EVENTS THAT AFFECT

A SURVIVOR ANNUITY

United States of America

Railroad Retirement Board

Visit our Website at www.rrb.gov

 RB-9s (03-19)
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Events That Must Be Reported

 If you file for any social security benefits or if there is a change in the amount of those

benefits.

 If you file for a public service pension from a Federal, State, or local government.

 If there is a change in your earnings estimate.

 If you begin working for any railroad employer.

 If there is a change in your mailing address.

 If any person for whom you are receiving an annuity dies or leaves your care.

 If you are receiving a disability annuity and your condition improves or you 

become able to work.

 If there is a change in your marital status.

 If a qualifying child leaves your care, marries, or dies.

 If there is a change in your school attendance.
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Introduction

R ights to benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act also carry responsibilities 

for reporting events that may affect the payment of these benefits.

This booklet describes the different events that will affect your survivor annuity. You 

should be aware of these events and notify the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) 

immediately if any apply to you or someone you are receiving annuity payments on 

behalf of.

The events you should report can affect:

• the amount of the monthly payment; or

• the total amount which can be paid during the year; or

• whether we can continue to pay an annuity at all.

Keep this booklet handy and refer to it occasionally to see if you need to report an 

event to the RRB. Failure to promptly notify the RRB can result in an overpayment 

that could cause the annuity to be suspended, and may result in the assessment of 

interest and penalties.
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Responsibility For Reporting Events To The RRB

If you are receiving your own annuity, it is your responsibility to report the eventsthat affect your

annuity. If you are receiving annuity payments on behalf of someone who is unable to handle his 

or her own funds, you are responsible for knowing if anything has happened which would affect 

that person’s annuity and for making the necessary report to the RRB.

If You Fail To Report An Event

Failure to promptly notify the RRB can result in an overpayment that could cause the annuity to 

be suspended and may result in the assessment of interest and penalties. Failure to promptly report 

an event that results in an overpayment will generally constitute “fault” on your part, requiring 

that the overpayment be repaid.

How To Report An Event

If, at any time, you find that one of the conditions explained in this booklet applies to you, you 

should immediately notify the RRB in writing. The notice should be sent to the nearest RRB field 

office, to locate the nearest RRB field office please visit our website at www.rrb.gov or call 1-

877-772-5772, please call for an appointment. You will not be refused service if you do not have 

an appointment, but RRB representatives can serve you better if an appointment is made. Railroad 

Retirement Board offices are open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, 

Thursday, and Friday, and from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Information To Include When Reporting An Event

When you report an event, be sure to include the following information in your letter:

Your railroad retirement claim number. This number can be found at the top of your application 

receipt or on any correspondence from the RRB;

• the railroad employee’s name;

• your name (or the annuitant’s name if you are reporting an event for someone else);

• your address and daytime telephone number;

• a clear explanation of what event you are reporting;

• the exact date (month, day, year) that the event occurred; and

• the name of your employer and your estimated earnings for the year if you are reporting 

work.
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Effect of Reported Events

The following sections describe the effect certain events will have on your annuity.

If You Receive Social Security Benefits

The Tier I portion of a survivor annuity is reduced by the amount of any social security benefit 

you receive. When you file for social security benefits, the Social Security Administration will 

decide if you are entitled to receive benefits and compute the amount of the benefit which is 

payable.

Usually, the actual payment will be made by the RRB and will be combined with your regular 

monthly railroad retirement payment. If you begin to receive a separate social security payment,

you should notify your local RRB office immediately. It is your responsibility to notify us. Do not 

rely on the Social Security Administration to tell us about your benefits.

You should also notify the RRB if you are receiving separate social security payments and these 

benefits are adjusted for a reason other than a normal cost-of-living increase.

If You Receive A Public Service Pension

In most situations, the Tier I portion of a survivor annuity is reduced by the amount of any public 

service pension payments which you are entitled to receive. A public service pension is the 

retirement pay you receive because you worked for the Federal Government of the United States, 

a state government, or any political subdivision of a state, such as a city, county, town, village or 

school. If you start to receive a public service pension, you must notify the RRB.

The RRB should also be notified if there are any changes in the amount of the public service 

pension you are receiving or if you are offered the opportunity to receive a public service pension 

payment, but you choose to receive a one-time payment instead of monthly payments.

Work Outside The Railroad Industry

Work outside the railroad industry may affect your annuity payments. Whenever you expect your 

earnings for any year to be more than the annual earnings exempt amount, you must notify the 

nearest RRB office promptly. If you do not notify us promptly, you may be paid more than you 

are due and have to refund the overpayment. Refer to Form G-77, How Earnings Affect Payment 

of Survivor Annuities, for the annual earnings exempt amounts.

If the previous earnings estimate you furnished should change, immediately notify the nearest 

RRB office. For example, if you stop working or you realize you will not earn as much as you 

previously reported, or you work more hours and will increase your income.
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You must continue to report earnings over the annual earnings exempt amount until you attain 

full retirement age. Refer to Booklet RB-17, Survivor Annuities, for a complete explanation of 

full retirement age.

Earnings

In general, earnings restrictions apply to gross earnings from employment and net earnings from 

self-employment. If your earnings are from an employer covered under the Social Security Act, 

the amount of earnings you should report is the amount reported for social security (FICA) tax. 

