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For Publication

 September 2021

Railroad Retirement Spouse Benefits

In addition to the retirement annuities payable to railroad employees, the Railroad Retirement Act, 

like the Social Security Act, also provides annuities for some spouses of retired employees. Payment 

of a spouse annuity is made directly to the wife or husband of the employee. Divorced spouses may 

also qualify for benefits.

The following questions and answers describe the benefits payable to spouses and the eligibility 

requirements. Information regarding divorced spouses begins with Question 8.

1. How are railroad retirement spouse annuities computed?

Regular railroad retirement annuities are computed under a two-tier formula. 

The tier I portion of an employee’s annuity is based on both railroad retirement credits and any 

social security credits that the employee earned. Computed using social security benefit formulas, an 

employee’s tier I benefit approximates the social security benefit that would be payable if all of the 

employee’s work were performed under the Social Security Act.

The tier II portion of the employee’s annuity is based on railroad retirement credits only, and may 

be compared to the retirement benefits paid over and above social security benefits to workers in other 

industries.

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

The first tier of a spouse annuity, before any applicable reductions, is 50 percent of the railroad 

employee’s unreduced tier I amount. The second tier amount, before any reductions, is 45 percent of 

the employee’s unreduced tier II amount.

2. How does a railroad retirement spouse annuity compare to a social security spouse 

benefit? 

The average annuity awarded to spouses in fiscal year 2020, excluding divorced spouses, was 

$1,130 a month, while the average monthly social security spouse benefit was about $744.

Annuities awarded in fiscal year 2020 to the spouses of employees who were of full retirement age 

or over and who retired directly from the rail industry with at least 25 years of service averaged $1,410

a month; and the average award to the spouses of employees retiring at age 60 or over with at least 30 

years of service was $1,602 a month.

FROM THE DESK OF

JOHN BRAGG

LABOR MEMBER

 

U.S. Railroad Retirem ent Board 
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3. What are the age requirements for a railroad retirement spouse annuity?

The age requirements for a spouse annuity depend on the employee’s age, date of retirement, and 

years of railroad service. 

If a retired employee with 30 or more years of service is age 60 or older, the employee’s 

spouse is eligible for an annuity the first full month the spouse is age 60. Certain early retirement 

reductions are applied if the employee first became eligible for an annuity July 1, 1984, or later and 

retired at ages 60 or 61 before 2002. If the employee was awarded a disability annuity, has attained age 

60 and has 30 years of service, the spouse can receive an unreduced annuity the first full month she or 

he is age 60, regardless of whether the employee annuity began before or after 2002, as long as the 

spouse’s annuity beginning date is after 2001.

If a retired employee with less than 30 years of service is age 62 or older, the employee’s 

spouse is eligible for an annuity the first full month the spouse is age 62. Early retirement reductions 

are applied to the spouse annuity if the spouse retires prior to full retirement age. Full retirement age 

for a spouse is gradually rising to age 67, just as for an employee, depending on the year of birth. 

Reduced benefits are still payable at age 62, but the maximum reduction will be 35 percent rather than 

25 percent by the year 2022. However, the tier II portion of a spouse annuity will not be reduced 

beyond 25 percent if the employee had any creditable railroad service before August 12, 1983.

4. What if the spouse is caring for a child of the retired employee?

A spouse of an employee who is receiving an age and service annuity (or a spouse of a disability 

annuitant who is otherwise eligible for an age and service annuity) is eligible for a spouse annuity at 

any age if caring for the employee’s unmarried child, and the child is under age 18 or a disabled child 

of any age who became disabled before age 22.

5. What are some of the other general eligibility requirements for a railroad retirement 

spouse annuity?

The employee must have been married to the spouse for at least one year, unless the spouse is the 

natural parent of their child, or the spouse was eligible or potentially eligible for a railroad retirement 

widow(er)’s, parent’s or disabled child’s annuity in the month before marrying the employee or the 

spouse was previously married to the employee and received a spouse annuity. 

6. Can the same-sex spouse of a railroad employee file for a railroad retirement spouse 

annuity? 

Yes, if the same-sex spouse meets current spouse annuity eligibility requirements and follows 

current application procedures.

7. Are spouse annuities subject to offset for the receipt of other benefits?

Yes. The tier I portion of a spouse annuity is reduced for any social security entitlement, regardless 

of whether the social security benefit is based on the spouse's own earnings, the employee's earnings or
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the earnings of another person. This reduction follows principles of social security law which, in 

effect, limit payment to the higher of any two or more benefits payable to an individual at one time.

