Additional Requirements for Annuities Based on 60-119 Months of Railroad Service with at Least 60 Months of Railroad Service After 1995
If the employee annuity is based on 60-119 months of railroad service with at least 60 months of railroad service after 1995, the employee must have a "Social Security (SS) Act Insured Status" on combined railroad earnings, creditable military service earnings, and social security earnings to qualify you for a spouse annuity tier I component or for a divorced spouse annuity. An SS Act Insured Status is based on Quarters of Coverage (QC). In general, the SS Act specifies an amount for each calendar year that will qualify the wage earner for a QC for that year. If the employee earns that amount (or a multiple of that amount up to 4 QCs), the employee's earnings record will be credited with those QCs.
The employee has an SS Act Insured Status if:
- Employee Annuity Based on Age - The employee must have a Fully Insured Status as defined in the SS Act, but using combined railroad earnings, creditable military service earnings, and social security earnings. The SS Act QC requirement for a Fully Insured Status for employees born after 1928 is 40 QCs.
- Employee Annuity Based on Disability - The employee must have a Disability Freeze (D/F) as defined in the SS Act, but using combined railroad earnings, creditable military service earnings, and social security earnings. The SS Act requirements are:
- The employee must be rated totally and permanently disabled;
- The employee must have a Fully Insured Status. Generally, the QC requirement for a Fully Insured Status is at least one QC for each calendar year after the year the employee attained age 21 through the year in which the employee became disabled; and,
- The employee must have at least 20 QCs in a period of 40 consecutive calendar quarters (10 years) ending with the quarter of the disability onset date. This is also referred to as the 20-in-40 QC test.