United States of America

Railroad retirement Board

Form G-177S (09-06)

General Conditions Under Which a Person is Entitled to a Railroad

Retirement Widow(er) or Surviving Divorced Spouse Annuity

The employee must have a current connection to the railroad industry at the earlier of retirement or

death to qualify you for survivor benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA). Otherwise, the

Social Security Administration would pay the survivor benefits.

Age

Requirement

If you are receiving an RRA spouse annuity in the month the employee dies, your benefit will be

converted to a widow’s annuity. Only proof of the employee’s death is needed. Otherwise, you

must file an application for your RRA survivor annuity. When all eligibility requirements are met, a

survivor annuity can begin as explained in Chart 1.

If filing as: your annuity can begin: Your Tier 1 will: A Tier 2 benefit:

any of the following: at age 60.

If you are a widow(er)

age 60-61 on your OBD, you 

are deemed age 62 on your 

OBD. This deeming does not 

apply to remarried

widow(er) or surviving

divorced spouse.

be based on 100% of the 

employee’s Primary Insurance

Amount (PIA), subject to the 

family maximum. It will have 

an age reduction if you retire 

before attaining Full

Retirement Age (FRA).

will have an age reduction if

you are a widow(er) and retire

before attaining FRA.

A tier 2 benefit is not payable

to a remarried widow(er) or a 

surviving divorced spouse.

a widow(er),

remarried widow(er),

or

surviving divorced 

spouse,

l

l

l

any of the following: between age 50 and age 60 if 

you are rated totally disabled.

(You are deemed age 60 on 

your OBD.)

be based on 100% of the 

employee’s PIA, subject to the 

family maximum. It will have 

an age reduction.

will have an age reduction if

you are a disabled widower. 

(You are deemed age 60 on

your OBD.)

A tier 2 benefit is not payable 

to a remarried disabled

widow(er) or a disabled 

surviving divorced spouse.

under FRA caring for a 

child of the employee as 

a surviving young

mother/father,

at any age based on child-incare as long as the child is 

entitled to a child’s annuity 

and the child is either under 

age 18 or the disabled child 

became disabled before 

attaining age 22.

at any age based on child-incare as long as the child is 

entitled to a child’s annuity 

and the child is either under 

age 16 or the disabled child 

became disabled before 

attaining age 22.

be based on only 75% of 

the employee’s PIA, subject to

the family maximum. It will

not have an age reduction.

will not have an age reduction.

be based on only 75% of the 

employee’s PIA, subject to the

family maximum. It will not

have an age reduction.

is not payable to a remarried

young mother/father or 

surviving divorced young 

mother/father.

1

a disabled widow(er),

remarried disabled 

widow(er), or

disabled surviving 

divorced spouse,

l

l

l

under FRA caring for a 

child of the employee as:

a remarried young

mother/father or

a surviving divorced 

young mother/father,

l

l

Current

Connection

CHART 1 - DETERMINING YOUR ORIGINAL BEGINNING DATE (OBD)
General Conditions Under Which a Person is Entitled to a Railroad Retirement

Widow(er) or Surviving Divorced Spouse Annuity (con’t.)

Full

Retirement

Age (FRA)

The term Full Retirement Age (FRA) means the age at which the widow(er), remarried widower, or

surviving divorced spouse can receive a full annuity under the RRA unreduced for early retirement.

The FRA for age reductions for applicants for a survivor annuity who were born before January 2, 1940,

is age 65. The FRA for applicants for survivor annuities who were born after January 1, 1940, will

gradually increase over a 20-year period to age 67, as illustrated in the following chart. If you are

entitled to a Tier 2 benefit, the FRA for your Tier 2 age reduction will be the same as the FRA for your

Tier 1 age reduction.

(Full Retirement Age also affects survivor annuity earnings deductions as described on Chart 3.)

Marriage

Requirements

for Widow(er)

Annuity or 

Disabled

Widow(er)

Annuity

To be considered the widow(er) or disabled widow(er) of the employee, you must meet one of the

requirements on page 1 and must:

A widow(er) or disabled widow(er) must have been married to the employee for at least nine full

months before the employee’s death. If you were married to the deceased employee less than nine

months, ask the nearest RRB field office to explain any exceptions that might apply.

