 5 years of service after 1995 to the extent that separation or severance payments did not yield additional tier 2

service credits. 

SPOUSE BENEFITS

17. Eligibility

 A. Unreduced annuity:

1. Spouse retiring at age 60 (or any age with a child in care), if (a) employee attained 60/30 eligibility before 7-1-1984 and retired 

at age 60 or later, (b) employee attained 60/30 eligibility after 6-30-1984 and retired at age 62 or later, (c) employee has 30 or

more years of service and retired after 12-31-2001 at age 60 or later, or (d) spouse retired after 12-31-2001, and employee 

retired from disability, has 30 or more years of service and is age 60 or over. 

2. Spouse retiring at social security normal retirement age (or any age with a child in care), if (a) employee retired before 1-1-

1975 and is age 65 or over, (b) employee retired after 12-31-1974 and is age 62 or over, or (c) employee retired after 6-30-

1974, has 30 or more years of service and is age 60 or over. 

 B. Reduced annuity: 

1. Spouse retiring at age 60 if employee attained 60/30 eligibility after 6-30-1984 and retired with an age annuity before 1-1-2002

before attaining age 62. 

2. Spouse retiring at age 62, if employee has less than 30 years of service, is retired, and has attained age 62. Age reduction is

1/144 for each of the first 36 months spouse is under social security retirement age and 1/240 for each month in excess of 36 

that spouse is under retirement age. (Reduction for age in excess of 36 months applies to tier 1, but not tier 2, if employee had

any service before 8-12-1983.) 

18. Work restrictions

Same as employee; in addition, spouse is not paid for any month employee annuity is not payable by virtue of work restrictions, and spouse 

is reduced $1 for each $2 of employee's earnings for last non-railroad employer preceding employee's retirement (see item 7). 

19. Annuity computation 

Tier 1: One-half of social security benefit based on employee's combined railroad and social security earnings. See item 17 for 

computation of spouse tier 1 in cases where employee is receiving a reduced 60/30 benefit. If spouse is entitled to a social security

benefit, tier 1 is reduced by the amount of the benefit, but not below 0. If spouse is entitled to employee annuity or a public service

pension, certain additional restrictions apply. 

Tier 2: 45% of employee's tier 2 benefit. Spouse receives additional benefit if spouse is also an employee annuitant and either the 

employee or spouse has railroad service prior to 1975. 

20. Vested dual benefit 

A spouse receiving a vested dual benefit on August 13, 1981 will continue to receive a benefit (adjusted as described in item 12). No

vested dual benefits will be awarded after that date. 
33

21. Divorced spouse, partitioned spouse and partitioned divorced spouse 

A divorced spouse is entitled to a tier 1 benefit if the employee is retired, the employee and divorced spouse have been married for at least 

10 consecutive years and have both attained age 62, and the divorced spouse is unmarried. If the employee is not retired, but has sufficient 

railroad service to otherwise be eligible for an annuity, the divorced spouse can receive a tier 1 benefit if the above conditions are met and 

the parties have been divorced for a period of not less than 2 years, and the employee is fully insured under the Social Security Act using 

combined railroad and social security earnings. 

If the employee is retired, court ordered partition of tier 2, supplemental annuity, vested dual benefit and minimum guarantee amounts (see 

item 42) are payable, and the employee’s monthly annuity is reduced by the amount of the partition payment. If the employee is not 

retired, court ordered partition of tier 2 and vested dual benefit payments are payable if (1) the employee has 10 years of service or 5 years

of service after 1995, and (2) both the employee and former spouse have attained age 62. 

22. Cost-of-living increases for spouses 

Each tier is subject to same percentage increase as corresponding tier of employee benefit. 

SURVIVOR AND DEATH BENEFITS

23. Residual lump sum death benefit 

Payable when it appears no further benefits will derive from deceased employee except possibly to a widow, widower or parent at a future 

date. In this case, survivor must waive the right to all future benefits based on the deceased employee's railroad service. The amount 

payable is the sum of 4% of taxable railroad earnings from 1-1-1937 to 12-31-1946, 7% from 1-1-1947 to 12-31-1958, 7-1/2% from 

1-1-1959 to 12-31-1961, 8% from 1-1-1962 to 12-31-1965, 8.1% from 1-1-1966 to 12-31-1966, 8.65% from 1-1-1967 to 12-31-1967, 8.8% 

from 1-1-1968 to 12-31-1968, 9.45% from 1-1-1969 to 12-31-1970, 9.85% from 1-1-1971 to 12-31-1972, 10.1% from 1-1-1973 to 

9-30-1973, 5.35% from 10-1-1973 to 12-31-1973, and 5.45% from 1-1-1974 to 12-31-1974. Railroad earnings after 1974 are not taken 

into account. The amount actually paid is reduced by the amount of benefits paid deriving from the deceased employee. 

24. Employee requirement for survivor benefits 

All benefits except residual lump sum require deceased employee to have 10 years of railroad service or 5 years of service after 1995 and a 

current connection. If employee does not meet above conditions, his earnings record is transferred to social security, which pays any 

survivor benefits. 

25. Aged widow's and widower's eligibility

A widow or widower must be age 60 and unremarried. Those age 60-61 are deemed age 62 in computing the benefit. For those born

before 1940, the benefit reduction is 19/40% for each month of age under 65 when benefits begin. For those born after 1939, the age 

reduction depends on the age at retirement and the social security retirement age. In this case, the monthly reduction factor is that 

percentage which would cause retirement at age 60 to result in a 28.5 percent reduction.

26. Disabled widow's and widower's eligibility

A widow or widower must be at least age 50 and under age 60, unremarried, and totally and permanently disabled if disability occurs

within 7 years of employee's death or within 7 years after widowed mother's or father's status terminated. Age reduction is 28.5%. Benefit 

may not begin earlier than the later of (1) the first day of the sixth month following the date disability begins and (2) the first day of the 

twelfth month before the month in which the application is filed.

27. Widowed mother's and father's eligibility 

Unremarried surviving spouse of a deceased employee who is under social security retirement age and who at the time of filing an 

application has in his or her care a minor or disabled child of the deceased employee. 
34

28. Divorced widow(er)'s, remarried widow(er)'s eligibility, partitioned surviving spouse and partitioned surviving divorced spouse 

The following are eligible for a tier 1 benefit.

A. Divorced widow(er) - must (1) have been married to employee at least 10 years, be unmarried or remarried after age 60 (after age

50 and disability onset if disabled), and have attained age 60 or age 50 if disabled, or (2) be unmarried at any age with a child of the 

employee in care. 

B. Remarried widow(er) - must have remarried after age 60 (after age 50 and disability onset if disabled), or the remarriage must have 

ended. Widow(er) must have attained age 60, be between 50 and 59 and disabled or be any age with a child in care. 

Benefits for divorced aged widow(er)s and remarried aged widow(er)s are reduced for the full number of months under social security

retirement age.

Where court ordered partition of tier 2, supplemental annuity and vested dual benefit payments are in effect at the time of the employee’s 

death, such payments will continue after the employee’s death unless the court order requires termination upon the employee’s death.

Where the employee dies before partition payments are initiated, and the employee acquired 120 months of railroad service, or 60 months 

of service after 1995, such payments may be made when both the spouse/divorced spouse, and the employee if he had survived, would be 

62. 

29. Child's eligibility 

A child of a deceased employee must be under 18 or under 19 and a full-time elementary or secondary school student. Unmarried children

continuously disabled since before age 22 are also eligible, regardless of age. 

30. Parent's eligibility

A parent of a deceased employee who has attained age 60 and received at least one-half of his or her support from the employee will be 

eligible for an annuity. If the employee died leaving a widow, widower or child who is or might become eligible in the future, the parent 

will be eligible for a tier 1 benefit only. In certain instances, a remarried parent of a deceased employee will be eligible for a tier 1 benefit. 

31. Work restrictions

Annuity not payable for any month in which survivor engages in railroad employment. Entire benefit subject to social security work 

restrictions. 

32. Annuity computation 

Tier 1: Amount payable to survivor under Social Security Act, based on the deceased employee's combined railroad and social security

earnings after 12-31-1936, less the amount of any social security benefit received. Additional restrictions exist for a widow or 

widower who also receives an annuity as a railroad employee or who receives a public service pension. 

Tier 2: Widow or widower - 50% of employee tier 2 benefit 

Parent - 35% of employee tier 2 benefit 

Children - 15% of employee tier 2 benefit for each child 

The total family tier 2 benefit has a minimum of 35% and a maximum of 80% of the employee's tier 2 benefit (a maximum 

of 130% is used for the purpose of calculating the widow(er) intitial minimum amount). 

For a widow or widower an “initial minimum amount” based on the two-tier annuity amount that would have been payable to the railroad 

employee at the time the widow(er)’s annuity is awarded is computed with a widow(er)’s tier 2 amount equal to 100 percent of the 

employee’s tier 2 amount. Widow(er)s’ annuities computed on the basis of the initial minimum amount are not adjusted for annual cost-ofliving increases until the total annuity amount is exceeded by the annuity amount the widow(er) would have been paid under prior law (tier 

2 amount equal to 50 percent of the employee’s tier 2 amount), with all interim cost-of-living increases otherwise payable. 

For an aged widow or widower, the total benefit exclusive of any vested dual benefit may not be less than amount received as spouse in

month before employee's death. 

All percentages are before deductions for work or entitlement to social security benefit or railroad retirement employee annuity.
35

33. Vested dual benefit for widow or widower 

A widow or widower receiving a vested dual benefit on August 13, 1981 will continue to receive a benefit (adjusted as described in item

12). No vested dual benefits will be awarded after that date. 

34. Insurance lump sum 

Payable if employee leaves no survivor eligible for monthly benefits in the month of his death.

A. If employee had 10 years of service before 1-1-1975, the benefit is 10 times the basic amount. The basic amount is 52.4% of the

first $75 of average monthly remuneration (AMR), plus 12.8% of the remainder, increased by 1% for each year before 1975 with 

earnings of $200 or more. The AMR is combined railroad and social security earnings before 1975 divided by the number of 

months after 1936 or age 22 and up to retirement or death. 

B. If employee had less than 10 years of service as of 12-31-1974, the amount will be the amount social security would have paid 

(currently $255). This amount will only be paid to a widow or widower living with the employee at the time of the employee's

death.

35. Cost-of-living increases for survivors 

Each tier is subject to same percentage increase as corresponding tier of employee benefit. 

FINANCING, INVESTMENTS AND TAXATION OF BENEFITS 

36. Employee and employer payroll taxes 

Employees and employers contribute at the prevailing social security rate up to the tier 1 earnings limit. In addition, employees and

employers pay a tier 2 tax up to the tier 2 earnings limit. Tier 2 taxes on both employers and employees are based on the ratio of certain

asset balances to the sum of benefits and administrative expenses (the average account benefits ratio). 

At the end of each fiscal year (September 30), an Account Benefits Ratio (ABR) is calculated by dividing the fair market value of the assets

in the RR Account and the NRRIT (and for years before 2002, the SSEB Account) as of the close of such fiscal year by the total benefits 

and administrative expenses paid from the RR Account and the NRRIT during such fiscal year. The Average Account Benefits Ratio

(AABR), with respect to any calendar year, is then calculated as the average of the account benefits ratios for the 10 most recent fiscal

years ending before such calendar year. If the AABR is not a multiple of 0.1, it is increased to the next highest multiple of 0.1. The tier 2 

tax rate is determined from a tax rate table based on the AABR.

 AABR Tier 2 tax rate 

At least But less than Employer Employee

2.5 22.1 4.9 

2.5 3.0 18.1 4.9 

3.0 3.5 15.1 4.9 

3.5 4.0 14.1 4.9 

4.0 6.1 13.1 4.9 

6.1 6.5 12.6 4.4 

6.5 7.0 12.1 3.9 

7.0 7.5 11.6 3.4 

7.5 8.0 11.1 2.9 

8.0 8.5 10.1 1.9 

8.5 9.0 9.1 0.9 

9.0 8.2 0.0 

Contributions to 401(k) deferred compensation plans and the value of employer-paid premiums for group term life insurance coverage in 

excess of $50,000 are included in railroad earnings for payroll tax purposes. 
36

37. Financial interchange 

Railroad retirement system pays to social security system the taxes social security would have collected and receives the additional amount 

of benefits and administrative expenses social security would have paid if railroad employment had been covered under social security. 

The net difference (including interest) is transferred in the June after the fiscal year for which the transfer is made. 

The Railroad Retirement Board estimates the amount and direction of the financial interchange transfer that would be made for each month 

if transfers were on a current monthly basis. If this estimate favors the railroad retirement system, Treasury advances the amount with 

interest to the Railroad Retirement Account, as a loan from the general fund, by the middle of the succeeding month. Within 10 days after

receipt of the annual financial interchange for a fiscal year, the RRB must repay the amount, with interest, advanced during the fiscal year. 

38. Investments 

Amounts in the Railroad Retirement Account not needed to pay current administrative expenses and amounts in the Social Security

Equivalent Benefit Account not needed to pay current benefits and administrative expenses are transferred to the National Railroad

Retirement Investment Trust, whose Board of seven trustees is empowered to invest Trust assets in non-governmental assets, such as 

equities and debt, as well as in governmental securities. The Trust may transfer funds back to the Railroad Retirement Account for the 

payment of benefits. 

39. Financing of vested dual benefits

General revenue appropriations finance all vested dual benefit payments since September 1981. Beginning October 1, 1981, each annual 

appropriation is placed in the Dual Benefits Payments Account. Total benefits paid in any fiscal year (starting with 1982) may not exceed

the total available in the account. The account may borrow at the end of a fiscal year the amount that the Railroad Retirement Board 

estimates will be necessary to pay vested dual benefits for the first month of the next fiscal year. 

40. Taxability of benefits 

The portion of tier 1 benefits equivalent to social security benefits is taxed under the same rules as are social security benefits. Tier 1 

benefits in excess of social security equivalent benefits, tier 2 benefits, vested dual benefits, and supplemental annuities are taxed under the 

rules by which private pensions are taxed.

Revenues from taxes on social security equivalent benefits are transferred to the social security system through the financial interchange. 

Revenues from taxes on tier 1 benefits in excess of social security equivalent benefits and tier 2 benefits are transferred to the Railroad 

Retirement Account. Revenues from taxes on vested dual benefits are transferred to the Dual Benefits Payments Account. 

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

41. Benefit preservation 

Each year the Railroad Retirement Board must report to the President and Congress the results of a five-year projection of anticipated

revenues to and payments from the railroad retirement account. If the results show that the funds in the account will be insufficient to pay

full benefits at any time during the five-year period, the report must indicate (1) the first fiscal year in which benefits would have to be 

reduced because of insufficient funds in the absence of any changes, and (2) the amount of adjustments necessary to preserve financial 

solvency. Within 180 days after publication of this report, representatives of railroad labor and management are obligated to submit 

proposals designed to preserve the fund's solvency. The Railroad Retirement Board will publish regulations necessary to provide a 

constant level of benefits at the maximum level possible and to insure that no individual receives less than what he would have had all his

earnings been covered under social security. The Railroad Retirement Board's regulations will take effect beginning with the first year in 

which benefit reductions will be necessary and continue until legislative action supersedes them. 

42. Minimum annuity

The overall minimum guaranty for employees and dependents is 100% of the amount, or the additional amount, the family would receive 

under the Social Security Act if the employee's railroad earnings after 1936 were credited as social security earnings. 
37

43. Automatic benefit eligibility adjustments 

A liberalization of entitlement provisions enacted for title II of the Social Security Act will be applied to provide entitlement to a Tier 1 

benefit under the Railroad Retirement Act. 

44. Transfer of credits

Transfer of railroad retirement credits is made to social security if an employee had less than 10 years of railroad service and less than 5 

years of service after 1995 or, in the case of a survivor, if the employee lacked a current connection. 

DEFINITIONS 

The meanings of terms used in the outline are defined below: 

Railroad earnings - earnings derived from covered railroad employment, up to the maximums specified in item 9.