Net earnings from self-employment equal the amount of gross income minus expenses that were 

reported for social security tax under the Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA). Add your 

earnings from employment and self-employment together to determine the total earnings for the 

year.

Do not include as “earnings” any money that you received for any reason other than work, such 

as interest from savings, income investments, gifts, inheritances, buy-outs, pensions or other 

retirement benefits.

For any year in which you will not attain full retirement age, you will lose $1 in benefits for every 

$2 of earnings over the annual exempt amount. For the year in which you attain full retirement 

age, you will lose $1 in benefits for every $3 of earnings over the exempt amount. Beginning with 

the month in which you actually attain full retirement age, earnings restrictions no longer apply.

If you work outside the United States for 45 or more hours in a month and do not pay FICA or 

SECA taxes for this work, you will lose part of your annuity regardless of the amount of money 

you earn.

Work In The Railroad Industry

You cannot be paid an RRB survivor benefit for any month in which you worked for a railroad or 

other employer in the railroad industry. This applies no matter how old you are or how much 

money you earn from that work. You must notify the RRB immediately if you go to work for the 

railroad industry.

Change Of Address

To avoid a delay in receiving your check or important information, notify the nearest RRB office 

immediately if you change your address. It is important to report all changes to the RRB even if 

your payments are sent directly to a financial institution. Even if you are on direct deposit, the 

RRB still keeps your home mailing address on record. This mailing address is used to send any 

material other than your payments to you (such as notices of cost-of-living increases, Medicare 

information, new annual earnings exempt amounts, and tax statements). If you do not report your 

change of address and your payments are on direct deposit, the RRB cannot be responsible for 

any important information that you do not receive.
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To notify the RRB of a change of address, write or call your local RRB office and provide the 

following information:

• Your RRB claim number;

• your name;

• your new address;

• your old address; and,

• the date you will start receiving mail at the new address.

If The Annuitant Dies

An annuity is not payable for the month of death. It is therefore important to promptly notify your 

local RRB office if the annuitant dies. If a check is received after the date of death, it must be 

returned to your local office or to the Treasury Department address on the envelope. If a direct 

deposit payment is made after the date of death, you should be aware that the financial institution 

is required to remove the amount and return it to the Treasury Department when they receive 

notice of death. While we realize that this is a stressful time, the prompt reporting of the death of 

the annuitant will prevent the added stress of erroneous payments.

If Your Disability Improves Or You Are Able To Return To Work

If you are disabled and your condition improves, or your doctor tells you that you are able to 

work, or you return to work, you should promptly tell the nearest RRB field office. These changes 

in your status can affect your entitlement to a disability annuity.

If An Annuitant’s Marital Status Changes Or A Qualifying Child Leaves 

Your Care

If you are receiving a survivor annuity, you must notify the nearest RRB office if you or a child 

in your care marries after beginning to receive an annuity. The marriage of a survivor annuitant 

may cause either the annuity to terminate or the amount of the annuity to change. Also, if your 

annuity is based on having a minor or disabled child in your care, your annuity will end when the 

child leaves your care, marries, or is no longer disabled.

School Attendance

If you are a child who is receiving a student’s annuity, you must immediately notify the RRB if 

any of the following events occur:

• You change schools;

• you stop attending school and you do not intend to resume full-time attendance within the 

next four months;
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• you are temporarily not attending school full-time and you had originally intended to return 

to full-time attendance within four months, but you find you will not be returning to school 

or your return will be delayed;

• you reduced your school attendance to less than full-time, or less than 20 hours per week; 

or

• you start attending school at the request of, or as a requirement of, an employer.
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Fraud and Abuse Hot Line

Call the toll-free Fraud & Abuse Hot Line if you have reason to believe that someone is 

receiving railroad retirement benefits to which (s)he is not entitled; that persons responsible for 

the financial affairs of minors or incompetent beneficiaries are misappropriating benefits; or that 

a doctor, hospital, or other provider of health care services is performing unnecessary or 

inappropriate services or is billing Medicare for services not received. You may also use the Hot 

Line to report any suspected misconduct by a Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) employee. The 

Hot Line has been installed by the RRB’s Inspector General to receive any evidence of fraud or 

abuse of the RRB’s benefit programs.

Call (toll-free) 1-800-772-4258. Or you may send your complaints in writing to: Railroad 

Retirement Board, OIG, Hot Line Officer, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-1275.

Please do NOT call the Inspector General’s Hot Line with questions about eligibility 

requirements, delayed claims, or similar problems. Such matters should be directed to the nearest

RRB field office.

Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability

Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) 

regulations, no qualified person may be discriminated against on the basis of disability. RRB 

programs and activities must be accessible to all qualified applicants and beneficiaries, including 

those who are vision- or hearing-impaired. Disabled persons needing assistance (including 

auxiliary aids or program information in accessible formats) should contact the nearest RRB 

office. Complaints of alleged discrimination by the RRB on the basis of disability must be filed 

within 90 days in writing with the Director of Administration, Railroad Retirement Board, 

844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-1275. Questions about individual rights under 

this regulation may be directed to the RRB’s Director of Equal Opportunity at the same address 

shown above.