1. be the legal widow(er) of the employee;

2. not have been divorced from the employee at the time of the employee’s death; and,

3. not have remarried after the employee’s death.

Survivor Who

Remarried

After

Employee’s

Death

If you remarried after the employee’s death, an annuity may still be payable if you meet all the eligibility

requirements for a survivor annuity explained above, except for your remarriage. You may be entitled

to a survivor annuity as a remarried widow(er), disabled remarried widow(er), or remarried young

mother/father if either:

1. you are currently unmarried or

2. your remarriage occurred after you attained age 60 (or after you attained age 50 if you were 

rated totally disabled before the remarriage occurred.)

Requirements 

for Survivor

Annuity

Based on 

Divorce from 

the Employee

To be considered entitled to an annuity based on divorce from the employee, you must meet one of

the requirements on page 1 and must:

A surviving divorced spouse or disabled surviving divorced spouse must have been married to the

employee for a continuous period of at least 10 years immediately before the effective date of the final

divorce. Divorce and remarriage to the employee in the same or following year is still considered a

continuous marriage.

A surviving divorced young mother/father must have the employee’s child-in-care.

Also, you are not entitled to an annuity based on divorce from the employee if you are entitled to a

different RRA annuity or a social security benefit that exceeds the RRA annuity based on divorce.

1. be unmarried and

2. be finally divorced from the employee.

CHART 2 - DETERMINING YOUR FULL RETIREMENT AGE

If you were born:

Before 1-2-1940

1-2-1940 thru 1-1-1941

1-2-1941 thru 1-1-1942

1-2-1942 thru 1-1-1943

1-2-1943 thru 1-1-1944

1-2-1944 thru 1-1-1945

1-2-1945 thru 1-1-1957

then your FRA is:

65

65 and 2 months

65 and 4 months

65 and 6 months

65 and 8 months

65 and 10 months

66

If you were born:

1-2-1957 thru 1-1-1958

1-2-1958 thru 1-1-1959

1-2-1959 thru 1-1-1960

1-2-1960 thru 1-1-1961

1-2-1961 thru 1-1-1962

1-2-1962 and later

then your FRA is:

66 and 2 months

66 and 4 months

66 and 6 months

66 and 8 months

66 and 10 months

67

2
General Conditions Under Which a Person is Entitled to a Railroad Retirement

Widow(er) or Surviving Divorced Spouse Annuity (con’t.)

Definition of

Child-in-Care

A surviving young mother/father, remarried young mother/father, or surviving divorced young

mother/father may qualify for an annuity based on a child of the deceased employee in care. The child

must be entitled to an RRA Child’s Insurance Annuity and be either:

The term Child-in-Care includes the deceased employee’s unmarried natural child, adopted child or

dependent stepchild, or under certain conditions, a grandchild whose parents are deceased or disabled.

A child is in your care if you exercise parental control over, and are responsible for, the welfare and care

of the child. If the child is permanently disabled, but mentally competent, he or she is considered to be

in your care if you perform personal services, The RRB will make the final determination regarding the

personal services you perform and whether or not they constitute the child being in your care.

1. a minor child under age 16 (age 18 for a surviving young mother/father annuity) or

2. a disabled child with a permanent disability that began before the child attained age 22 and 

prevents any type of regular employment.

SSA Insured

Status

If your survivor annuity is based on an employee who had 60-119 months of railroad service after 1995, a

Tier 1 benefit is payable only if the employee had an SSA Insured Status based on combined railroad and

social security earnings. Generally, employees had an SSA Insured Statusif they had at least one Quarter

of Coverage (QC) for each calendar year after 1950, or after the year the employee attained age 21,

whichever is later, up to the earliest of the year the employee became disabled, attained age 62, or died.

The Tier 2 benefit is payable, even if the employee lacks the SSA Insured Status.

Earnings

in

Disability

Cases

The non-railroad earnings restrictions explained above do not apply to a disabled widow(er), a remarried

disabled widow(er), a surviving disabled divorced spouse, or to a disabled child.