Social security earnings - earnings derived from employment covered under the Social Security Act (excludes railroad earnings), up to 

the maximums allowed.

Current connection - generally defined as having at least 12 months of railroad service in the 30 months preceding death or retirement.

An employee whose last 12 months of railroad service occurred prior to the 30 months before retirement or death may maintain a

current connection if the employee did not perform any regular employment between the end of the 30 month period containing the last 

12 months of railroad service and the month of retirement or death. For purposes of the supplemental annuity or survivors' benefits, an

employee who was terminated involuntarily and without fault on or after October 1, 1975, after 25 years of service and did not 

thereafter decline an offer of employment in the same class or craft in the railroad industry is deemed to have a current connection.

Fully insured - insured for retirement at age 62 under social security; does not necessarily imply an insured status for disability benefits 

or for survivor benefits for death before age 62. 

Social security benefit - when used in describing the computation of the vested dual benefit, the term "social security benefit" means a 

primary insurance amount computed by using the social security formula in effect in 1974 and the specified earnings; it does not imply

an actual benefit.

Social security retirement age - the age at which an individual may receive an unreduced benefit at retirement under the Social Security

Act, as follows: 

Year of attainment 

of early retirement age 

 (62 for employees and spouses, Retirement age 

60 for widows and widowers) (age for unreduced benefit)

1999 or earlier 65 years, 0 months 

2000 65 years, 2 months 

2001 65 years, 4 months 

2002 65 years, 6 months 

2003 65 years, 8 months 

2004 65 years, 10 months 

2005-2016 66 years, 0 months 

2017 66 years, 2 months 

2018 66 years, 4 months 

2019 66 years, 6 months 

2020 66 years, 8 months 

2021 66 years, 10 months 

2022 or later 67 years, 0 months 
38

 TECHNICAL SUPPLEMENT 

GENERAL METHODOLOGY AND ASSUMPTIONS 

1. Approach. The 24th valuation presents results under three different employment assumptions. 

The same set of earnings inflation, price inflation, and interest rate assumptions was used with 

each of the three employment assumptions. This set of assumptions is discussed in Section V 

and listed in Table 1 of the valuation report. 

A projection of the progress of the railroad retirement fund through 2082 is shown under each of 

the three employment assumptions. All the projections are based on an open group (that is, they 

include future entrants). The calculations were arranged so that closed-group valuations, limited 

to former and present employees, could be obtained as a by-product. A balance sheet deriving 

actuarial surplus or deficiency is also shown. 

2. Basic data. All data concerning current beneficiaries were derived from a "universe" file (file 

including all beneficiaries as of December 31, 2007). This included information needed to 

project benefits for this group. Information needed to derive exposures and terminations for 

mortality and remarriage studies was obtained from a similar universe file created at an earlier 

date. 

Active and inactive census data and data needed to study the withdrawal, mortality, and age and 

disability retirement experience of active employees were also compiled from universe files. 

3. Service tables. For the projections of employees in active service and new entrants, a service 

month table was prepared. 

Five sets of withdrawal rates were used with the differentiation made by attained age. Four sets 

of rates for disability retirement and two sets of rates for age retirement were used, with the 

differentiation made by completed years of service. Rates of death in active service are 

aggregate. 

4. Actuarial assumptions. 

Mortality after age retirement. Mortality studies for nondisability retirements covering the 

period 2003-2006 showed that the pattern of improved mortality at the younger ages found in 

the 2000-2003 experience continued. Based on the thinning of margin and the degree of fit by 

attained age, a new table, the 2007 RRB Annuitants Mortality Table, was constructed. 

Mortality after disability retirement. The overall ratio of actual to expected deaths after 

disability retirement based on the 23rd valuation standard was 97.0% and 99.8% for annuitants 

with and without disability freeze, respectively. Based on the improvement in mortality and the 

degree of fit by five-year age group, two new tables, the 2007 RRB Disabled Mortality Table 

for Annuitants with Disability Freeze and the 2007 RRB Disabled Mortality Table for 

Annuitants without Disability Freeze, were constructed. 
39

Mortality of employees in active service. Mortality studies for active employees showed an 

overall ratio of actual to expected deaths of 90.3%. Based on the continued improvement in the 

mortality experience, a new table, the 2003 Active Service Mortality Table, was constructed. 

Total termination for spouses. Total termination rates are used in projecting future tier 1 and 

tier 2 benefits for spouses receiving these benefits on the valuation date. Spouse benefits 

terminate at either the spouse's or the employee's death. A spouse receiving benefits at the time 

of the employee's death would begin to receive survivor benefits if the employee maintained a 

current connection. 

The overall ratio of actual terminations to those expected on the basis of the 23rd valuation 

standard was 99.6%. Based on the improvement in spouse termination since the 2000-2003 

period, a new table, the 2007 RRB Spouse Total Termination Table, was constructed. 

Probability of a retired employee having an eligible spouse. Projected tier 1 and tier 2 benefits 

for spouses of active employees and future entrants were determined by applying factors to the 

projected employee tier 1 and tier 2 benefits, respectively. These factors, shown in Table S-6, 

reflect the age-by-age probability that an employee annuitant has a spouse receiving benefits. 

Although the overall ratio of the actual number of spouses on December 31, 2006, to the 

expected number based on the 23rd valuation standard was 104.3% and 100.6%, for employees 

with fewer than 30 years of service and employees with 30 or more years of service, 

respectively, it has been past practice to update this table for each new valuation. 

Mortality of widow annuitants. The ratio of actual to expected deaths for widow annuitants was 

111.4% based on the 23rd valuation standard, the 1995 RRB Mortality Table for Widows. Since 

the current standard provides adequate margin for mortality improvement, both overall and at 

most ages, the 23rd valuation standard was retained. 

Remarriage of widows. The overall ratio of actual to expected remarriages on the basis of the 

23rd valuation standard, the 1997 RRB Remarriage Table, was 97.8%. Based on the degree of 

fit, newness of the current standard, relatively small number of remarriages, and relatively small 

impact of a change in remarriage rates on the valuation results, the 23rd valuation standard was 

retained. 

Total termination for disabled children. The overall ratio of actual terminations to those 

expected on the basis of the 23rd valuation standard, the 2004 RRB Total Termination Table for 

Disabled Children, was 112.1%. Based on the relatively small number of terminations, the 

accompanying higher volatility of termination rates, and the adequate margin in the current 

standard, the 23rd valuation standard was retained. 

Withdrawal from the railroad industry. The overall ratio of actual final withdrawals 

(withdrawals net of re-entrants) to those expected on the basis of the 23rd valuation standard was 

83.3%. Based on the volatility of withdrawal rates, the lack of any clear trend in withdrawal

patterns, and the reasonable overall fit of the 23rd valuation rates, the 23rd valuation standard was 

retained. 
40

Age retirement. A normal age annuity is payable at social security normal retirement age 

(SSNRA) with 10 years of total service or 5 years of service after 1995. For employees with 30 

or more years of service, an unreduced benefit is payable to those who retire after the attainment 

of age 60. Benefits are reduced for employees who retire from age 62 to SSNRA with 5-29 

years of service. A supplemental annuity is payable to employees with service before October, 

1981, who have attained age 60 with 30 or more years of service, or attained age 65 with 25 or 

more years of service. 

A comparison between the rates of age retirements assumed in the 23rd and 24th valuations and 

the crude rates during calendar years 2004-2006 is shown in Table S-28. For employees with 5-

29 years of service, the assumed 24th valuation rates are close to the 2004-2006 crude rates at 

ages under 67 and constant for ages over 66. For employees with 30 or more years of service, 

the assumed 24th valuation rates are close to the crude rates for ages 60-71 and constant for ages 

over 71. 

Disability retirement. An employee is eligible for disability retirement based on total and 

permanent disability at any age with at least 10 years of service or 5 years of service after 1995. 

Eligibility for occupational disability requires (i) permanent disability for an employee's regular 

railroad occupation, (ii) attainment of age 60 with 10 years of service or any age with 20 years 

of service, and (iii) a current connection. 

For employees with 10-19 years of service, the ratio of actual disability retirements during 

2004-2006 to those expected based on the 23rd valuation standard was 82.7%. The ratio of 

actual to expected disability retirements for employees with 20-24 years of service was 113.8%, 

and for employees with 25-29 years of service it was 66.3%. For employees with 30 or more 

years of service the ratio of actual to expected disability retirements was 92.3%. The overall 

ratio of actual to expected disability retirements for all employees was 85.7%. Because of the 

recent volatility of experience, current experience was combined with that of the period 2001-

2003, and a new table of rates of disability retirement was constructed based on the combined 

2001-2006 experience. 

Disability retirements are not projected for participants with 5-9 years of service because the 

benefits are limited to what social security would pay and are reimbursed through the financial 

interchange. These employees become eligible for tier 2 benefits at age 62 and are treated as 

vested withdrawals in our projections. 

The ratio of actual to expected disability retirements qualifying for a disability freeze based on 

the 23rd valuation standard was 99.9% and 100.4% for employees with 10-19 years of service 

and 20 or more years of service, respectively. A new table of percentages eligible for a 

disability freeze was constructed for the 24th valuation. In the current experience, the disability 

freeze rates for the 20-24 years of service group, the 25-29 years of service group, and the 30 or 

more years of service group are close, and there is a single set of rates for employees with 20 or 

more years of service. These rates are shown in Table S-11. 
41

Other assumptions. Assumptions involving (1) service months and salary scales, (2) family 

composition, and (3) the age distribution of new entrants are shown in Tables S-13, S-14, and 

S-42, respectively. 

Investment and administrative expenses. For investment and administrative expenses, best 

estimates are used in the initial projection years. Thereafter, investment expenses are assumed 

to equal 0.3% (30 basis points) of the prior year end combined NRRIT and RR Account fund 

balance. Administrative expenses are assumed to increase at the same rate as the wage increase 

assumption shown in Table 1 of the valuation report, subject to the following limits. 

Administrative expenses for the RR Account are limited to 2% of benefits paid from the RR 

Account and NRRIT. Administrative expenses for the SSEB Account are limited to 0.7% of 

benefits paid from the SSEB Account. 

A complete list of the assumptions and the tables that present them follows. 
42

List of assumptions and tables used in the 24th valuation 

 Item Assumption or table 

A. Mortality and total termination rates 

1. After age retirement 

(a) Current retirements Table S-1 

(b) Future retirements Table S-1 with a 1-year rateback in age 

2. After disability retirement 

(a) with Disability Freeze Table S-2 

(b) without Disability Freeze Table S-3 

3. Employees in active service Table S-4 

 4. Spouses Table S-5 

 5. Nondisabled widows 

(a) Widows of deceased employees Table S-7 

(b) Widows coming from future Table S-7 with a 1-year rateback in age 

 employee deaths 

6. Disabled widows Table S-2 

7. Children under age 18 Disregarded 

8. Disabled children age 18 and over Table S-9 

B. Remarriage rates for widows Table S-8 

C. Retirement rates 

1. Age retirement Table S-10 

2. Disability (with "disability Table S-11 

 freeze" percentages)

D. Withdrawal rates Table S-12 

E. Other assumptions 

1. Probability of a retired employee Table S-6 

having an eligible spouse 

2. Economic assumptions Table 1 of valuation report 

3. Service months and salary scales Table S-13 

4. Family composition Table S-14 

5. Age distribution of future entrants Table S-42 
 43

Table S-1. 2007 RRB Annuitants Mortality Table

Agea 1,000qx Agea 1,000qx 

60 6.24 95 268.71 

61 7.07 96 289.17 

62 8.01 97 308.70 

63 9.06 98 326.87 

64 10.24 99 343.32 

65 11.57 100 357.71 

66 13.05 101 369.73 

67 14.72 102 379.10 

68 16.58 103 385.52 

69 18.66 104 388.66 

70 20.98 105 390.05 

71 23.57 106 391.43 

72 26.45 107 392.81 

73 29.66 108 394.18 

74 33.22 109 395.55 

75 37.17 110 1,000.00 

76 41.55 

77 46.40 

78 51.76 

79 57.66 

80 64.17 

81 71.33 

82 79.19 

83 87.81 

84 97.24 

85 107.53 

86 118.74 

87 130.93 

88 144.16 

89 158.47 

90 173.91 

91 190.53 

92 208.36 

93 227.44 

94 247.79 

a Age nearest birthday. 
 44

Table S-2. 2007 RRB Disabled Mortality Table for Annuitants with Disability Freeze a

Ageb 1,000qx Ageb 1,000qx Ageb 1,000qx 

30 

31 

32 

33 

34 

15.44 

15.59 

15.75 

15.90 

16.06 

65 

66 

67 

68 

69 

33.91 

36.30 

38.89 

41.70 

44.74 

100 

101 

102 

103 

104 

367.77 

377.91 

385.86 

391.37 

394.18 

35 

36 

37 

38 

39 

16.22 

16.38 

16.54 

16.71 

16.87 

70 

71 

72 

73 

74 

48.04 

51.61 

55.47 

59.65 

64.17 

105 

106 

107 

108 

109 

395.55 

396.92 

398.29 

399.65 

401.01 

40 

41 

42 

43 

44 

17.04 

17.30 

17.56 

17.83 

18.10 

75 

76 

77 

78 

79 

69.05 

74.33 

80.04 

86.20 

92.84 

110 1,000.00 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 

18.38 

18.66 

18.94 

19.23 

19.52 

80 

81 

82 

83 

84 

100.00 

107.72 

116.03 

124.97 

134.57 

50 

51 

52 

53 

54 

19.82 

20.12 

20.43 

20.74 

21.06 

85 

86 

87 

88 

89 

144.89 

155.95 

167.80 

180.47 

194.02 

55 

56 

57 

58 

59 

21.38 

21.70 

22.03 

22.37 

23.05 

90 

91 

92 

93 

94 

208.47 

223.86 

240.34 

257.69 

275.42 

60 

61 

62 

63 

64 

24.48 

26.08 

27.80 

29.68 

31.71 

95 

96 

97 

98 

99 

293.08 

310.28 

326.66 

341.89 

355.68 

a Qualified under social security definition of disability. 

b Age nearest birthday. 
 45

Table S-3. 2007 RRB Disabled Mortality Table for Annuitants without Disability Freeze a

Ageb 1,000qx Ageb 1,000qx Ageb 1,000qx 

40 

41 

42 

43 

44 

3.77 

3.89 

4.00 

4.12 

4.24 

70 

71 

72 

73 

74 

34.75 

37.99 

41.54 

45.40 

49.62 

100 

101 

102 

103 

104 

366.45 

376.04 

383.53 

388.73 

391.43 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 

4.36 

4.49 

4.62 

4.76 

5.21 

75 

76 

77 

78 

79 

54.23 

59.27 

64.78 

70.79 

77.36 

105 

106 

107 

108 

109 

392.81 

394.18 

395.55 

396.92 

398.29 

50 

51 

52 

53 

54 

5.70 

6.25 

6.84 

7.49 

8.20 

80 

81 

82 

83 

84 

84.54 

92.36 

100.90 

110.19 

120.31 

110 1,000.00 

55 

56 

57 

58 

59 

8.98 

9.83 

10.77 

11.79 

12.90 

85 

86 

87 

88 

89 

131.32 

143.29 

156.27 

170.34 

185.57 

60 

61 

62 

63 

64 

14.13 

15.46 

16.92 

18.52 

20.27 

90 

91 

92 

93 

94 

202.02 

219.76 

238.37 

257.13 

275.39 

65 

66 

67 

68 

69 

22.18 

24.27 

26.55 

29.05 

31.77 

95 

96 

97 

98 

99 

293.06 

310.26 

326.63 

341.72 

354.95 

a Not qualified under social security definition of disability. 

