|
To view and download the G-177s
in PDF you need Acrobat Reader version 5.0 or higher. Download
a free copy of the latest version of Acrobat
Reader now.
|
See:
Booklet
RB-17 Survivor Annuities |
| Current
Connection |
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 (SSA) 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 widow(er), surviving young mother/father, divorced
spouse, or surviving divorced young mother/father annuity can
begin as explained in Chart 1. |
CHART 1 - DETERMINING YOUR
ANNUITY BEGINNING DATE
| widow(er) |
at age 60. |
have an age
reduction if you retire before attaining Full Retirement Age
(FRA).
(If you are age 60-61 on your Original Beginning Date (OBD),
you are deemed age 62 on your OBD.) |
your Tier 2
will have an age reduction if you retire before attaining
FRA.
(If you are age 60-61 on your OBD, you are deemed age 62
on your OBD.) |
| disabled widow(er) |
at age 50. |
have an age
reduction if you retire before attaining FRA.
(You are deemed age 60 on your OBD.) |
your Tier 2
will have an age reduction if you retire before attaining
FRA.
(You are deemed age 60 on your OBD.) |
| surviving divorced
spouse or disabled surviving divorced spouse |
at age 60 (or
age 50, if disabled). |
have an age
reduction if you retire before attaining FRA.
(You are deemed age 60 on your OBD, if you are disabled ) |
a Tier 2 benefit
is not payable to a surviving divorced spouse or disabled
surviving divorced spouse. |
| surviving young
mother/father (under age 65
caring for a child of the employee). |
at any age
based on child-in-care as long as the child is under
age 18 or the disabled child became disabled before attaining
age 22. |
not have an
age reduction, but will be based on only 75% of the employee's
Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), subject to the family maximum, |
your Tier 2
will not have an age reduction. |
| surviving divorced
young mother/father (under age
65 caring for a child of the employee). |
at any age
based on child-in-care as long as the child is under
age 16 or the disabled child became disabled before attaining
age 22. |
not have an
age reduction, but will be based on only 75% of the employee's
PIA, subject to the family maximum, |
a Tier 2 benefit
is not payable to a surviving divorced young mother/father. |
| Definition
of Full Retirement Age for an Age Reduction |
The term Full Retirement Age (FRA) means the
age at which a widow(er) or surviving divorced spouse can receive
a full annuity under the RRA, unreduced for early retirement.
The FRA for age reductions for applicants for survivor annuities
who were born before January 2, 1940, is age 65. The
FRA for applicants for a survivor annuity 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 gradually increase in the same manner
as the FRA for your Tier 1 age reduction.
(Full Retirement Age also affects the amount of
non-railroad earnings you can earn after the annuity beginning date, as
explained in Chart 3.) |
CHART 2 - DETERMINING YOUR
FULL RETIREMENT AGE
|
Before 1-2-1940, |
65. |
|
1-2-1940 thru 1-1-1941, |
65 and 2 months. |
| 1-2-1941
thru 1-1-1942, |
65 and 4 months. |
| 1-2-1942
thru 1-1-1943, |
65 and 6 months. |
| 1-2-1943
thru 1-1-1944, |
65 and 8 months. |
| 1-2-1944
thru 1-1-1945, |
65 and 10
months. |
| 1-2-1945
thru 1-1-1957, |
66. |
| 1-2-1957
thru 1-1-1958, |
66 and 2 months. |
| 1-2-1958
thru 1-1-1959, |
66 and 4 months. |
| 1-2-1959
thru 1-1-1960, |
66 and 6 months. |
| 1-2-1960
thru 1-1-1961, |
66 and 8 months. |
| 1-2-1961
thru 1-1-1962, |
66 and 10 months. |
| 1-2-1962
and later, |
67. |
| Marriage
Requirements For Widow(er) Annuity |
To be considered the widow(er),
you must meet one of the requirements in Chart 1 and:
- be the legal widow(er) of the employee;
- 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;
- not have been divorced from the employee at the time
of the employee's death; and,
- have not remarried since the employee's death. (Note
- A remarried widow(er)'s annuity may be payable if you
remarried before age 60, but are now unmarried; or if
you remarried after attaining age 60; or if you remarried
after age 50 if you were disabled before the remarriage.)
