Policy and Systems

Widow(er)'s Rate Is Never Less Than Previous Rate

If you are currently receiving a retirement Spouse annuity, the total of your Widow(er)'s annuity will be compared to the amount you are now receiving. If the calculation of your Widow(er)'s annuity results in an amount that is less than what you are currently receiving as a spouse, your Widow(er)'s annuity will be increased to equal that amount. Your Widow(er)'s annuity amount will never be less than the annuity you were receiving in the month before the employee's death.

This guarantee does not apply to a Surviving Divorced Spouse annuity.

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Public Service Pension

As explained in the section "Tier I," a widow(er) type annuity must be adjusted for any public service pension payment, based on your earnings, that you receive.

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Social Security Benefits

If you are qualified to receive an old age, survivor, or disability insurance benefit from the Social Security Administration (SSA) at the time that you file your railroad retirement application, and you indicate on the application that you want to use your application to protect your filing date for a social security benefit, SSA will get in touch with you and advise you on how to file a social security application.

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Tier II

Widow(er)s

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Tier I

The tier I amount is based on the deceased employee's combined railroad retirement and social security credits. The tier I you will receive is equal to a percentage of the amount that the employee would have received if he or she had retired under the social security system only. The percentage depends on the type of benefit you are receiving and the number of annuitants who are qualified to receive a benefit. If there are fewer than three qualified family members, the percentages are as follows:

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Cost-of-Living Increases

Periodically, you will receive a cost-of-living increase. Your gross tier I increase will be the same percentage as the social security benefit cost-of-living increase. Your tier II will generally increase by 32.5 percent of the tier I percentage increase. An increase may not be payable each year.

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The Parts Of A Railroad Retirement Annuity

Your annuity can be made up of one or two parts, depending on the type of annuity you are receiving. The first part, tier I, is included in all annuities.

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Part VII - How Your Annuity Is Computed

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Change of Address

Always inform the RRB when there is a change in your mailing address. It is important to report all changes to the RRB, even if your payments are sent directly to a financial institution. This mailing address is used to send you any material other than your payments, such as award notices, notices of cost-of-living increases, Medicare information, taxation information, new annual exempt amounts, etc.

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Changing Account or Financial Organization

To arrange to have your payment sent to a different account or a different financial institution, simply notify the nearest office of the RRB. To avoid delays in the receipt of your payment, do not close the old account until your annuity payments have begun to be deposited into the new account.

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