b Age nearest birthday. 
 46

Table S-4. 2003 RRB Active Service Mortality Tablea

Ageb 1,000qx-1/2 Ageb 1,000qx-1/2 

45 1.72 

46 1.81 

17 1.11 47 1.91 

18 1.11 48 2.03 

19 1.11 49 2.16 

20 1.11 50 2.30 

21 1.11 51 2.47 

22 1.11 52 2.65 

23 1.11 53 2.85 

24 1.11 54 3.08 

25 1.11 55 3.34 

26 1.11 56 3.63 

27 1.11 57 3.96 

28 1.11 58 4.33 

29 1.11 59 4.74 

30 1.11 60 5.20 

31 1.12 61 5.72 

32 1.14 62 6.30 

33 1.16 63 6.96 

34 1.18 64 7.69 

35 1.21 65 8.52 

36 1.24 66 9.44 

37 1.27 67 10.48 

38 1.31 68 11.65 

39 1.35 69 12.96 

40 1.39 70 14.43 

41 1.44 71 16.08 

42 1.50 72 17.94 

43 1.57 73 20.02 

44 1.64 74 22.36 

75 24.99 

a Deaths in active service are those of employees who last worked in the

 railroad industry in the year in which death occurred or in the preceding

 calendar year. The exposures correspond to this definition. 

b Age attained in calendar year of exposure. 
 47

Table S-5. 2007 RRB Spouse Total Terminationa

 Table

Age t t b 1,000qx Ageb 1,000qx

60 23.06 95 368.07 

61 24.83 96 387.77 

62 26.76 97 407.05 

63 28.85 98 425.90 

64 31.13 99 444.30 

65 33.61 100 462.26 

66 36.32 101 479.76 

67 39.26 102 496.80 

68 42.47 103 513.38 

69 45.98 104 529.50 

70 49.80 105 545.16 

71 53.96 106 560.36 

72 58.51 107 575.10 

73 63.48 108 589.38 

74 68.90 109 603.21 

75 74.82 110 1,000.00 

76 81.29 

77 88.35 

78 96.06 

79 104.47 

80 113.66 

81 123.67 

82 134.60 

83 146.50 

84 159.45 

85 173.55 

86 188.86 

87 205.47 

88 223.47 

89 242.92 

90 263.69 

91 285.29 

92 306.55 

93 327.44 

94 347.95 

a Mainly death of employee or death of spouse. 

b Age nearest birthday. 
48

Table S-6. Probability of a retired employee having a spouse eligible for railroad retirement benefits

Employees with Employees with 

Agea

 of 30 or more less than 30 

employee years of service years of service 

59 and under 0.000 0.000 

60 0.196 0.000 

61 0.300 0.000 

62 0.414 0.087 

63 0.507 0.192 

64 0.580 0.276 

65 0.637 0.349 

66 0.681 0.412 

67 0.713 0.466 

68 0.738 0.510 

69 0.756 0.546 

70 0.770 0.574 

71 0.779 0.594 

72 0.784 0.609 

73 0.785 0.616 

74 0.781 0.619 

75 0.775 0.616 

76 0.765 0.610 

77 0.753 0.599 

78 0.738 0.585 

79 0.721 0.569 

80 0.703 0.551 

81 0.682 0.531 

82 0.661 0.510 

83 0.638 0.490 

84 0.616 0.469 

85 0.592 0.449 

86 0.568 0.429 

87 0.543 0.408 

88 0.517 0.387 

89 0.490 0.366 

90 0.462 0.344 

91 0.432 0.322 

92 0.402 0.298 

93 0.370 0.273 

94 0.337 0.247 

95 0.303 0.220 

96 0.266 0.190 

97 0.228 0.159 

98 0.189 0.126 

99 & over 0.147 0.091 

a Age nearest birthday. 
 49

Table S-7. 1995 RRB Mortality Table for Widows

Agea 1,000qx Agea 1,000qx Agea 1,000qx 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

0.23 

0.25 

0.27 

0.30 

0.33 

55 

56 

57 

58 

59 

5.42 

5.93 

6.49 

7.11 

7.78 

90 

91 

92 

93 

94 

128.50 

140.66 

153.98 

168.56 

184.52 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

0.36 

0.39 

0.43 

0.47 

0.52 

60 

61 

62 

63 

64 

8.52 

9.32 

10.21 

11.17 

12.23 

95 

96 

97 

98 

99 

201.99 

221.00 

241.15 

261.92 

282.85 

30 

31 

32 

33 

34 

0.56 

0.62 

0.68 

0.74 

0.81 

65 

66 

67 

68 

69 

13.39 

14.66 

16.04 

17.56 

19.23 

100 

101 

102 

103 

104 

303.44 

323.26 

341.87 

358.88 

373.89 

35 

36 

37 

38 

39 

0.89 

0.97 

1.06 

1.16 

1.27 

70 

71 

72 

73 

74 

21.05 

23.04 

25.22 

27.61 

30.22 

105 

106 

107 

108 

109 

386.55 

396.55 

403.60 

407.43 

407.86 

40 

41 

42 

43 

44 

1.39 

1.53 

1.67 

1.83 

2.00 

75 

76 

77 

78 

79 

33.08 

36.21 

39.64 

43.40 

47.51 

110 1,000.00 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 

2.19 

2.40 

2.63 

2.88 

3.15 

80 

81 

82 

83 

84 

52.00 

56.93 

62.32 

68.22 

74.67 

50 

51 

52 

53 

54 

3.45 

3.77 

4.13 

4.52 

4.95 

85 

86 

87 

88 

89 

81.74 

89.48 

97.96 

107.23 

117.38 

a Age nearest birthday. 
 50 

Table S-8. 1997 RRB Remarriage Table 

(Probabilities of remarriage) 

Agea

 at for n equal to m 1,000 q[ x]+n

widowhood [x] 0 1 2 3 4 Agea

 x m 1,000qx

20 24.76 56.57 66.98 72.11 61.24 25 45.66 

21 23.57 53.82 63.69 68.54 58.18 26 43.35 

22 22.42 51.18 60.54 65.12 55.24 27 41.14 

23 21.32 48.64 57.51 61.83 52.42 28 39.02 

24 20.27 46.21 54.61 58.67 49.71 29 36.98 

25 19.25 43.88 51.82 55.64 47.12 30 35.02 

26 18.28 41.64 49.14 52.73 44.62 31 33.14 

27 17.35 39.49 46.58 49.94 42.23 32 31.34 

28 16.45 37.42 44.11 47.27 39.93 33 29.61 

29 15.59 35.44 41.74 44.69 37.73 34 27.95 

30 14.77 33.54 39.47 42.23 35.61 35 26.36 

31 13.97 31.72 37.29 39.86 33.58 36 24.83 

32 13.21 29.97 35.20 37.59 31.63 37 23.36 

33 12.48 28.29 33.20 35.40 29.76 38 21.95 

34 11.78 26.67 31.27 33.31 27.97 39 20.60 

35 11.11 25.13 29.42 31.30 26.24 40 19.30 

36 10.47 23.64 27.64 29.37 24.59 41 18.05 

37 9.85 22.21 25.94 27.52 23.00 42 16.86 

38 9.25 20.84 24.31 25.74 21.48 43 15.71 

39 8.68 19.53 22.74 24.04 20.02 44 14.61 

40 8.14 18.27 21.23 22.40 18.61 45 13.55 

41 7.61 17.06 19.79 20.83 17.26 46 12.53 

42 7.11 15.90 18.40 19.32 15.97 47 11.56 

43 6.62 14.78 17.07 17.88 14.73 48 10.63 

44 6.16 13.71 15.79 16.49 13.54 49 9.73 

45 5.71 12.69 14.56 15.15 12.40 50 8.87 

46 5.29 11.70 13.38 13.87 11.30 51 8.04 

47 4.87 10.75 12.25 12.65 10.25 52 7.25 

48 4.48 9.85 11.17 11.47 9.24 53 6.49 

49 4.10 8.98 10.13 10.34 8.27 54 5.76 

50 3.74 8.14 9.13 9.25 7.33 55 5.06 

51 3.39 7.34 8.17 8.21 6.44 56 4.38 

52 3.06 6.57 7.25 7.21 5.58 57 3.74 

53 2.74 5.83 6.37 6.25 4.76 58 3.12 

54 2.43 5.12 5.52 5.33 3.97 59 2.52 

55 2.13 4.44 4.71 4.44 3.21 60 8.29 

56 1.85 3.78 3.93 3.60 14.84 61 4.17 

57 1.58 3.15 3.18 15.76 8.28 62 5.24 

58 1.31 2.55 14.26 8.24 9.93 63 4.67 

59 1.06 13.76 8.54 10.16 8.98 64 4.16 

60 7.27 8.49 9.95 9.11 8.13 65 3.71 

61 3.77 9.78 9.10 8.16 7.35 66 3.31 

62 4.67 8.98 8.32 7.32 6.65 67 2.95 

63 4.18 8.24 7.60 6.56 6.01 68 2.63 

64 3.74 7.56 6.95 5.88 5.44 69 2.34 

65 3.35 6.94 6.35 5.27 4.92 70 2.08 

66 3.00 6.38 5.81 4.72 4.45 71 1.85 

67 2.68 5.86 5.31 4.23 4.03 72 1.64 

68 2.40 5.38 4.85 3.79 3.60 73 1.45 

69 2.15 4.94 4.43 3.36 3.17 74 1.27 

70 1.92 4.54 4.02 2.95 2.77 75 1.10 

71 1.72 4.13 3.60 2.56 2.38 76 0.94 

72 1.54 3.73 3.21 2.20 2.03 77 0.81 

73 1.39 3.34 2.83 1.86 1.70 78 0.69 

74 1.26 2.96 2.47 1.57 1.42 79 0.58 

75 1.14 2.61 2.14 1.30 1.16 80 0.49 

76 1.04 2.28 1.84 1.08 0.95 81 0.40 

77 0.95 1.97 1.57 0.88 0.76 82 0.33 

78 0.87 1.70 1.33 0.71 0.60 83 0.27 

79 0.79 1.45 1.11 0.57 0.47 84 0.22 

80 0.73 1.22 0.92 0.45 0.37 85 0.18 

81 0.68 1.03 0.76 0.35 0.28 86 0.15 

82 0.63 0.85 0.62 0.27 0.22 87 0.12 

83 0.59 0.71 0.50 0.21 0.16 88 0.09 

84 0.48 0.38 0.32 0.16 0.12 89 0.06 

a Age nearest birthday. 
 51

Table S-9. 2004 RRB Total Termination Table for Disabled Children

Agea t

x 1,000q Agea tx 1,000q Agea tx 1,000q

18 

19 

21.92 

21.83 

50 

51 

52 

53 

54 

16.97 

17.85 

18.79 

19.79 

20.87 

85 

86 

87 

88 

89 

142.28 

152.12 

162.66 

173.96 

186.07 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

21.54 

21.06 

20.39 

19.53 

18.50 

55 

56 

57 

58 

59 

22.03 

23.27 

24.59 

26.01 

27.54 

90 

91 

92 

93 

94 

199.04 

212.94 

227.83 

243.79 

260.90 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

17.30 

15.95 

14.45 

13.19 

12.14 

60 

61 

62 

63 

64 

29.17 

30.92 

32.79 

34.80 

36.96 

95 

96 

97 

98 

99 

279.22 

298.86 

319.90 

342.44 

366.60 

30 

31 

32 

33 

34 

11.30 

10.65 

10.17 

9.85 

9.68 

65 

66 

67 

68 

69 

39.26 

41.73 

44.38 

47.22 

50.26 

100 

101 

102 

103 

104 

379.29 

384.08 

386.52 

387.90 

389.28 

35 

36 

37 

38 

39 

9.63 

9.70 

9.88 

10.14 

10.47 

70 

71 

72 

73 

74 

53.52 

57.01 

60.75 

64.76 

69.05 

105 

106 

107 

108 

109 

390.66 

392.03 

393.39 

394.76 

396.12 

40 

41 

42 

43 

44 

10.86 

11.30 

11.77 

12.27 

12.81 

75 

76 

77 

78 

79 

73.65 

78.58 

83.87 

89.53 

95.60 

110 1,000.00 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 

13.39 

14.01 

14.68 

15.39 

16.15 

80 

81 

82 

83 

84 

102.10 

109.06 

116.53 

124.53 

133.10 

a Age nearest birthday. 
52 

Table S-10. Calendar year ratesa of immediateb age retirement 

(Retirements per 1,000 exposed)

 Years of service 

Agec 5-29 30 & over

60 620

61 490

62 100 400

63 90 400

64 90 400

65 230 430

66 380 330

67 250 330

68 250 300

69 250 300

70 250 300

71 250 300

72 250 250

73 250 250

74 250 250

75 & over 250 250

a Technically probabilities. 

b Immediate retirements are defined as those for which the calendar year of retirement

 is the same as, or the year following, the calendar year of last employment in the

 railroad industry. 

The age interval is from x-.5 to x+.5, except as indicated below:

 Interval for 

Age Years of service Exposure Retirements

60 30 or more 59.5-60.5 60-60.5

62 5-29 61.5-62.5 62-62.5

c
 53

Table S-11. Ratesa

 of immediateb disability retirement and of eligibility for disability freeze c

Percent of retirements eligible 

Calendar year rates per 1,000 exposed for disability freeze 

10-19 years 20-24 years 25-29 years 30 or more 10-19 years 20 or more 

Aged of service of service of service years of service of service years of service 

Under 35 1.2 4.6 2.6 2.6 98.5% 36.3% 

35 1.5 5.4 3.0 3.0 98.5 36.3 

36 1.7 6.3 3.5 3.5 98.5 36.3 

37 2.0 7.3 4.1 4.1 98.5 36.3 

38 2.4 8.4 4.7 4.7 98.5 36.3 

39 2.7 9.6 5.3 5.3 98.5 36.4 

40 3.2 10.9 6.0 6.0 98.5 36.4 

41 3.6 12.3 6.8 6.8 98.5 36.5 

42 4.1 13.9 7.7 7.7 98.5 36.6 

43 4.7 15.5 8.6 8.6 98.5 36.8 

44 5.3 17.3 9.6 9.6 98.5 37.0 

45 6.0 19.2 11.2 11.2 98.5 37.4 

46 6.8 21.3 12.7 12.7 98.5 37.9 

47 7.6 23.5 14.3 14.3 98.5 38.7 

48 8.6 25.9 15.9 15.9 98.5 39.9 

49 9.6 28.4 17.6 17.6 98.5 41.6 

50 10.8 31.2 19.2 19.2 98.5 44.3 

51 12.0 34.2 21.0 21.0 98.5 48.2 

52 13.5 37.4 22.7 22.7 98.5 54.1 

53 15.0 40.9 24.5 24.5 98.5 62.9 

54 16.8 44.7 26.3 26.3 98.5 76.1 

55 18.7 48.7 28.2 28.2 98.5 89.5 

56 20.9 53.1 30.1 30.1 98.5 89.5 

57 23.2 57.8 32.0 32.0 98.5 89.5 

58 25.9 62.8 34.0 34.0 98.5 89.5 

59 28.8 68.3 36.0 36.0 98.5 89.5 

60 50.1 74.2 38.0 18.4 91.9 89.5 

61 49.3 80.5 40.1 14.8 91.9 89.5 

62 47.3 86.2 56.6 11.4 91.9 89.5 

63 42.7 82.5 52.9 8.2 91.9 89.5 

64 32.1 71.8 42.2 5.4 91.9 89.5 

65 7.7 40.5 10.9 2.8 91.9 89.5 

a Technically probabilities. 

b Immediate retirements are defined as those for which the calendar year of retirement is the same as,

 or the year following, the calendar year of last employment in the railroad industry. 