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

government pension separately payable to the spouse based on the spouse’s own earnings. The 

reduction generally does not apply if the employment on which the public service pension is based was 

covered under the Social Security Act throughout the last 60 months of public employment. Most 

military service pensions and payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs will not cause a 

reduction. Pensions paid by a foreign government or interstate instrumentality will not cause a 

reduction. For spouses subject to a public service pension reduction, the tier I reduction is equal to 2/3 

of the amount of the public service pension.

In addition, there may be a reduction in the employee’s tier I amount for receipt of a public 

pension based, in part or in whole, on employment not covered by social security or railroad retirement 

after 1956. If the employee’s tier I benefit is offset for a noncovered service pension, the spouse tier I 

amount is 50 percent of the employee's tier I amount after the offset.

The spouse tier I portion may also be reduced if the employee is under age 65 and is receiving a 

disability annuity as well as worker’s compensation or public disability benefits.

While these offsets can reduce or even completely wipe out the tier I benefit otherwise payable to a 

spouse, they do not affect the tier II benefit potentially payable to that spouse.

8. How do the eligibility requirements and benefits differ for a divorced spouse?

A divorced spouse annuity may be payable to the divorced wife or husband of a retired employee 

if their marriage lasted for at least 10 consecutive years, both have attained age 62 for a full month, 

and the divorced spouse is not currently married. A divorced spouse can receive an annuity even if the 

employee has not retired, provided they have been divorced for a period of not less than 2 years, the 

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

Security Act using combined railroad and social security earnings. Early retirement reductions are 

applied to the divorced spouse annuity if the divorced spouse retires prior to full retirement age. Full 

retirement age for a divorced spouse is gradually rising to age 67, depending on the year of birth.

A divorced spouse is also eligible for an annuity at any age if caring for the employee’s unmarried 

child, and the child is under age 18, or a disabled child of any age who became disabled before age 22, 

if the employee is deceased. 

Unlike a regular spouse annuity, the divorced spouse annuity is computed under the single tier I 

formula. The amount of a divorced spouse’s annuity is, in effect, equal to what social security would 

pay in the same situation (tier I only) and therefore less than the amount of the spouse annuity 

otherwise payable (tier I and tier II). The average divorced spouse annuity awarded in fiscal year 2020 

was $768.
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9. Would the award of an annuity to a divorced spouse affect the monthly annuity rate 

payable to a retired employee and/or the current spouse?

No. If a divorced spouse becomes entitled to an annuity based on the employee’s railroad service, 

the award of the divorced spouse’s benefit would not affect the amount of the employee’s annuity, nor 

would it affect the amount of the railroad retirement annuity that may be payable to the current spouse.

10. What if an employee and spouse/divorced spouse are both railroad employees?

If both started railroad employment after 1974, the amount of any spouse or divorced spouse 

annuity is reduced by the amount of the employee annuity to which the spouse is also entitled. If both 

the employee and spouse are qualified railroad employees and either had some railroad service before 

1975, both can receive separate railroad retirement employee and spouse annuities, without a full dual 

benefit reduction. 

11. Are railroad retirement annuities subject to garnishment or property settlements?

Yes. Certain percentages of any railroad retirement annuity (employee, spouse, divorced spouse or 

survivor) may be subject to legal process (i.e., garnishment) to enforce an obligation for child support 

and/or alimony payments.

Employee tier II benefits and supplemental annuities are subject to court-ordered property 

divisions in proceedings related to divorce, annulment or legal separation. (Tier I benefits are not 

subject to property division.) A court-ordered property division payment may be paid even if the 

employee is not entitled to an annuity provided that the employee has 10 years of railroad service or 5 

years after 1995 and both the employee and former spouse are at least age 62.

12. How can a person get more information about railroad retirement spouse and divorced 

spouse annuities?

Individuals with questions about railroad retirement spouse and divorced spouse annuities can send 

a secure message to their local RRB office by accessing Field Office Locator at RRB.gov and clicking 

on the link at the bottom of their local office’s page. If a customer needs to talk to an RRB 

representative, they can call the agency’s toll-free number (1-877-772-5772) between the hours of 

9 a.m. and 3 p.m. each weekday, except Federal holidays. However, customers are asked to be patient 

because of the increase in call volume due to the closure to the public of RRB offices during the 

COVID-19 pandemic.

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