However, any work or earnings by a disability annuitant must be reported and are reviewed to determine

whether they indicate recovery from the disability.

Reductions

For

NonRailroad

Earnings

A survivor annuity is not payable for any month the survivor works for a railroad or railroad union.

For survivor annuities that are not based on disability, the Annual Earnings Exempt Amount is the

amount of non-railroad earnings you can have in a calendar year without losing part of your annuity.

Survivors who are receiving social security benefits have their railroad retirement annuity and social

security benefit combined for earnings limitations purposes.

Full Retirement Age (FRA) for survivor annuities is explained in Chart 2. There are separate

Annual Earnings Exempt Amounts for survivor annuitants at FRA and those under FRA. Refer to

Form G-77 How Earnings Affect Payment of Survivor Annuities.

you are under your FRA

for the entire year,

$2.00 of earnings over the Annual Earnings Exempt Amount applies for the full year.

for your age group.

you attain FRA,

is removed effective the

month in which you attain

FRA.

$3.00 of earnings over the Annual Earnings Exempt Amount

for your age group. However, your earnings are only counted for months before the month in which you attain FRA.

CHART 3 - DETERMINING WORK DEDUCTIONS

For a year in which: you may lose up to $1 in benefits for every: The reduction:

3
General Conditions Under Which a Person is Entitled to a Railroad Retirement

Widow(er) or Surviving Divorced Spouse Annuity (con’t.)

When a 

Survivor

Annuity is 

not

Payable

A survivor annuity is not payable for any month in which you work for a railroad employer or railroad

union; or, after you waive entitlement to permit payment of the Residual Lump-Sum.

Also, a widow(er)’s annuity is not payable for any month in which you receive a divorced spouse annuity

or survivor annuity based on a different RRA claim number that exceeds your widow(er)’s annuity.

When a 

Survivor

Annuity

Based on 

Disability

Ends

A survivor annuity based on disability ends the earliest of the following:

A remarried disabled widow(er) or disabled surviving divorced spouse annuity ends the month

before the month in which you become entitled to either an annuity based on a different RRA

claim number or a social security benefit and the amount of that benefit exceeds your remarried

disabled widow(er) annuity or disabled surviving divorced spouse annuity;

A disabled widow(er) or disabled surviving divorced spouse annuity ends the month before the

month you remarry;

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

annuity ends two months after the month you recover from disability; or,

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

annuity ends the month before the month you die.

When a 

Survivor

Annuity

Based on 

Child-inCare Ends

A survivor annuity based on child-in-care ends the earliest of the following:

A surviving divorced young mother/father or remarried young mother/father annuity ends the

month before the month in which you become entitled to either an annuity based on a different

RRA claim number or to a social security benefit and the amount of that benefit exceeds your

annuity based on child-in-care; or,

Unless you qualify for an annuity based on your age, a young mother/father annuity, surviving

divorced mother/father annuity or remarried young mother/father annuity ends the earliest of:

Note: A surviving divorced young mother/father or remarried young mother/father must have

been married to the employee for at least 10 years to qualify for an annuity based on age.

the month before the month the minor child qualifying you for an annuity attains age 16

(age 18 for a surviving young mother/father annuity);

the first full month the minor or disabled child qualifying you for an annuity is no longer

in your care; or,

two months after the disabled child qualifying you for an annuity recovers from disability.

1.

2.

3.

4.

When a 

Survivor

Annuity

Based on 

Age Ends

A survivor annuity based on age ends the earliest of the following:

Booklet RB-17 Survivor Annuities contains more information and is available at www.rrb.gov.

A widow(er) annuity or surviving divorced spouse annuity ends the month before the month in

which you remarry (ask the RRB field office about a few exceptions that might apply);

A remarried widow(er) annuity or surviving divorced spouse annuity ends the month before the

month in which you become entitled to either an annuity based on a different RRA claim number

or to a social security benefit and the amount of that other benefit exceeds your remarried

widow(er) or surviving divorced spouse annuity; or,

A widow(er) annuity, surviving divorced spouse annuity or remarried widow(er) annuity ends

the month before the month in which you die.

1.

2.

3.

1.

2.

a.

b.

c.

4 Form G-177S (09-06)