Qualified under the social security definition of disability. 

d Age attained in calendar year of exposure. 

c
 54

Table S-12. Calendar year ratesa

 of final withdrawal

Years of Attained agec 

serviceb Under 25 25-34 35-44 45-54 55 & over 

0 0.196 0.148 0.177 0.208 0.269 

1 0.171 0.116 0.115 0.106 0.116 

2 0.097 0.087 0.077 0.072 0.110 

3 0.072 0.072 0.059 0.058 0.103 

4 0.062 0.062 0.052 0.047 0.093 

5 0.054 0.054 0.046 0.039 0.082 

6 0.049 0.049 0.042 0.032 0.071 

7 0.044 0.044 0.038 0.028 0.060 

8 0.041 0.041 0.035 0.024 0.049 

9 0.038 0.038 0.032 0.022 0.040 

10 0.036 0.036 0.030 0.021 0.032 

11 0.034 0.034 0.028 0.020 0.027 

12 0.032 0.032 0.026 0.019 0.023 

13 0.030 0.030 0.024 0.018 0.020 

14 0.028 0.028 0.023 0.017 0.019 

15 0.026 0.026 0.021 0.016 0.018 

16 0.024 0.024 0.019 0.015 0.017 

17 0.022 0.022 0.017 0.014 0.017 

18 0.021 0.021 0.016 0.013 0.016 

19 0.019 0.019 0.014 0.013 0.016 

20 0.017 0.017 0.013 0.012 0.015 

21 0.015 0.015 0.011 0.011 0.014 

22 0.013 0.013 0.010 0.010 0.014 

23 0.011 0.011 0.009 0.009 0.013 

24 0.010 0.010 0.008 0.009 0.012 

25 0.008 0.008 0.008 0.008 0.011 

26 0.007 0.007 0.007 0.007 0.010 

27 0.007 0.007 0.007 0.007 0.010 

28 0.006 0.006 0.006 0.006 0.009 

29 0.006 0.006 0.006 0.005 0.008 

30 & over 0.014 0.014 0.014 0.014 0.022 

a Technically probabilities. 

b Rounded up to nearest whole year.

Age attained in calendar year of exposure. c
 55

Table S-13. Service months and salary scales

Years Increase in average monthly salary 

of Service from prior service level 

servicea months Tier 1 Tier 2 

0 6.6 

1 11.5 17.8% 15.4% 

2 11.6 11.2% 9.7% 

3 11.6 7.1% 6.1% 

4 11.6 4.3% 3.7% 

5 11.6 2.5% 2.0% 

6 11.7 1.4% 1.0% 

7 11.7 0.8% 0.5% 

8 11.7 0.7% 0.4% 

9 11.7 0.7% 0.4% 

10 11.7 0.7% 0.4% 

11 11.7 0.7% 0.4% 

12 11.7 0.7% 0.4% 

13 11.7 0.7% 0.4% 

14 11.7 0.7% 0.4% 

15 11.7 0.7% 0.4% 

16 11.7 0.6% 0.4% 

17 11.7 0.6% 0.4% 

18 11.8 0.6% 0.4% 

19 11.8 0.6% 0.4% 

20 11.8 0.6% 0.4% 

21 11.8 0.6% 0.3% 

22 11.8 0.6% 0.3% 

23 11.8 0.6% 0.3% 

24 11.8 0.6% 0.3% 

25 11.8 0.6% 0.3% 

26 11.9 0.5% 0.3% 

27 11.9 0.5% 0.3% 

28 11.9 0.5% 0.3% 

29 11.9 0.5% 0.3% 

30 11.9 0.5% 0.3% 

31 11.9 0.5% 0.3% 

32 11.9 0.5% 0.3% 

33 11.9 0.5% 0.3% 

34 11.9 0.5% 0.3% 

35 11.9 0.5% 0.3% 

36 11.9 0.5% 0.3% 

37 11.9 0.5% 0.3% 

38 11.9 0.5% 0.3% 

39 11.9 0.4% 0.3% 

40 11.9 0.4% 0.3% 

41 11.9 0.4% 0.3% 

42 11.9 0.4% 0.3% 

43 11.9 0.4% 0.3% 

44 11.9 0.4% 0.3% 

45 & over 11.9 0.4% 0.3% 

a Rounded up to nearest whole year. 
 56

Table S-14. Family characteristics of railroad employees assumed for the valuation of survivor benefits

Percent married 

Widow under 60 with 

eligible child Percent with 

Widow Widow Widow Youngest Youngest Youngest eligible child 

Age of age age under child child child Minor Disabled 

employeea Total 62 & over 60-61 age 60 under 16 age 16-17 disabled child child 

Under 35 71.0 - - 71.0 58.6 - - 82.5 -

35 - 39 71.0 - - 71.0 58.6 3.2 - 86.7 2.0 

40 - 44 71.0 - - 71.0 52.1 7.2 0.2 79.2 2.0 

45 - 49 71.0 - - 71.0 29.1 10.1 0.5 51.2 2.0 

50 - 54 71.0 1.6 0.6 68.8 14.6 5.1 1.1 26.3 2.0 

55 - 59 71.0 3.5 2.8 64.7 5.5 2.2 1.3 11.0 2.0 

60 - 64 71.0 18.6 15.3 37.1 2.3 0.6 0.7 4.7 2.0 

65 - 69 71.0 51.6 7.5 11.9 0.7 0.3 0.2 1.9 1.6 

70 - 74 71.0 65.0 2.1 3.9 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.9 1.4 

75 - 79 66.8 64.2 0.8 1.8 0.2 - - 0.4 1.0 

80 - 84 60.8 59.7 0.3 0.8 0.1 - - 0.2 0.8 

85 - 89 50.2 49.6 0.1 0.5 0.1 - - 0.1 0.8 

90 & over 31.9 31.5 0.1 0.3 - - - - 0.6 

Average ages of widows 

Widow under 60 with 

eligible child Average ages of children Average 

Widow Widow Widow Youngest Youngest Youngest Youngest All All number 

Age of age age under child child child child minor disabled of minor 

employeea 62 & over 60-61 age 60 under 16 age 16-17 disabled under 16b children children childrenc 

Under 35 - - 31 31 - - 4 6 - 2.5 

35 - 39 - - 36 36 38 - 7 8 20 2.1 

40 - 44 - - 41 40 42 44 10 11 20 2.0 

45 - 49 - - 45 43 47 48 11 12 21 1.6 

50 - 54 64 61 50 46 48 52 11 12 24 1.5 

55 - 59 65 61 53 49 51 54 11 12 28 1.4 

60 - 64 66 61 56 50 53 55 11 12 31 1.4 

65 - 69 67 61 56 50 53 56 11 12 35 1.3 

70 - 74 70 61 55 46 53 57 11 12 39 1.3 

75 - 79 74 61 54 46 - - 11 12 43 1.3 

80 - 84 78 61 54 46 - - 11 12 47 1.3 

85 - 89 82 61 54 46 - - 11 12 50 1.3 

90 & over 86 61 54 - - - - - 55 -

a Age nearest birthday at time of death. 

b Includes families with widows under 60 and children under 16 only. 

Includes families with minor children only. c
57

MORTALITY, REMARRIAGE, AND RELATED EXPERIENCE 

1. Mortality of age annuitants. The mortality studies conducted for age annuitants are summarized 

in Tables S-15 through S-17. The tables show actual-to-expected ratios by age, sex, year and 

duration on the basis of the 23rd and 24th valuation standards. 

2. Mortality after disability retirement. The mortality studies conducted for disability annuitants 

are summarized in Tables S-18 through S-20. The tables show select, ultimate and aggregate 

crude death rates, actual-to-expected ratios, and disability freeze percentages. 

3. Mortality in active service. The mortality experience of active railroad employees is shown in 

Table S-21. The table provides crude rates and actual-to-expected ratios. 

4. Total termination, mortality and probability of spouse. Tables S-22 and S-23 show, 

respectively, the total termination and mortality experience of spouse annuitants between 

anniversaries of retirement in 2003 and 2006. Spouse mortality is not used directly in any part 

of the valuation. Table S-24 shows, as of December 31, 2006, the number of retired employees 

and the number of eligible spouses of employees, by age of employee. The probabilities shown 

in Table S-6 are based on the results shown in Table S-24. 

5. Mortality and remarriage of widows. Table S-25 shows ratios of actual deaths of widow 

annuitants to those expected on the basis of the 23rd valuation standard, which was retained for 

the 24th valuation. Table S-26 shows ratios of actual remarriages to those expected on the basis 

of the 1997 RRB Remarriage Table. 

6. Termination of disabled children. Table S-27 shows ratios of actual terminations of disabled 

children annuitants to those expected on the basis of the 2004 RRB Total Termination Table for 

Disabled Children. 
 58 

Table S-15. Mortality experience of railroad age annuitantsa between anniversaries of retirement in 2003 and 2006, by sex and type of retirement 

Ageb 

All ages 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85-89 90-94 95 & over 

A. Both sexes combined 

Exposed 72,165 630,670 91,813 141,549 107,896 118,621 67,190 24,217 7,219 

Actual deaths 38,750 621 1,484 3,149 7,053 9,723 9,205 5,185 2,330 

Age specific death rates (per thousand) 61.4 8.6 16.2 29.2 49.8 82.0 137.0 214.1 322.8 

Ratio of actual to expected deaths 

1994 GAM malesc 111.5% 82.0% 88.8% 100.8% 108.2% 110.1% 120.4% 121.7% 120.0% 

2004 RRBd 99.9% 96.6% 98.3% 98.0% 96.7% 97.2% 102.2% 105.5% 106.2% 

2007 RRBe 106.0% 104.0% 107.5% 107.8% 105.7% 104.5% 106.9% 106.6% 105.6% 

B. Male 

Exposed 66,808 565,241 83,294 98,675 103,921 127,107 59,500 20,565 5,371 

Actual deaths 35,081 595 1,392 2,969 6,546 8,866 8,430 4,526 1,757 

Age specific death rates (per thousand) 62.1 8.9 16.7 30.1 51.5 85.3 141.7 220.1 327.1 

Ratio of actual to expected deaths 

1994 GAM malesc 115.2% 85.0% 91.8% 103.9% 112.2% 114.5% 124.5% 125.5% 122.1% 

2004 RRBd 103.3% 100.2% 101.6% 100.9% 100.3% 101.1% 105.8% 108.8% 107.9% 

2007 RRBe 109.7% 107.8% 111.2% 111.0% 109.6% 108.6% 110.6% 110.0% 107.3% 

C. Female 

Exposed 65,429 5,357 8,519 9,221 14,442 14,700 7,690 3,652 1,848 

Actual deaths 3,669 26 92 180 507 857 775 659 573 

Age specific death rates (per thousand) 56.1 4.9 10.8 19.5 35.1 58.3 100.8 180.4 310.1 

Ratio of actual to expected deaths 

1995 RRB Widowsf

, 1-year rateback 109.1% 50.1% 72.7% 83.9% 93.3% 104.0% 114.5% 130.4% 136.7% 

2004 RRBd 76.3% 53.2% 65.7% 66.1% 66.1% 69.7% 75.0% 87.4% 101.3% 

2007 RRBe 80.3% 57.3% 71.9% 72.7% 72.2% 74.9% 78.4% 88.2% 100.7% 

D. Immediateg 

Exposed 51,722 404,621 54,769 61,814 86,009 79,928 48,098 17,365 4,916 

Actual deaths 26,050 428 837 1,780 4,363 6,652 6,653 3,719 1,618 

Age specific death rates (per thousand) 64.4 8.3 15.3 28.8 50.7 83.2 138.3 214.2 329.1 

Ratio of actual to expected deaths 

2004 RRBd 100.7% 94.5% 93.1% 96.7% 98.1% 98.2% 103.1% 105.8% 108.1% 

2007 RRBe 106.6% 101.6% 101.8% 106.4% 107.2% 105.6% 107.9% 106.8% 107.5% 

E. Deferredg 

Exposed 20,443 226,049 37,044 46,082 55,540 38,693 19,092 6,852 2,303 

Actual deaths 12,700 193 647 1,369 2,690 3,071 2,552 1,466 712 

Age specific death rates (per thousand) 56.2 9.4 17.5 29.7 48.4 79.4 133.7 214.0 309.2 

Ratio of actual to expected deaths 

2004 RRBd 98.5% 101.8% 106.0% 99.7% 94.5% 95.1% 100.0% 105.0% 102.0% 

2007 RRBe 104.8% 109.7% 116.0% 109.6% 103.3% 102.2% 104.6% 106.0% 101.4% 

a Nondisability retirement. 

b Age nearest birthday at the beginning of the year of exposure.

1994 Group Annuity Mortality Static Table.

d 2004 RRB Annuitants Mortality Table. 

e 2007 RRB Annuitants Mortality Table. 

f

 1995 RRB Mortality Table for Widows. 

g

 Immediate retirements are those which occur in the same calendar year as, or the calendar year following, the year of last employment

 in the railroad industry; all others are deferred retirements. 

c
59 

Table S-16. Mortality experience of railroad age annuitantsa between anniversaries of retirement in 2003 and 2006, by year 

Ageb 

All ages 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85-89 90-94 95 & over 

1. 2003-2006 experience 

Exposed 630,670 72,165 91,813 107,896 141,549 118,621 67,190 24,217 7,219 

Actual deaths 38,750 621 1,484 3,149 7,053 9,723 9,205 5,185 2,330 

Crude rate per 1,000 61.4 8.6 16.2 29.2 49.8 82.0 137.0 214.1 322.8 

Ratio Act./Exp.c 99.9% 96.6% 98.3% 98.0% 96.7% 97.2% 102.2% 105.5% 106.2% 

Ratio Act./Exp.d 106.0% 104.0% 107.5% 107.8% 105.7% 104.5% 106.9% 106.6% 105.6% 

2. Crude rate per 1,000 for

 individual yearse 

2003 - 2004 62.6 8.0 17.4 31.7 51.1 84.1 138.2 217.4 322.4 

2004 - 2005 60.9 9.7 15.5 27.7 49.0 80.7 138.6 210.8 327.8 

2005 - 2006 60.8 8.1 15.4 27.8 49.3 81.1 134.2 214.1 317.8 

3. Ratio Act./Exp.c

 for

 individual yearse 

2003 - 2004 102.6% 90.9% 106.2% 106.2% 99.7% 99.9% 103.5% 107.0% 106.2% 

2004 - 2005 99.0% 109.8% 94.5% 93.1% 95.0% 95.8% 103.3% 103.9% 107.8% 

2005 - 2006 98.1% 89.6% 93.7% 93.8% 95.2% 95.9% 100.0% 105.7% 104.4% 

4. Ratio Act./Exp.d

 for

 individual yearse 

2003 - 2004 108.9% 97.8% 116.1% 116.8% 109.0% 107.4% 108.3% 108.0% 105.5% 

2004 - 2005 105.0% 118.1% 103.4% 102.3% 103.8% 102.9% 108.0% 105.0% 107.2% 

2005 - 2006 104.0% 96.5% 102.5% 103.1% 104.0% 103.1% 104.5% 106.8% 103.9% 

a Nondisability retirement. 

b Age nearest birthday at the beginning of the year of exposure.

