If students have earnings over their Annual Earnings Exempt Amount, the excess is charged against the students' annuities. Students will lose up to $1 in benefits for every $2 of earnings over their Annual Earnings Exempt Amount. The reduction for earnings for students does not create an increase to railroad retirement annuities computed for other family members. Refer to Form G-77, How Earnings Affect Payment of Survivor Annuities for current Annual Earnings Exempt Amounts.
If a student works outside the United States for 45 or more hours in a month and does not pay FICA or SECA taxes for this work, the student's annuity will be reduced, regardless of the amount of money earned.