Railroad Retirement Spouse Benefits,
December 2007
In addition to the retirement annuities payable to
employees, the Railroad Retirement Act, like the Social Security Act, also
provides annuities for the 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.
1. How are railroad retirement spouse annuities computed?
Regular railroad retirement annuities are computed under a two-tier formula. The spouse annuity formula is based on certain percentages of the employee's tier I and tier II amounts. The tier I portion of an employee's annuity is based on both railroad retirement credits and any social security credits that the employee also 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 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 2007,
excluding divorced spouses, was $910 a month, while the average monthly social
security spouse benefit was about $368. Annuities
awarded in fiscal year 2007 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 $952 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 $1,192 a month.
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 and date of retirement and the employee's years of railroad
service. The following requirements
apply if the employee's annuity began after 1974. If a retired employee with 30 or more years
of service is age 60 and receiving an annuity, the employee's spouse is also
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 a 60/30 annuity
4. What if the spouse is caring for a child of the retired employee?
A spouse of an employee 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 the child became
disabled before age 22.
5. What are some of the other general eligibility requirements?
The employee must have been married to the spouse for at
least one year, unless the spouse is the natural parent of their child; 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.
However, entitlement to a surviving divorced spouse, surviving divorced
young mother (father), or remarried widow(er) annuity
does not waive the one-year marriage requirement.
6. Are spouse annuities subject to offset for the receipt of other
benefits?
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 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 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. (This 60-month requirement is being phased in
over a five-year period ending
7. Under what conditions can the divorced spouse of a rail employee
receive a spouse annuity?
A spouse annuity may also 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.
(Effective August 17, 2007, a
divorced spouse can receive an annuity even if the employee has not
retired, provided they have been divorced for at least 2 years, the employee
and spouse are at least age 62, and the
employee is fully insured under the Social Security Act using combined railroad
and social security earnings.) 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. The average divorced spouse annuity awarded
in fiscal year 2007 was $491.
8.
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.
9. What if a husband and wife are both railroad employees?
If both the husband and wife 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. If both the husband
and wife 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.
10. Are railroad retirement
annuities subject to garnishment or property settlements?
Certain percentages of any railroad retirement annuity
(employee, spouse or survivor) may be subject to legal process (i.e.,
garnishment) to enforce an obligation for child support and/or alimony
payments. Also, with the exception of
the tier I portion of a railroad retirement annuity, all other portions of an
employee's annuity are subject to court-ordered property settlements in
proceedings related to divorce, annulment or legal separation.
11. How can a person get more
information about railroad retirement spouse annuities?
For more information and/or a benefit estimate, a person
should contact the nearest office of the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). Most RRB offices are open to the public from
Office of Public Affairs 312-751-4777
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