Expected based on 2004 RRB Annuitants Mortality Table.

d Expected based on 2007 RRB Annuitants Mortality Table. 

e Exposure is between anniversaries of retirement in indicated years. 

c
60 

Table S-17. Mortality ratios for railroad age annuitants on a select and ultimate

 basis between anniversaries of retirement in 2003 and 2006 

Duration Exposure 

Actual 

deaths 

Crude rate 

per 1,000 

Ratio 

Act./Exp.a 

Ratio 

Act./Exp.b 

0 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 & over 

23,653 

27,400 

25,107 

23,571 

18,626 

19,002 

19,049 

18,834 

19,443 

19,735 

416,250 

187 

272 

267 

300 

310 

341 

389 

379 

493 

517 

35,295 

7.9 

9.9 

10.6 

12.7 

16.6 

17.9 

20.4 

20.1 

25.4 

26.2 

84.8 

89.1% 

100.7 

92.6 

94.1 

101.5 

97.8 

99.7 

88.0 

99.2 

91.8 

100.4 

95.8% 

108.6 

100.3 

102.4 

110.9 

107.0 

109.3 

96.5 

108.9 

100.8 

106.2 

All durations 630,670 38,750 61.4 99.9% 106.0% 

a Expected based on 2004 RRB Annuitants Mortality Table. 

b Expected based on 2007 RRB Annuitants Mortality Table. 
 61 

Table S-18. Age specific death rates of railroad disability annuitants between anniversaries

 of retirement in 2003 and 2006, by age and duration 

Select section 

Age at retirementa 

All ages Under 40 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60 & over 

Exposed 

Duration 0 13,455 181 378 1,774 4,355 5,029 1,738 

1 13,986 192 488 2,085 4,635 4,793 1,795 

2 14,296 147 590 2,368 4,776 4,626 1,789 

3 13,944 112 705 2,448 4,585 4,291 1,804 

4 13,305 88 831 2,451 4,252 3,935 1,748 

Actual deaths 

Duration 0 382 b b 37 96 174 62 

1 325 b b 27 99 127 64 

2 268 b b 34 71 100 56 

3 280 b 13 29 73 111 53 

4 244 b b 28 73 75 61 

Crude rate per 1,000 

Duration 0 28.4 b b 20.9 22.0 34.6 35.7 

1 23.2 b b 13.0 21.4 26.5 35.7 

2 18.7 b b 14.4 14.9 21.6 31.3 

3 20.1 b 18.4 11.8 15.9 25.9 29.4 

4 18.3 b b 11.4 17.2 19.1 34.9 

Ultimate section, durations 5 and over 

Actual Crude rate 

Agec Exposed deaths per 1,000 

Under 50 4,970 59 11.9 

50-54 16,958 238 14.0 

55-59 30,132 493 16.4 

60-64 32,810 849 25.9 

65-69 31,278 1,193 38.1 

70-74 28,471 1,460 51.3 

75-79 26,951 2,121 78.7 

80-84 14,888 1,691 113.6 

85 & over 9,288 1,825 196.5 

All ages 195,745 9,929 50.7 

a Age nearest birthday. Those retiring prior to attainment of normal retirement age are included

 in 60 & over group. 

b Fewer than 10 actual deaths.

Age nearest birthday at the beginning of the year of exposure. c
Table S-19. Mortality experience of railroad disability annuitants between anniversaries of retirement in 2003 and 2006, by dis

All disability annuitants Annuitants with disability freeze Annuitants with

Attained Actual Crude rate Actual Crude rate Ratio Ratio Actual Cru

age

a Exposed deaths per 1,000 Exposed deaths per 1,000 Act./Expb Act./Expc Exposed deaths pe

Under 40 516 f f 506 f f f f 11 f 

40-44 1,653 20 12.1 1,311 18 13.7 71.7% 77.4% 342 f 

45-49 12,144 165 13.6 7,321 141 19.3 93.8 100.8 4,823 24 

50-54 35,695 558 15.6 20,759 452 21.8 99.0 106.1 14,936 106 

55-59 54,303 1,052 19.4 36,085 849 23.5 96.0 106.3 18,218 203 

60-64 47,447 1,263 26.6 33,740 1,003 29.7 94.6 107.1 13,707 260 

65-69 33,376 1,266 37.9 22,971 973 42.4 98.1 109.4 10,405 293 

70-74 28,471 1,460 51.3 17,567 972 55.3 90.7 99.8 10,904 488 

75-79 26,951 2,121 78.7 14,923 1,293 86.6 100.2 108.8 12,028 828 

80-84 14,888 1,691 113.6 8,931 1,088 121.8 98.9 106.2 5,957 603 

85-89 6,689 1,138 170.1 4,495 789 175.5 100.7 107.0 2,194 349 

90-94 2,095 520 248.2 1,396 338 242.1 98.9 104.1 699 182 

95 & over 504 167 331.3 255 81 317.6 94.8 99.9 249 86 

All ages 264,730 11,428 43.2 170,259 8,004 47.0 97.0% 106.0% 94,471 3,424 

a

 Age nearest birthday at the beginning of the year of exposure. 

b

 Expected based on 2004 RRB Disabled Mortality Table for Annuitants with Disability Freeze.

Expected based on 2007 RRB Disabled Mortality Table for Annuitants with Disability Freeze. d

 Expected based on 2004 RRB Disabled Mortality Table for Annuitants without Disability Freeze. 

e

 Expected based on 2007 RRB Disabled Mortality Table for Annuitants without Disability Freeze. 

f

 Fewer than 10 actual deaths. 

c
63 

Table S-20. Percentages of railroad disability annuitants included in the 24th valuation mortality studies

 who would have qualified for a benefit under the social security disability standards 

Period between anniversaries of retirement 

Duration and type 

of freeze decision 

2003-2004 

Actual 

Exposures deaths 

2004-2005 

Actual 

Exposures deaths 

2005-2006 

Actual 

Exposures deaths 

Duration 0

 Freeze allowed 

Freeze disallowed 

No freeze decision 

77.1% 

22.9 

0.0 

92.9% 

7.1 

0.0 

76.8% 

23.1 

0.1 

94.9% 

5.1 

0.0 

75.4% 

23.4 

1.1 

93.3% 

6.7 

0.0 

Duration 1

 Freeze allowed 

Freeze disallowed 

No freeze decision 

75.5 

24.5 

0.0 

87.9 

12.1 

0.0 

76.7 

23.3 

0.0 

89.3 

10.7 

0.0 

76.2 

23.6 

0.1 

89.6 

10.4 

0.0 

Duration 2

 Freeze allowed 

Freeze disallowed 

No freeze decision 

73.3 

26.6 

0.0 

82.2 

17.8 

0.0 

75.3 

24.7 

0.0 

84.4 

15.6 

0.0 

76.5 

23.5 

0.0 

80.7 

19.3 

0.0 

Duration 3

 Freeze allowed 

Freeze disallowed 

No freeze decision 

71.6 

28.4 

0.0 

86.7 

13.3 

0.0 

73.2 

26.7 

0.0 

87.3 

12.7 

0.0 

75.3 

24.7 

0.0 

88.3 

11.7 

0.0 

Duration 4

 Freeze allowed 

Freeze disallowed 

No freeze decision 

69.9 

30.0 

0.1 

80.8 

19.2 

0.0 

71.3 

28.7 

0.0 

89.4 

10.6 

0.0 

73.0 

26.9 

0.0 

89.6 

10.4 

0.0 

Duration 5 and over

 Freeze allowed 

Freeze disallowed 

No freeze decision 

60.4 

39.6 

0.0 

66.6 

33.4 

0.0 

60.7 

39.3 

0.0 

67.5 

32.5 

0.0 

61.0 

39.0 

0.0 

67.7 

32.3 

0.0 
c

64

Table S-21. Mortality experience of activea railroad employees during calendar years 2001-2005

Actual Crude rate Ratio Ratio 

Ageb Exposed deaths per 1,000 Act./Exp.c Act./Exp.d 

Under 35 215,606 233 1.1 105.3% 95.9% 

35-39 113,952 141 1.2 100.6 97.0 

40-44 138,413 206 1.5 97.3 98.0 

45-49 225,871 445 2.0 95.7 101.4 

50-54 263,368 729 2.8 93.0 103.8 

55-59 198,600 770 3.9 84.2 98.8 

60-64 60,114 347 5.8 80.3 97.9 

65 & over 8,131 95 11.7 80.9 103.3 

All ages 1,224,053 2,966 2.4 90.3% 100.0% 

a An employee is said to have died in active service if he died before retirement and had last

 worked in the railroad industry in the calendar year of his death or the calendar year

 immediately preceding. 

b Age attained in calendar year of exposure. 

Expected deaths based on 1994 RRB Active Service Mortality Table. 

d Expected deaths based on 2003 RRB Active Service Mortality Table. 
c

65 

Table S-22. Total termination experience of spouse annuitants between anniversaries of retirement in 2003 and 2006a 

Ageb 

All ages 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85-89 90 & over 

1. 2003-2006 experience 

Exposedc 450,392 72,010 96,311 102,437 92,815 59,795 21,973 5,051 

Actual terminations 35,856 2,023 4,147 6,468 8,587 8,381 4,652 1,598 

Crude rate per 1,000 79.6 28.1 43.1 63.1 92.5 140.2 211.7 316.4 

Ratio Act./Exp. Id 99.6% 93.3% 100.4% 99.6% 98.5% 100.2% 102.0% 102.3% 

Ratio Act./Exp. IIe 106.0% 102.2% 108.8% 106.9% 104.8% 105.8% 106.9% 105.2% 

2. Crude rate per 1,000 for

 individual years 

2003 - 2004 81.2 27.9 45.3 64.9 93.4 145.6 219.8 302.9 

2004 - 2005 78.5 29.0 42.3 61.2 89.3 142.3 206.9 313.5 

2005 - 2006 79.0 27.4 41.5 63.3 94.8 132.5 208.8 331.8 

3. Ratio Act./Exp. for

 individual years Id 

2003 - 2004 102.2% 92.7% 105.6% 102.4% 99.5% 104.3% 105.9% 98.1% 

2004 - 2005 98.2% 96.4% 98.5% 96.5% 95.0% 101.7% 99.6% 101.3% 

2005 - 2006 98.4% 90.8% 96.8% 99.9% 101.0% 94.6% 100.5% 107.3% 

4. Ratio Act./Exp. for

 individual years IIe 

2003 - 2004 108.8% 101.6% 114.5% 109.9% 105.9% 110.2% 111.1% 100.8% 

2004 - 2005 104.5% 105.6% 106.8% 103.6% 101.1% 107.4% 104.5% 104.1% 

2005 - 2006 104.7% 99.4% 104.9% 107.2% 107.4% 99.9% 105.4% 110.3% 

a Excludes spouses under age 60 with child in care. 

b Age nearest birthday at the beginning of the year of exposure. 

Exposure is between anniversaries of retirement in indicated years. 

d Expected based on 2004 RRB Spouse Total Termination Table. 

e Expected based on 2007 RRB Spouse Total Termination Table. 
c

66 

Table S-23. Mortality experience of spouse annuitants between anniversaries of retirement in 2003 and 2006a 

Ageb 

All ages 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85-89 90 & over 

1. 2003-2006 experience 

Exposedc 438,361 71,284 94,797 100,184 89,878 57,057 20,538 4,625 

Actual deaths 11,794 570 1,119 1,961 2,712 2,904 1,782 746 

Crude rate per 1,000 26.9 8.0 11.8 19.6 30.2 50.9 86.8 161.3 

Ratio Act./Exp.d 78.0% 75.0% 71.7% 75.1% 73.7% 79.2% 86.1% 96.4% 

2. Crude rate per 1,000 for

 individual years 

2003 - 2004 27.5 8.1 12.4 19.9 31.7 53.4 86.9 155.3 

2004 - 2005 26.5 8.2 11.9 19.1 28.3 51.2 87.4 160.5 

2005 - 2006 26.6 7.7 11.1 19.7 30.5 48.1 86.0 167.7 

3. Ratio Act./Exp. for

 individual yearsd 

2003 - 2004 80.3% 76.3% 75.1% 76.4% 77.7% 83.2% 85.9% 93.4% 

2004 - 2005 76.9% 76.9% 72.6% 73.2% 69.1% 79.6% 86.9% 96.0% 

2005 - 2006 76.8% 71.9% 67.4% 75.7% 74.3% 74.9% 85.4% 99.6% 

a Excludes spouses under age 60 with child in care. 

b Age nearest birthday at the beginning of the year of exposure. 

Exposure is between anniversaries of retirement in indicated years. 

d Expected based on 1995 RRB Mortality Table for Widows. 
67 

Table S-24. Number of retired employees and number with a spouse eligible for railroad

 retirement benefits, by age of employee on December 31, 2006 

30 or more years of service Less than 30 years of service 

Number of Ratio of Number of Ratio of 

Agea

 of Number of eligible spouses to Number of eligible spouses to 

employee employees spouses employees employees spouses employees 

60 3,263 638 0.196 

61 4,794 1,445 0.301 

62 5,343 2,204 0.413 3,122 272 0.087 

63 5,328 2,699 0.507 3,964 776 0.196 

64 5,811 3,378 0.581 4,238 1,143 0.270 

65 5,009 3,183 0.635 3,976 1,381 0.347 

66 4,650 3,163 0.680 4,236 1,744 0.412 

67 4,100 2,950 0.720 3,919 1,844 0.471 

68 4,166 3,068 0.736 3,931 2,027 0.516 

69 4,235 3,203 0.756 4,030 2,222 0.551 

70 4,161 3,199 0.769 3,713 2,107 0.567 

71 4,004 3,135 0.783 3,745 2,226 0.594 

72 4,280 3,367 0.787 3,926 2,384 0.607 

73 4,128 3,236 0.784 3,597 2,155 0.599 

74 4,405 3,418 0.776 3,770 2,363 0.627 

75 4,437 3,370 0.760 3,571 2,215 0.620 

76 4,910 3,745 0.763 3,810 2,301 0.604 

77 5,102 3,895 0.763 3,778 2,293 0.607 

78 5,680 4,265 0.751 3,894 2,275 0.584 

79 6,144 4,446 0.724 4,153 2,393 0.576 

80 6,078 4,282 0.705 4,102 2,234 0.545 

81 5,638 3,780 0.670 3,761 2,015 0.536 

82 5,386 3,528 0.655 3,587 1,813 0.505 

83 5,057 3,216 0.636 3,317 1,604 0.484 

84 4,615 2,887 0.626 2,921 1,357 0.465 

85 4,001 2,352 0.588 2,599 1,188 0.457 

86 3,673 2,113 0.575 2,231 965 0.433 

87 3,228 1,720 0.533 1,787 715 0.400 

88 2,658 1,375 0.517 1,481 589 0.398 

89 2,303 1,159 0.503 1,323 478 0.361 

90 1,856 850 0.458 1,134 390 0.344 

91 1,485 641 0.432 842 290 0.344 

92 1,132 430 0.380 699 202 0.289 

93 821 310 0.378 504 134 0.266 

94 541 201 0.372 438 109 0.249 

95 405 119 0.294 342 74 0.216 

96 282 70 0.248 233 36 0.155 

97 214 43 0.201 161 23 0.143 

98 141 28 0.199 118 14 0.119 

99 & over 242 39 0.161 264 31 0.117 

a Age nearest birthday. 
Table S-25. Mortality experience of widow annuitants between anniversaries of retirement in 2003 and 2006 

Agea 

All ages under 50 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85-

1. 2003-2006 experience 

Exposed Actual deaths Crude rate per 1,000 Ratio Act./Exp.b 

508,053 

42,456 

83.6 

111.4% 

1,913 

7 

3.7 

179.4% 

799 

9 

11.3 

275.9% 

536 

6 

11.2 

173.0% 

16,867 

176 

10.4 

98.7% 

32,559 

585 

18.0 

108.9% 

59,320 

1,721 

29.0 

111.5% 

95,850 

3,988 

41.6 

102.9% 

118,935 

7,975 

67.1 

106.4% 

99

10

1

111

2. Crude rate per 1,000 for

individual yearsc

2003 - 2004 2004 - 2005 2005 - 2006 

84.2 84.4 82.0 

4.4 1.6 5.1 

16.1 

7.4 

10.7 

11.1 16.8 

5.7 

9.5 

11.3 

10.6 

17.6 

18.9 

17.3 

30.5 

28.4 

27.9 

42.2 

40.7 

41.9 

68.1 

67.7 

65.1 

1

1

1

3. Ratio Act./Exp. for

 individual yearsc

2003 - 2004 2004 - 2005 2005 - 2006 

113.2% 112.4% 108.3% 

212.7% 

77.0% 

251.5% 

395.7% 

181.5% 

261.1% 

174.5% 

257.3% 

86.4% 

89.8% 

106.4% 100.0% 

106.7% 114.8% 105.0% 

117.0% 109.1% 107.3% 

104.3% 100.6% 103.7% 

108.4% 107.3% 103.2% 

113113107

a

 Age nearest birthday at the beginning of the year of exposure. 

b

 Expected based on 1995 RRB Mortality Table for Widows. 

