From a procedural standpoint, two things must occur before partition payments may begin. First, the annuity must be in pay status. Second, the partition must be fully processed by the agency.
Note: The agency will process partitions at any time, and it is common for a partition to be in place many years before the railroad employee is even considering retirement.
No partition payment will begin until the agency’s Office of General Counsel reviews and approves the partition, the agency has received both the signed separated/former spouse agreement and the completed direct deposit form, and the agency’s Retirement/Survivor Benefits Division has processed all the paperwork.
Depending on the circumstances, payments on fully approved and processed partitions will begin:
- When the employee begins to receive an annuity;
- On a date specified in the decree;
- In the month the Office of General Counsel receives and approves the decree/court order; or
- The first month in which both parties turn (or would have turned) 62.
Important: The agency strongly recommends returning the completed paperwork as soon as possible to ensure that no partition payments are missed. The agency does not make back payments in situations where a partition is approved but the required paperwork has not been returned until after an annuity has begun.
Note: The Office of General Counsel is only able to answer questions regarding the property division. Any questions about processing status, payment amounts, other annuity specific questions should be directed to the Retirement/Survivor Benefits Division at: RISRetirementInitialSectionGroupMailbox@rrb.gov
Questions related to the Divorced Spouse Annuity should be directed to an agency Field Office.