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For Publication

September 2021

Railroad Retirement Spouse Benefits

In addition to the retirement annuities payable to railroad employees, the Railroad Retirement Act,

like the Social Security Act, also provides annuities for some spouses of retired employees. Payment

The tier I portion of an employee’s annuity is based on both railroad retirement credits and any

social security credits that the employee earned. Computed using social security benefit formulas, an

employee’s tier I benefit approximates the social security benefit that would be payable if all of the

employee’s work were performed under the Social Security Act.

The tier II portion of the employee’s annuity is based on railroad retirement credits only, and may

be compared to the retirement benefits paid over and above social security benefits to workers in other

industries.

The spouse annuity formula is based on percentages of the employee's tier I and tier II amounts.

The first tier of a spouse annuity, before any applicable reductions, is 50 percent of the railroad

employee’s unreduced tier I amount. The second tier amount, before any reductions, is 45 percent of

or over and who retired directly from the rail industry with at least 25 years of service averaged $1,410

a month; and the average award to the spouses of employees retiring at age 60 or over with at least 30

years of service was $1,602 a month.

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3. What are the age requirements for a railroad retirement spouse annuity?

The age requirements for a spouse annuity depend on the employee’s age, date of retirement, and

years of railroad service.

If a retired employee with 30 or more years of service is age 60 or older, the employee’s

spouse is eligible for an annuity the first full month the spouse is age 60. Certain early retirement

reductions are applied if the employee first became eligible for an annuity July 1, 1984, or later and

retired at ages 60 or 61 before 2002. If the employee was awarded a disability annuity, has attained age

for a spouse is gradually rising to age 67, just as for an employee, depending on the year of birth.

Reduced benefits are still payable at age 62, but the maximum reduction will be 35 percent rather than

25 percent by the year 2022. However, the tier II portion of a spouse annuity will not be reduced

beyond 25 percent if the employee had any creditable railroad service before August 12, 1983.

4. What if the spouse is caring for a child of the retired employee?

A spouse of an employee who is receiving an age and service annuity (or a spouse of a disability

annuitant who is otherwise eligible for an age and service annuity) is eligible for a spouse annuity at

any age if caring for the employee’s unmarried child, and the child is under age 18 or a disabled child

of any age who became disabled before age 22.

5. What are some of the other general eligibility requirements for a railroad retirement

annuity?

Yes, if the same-sex spouse meets current spouse annuity eligibility requirements and follows

current application procedures.

7. Are spouse annuities subject to offset for the receipt of other benefits?

Yes. The tier I portion of a spouse annuity is reduced for any social security entitlement, regardless

of whether the social security benefit is based on the spouse's own earnings, the employee's earnings or

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the earnings of another person. This reduction follows principles of social security law which, in

effect, limit payment to the higher of any two or more benefits payable to an individual at one time.

The tier I portion of a spouse annuity may also be reduced for receipt of any Federal, State or local

government pension separately payable to the spouse based on the spouse’s own earnings. The

reduction generally does not apply if the employment on which the public service pension is based was

pension based, in part or in whole, on employment not covered by social security or railroad retirement

after 1956. If the employee’s tier I benefit is offset for a noncovered service pension, the spouse tier I

amount is 50 percent of the employee's tier I amount after the offset.

The spouse tier I portion may also be reduced if the employee is under age 65 and is receiving a

disability annuity as well as worker’s compensation or public disability benefits.

While these offsets can reduce or even completely wipe out the tier I benefit otherwise payable to a

spouse, they do not affect the tier II benefit potentially payable to that spouse.

8. How do the eligibility requirements and benefits differ for a divorced spouse?

A divorced spouse annuity may be payable to the divorced wife or husband of a retired employee

if their marriage lasted for at least 10 consecutive years, both have attained age 62 for a full month,

and the divorced spouse is not currently married. A divorced spouse can receive an annuity even if the

child, and the child is under age 18, or a disabled child of any age who became disabled before age 22,

if the employee is deceased.

Unlike a regular spouse annuity, the divorced spouse annuity is computed under the single tier I

formula. The amount of a divorced spouse’s annuity is, in effect, equal to what social security would

pay in the same situation (tier I only) and therefore less than the amount of the spouse annuity

otherwise payable (tier I and tier II). The average divorced spouse annuity awarded in fiscal year 2020

was $768.

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9. Would the award of an annuity to a divorced spouse affect the monthly annuity rate

annuity is reduced by the amount of the employee annuity to which the spouse is also entitled. If both

the employee and spouse are qualified railroad employees and either had some railroad service before

1975, both can receive separate railroad retirement employee and spouse annuities, without a full dual

benefit reduction.

11. Are railroad retirement annuities subject to garnishment or property settlements?

Yes. Certain percentages of any railroad retirement annuity (employee, spouse, divorced spouse or

survivor) may be subject to legal process (i.e., garnishment) to enforce an obligation for child support

and/or alimony payments.

Employee tier II benefits and supplemental annuities are subject to court-ordered property

divisions in proceedings related to divorce, annulment or legal separation. (Tier I benefits are not

a secure message to their local RRB office by accessing Field Office Locator at RRB.gov and clicking

on the link at the bottom of their local office’s page. If a customer needs to talk to an RRB

representative, they can call the agency’s toll-free number (1-877-772-5772) between the hours of

9 a.m. and 3 p.m. each weekday, except Federal holidays. However, customers are asked to be patient

because of the increase in call volume due to the closure to the public of RRB offices during the

COVID-19 pandemic.

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