Exposure is between anniversaries of retirement in indicated years. 

c
 69

Table S-26. Remarriage experience of widows between 1994 and 2006 anniversaries of widowhood

Agea 

All ages Under 35 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70 & over 

1. Exposed 

Durationb 0 97,570 144 271 489 568 816 1,002 7,710 12,815 73,755 

1 97,929 149 290 493 568 895 2,137 8,161 13,471 71,764 

2 97,323 158 295 464 534 890 2,994 8,569 14,078 69,340 

3 96,296 162 287 416 511 904 3,824 8,983 14,705 66,505 

4 95,143 179 280 375 522 886 4,591 9,383 15,377 63,549 

5 or more 1,841,723 139 668 1,751 2,099 3,423 6,395 50,331 113,633 1,663,286 

2. Actual remarriages 

Durationb 0 134 c c c c c c 35 26 64 

1 311 c c c c c 17 64 76 129 

2 306 c c c c c 19 66 85 104 

3 271 c c c c c 31 60 70 78 

4 253 c c c c c 42 66 51 74 

5 or more 1,531 c 21 23 22 22 22 247 346 823 

3. Crude remarriage rate per 1,000 

Durationb 0 1.37 c c c c c c 4.54 2.03 0.87 

1 3.18 c c c c c 7.95 7.84 5.64 1.80 

2 3.14 c c c c c 6.35 7.70 6.04 1.50 

3 2.81 c c c c c 8.11 6.68 4.76 1.17 

4 2.66 c c c c c 9.15 7.03 3.32 1.16 

5 or more 0.83 c 31.43 13.14 10.48 6.43 3.44 4.91 3.04 0.49 

4. Ratio Act./Exp.d 

Durationb 0 86.7% c c c c c c 98.0% 76.2% 91.7% 

1 92.2% c c c c c 87.8% 91.8% 97.1% 92.7% 

2 94.8% c c c c c 67.1% 93.5% 114.7% 90.5% 

3 99.5% c c c c c 78.8% 92.3% 113.7% 108.9% 

4 97.2% c c c c c 92.0% 107.0% 83.9% 116.2% 

5 or more 100.6% c 139.3% 79.1% 90.2% 90.3% 96.0% 97.2% 105.2% 100.5% 

a For durations 0-4, age nearest birthday on date of employee's death. For durations 5 and over, age nearest birthday at

 beginning of year of exposure which is on an anniversary of employee's death. 

b Completed years since employee's death.

Fewer than 10 actual remarriages.

d Expected based on 1997 RRB Remarriage Table. 

c
70 

Table S-27. Total termination experience of disabled children annuitants

 between anniversaries of retirement in 2003 and 2006 

Actual Ratio 

Agea Exposed terminations Act./Exp.b 

Under 25 527 7 65.4% 

25-29 609 8 92.0 

30-34 912 7 74.9 

35-39 1,514 20 131.7 

40-44 2,698 31 96.9 

45-49 3,585 55 103.8 

50-54 3,872 95 130.0 

55-59 3,892 115 119.7 

60-64 3,588 147 125.5 

65-69 2,693 119 99.8 

70-74 2,161 169 128.8 

75-79 1,780 145 97.4 

80-84 1,054 131 108.2 

85 & over 588 116 111.9 

All ages 29,473 1,165 112.1% 

a Age nearest birthday at beginning of the year of exposure. 

b Expected based on 2004 RRB Total Termination Table for Disabled Children. 
71

RETIREMENT STUDIES 

1. Age retirement. Age retirement studies covering experience during calendar years 2004-2006 

are summarized in Tables S-28 through S-30. Table S-28 shows a comparison among crude 

retirement rates for 2004-2006, the 23rd valuation retirement rates, and the 24th valuation 

retirement rates. Tables S-29 and S-30 show ratios of actual retirements to those expected for 

employees with 5-29 years of service and for employees with 30 or more years of service, 

respectively.

2. Disability retirement. Table S-31 shows a comparison of crude disability retirement rates for 

2004-2006 with the 23rd and 24th valuation standards. Table S-32 shows ratios of actual 

retirements in 2004-2006 to those expected by age and service. 

Table S-33 shows percentages of disability retirements in 2004-2006 that were eligible for a 

disability freeze. Disability freeze standards are needed because of the financial interchange 

with social security. Assumptions must be made regarding the percentage of railroad retirement 

disability annuitants who would qualify under the social security definition of disability. Only 

these disabilities qualify for reimbursement under the financial interchange.
72

Table S-28. Ratesa of immediate age retirement

5-29 years of service 30 or more years of service 

Assumed Assumed 2004-2006 Assumed Assumed 2004-2006 

rates 23rd rates 24th Crude rates 23rd rates 24th Crude 

Ageb valuation valuation rates valuation valuation rates 

60 0.64 0.62 0.621 

61 0.50 0.49 0.486 

62 0.16 0.10 0.102 0.45 0.40 0.406 

63 0.13 0.09 0.084 0.41 0.40 0.381 

64 0.10 0.09 0.094 0.40 0.40 0.408 

65 0.43 0.23 0.227 0.46 0.43 0.429 

66 0.32 0.38 0.381 0.35 0.33 0.331 

67 0.30 0.25 0.251 0.35 0.33 0.337 

68 0.25 0.25 0.240 0.35 0.30 0.282 

69 0.25 0.25 0.212 0.30 0.30 0.295 

70 0.25 0.25 0.235 0.25 0.30 0.319 

71 0.25 0.25 0.149 0.25 0.30 0.315 

72 0.25 0.25 0.236 0.25 0.25 0.169 

73 0.25 0.25 0.262 0.25 0.25 c 

74 0.25 0.25 c 0.25 0.25 c 

75 & over 0.25 0.25 0.183 0.25 0.25 0.202 

a Technically probabilities, because exposures were not adjusted for other separations. 

b Age attained in calendar year of exposure.

Insufficient data. c
c

73 

Table S-29. Immediate agea retirement experience of railroad employees with

 5-29 years of service during calendar years 2004-2006 

Ageb Exposedc 

Actual 

retirements 

Crude rated 

per 1,000 

Ratio 

Act./Exp. Ie 

Ratio 

Act./Exp. IIe 

62 

63 

64 

65 

66 

67 

68 

69 

70-74 

75 & over 

3,493 

2,594 

1,835 

1,310 

826 

430 

263 

170 

315 

115 

357 

219 

173 

297 

315 

108 

63 

36 

67 

21 

102.2 

84.4 

94.3 

226.7 

381.4 

251.2 

239.5 

211.8 

212.7 

182.6 

63.9% 

64.9 

94.3 

52.7 

119.2 

83.7 

95.8 

84.7 

85.1 

73.0 

102.2% 

93.8 

104.8 

98.6 

100.4 

100.5 

95.8 

84.7 

85.1 

73.0 

All ages 11,351 1,656 145.9 73.5 98.2 

a Nondisability retirement. 

b Age attained in calendar year of exposure. 

Exposure includes part of the year in which employees were not eligible for age

 retirement because they were under 62.

d Technically probabilities, because exposures were not adjusted for other separations. 

e I and II denote expected according to rates used in the 23rd and 24th valuations,

 respectively.
c

74 

Table S-30. Immediate agea retirement experience of railroad employees with

 30 or more years of service during calendar years 2004-2006 

Ageb Exposedc 

Actual 

retirements 

Crude rated 

per 1,000 

Ratio 

Act./Exp. Ie 

Ratio 

Act./Exp. IIe 

60 

61 

62 

63 

64 

65 

66 

67 

68 

69 

70-74 

75 & over 

13,742 

4,943 

2,811 

1,885 

1,330 

885 

538 

374 

259 

173 

348 

129 

8,538 

2,403 

1,140 

718 

542 

380 

178 

126 

73 

51 

89 

26 

621.3 

486.1 

405.5 

380.9 

407.5 

429.4 

330.9 

336.9 

281.9 

294.8 

255.7 

201.6 

97.1% 

97.2 

90.1 

92.9 

101.9 

93.3 

94.5 

96.3 

80.5 

98.3 

102.3 

80.6 

100.2% 

99.2 

101.4 

95.2 

101.9 

99.9 

100.3 

102.1 

94.0 

98.3 

91.4 

80.6 

All ages 27,417 14,264 520.3 96.2 99.8 

a Nondisability retirement. 

b Age attained in calendar year of exposure. 

Exposure includes part of the year in which employees were not eligible for age

 retirement because they were under 60.

d Technically probabilities, because exposures were not adjusted for other separations. 

e I and II denote expected according to rates used in the 23rd and 24th valuations,

 respectively.
Table S-31. Ratesa of immediateb disability retirement 

10-19 years of service 20-24 years of service 25-29 years of service 30 or more 

Assumed Assumed 2004-2006 Assumed Assumed 2004-2006 Assumed Assumed 2004-2006 Assumed A

rates 23rd rates 24th Crude rates 23rd rates 24th Crude rates 23rd rates 24th Crude rates 23rd ra

Agec valuation valuation rates valuation valuation rates valuation valuation rates valuation va

Under 35 0.0010 0.0012 0.0012 0.0060 0.0046 d 0.0060 0.0026 d 0.0049 0

35 0.0013 0.0015 d 0.0066 0.0054 d 0.0066 0.0030 d 0.0053 036 0.0017 0.0017 0.0020 0.0072 0.0063 d 0.0072 0.0035 d 0.0058 037 0.0020 0.0020 0.0029 0.0079 0.0073 d 0.0079 0.0041 d 0.0064 038 0.0024 0.0024 0.0018 0.0087 0.0084 d 0.0087 0.0047 d 0.0070 039 0.0029 0.0027 0.0023 0.0095 0.0096 d 0.0095 0.0053 d 0.0077 040 0.0034 0.0032 0.0024 0.0105 0.0109 d 0.0105 0.0060 d 0.0085 041 0.0039 0.0036 0.0029 0.0114 0.0123 d 0.0114 0.0068 d 0.0092 042 0.0046 0.0041 0.0024 0.0125 0.0139 0.0094 0.0125 0.0077 d 0.0101 043 0.0052 0.0047 0.0044 0.0137 0.0155 0.0120 0.0137 0.0086 d 0.0111 044 0.0060 0.0053 0.0032 0.0149 0.0173 0.0139 0.0149 0.0096 d 0.0121 045 0.0068 0.0060 0.0050 0.0163 0.0192 0.0187 0.0163 0.0112 0.0077 0.0132 046 0.0078 0.0068 0.0061 0.0177 0.0213 0.0175 0.0177 0.0127 0.0119 0.0143 047 0.0088 0.0076 0.0054 0.0193 0.0235 0.0196 0.0193 0.0143 0.0090 0.0156 048 0.0099 0.0086 0.0084 0.0210 0.0259 0.0194 0.0210 0.0159 0.0124 0.0170 049 0.0112 0.0096 0.0064 0.0229 0.0284 0.0267 0.0229 0.0176 0.0136 0.0185 050 0.0126 0.0108 0.0087 0.0250 0.0312 0.0355 0.0250 0.0192 0.0193 0.0202 051 0.0142 0.0120 0.0106 0.0272 0.0342 0.0382 0.0272 0.0210 0.0254 0.0220 052 0.0159 0.0135 0.0133 0.0295 0.0374 0.0359 0.0295 0.0227 0.0234 0.0239 053 0.0178 0.0150 0.0124 0.0321 0.0409 0.0374 0.0321 0.0245 0.0209 0.0260 054 0.0199 0.0168 0.0135 0.0350 0.0447 0.0382 0.0350 0.0263 0.0187 0.0283 055 0.0223 0.0187 0.0219 0.0380 0.0487 0.0438 0.0380 0.0282 0.0261 0.0308 056 0.0249 0.0209 0.0225 0.0413 0.0531 0.0535 0.0413 0.0301 0.0267 0.0334 057 0.0277 0.0232 0.0180 0.0449 0.0578 0.0473 0.0449 0.0320 0.0270 0.0364 058 0.0309 0.0259 0.0267 0.0488 0.0628 0.0470 0.0488 0.0340 0.0287 0.0360 059 0.0345 0.0288 0.0217 0.0530 0.0683 0.0674 0.0530 0.0360 0.0273 0.0329 060 0.0384 0.0501 0.0436 0.0576 0.0742 0.0692 0.0576 0.0380 0.0347 0.0186 061 0.0423 0.0493 0.0542 0.0625 0.0805 0.0635 0.0625 0.0401 0.0437 0.0000 062 0.0437 0.0473 0.0507 0.0679 0.0862 0.0744 0.0679 0.0566 0.0505 0.0000 063 0.0397 0.0427 0.0519 0.0685 0.0825 0.0761 0.0685 0.0529 0.0505 0.0000 064 0.0242 0.0321 0.0333 0.0561 0.0718 0.0601 0.0561 0.0422 0.0417 0.0000 065 0.0059 0.0077 d 0.0152 0.0405 0.0466 0.0152 0.0109 0.0197 0.0000 0

a

Technically probabilities, because exposures were not adjusted for other terminations. 

b Immediate retirements are defined as those for which the calendar year of retirement is the same as, or the year following, the calendar year of last employmen

Age attained in calendar year of exposure.

d Insufficient data. c
c

 76 

Table S-32. Immediate disability retirement experience of railroad employees during calendar years 2004-2006 

Attained agea 

All ages Under 40 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-65b 60 61 62 63 64 65b 

1. 10-19 years of service 

Exposed 

Actual retirements 

124,183 

956 

37,707 

66 

28,659 

87 

24,603 

153 

17,986 

207 

10,472 

231 

4,756 

212 

1,216 

53 

1,033 

56 

908 

46 

694 

36 

511 

17 

394 

f 

Crude rate per 1,000c 

Ratio Act./Exp.d 

Ratio Act./Exp.e 

7.7 

82.7% 

90.3% 

1.8 

99.9% 

96.8% 

3.0 

66.1% 

73.0% 

6.2 

70.5% 

81.3% 

11.5 

73.0% 

86.1% 

22.1 

80.9% 

96.5% 

44.6 

123.0% 

104.0% 

43.6 

113.5% 

87.0% 

54.2 

128.2% 

110.0% 

50.7 

115.9% 

107.1% 

51.9 

130.7% 

121.5% 

33.3 

137.5% 

103.6% 

f 

f 

f 

2. 20-24 years of service 

Exposed 

Actual retirements 

Crude rate per 1,000c 

Ratio Act./Exp.d 

Ratio Act./Exp.e 

55,798 

1,756 

31.5 

113.8% 

90.8% 

157 

0 

0.0 

0.0% 

0.0% 

7,047 

83 

11.8 

86.5% 

76.3% 

20,424 

418 

20.5 

104.5% 

85.7% 

16,403 

606 

36.9 

126.6% 

100.1% 

8,504 

429 

50.4 

114.5% 

89.1% 

3,263 

220 

67.4 

114.2% 

88.2% 

882 

61 

69.2 

120.1% 

93.2% 

724 

46 

63.5 

101.7% 

78.9% 

632 

47 

74.4 

109.5% 

86.3% 

473 

36 

76.1 

111.1% 

92.3% 

316 

19 

60.1 

107.2% 

83.7% 

236 

11 

46.6 

306.6% 

115.1% 

3. 25-29 years of service 

Exposed 

Actual retirements 

Crude rate per 1,000c 

Ratio Act./Exp.d 

Ratio Act./Exp.e 

113,762 

2,383 

20.9 

66.3% 

89.5% 

0 

f 

f 

f 

f 

1,115 

f 

f 

f 

f 

34,978 

407 

11.6 

56.9% 

75.9% 

45,994 

998 

21.7 

74.2% 

97.0% 

23,437 

633 

27.0 

61.5% 

86.0% 

8,238 

343 

41.6 

70.3% 

97.5% 

2,303 

80 

34.7 

60.3% 

91.4% 

1,853 

81 

43.7 

69.9% 

109.0% 

1,584 

80 

50.5 

74.4% 

89.2% 

1,148 

58 

50.5 

73.8% 

95.5% 

792 

33 

41.7 

74.3% 

98.7% 

558 

11 

19.7 

129.7% 

180.9% 

4. 30 or more years of service 

Exposed 

Actual retirements 

Crude rate per 1,000c 

Ratio Act./Exp.d 

Ratio Act./Exp.e 

168,721 

4,200 

24.9 

92.3% 

94.8% 

0 

f 

f 

f 

f 

0 

f 

f 

f 

f 

3,901 

34 

8.7 

47.9% 

50.5% 

55,733 

1,360 

24.4 

97.9% 

103.9% 

83,531 

2,471 

29.6 

87.1% 

92.5% 

25,556 

335 

13.1 

131.4% 

87.6% 

13,712 

218 

15.9 

85.5% 

86.4% 

4,936 

60 

12.2 

g 

82.1% 

2,808 

29 

10.3 

g 

90.6% 

1,885 

19 

10.1 

g 

122.9% 

1,330 

f 

f 

g 

f 

885 

f 

f 

g 

f 

a Age attained in calendar year of exposure. 

b Refers to employees retiring before normal retirement age. Exposure includes part of the year in which employees were not eligible for disability retirement

 because they passed normal retirement age.

