Railroad Retirement Board
Credit for Military Service Under the
Railroad Retirement Act
April 2008
Many railroad employees have at some time served in the Armed Forces of
the
The following questions and answers provide information on how military
service may be credited towards railroad retirement benefits.
1. Under
what conditions can military service be credited as railroad service?
The intent behind the crediting of military service under the Railroad
Retirement Act is to prevent career railroad employees from losing retirement
credits while performing active duty military service during a war or national
emergency period. Therefore, to be
creditable as railroad service under the Railroad Retirement Act, active duty
service in the U.S. Armed Forces must be preceded by railroad service in the
same or preceding calendar year. With
the exceptions noted later, the employee must also have entered military
service when the
Only active duty military service is creditable under the Railroad
Retirement Act. A person is considered
to have been on active duty while commissioned or enrolled in the active
service of the Armed Forces of the United States (including the U.S. Coast
Guard); or while ordered to Federal active duty from any reserve component of
the uniformed Armed Forces.
2. What are
some examples of creditable service performed by a member of a reserve
component, such as the Army Reserve?
Any military service a reservist was required to perform as a result of
a call-up to active duty, such as during the current partial mobilization,
would be creditable under the Railroad Retirement Act, so long as the military
service was preceded by railroad service in the same or preceding year.
Annual training duty as a member of a reserve component of a uniformed
service is also considered active duty and may be creditable, provided the
employee service requirement is met. The
period of active duty for training also includes authorized travel time to and
from any such training duty. However,
weekend alone or evening reserve duty is not creditable.
Active duty in a State National Guard or State Air National Guard unit
may be creditable only while the reservist was called to Federal active duty by
the Congress or President of the
3. What are
the dates of the war or national emergency periods?
The creditable periods that affect current retirements are:
If military service began during a war or national emergency period,
any active duty service the employee was required to continue in beyond the end
of the war or national emergency is creditable, except that voluntary service
extending beyond
Railroad workers who voluntarily served in the Armed Forces between
June 15, 1948, and December 15, 1950, when there was no declared national state
of emergency, can be given railroad retirement credit for their military
service if they:
4. How can
military service be used to increase benefits paid by the Railroad Retirement
Board (RRB)?
Railroad retirement annuities are based on length of service and
earnings. If military service is
creditable as railroad service, a person will receive additional compensation
credits for each month of creditable military service and railroad service
credit for each active military service month not already credited by actual
railroad service.
Creditable military service may be used in addition to regular railroad
service to meet certain service requirements, such as the basic 10-year or
5-year service requirements for a regular annuity, the 20-year requirement for
an occupational disability annuity before age 60, the 25-year requirement for a
supplemental annuity, or the 30-year requirement for early retirement benefits.
5. Can
No. Service with the Merchant Marine or civilian employment with the
Department of Defense is not creditable, even if performed in wartime.
6. Are
railroad retirement annuities based in part on military service credits reduced
if other benefits, such as military service pensions or payments from the
Department of Veterans Affairs, are also payable on the basis of the same
military service?
No. While railroad retirement employee annuities are subject to
reductions for dual entitlement to social security benefits and, under certain
conditions, Federal, State, or local government pensions, as well as certain
other payments, railroad retirement employee annuities are always exempt from
reduction for military service pensions or payments by the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
7. Are the
unemployment and sickness benefits payable by the RRB affected if an employee
is also receiving a military service pension?
Yes. The unemployment and
sickness benefits payable by the RRB are affected if a claimant is also
receiving a military service pension.
However, payments made by the Department of Veterans Affairs will not
affect railroad unemployment or sickness benefits.
When a claimant is receiving a military service pension or benefits
under any social insurance law for days in which he or she is entitled to
benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, railroad unemployment
or sickness benefits are payable only to the extent to which they exceed the
other payments for those days. In many
cases, the amount of a military service pension precludes the payment of
unemployment or sickness benefits by the RRB.
Examples of other such social insurance payments are civil service
pensions, firefighters and police pensions, and certain workmen’s compensation
payments. Claimants should report all
such payments promptly to avoid having to refund benefits later.
8. Can proof
of military service be filed in advance of retirement?
Railroad employees are encouraged to file proofs of their military
service well in advance of retirement.
The information will be recorded and stored electronically until they
actually retire. This will expedite the
annuity application process and avoid any delays resulting from inadequate
proofs.
If employees do not have an official record of their military service,
their local RRB office will explain how to get acceptable evidence. All evidence brought or mailed to an RRB
office will be handled carefully and returned promptly.
9. How can an
employee get more information about the crediting of military service by the
RRB?
For more information, an employee should contact the nearest office of
the RRB. Most RRB offices are open to
the public from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday, except on Federal
holidays.
Employees can find the address and phone number of the Board office serving their area by calling the automated toll-free RRB Help Line at 1-800-808-0772. They can also get this information from the Board's Web site at www.rrb.gov.
Public Affairs 312-751-4777
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