|
| Marriage
and Divorce Requirements For Surviving Divorced Spouse or
Surviving Divorced Young Mother/ Father |
To be considered entitled to an
annuity based on divorce from the employee, you must meet
one of the requirements in Chart 1 and you must:
- be finally divorced from the employee; and,
- be unmarried at the present time. (Note - If you
have remarried, you must have remarried after attaining
age 60, or after attaining age 50 if you were disabled
before the remarriage.)
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. |
| Definition
of Child in Care |
A surviving young mother/father
under age 65 or surviving divorced young mother/father under
age 65 may qualify for an annuity, at any age, based on a
child of the deceased employee in care. The child must be
entitled to a Child's
Insurance Annuity as either:
- a minor child under age 18 (age 16 for a surviving divorced
young mother/father); or,
- a disabled child with a permanent disability which began
before the child attained age 22 and prevents any type
of regular employment.
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.
|
| 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 Status if 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. |
| Reductions
for Non-Railroad 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. |
CHART 3 - DETERMINING
WORK DEDUCTIONS
| 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. |
is removed effective
the month in which you attain FRA. |
| you are under FRA, |
$2.00 of earnings over
the Annual Earnings Exempt Amount for your age group. |
applies for the full
year. |
| you work outside the
U.S. for 45 or more hours per month, |
$2.00 of earnings. There
is no Annual Earnings Exempt Amount for work outside the U. S.
However, your earnings are only counted for months before the month
in which you attain FRA. |
is removed effective
the month in which you attain FRA. |
| Earnings
in Disability Cases
|
The non-railroad earnings restrictions
explained above do not apply to a 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. |
| When an
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 rate or survivor
annuity rate under a different RRA claim number that exceeds
your widow(er)'s annuity rate. |
| When a
Widow(er) or Surviving Young Mother/ Father Annuity Ends |
A widow(er)'s annuity ends the month before
the month in which:
- you die; or,
- you remarry (a remarried widow(er) annuity may become
payable at that time).
Unless you qualify for an annuity based on your age, an annuity
ends the earliest of:
- the month before the month the minor child qualifying you
for an annuity attains age 18;
- the first full month the minor or disabled child
qualifying you for an annuity is no longer in care;
- two months after the month you recover from disability if
your entitlement is based on disability; or,
- two months after the disabled child qualifying you for an
annuity recovers from disability.
|
|
When a Surviving
Divorced Spouse or Surviving Divorced Young
Mother/ Father
Annuity Ends |
A surviving divorced spouse annuity or surviving
divorced young mother/father annuity ends the earliest of the
month before the month in which:
-
you become entitled to either an annuity rate under a different
RRA claim number or a social security benefit that exceeds your
surviving divorced spouse annuity rate;
-
you die; or,
-
you remarry (ask the RRB field office about a few exception
that might apply).
Unless you were married to the employee for at least 10 years
and you qualify for an annuity based on your age, an annuity ends the
earliest of:
- the month before the month the minor child qualifying a
surviving divorced young mother/father for an annuity attains age
16;
- the first full month the minor or disabled child qualifying
a surviving divorced young mother/father for an annuity is no longer
in care;
- two months after the month you recover from disability if
your surviving divorced spouse annuity is based on disability; or,
- two months after the disabled child qualifying a
surviving divorced young mother/father for an annuity recovers from
disability.
|
| Remarried
Widow(er)'s Annuity |
A remarried widow(er) annuity may be payable
if you meet all the eligibility requirements for a widow(er)'s
annuity explained in this form, but you either did not remarry
until after you attained age 60 or you remarried before age
60 but are now unmarried. Ask the nearest RRB field office
to explain this type of benefit.
|
|