Technically probabilities of retirement, because exposures were not adjusted for other terminations.

d Expected based on 23rd valuation disability rates. 

e Expected based on 24th valuation disability rates. 

f

 Insufficient data. 

g Expected rate is zero. 
Table S-33. Percentages of immediatea disability retirements meeting the disability freeze standards of the Social Security Act 

10-19 years of service 20-24 years of service 25-29 years of service 30 or mo

Assumed Assumed 2004-2006 Assumed Assumed 2004-2006 Assumed Assumed 2004-2006 Assumed 

rates 23rd rates 24th Crude rates 23rd rates 24th Crude rates 23rd rates 24th Crude rates 23rd 

Ageb valuation valuation rates valuation valuation rates valuation valuation rates valuation 

Under 35 99.1% 98.5% 100.0% 38.1% 36.3% c 38.1% 36.3% c 38.1% 

35 99.1 98.5 c 38.1 36.3 c 38.1 36.3 c 38.1 36 99.1 98.5 100.0 38.1 36.3 c 38.1 36.3 c 38.1 37 99.1 98.5 100.0 38.2 36.3 c 38.2 36.3 c 38.2 38 99.1 98.5 100.0 38.2 36.3 c 38.2 36.3 c 38.2 39 99.1 98.5 100.0 38.3 36.4 c 38.3 36.4 c 38.3 40 99.1 98.5 92.9 38.5 36.4 c 38.5 36.4 c 38.5 41 99.1 98.5 100.0 38.7 36.5 c 38.7 36.5 c 38.7 42 99.1 98.5 100.0 38.9 36.6 c 38.9 36.6 c 38.9 43 99.1 98.5 100.0 39.2 36.8 41.7% 39.2 36.8 c 39.2 44 99.1 98.5 94.1 39.7 37.0 30.0 39.7 37.0 c 39.7 45 99.1 98.5 96.2 40.3 37.4 42.4 40.3 37.4 52.6% 40.3 46 99.1 98.5 100.0 41.1 37.9 33.3 41.1 37.9 30.9 41.1 47 99.1 98.5 92.6 42.2 38.7 32.9 42.2 38.7 39.4 42.2 48 99.1 98.5 100.0 43.7 39.9 44.2 43.7 39.9 43.7 43.7 49 99.1 98.5 100.0 45.7 41.6 42.5 45.7 41.6 48.3 45.7 50 99.1 98.5 97.3 48.4 44.3 53.8 48.4 44.3 47.1 48.4 51 99.1 98.5 97.6 52.0 48.2 43.5 52.0 48.2 47.5 52.0 52 99.1 98.5 100.0 57.0 54.1 50.8 57.0 54.1 58.3 57.0 53 99.1 98.5 100.0 63.7 62.9 58.7 63.7 62.9 59.9 63.7 54 99.1 98.5 100.0 72.8 76.1 81.1 72.8 76.1 73.3 72.8 55 99.1 98.5 100.0 85.0 89.5 84.5 85.0 89.5 87.9 85.0 56 99.1 98.5 94.2 87.6 89.5 91.3 87.6 89.5 88.3 87.6 57 99.1 98.5 97.4 87.6 89.5 86.9 87.6 89.5 87.4 87.6 58 99.1 98.5 100.0 87.6 89.5 82.4 87.6 89.5 91.1 87.6 59 99.1 98.5 100.0 87.6 89.5 89.6 87.6 89.5 90.5 87.6 60 90.2 91.9 96.2 87.6 89.5 95.1 87.6 89.5 96.3 87.6 61 90.2 91.9 89.1 87.6 89.5 89.1 87.6 89.5 96.3 87.6 62 90.2 91.9 95.7 87.6 89.5 76.6 87.6 89.5 92.5 87.6 63 90.2 91.9 88.9 87.6 89.5 88.9 87.6 89.5 87.9 87.6 64 90.2 91.9 82.4 87.6 89.5 89.5 87.6 89.5 87.9 87.6 65 90.2 91.9 c 87.6 89.5 100.0 87.6 89.5 100.0 87.6 

a Immediate retirements are defined as those for which the calendar year of retirement is the same as, or the year following, the calendar year of last employment b Age attained in calendar year of exposure.

 Insufficient data. c
78

WITHDRAWAL STUDIES 

Table S-34 shows the select withdrawal experience for the years 2002-2005. The actual 

withdrawals are shown net of re-entrants into the industry for each attained age and service 

group. Since a re-entrant has his earnings record restored for benefit purposes, he cannot be 

considered a final withdrawal. The table presents crude net withdrawal rates by attained age 

and years of service along with ratios of actual net withdrawals to those expected on the basis of 

the 24th valuation standard, which was retained from the 23rd valuation.
Table S-34. Withdrawal experience of railroad employees during calender years 2002-2005, by attained age and years of service

Years Attained ageb under 25 Attained ageb 25-34 Attained ageb 35-

of Actual netc Crude rate Ratio Actual netc Crude rate Ratio Actual netc Crud

servicea Exposed withdrawals per 100 Act./Exp.d Exposed withdrawals per 100 Act./Exp.d Exposed withdrawals per 

0 15,286 2,683 17.6 89.6% 26,382 3,542 13.4 90.7% 17,986 3,012 

 

1 8,232 1,184 14.4 84.1 19,610 1,767 9.0 77.7 13,217 1,445 

 

2 4,226 378 8.9 92.2 14,995 1,020 6.8 78.2 10,342 719 

 

3 2,499 181 7.2 100.6 14,528 796 5.5 76.1 10,336 582 

 

4 1,636 94 5.7 92.7 16,864 758 4.5 72.5 12,330 586 

 

5 701 24 3.4 63.4 16,990 646 3.8 70.4 13,300 514 

 

6 132 e e e 14,979 550 3.7 74.9 13,102 444 

 

7 17 e e e 12,491 372 3.0 67.7 12,467 375 

 

8 4 e e e 9,389 279 3.0 72.5 10,999 353 

 

9 1 e e e 7,106 192 2.7 71.1 10,046 317 

 

10 1 e e e 5,304 161 3.0 84.3 9,663 289 

 

11 1 e e e 3,714 69 1.9 54.6 8,785 233 

 

12 - e e e 2,429 70 2.9 90.1 7,952 163 

 

13 - e e e 1,565 40 2.6 85.2 7,985 186 

 

14 - e e e 925 17 1.8 65.6 7,756 160 

 

15 - e e e 390 e e e 7,067 147 

 

16 - e e e 67 e e e 5,826 83 

 

17 - e e e 2 e e e 4,732 62 

 

18 - e e e 1 e e e 4,144 58 

 

19 - e e e - e e e 3,783 53 

 

20 - e e e - e e e 3,604 39 

 

21 - e e e - e e e 3,544 31 

 

22 - e e e - e e e 3,587 25 

 

23 - e e e - e e e 3,650 32 

 

24 - e e e - e e e 3,178 25 

 

25 - e e e - e e e 1,966 16 

 

26 - e e e - e e e 556 e 

27 - e e e - e e e 10 e 

28 - e e e - e e e 1 e 

29 - e e e - e e e - e 

30 & over - e e e - e e e - e 

All years 32,736 4,551 13.9 88.5 167,731 10,282 6.1 79.6 211,914 9,951 

 

a Service as of beginning of calendar year of exposure rounded up to next highest whole year.b Age attained in calendar year of exposure.c Withdrawals less re-entrants.d Expected based on 24th valuation withdrawal rates.e Fewer than 10 actual net withdrawals.
Table S-34. continued

Years Attained ageb 45-54 Attained ageb 55 and over All ages

of Actual netc Crude rate Ratio Actual netc Crude rate Ratio Actual netc Crud

servicea Exposed withdrawals per 100 Act./Exp.d Exposed withdrawals per 100 Act./Exp.d Exposed withdrawals per 

0 7,618 1,583 20.8 99.9% 1,318 320 24.3 90.3% 68,590 11,140 

 

1 5,910 612 10.4 97.7 1,282 188 14.7 126.4 48,251 5,196 

 

2 4,770 332 7.0 96.7 1,163 104 8.9 81.3 35,496 2,553 

 

3 4,969 262 5.3 90.9 1,310 87 6.6 64.5 33,642 1,908 

 

4 5,985 231 3.9 82.1 1,449 99 6.8 73.5 38,264 1,768 

 

5 6,713 260 3.9 99.3 1,360 60 4.4 53.8 39,064 1,504 

 

6 6,611 231 3.5 109.2 1,348 91 6.8 95.1 36,172 1,323 

 

7 6,364 218 3.4 122.3 1,328 43 3.2 54.0 32,667 1,008 

 

8 5,611 169 3.0 125.5 1,240 48 3.9 79.0 27,243 849 

 

9 5,294 119 2.2 102.2 1,335 50 3.7 93.6 23,782 678 

 

10 5,328 126 2.4 112.6 1,388 28 2.0 63.0 21,684 604 

 

11 5,235 89 1.7 85.0 1,396 44 3.2 116.7 19,131 435 

 

12 4,964 101 2.0 107.1 1,385 32 2.3 100.5 16,730 366 

 

13 5,144 76 1.5 82.1 1,483 40 2.7 134.9 16,177 342 

 

14 5,517 74 1.3 78.9 1,573 39 2.5 130.5 15,771 290 

 

15 5,577 80 1.4 89.7 1,598 30 1.9 104.3 14,632 260 

 

16 5,608 53 0.9 63.0 1,551 15 1.0 56.9 13,052 151 

 

17 5,662 49 0.9 61.8 1,562 13 0.8 49.0 11,958 124 

 

18 6,245 59 0.9 72.7 1,605 12 0.7 46.7 11,995 129 

 

19 7,189 61 0.8 65.3 1,779 24 1.3 84.3 12,751 138 

 

20 8,638 58 0.7 56.0 2,071 33 1.6 106.2 14,313 130 

 

21 10,227 60 0.6 53.3 2,369 23 1.0 69.3 16,140 114 

 

22 12,700 71 0.6 55.9 2,874 19 0.7 47.2 19,161 115 

 

23 16,653 111 0.7 74.1 3,710 38 1.0 78.8 24,013 181 

 

24 20,466 110 0.5 59.7 4,706 37 0.8 65.5 28,350 172 

 

25 24,224 106 0.4 54.7 5,647 33 0.6 53.1 31,837 155 

 

26 26,615 136 0.5 73.0 6,525 25 0.4 38.3 33,696 163 

 

27 25,681 98 0.4 54.5 6,957 21 0.3 30.2 32,648 119 

 

28 26,111 93 0.4 59.4 8,053 18 0.2 24.8 34,165 111 

 

29 25,315 71 0.3 56.1 9,234 11 0.1 14.9 34,549 82 

 

30 & over 78,766 593 0.8 53.8 101,016 1,344 1.3 60.5 179,782 1,937 

 

All years 391,710 6,292 1.6 83.1 181,615 2,969 1.6 67.7 985,706 34,045 

 

a Service as of beginning of calendar year of exposure rounded up to next highest whole year.b Age attained in calendar year of exposure.c Withdrawals less re-entrants.d Expected based on 24th valuation withdrawal rates.e Fewer than 10 actual net withdrawals.
81

EMPLOYEE AND BENEFICIARY CENSUSES, FAMILY COMPOSITION, AND 

MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS 

Age and service distributions of active and inactive employees are shown in Tables S-35 and S-36. 

A comparison between 2004 and 2007 active censuses is shown in Table S-37. 

Tables S-38 and S-39 provide a census of beneficiaries on December 31, 2007. Also included are 

their tier 1, tier 2 and vested dual benefit amounts. 

Table S-40 shows the average number of service months in a year for calendar years 2003-2005 by 

attained age group and years of service. The number of service months credited to an employee for 

a given year is equal to the employee's total creditable tier 2 earnings in the year, divided by onetwelfth of the tier 2 earnings base for the year, with a maximum of 12 and a minimum of the 

number of months in which the individual had service. 

The average creditable earnings per service month during 2007 are shown in Table S-41. Because 

of the difference in the maximum creditable earnings for tier 1 and tier 2 benefits, separate salary 

scales were constructed. 

The age distribution of new entrants during calendar years 2003-2006 is shown in Table S-42, as is 

the distribution for 2000-2003. 

Table S-43 presents family characteristics of railroad employees who died in the period 2003-2006 

with a current connection. 

Table S-44 provides selected employment and benefit statistics for 2004 and 2007. 
Table S-35. Distribution of 2007 active employeesa by age and completed years of service 

Age in 

2007 Total 0 1 2-4 5-9 

Completed years of service 

10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 

Total 258,214 18,241 19,142 41,905 39,640 29,073 17,662 13,354 27,967 32,845 

Under 20 

20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 

70 & over 

642 

10,820 22,146 27,515 31,764 28,649 32,306 46,505 45,462 10,573 

1,537 

295 

514 

3,775 3,864 2,947 2,561 2,013 1,393 

734 305 

99 28 

8 

124 

3,304 4,413 3,486 2,947 2,156 1,494 

747 352 

91 25 

3 

4 

3,607 9,575 8,525 7,147 5,480 4,027 

2,204 

999 266 

52 

19 

0 

134 

4,133 8,503 8,777 6,656 5,209 

3,469 1,894 

698 144 

23 

0 

0 

161 

3,960 7,650 6,163 4,831 

3,403 1,996 

769 122 

18 

0 

0 

0 

94 

2,604 4,558 4,006 

3,330 2,024 

867 153 

26 

0 

0 

0 0 

78 

1,546 4,088 

4,110 2,445 

910 156 

21 

0 

0 0 

0 

0 

77 

6,426 

11,929 

6,755 2,450 

289 

41 

0 

0 

0 

0 0 

0 

832 

15,3914,924 

1,495 

177 

2

a

 Employees alive and not retired at the end of 2007 with some railroad service in 2007. 
83 

Table S-36. Census of vesteda inactive employeesb in 2007 by age and

 completed years of service 

Age in Completed years of service 

2007 Total 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30 & over 

Total 57,483 6,628 28,601 12,265 5,810 2,323 1,856 

Under 35 1,430 1,342 88 0 0 0 0 

35-39 2,446 1,709 690 47 0 0 0 

40-44 2,774 1,256 1,259 242 17 0 0 

45-49 5,784 1,074 3,150 1,104 382 71 3 

50-54 14,080 650 8,023 3,212 1,511 511 173 

55-59 19,621 401 9,749 4,710 2,244 977 1,540 

60-64 10,414 176 5,112 2,739 1,552 706 129 

65 & over 934 20 530 211 104 58 11 

a Employees with at least 10 years of total service, or 5 years of service after 1995. 

b Employees alive and not retired at the end of 2007 with no railroad work in 2007. 
84 

