Policy and Systems

Divorced Spouse Annuity

A divorced spouse annuity is limited to tier I component only. Regardless of the employee's total years of railroad service, your annuity is reduced by 1/144 for the first 36 months you are under Full Retirement Age (FRA) and by 1/240 for each additional month you are under FRA on your annuity beginning date. However, if you were entitled to a spouse annuity before your final divorce from the employee, any previous spouse annuity age reduction is applied to your divorced spouse annuity.

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Spouse Annuity Age Reduction When Employee Has Less Than 360 Months of Railroad Service

Please refer to the summary chart below to see if an age reduction applies to your spouse annuity.

Tier I Component Age Reduction

Your spouse tier I component age reduction depends on the employee's total years of railroad service.

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Full Retirement Age For Spouse or Divorced Spouse

The term "Full Retirement Age (FRA)" means the age at which the spouse of an employee with less than 360 months of railroad service or a divorced spouse can receive a full annuity (not reduced for early retirement). FRA for persons who were born before January 2, 1938, is age 65. The FRA for persons born after January 1, 1938, will gradually increase over a 20-year period to age 67, as illustrated in the following chart:

Determining Your Full Retirement Age

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Basic Formula

Regular railroad retirement annuities are calculated under the following two-tier formula:

Tier I Component

The first tier is based on railroad retirement credits and any social security credits an employee has acquired. If the employee has at least 120 months of railroad service, or 60-119 months of railroad service with at least 60 months of railroad service after 1995, the amount of the first tier is calculated using reductions to the social security formula.

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Reductions for Early Retirement

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Earliest Divorced Spouse Annuity Beginning Date

The earliest divorced spouse annuity beginning date permitted by law is the latest of the following:

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Earliest Spouse Annuity Beginning Date

The earliest spouse annuity beginning date permitted by law is the latest of the following:

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File RRA Annuity Application

You must file an RRA application for a spouse annuity or divorced spouse annuity to receive railroad retirement spouse or divorced spouse benefits.

If you were previously entitled to spouse benefits based on Child-in-Care that terminated when the child attained age 18, you may need to file another spouse annuity application. This application is required to pay spouse benefits based on your age. Please discuss this with an RRB representative.

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Stop Railroad Work

In addition to the requirements in Applying for Your Annuity, if you are working for a railroad, you must stop the railroad work and give up any rights you have to return to such work.

Also note that, after the annuity is awarded, payment cannot be made for any month in which you return to work for a railroad employer.