When the employee's annuity is based on age and the employee has earnings over the Annual Earnings Exempt Amount for the employee's age group, the excess is charged against the employee benefit and the benefits of all others included in the family group. Refer to Form G-77a How Work Affects Your Railroad Retirement Benefits, for current Annual Earnings Exempt Amounts.
If a student has earnings over the Annual Earnings Exempt Amount, the excess is charged against the amount that the student benefit increases the Special Guaranty rate only. A student will lose up to $1 in benefits for every $2 of earnings over the Annual Earnings Exempt Amount. In some cases, the reduction for earnings for one family member is offset by an increase to the Special Guaranty benefit computed for other family members.
If a student works outside the United States for 45 or more hours in a month and does not pay Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) or Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA) taxes for this work, the student benefit in the Special Guaranty will be reduced, regardless of the amount of money earned.