Table S-37. Comparison between 2007 and 2004 of selected characteristics of activea

 railroad employees 

Change from 2004 to 2007 

2007 2004 Number Percent 

Number alive and not retired 258,214 251,067 7,147 2.8% 

Percent with 5 or more years

 of service 69.3% 77.1% b b 

Number age 60 or over 12,405 10,101 2,304 22.8% 

Number age 65 or over 1,832 1,396 436 31.2% 

Number age 60-64 with 30 or

 more years of service 4,423 3,459 964 27.9% 

Average age on December 31 44.7 45.5 -0.8 b 

Median age on December 31 46.3 47.8 -1.5 b 

Average years of service

 All employees 15.4 17.0 -1.6 b 

Employees under age 45 6.1 6.6 -0.5 b 

Employees age 45-49 14.9 18.7 -3.8 b 

Employees age 60 or over 26.6 26.7 -0.1 b 

Employees age 65 or over 26.1 26.6 -0.5 b 

a Active employees were those with some railroad service during the year. 

b Not applicable. 
85 

Table S-38. Census of employee and spouse annuitants on December 31, 2007a 

Monthly benefitsb 

Agec Number Tier 1 Tier 2 Vested dual Supplemental 

1. Employee age annuitants 

60-64 27,815 $ 49,907,372 $ 28,327,914 $ 7,243 $ 745,072

65-69 31,094 48,710,047 24,044,095 129,922 673,931 

70-74 29,904 38,029,669 19,578,875 508,967 590,408 

75-79 34,857 40,554,727 19,477,377 1,051,647 687,529 

80-84 37,406 41,049,524 17,386,601 1,798,518 763,412 

85-89 21,618 23,197,129 7,220,302 1,280,071 476,757 

90-94 7,971 8,551,153 2,003,411 459,988 182,916 

95 & over 1,896 1,393,055 329,507 104,929 43,839 

Total 192,561 $ 251,392,676 $ 118,368,082 $ 5,341,285 $ 4,163,864

2. Employee disability annuitants 

Under 40 202 $ 316,340 $ 26,646 $ - $ -

40-44 348 547,265 91,654 - -

45-49 1,839 3,055,950 867,684 - -

50-54 9,448 16,143,050 5,623,264 - -

55-59 18,500 30,953,399 11,840,927 - -

60-64 19,122 30,463,097 11,689,725 8,285 195,503 

65-69 12,565 18,417,233 7,081,328 65,723 207,572 

70-74 8,701 11,608,986 4,342,030 169,964 162,956 

75-79 7,419 9,208,507 3,170,410 246,097 162,851 

80-84 5,222 5,888,883 1,597,121 269,781 113,156 

85-89 2,111 2,133,965 388,214 112,883 40,114 

90-94 623 517,947 81,033 33,052 10,281 

95 & over 133 96,661 13,244 5,765 2,955 

Total 86,233 $ 129,351,283 $ 46,813,280 $ 911,550 $ 895,388

3. Spouse annuitants 

Under 60 1,207 $ 998,878 $ 500,214 $ - $ -

60-64 25,694 17,583,437 11,154,361 - -

65-69 31,085 13,023,226 9,947,786 - -

70-74 27,952 10,088,836 7,769,228 - -

75-79 26,116 9,622,554 6,311,971 - -

80-84 17,788 6,524,162 3,744,427 117 -

85-89 7,352 2,615,275 1,271,558 68,013 -

90-94 1,375 383,212 202,294 67,269 -

95 & over 159 27,152 20,556 8,495 -

Total 138,728 $ 60,866,732 $ 40,922,395 $ 143,894 $ -

a Includes annuities which were in withheld status as of December 31, 2007.

 Therefore, these figures may disagree with other published data. 

b Amounts shown reflect benefits paid in January 2008.

Age attained in 2007. c
86 

Table S-39. Census of survivor annuitants on December 31, 2007a 

Monthly benefitsb 

Agec Number Tier 1 Tier 2 Vested dual 

1. Aged widows and widowersd 

60-64 5,072 $ 6,252,207 $ 1,818,352 $ -

65-69 9,545 10,270,781 2,935,777 -

70-74 14,971 14,549,448 4,342,826 -

75-79 25,746 25,014,922 6,590,909 -

80-84 33,177 31,336,728 6,995,341 -

85-89 30,847 28,902,801 4,990,154 24,086 

90-94 16,560 12,618,829 2,214,306 92,935 

95 & over 6,503 4,089,966 794,704 48,128 

Total 142,421 $ 133,035,682 $ 30,682,369 $ 165,149

2. Other survivorse 

0-4 66 $ 68,209 $ 4,380 $ -

5-9 292 301,010 23,136 -

10-14 781 844,892 74,646 -

15-19 1,259 1,397,186 151,523 -

20-24 116 122,775 12,860 -

25-29 200 211,173 23,201 -

30-34 285 267,548 31,995 -

35-39 473 431,139 65,989 -

40-44 832 723,765 113,036 -

45-49 1,302 1,111,658 204,925 -

50-54 1,793 1,465,118 304,143 -

55-59 2,217 1,804,405 403,008 -

60-64 2,318 1,768,251 347,935 -

65-69 1,790 1,308,752 205,272 -

70-74 1,384 962,022 137,136 -

75-79 1,123 728,166 112,469 1,605 

80-84 817 487,132 88,815 4,767 

85-89 495 276,729 53,681 6,603 

90-94 163 89,417 17,885 1,627 

95 & over 26 13,078 2,497 95 

Total 17,732 $ 14,382,425 $ 2,378,532 $ 14,697

a Includes annuities which were in withheld status as of December 31, 2007.

 Therefore, these figures may disagree with other published data.

b Amounts shown reflect benefits paid in January 2008. 

Age attained in 2007. 

d Includes divorced and remarried aged widows and widowers, and parents. 

e Includes disabled widows and widowers, remarried and divorced disabled widows

 and widowers, widowed mothers and fathers, remarried and divorced widowed

 mothers and fathers, minor children, student children and disabled children. 

c
Table S-40. Comparison of service months of railroad employees during calendar years 2003-2005 with assumptions used in the 24th valua

(For employees not separated in the year) 

Years 

of Service months by attained age Service months by calendar year 

servicea Under 25 25-34 35-44 45-54 55 & over Total 2003 2004 2005 Total 

0 6.4 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.6 6.6 6.3 6.5 6.9 6.6 1 11.2 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.3 11.5 11.4 11.5 11.7 11.5 2 11.5 11.6 11.6 11.5 11.5 11.6 11.4 11.6 11.7 11.6 3 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.5 11.4 11.6 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.6 4 11.7 11.6 11.5 11.5 11.6 11.6 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.6 5 11.7 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.7 11.6 6 11.6 11.7 11.7 11.6 11.6 11.7 11.6 11.7 11.7 11.7 7 11.1 11.7 11.7 11.6 11.6 11.7 11.6 11.7 11.7 11.7 8 11.8 11.7 11.6 11.6 11.7 11.6 11.7 11.8 11.7 9 11.8 11.7 11.6 11.6 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 

10 11.8 11.7 11.6 11.6 11.7 11.6 11.7 11.7 11.7 11 11.8 11.7 11.6 11.5 11.7 11.6 11.7 11.8 11.7 12 11.8 11.7 11.6 11.6 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 13 11.8 11.8 11.6 11.6 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 14 11.8 11.8 11.6 11.6 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 15 11.8 11.8 11.7 11.7 11.8 11.7 11.8 11.7 11.8 16 11.9 11.8 11.7 11.7 11.8 11.7 11.8 11.8 11.8 17 11.9 11.7 11.7 11.8 11.7 11.8 11.8 11.8 18 11.8 11.7 11.6 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.8 11.7 19 11.8 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.8 11.7 20 11.8 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 21 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 22 11.9 11.8 11.7 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 23 11.9 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 24 11.9 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 25 11.9 11.9 11.8 11.8 11.9 11.8 11.8 11.8 26 11.9 11.9 11.8 11.9 11.8 11.9 11.8 11.9 27 12.0 11.9 11.8 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 28 11.9 11.8 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 29 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 

30 & over 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 

a

 Rounded up to nearest whole year. 
 88

Table S-41. Average creditablea compensation per service month during 2007

Years 

of 

serviceb Tier 1 Tier 2 

0 $3,257 $3,220 

1 3,891 3,837 

2 4,246 4,161 

3 4,633 4,514 

4 4,961 4,767 

5 5,145 4,861 

6 5,169 4,854 

7 5,166 4,863 

8 5,308 4,968 

9 5,437 5,086 

10 5,577 5,146 

11 5,519 5,102 

12 5,668 5,187 

13 5,688 5,185 

14 5,459 5,008 

15 5,375 4,980 

16 5,419 4,964 

17 5,505 5,063 

18 5,586 5,081 

19 5,579 5,078 

20 5,613 5,065 

21 5,611 5,063 

22 5,591 5,060 

23 5,640 5,103 

24 5,477 5,021 

25 5,507 5,055 

26 5,615 5,116 

27 5,619 5,111 

28 5,753 5,199 

29 5,859 5,259 

30 5,899 5,285 

a Maximum creditable annual compensation during 2007 was $97,500 and $72,600

 for tier 1 and tier 2, respectively. 

b Completed service at beginning of year rounded up to nearest whole year. 
89 

Table S-42. Age distribution of new entrants during calendar years 2003-2006

 and comparison with assumptions of the 23rd valuation 

Age at 

entrya 2003 2004 

Year of entry 

2005 2006 2003-06b 

23rd Val. 

2000-03 

All ages

 Number 

Percent 

12,699 

100.0% 

21,983 

100.0% 

22,424 

100.0% 

23,204 

100.0% 

80,310 

100.0% 

47,664 

100.0% 

Under 20 

20-24 

25-29 

30-34 

35-39 

40-44 

45-49 

50-54 

55 & over 

2.5% 

20.3 

20.5 

17.2 

14.2 

12.3 

7.3 

3.7 

1.9 

2.4% 

18.6 

20.9 

18.1 

14.8 

12.1 

7.7 

3.5 

1.9 

2.6% 

20.5 

21.6 

17.3 

13.7 

11.7 

7.4 

3.5 

1.8 

2.8% 

20.6 

21.5 

17.1 

14.7 

10.8 

7.1 

3.6 

1.8 

2.6% 

20.0 

21.2 

17.4 

14.4 

11.7 

7.4 

3.6 

1.8 

3.1% 

20.4 

20.1 

17.4 

14.3 

11.3 

7.3 

3.8 

2.3 

Average age

 at entry 32.8 33.1 32.6 32.5 32.7 32.8 

Median age

 at entry 31.4 31.7 31.0 30.9 31.2 31.2 

a Age attained in the year of entry (year of entry minus year of birth). 

b Used in 24th valuation. 
 90

Table S-43. Family characteristics of railroad employees who died in 2003-2006 with a current connection

Percent married 

Widow under 60 with 

eligible child Percent with 

Widow Widow Widow Youngest Youngest Youngest eligible child 

Age of Number age age under child child child Minor Disabled 

employeea of deathsb Total 62 & over 60-61 age 60 under 16 age 16-17 disabled child child 

Under 35 41 68.3 - - 68.3 56.1 - - 87.8 -

35 - 39 68 70.6 - - 70.6 58.8 4.4 - 89.7 -

40 - 44 96 72.9 - - 72.9 52.1 8.3 - 81.3 3.1 

45 - 49 346 70.2 1.0 - 69.2 27.4 10.4 0.3 51.7 1.4 

50 - 54 938 66.8 1.6 0.6 64.6 14.6 4.5 0.6 26.8 1.3 

55 - 59 1,635 66.8 3.4 2.8 60.6 4.9 2.2 1.2 11.0 1.7 

60 - 64 2,206 70.4 18.4 15.3 36.7 2.1 0.6 0.6 4.9 1.9 

65 - 69 2,769 71.5 52.0 7.5 12.0 0.7 0.4 0.2 2.0 1.0 

70 - 74 4,350 70.5 64.5 2.1 3.9 0.3 0.1 - 0.9 1.0 

75 - 79 8,747 66.6 64.0 0.8 1.8 0.2 - - 0.5 1.0 

80 - 84 11,596 60.5 59.4 0.3 0.8 0.1 - - 0.2 0.8 

85 - 89 10,999 50.2 49.6 0.1 0.5 - - - 0.1 0.7 

90 & over 9,368 33.2 32.8 0.1 0.3 - - - - 0.6 

Average ages of widows 

Widow under 60 with 

eligible child Average ages of children Average 

Widow Widow Widow Youngest Youngest Youngest Youngest All All number 

Age of age age under child child child child minor disabled of minor 

employeea 62 & over 60-61 age 60 under 16 age 16-17 disabled under 16c children children childrend 

Under 35 e e 31.9 31.5 e e 4.8 6.0 e 2.2 

35 - 39 e e 35.8 35.6 e e 6.3 8.3 e 2.2 

40 - 44 e e 41.5 40.3 e e 9.4 11.0 e 1.8 

45 - 49 e e 45.9 43.4 47.6 e 10.1 11.7 e 1.6 

50 - 54 64.4 e 50.0 46.4 47.9 e 11.8 11.9 23.9 1.5 

55 - 59 65.1 60.9 53.7 48.1 49.9 53.6 11.9 12.8 28.7 1.4 

60 - 64 65.0 60.9 55.7 49.9 53.4 54.7 11.8 12.5 29.8 1.3 

65 - 69 66.5 61.0 55.9 49.7 53.6 e 12.7 11.8 35.0 1.3 

70 - 74 70.0 61.0 54.9 47.5 e e 11.1 12.6 40.8 1.4 

75 - 79 74.4 60.9 54.0 43.0 e e 11.3 10.4 42.1 1.4 

80 - 84 78.7 61.0 53.9 45.3 e e 11.4 12.1 47.3 1.5 

85 - 89 82.4 61.2 54.7 e e e e 12.0 50.5 1.6 

90 & over 86.2 e 54.7 e e e e e 56.4 e 

a Age nearest birthday at time of death. 

b Includes employees with 120 or more service months and employees with 60 or more service months after 1995. 

Includes families with widows under 60 and children under 16 only. 

d Includes families with minor children only. 

e Insufficient data. 

c
91 

Table S-44. Selected employment and benefita

 statistics for 2004 and 2007 

Percentage 

2004 2007 change 

1. Membership (thousands of employees) 

Average employment for the year 227 237 4.4% 

Active census, Dec. 31 251 258 2.8 

Retired, Dec. 31 289 279 -3.5 

Nonretired employees with vested rightsb

, total 257 236 -8.2 

Active census, Dec. 31 194 179 -7.7 

Inactive census, Dec. 31 63 57 -9.5 

Employees in active census with 

30 or more years of service 50 51 +2.0 

2. Number of beneficiaries (thousands), Dec. 31, totalc 606 571 -5.8 

Retired employees 289 279 -3.5 

Spouses 145 139 -4.1 

Survivors 180 160 -11.1 

3. Average monthly benefits paid in December 

Retired employees $1,708.84 $1,980.60 +15.9 

Spouses 632.80 734.77 +16.1 

Survivors 991.87 1,128.04 +13.7 

4. Amount of monthly benefit payments for the year (millions), total $8,982 $9,783 +8.9 

Retired employees and their spouses 6,853 7,624 +11.3 

Survivors 2,129 2,159 +1.4 

5. Miscellaneous information 

Tier 1 taxable payroll as a percentage of total payroll 94.9% 92.9% 

Benefit payments in year as a percentage of tier 1 taxable payroll 64.8% 62.7% 

Number of beneficiaries per 100 full-time employees 265 241 

Percentage distribution of amount of monthly benefit payments in year

 Retired employees 64.3% 65.9

 Spouses 12.0 12.0

 Survivors 23.7 22.1

a Includes tier 1, tier 2 and vested dual benefit payments. Excludes supplemental annuities. 

b Employees with at least 10 years of total service, or 5 years of service after 1995. 

Individuals receiving more than one type of benefit (for example, an employee and a spouse benefit) are

 counted separately in each category but only once in total. 

c