“annuity eligibility requirements

“annuity eligibility requirements “Sec. 2. (a) (1) The following-described individuals, if they shall have completed ten years of service and shall have filed application for annuities, shall, subject to the conditions set forth in subsections (e), (f), and (h), be entitled to annuities in the amounts provided under section 3 of this Act— “(i) individuals who have attained the age of sixty-five; “(ii) individuals who have attained the age of sixty and have completed thirty years of service; “(iii) individuals who have attained the age of sixty-two and have completed less than thirty years of service, but the annuity of such individuals shall be reduced by 1/180 for each calendar month that he or she is under age sixty-five when the annuity begins to accrue; “(iv) individuals who have a current connection with the railroad industry, whose permanent physical or mental condition is such as to be disabling for work in their regular occupation, and who (A) have completed twenty years of service or (B) have attained the age of sixty; and “(v) individuals whose permanent physical or mental condition is such that they are unable to engage in any regular employment. “(2) For the purposes of paragraph (iv) of subdivision (1), the Board, with the cooperation of employers and employees, shall secure the establishment of standards determining the physical and mental conditions which permanently disqualify employees for work in the several occupations in the railroad industry, and the Board, employers, and employees shall cooperate in the promotion of the greatest practicable degree of uniformity in the standards applied by the several employers. An individual’s condition shall be deemed to be disabling for work in his regular occupation if he will have been disqualified by his employer for service in his regular occupation in accordance with the applicable standards so established; if the employee will not have been so disqualified by his employer, the Board shall determine whether his condition is disabling for work in his regular occupation in accordance with the standards generally established; and, if the employee’s regular occupation is not one with respect to which standards will have been established, the standards relating to a reasonably comparable occupation shall be used. If there is no such comparable occupation, the Board shall determine whether the employee’s condition is disabling for work in his regular occupation by determining whether under the practices generally prevailing in industries in which such occupation exists such condition is a permanent disqualification for work in such occupation. For purposes of this subdivision and paragraph (iv) of subdivision (1), an employee’s ‘regular occupation’ shall be deemed to be the occupation in which he will have been engaged in more calendar months than the calendar months in which he will have been engaged in any other occupation during the last88 Stat. 1313 preceding five calendar years, whether or not consecutive, in each of which years he will have earned wages or salary, except that, if an employee establishes that during the last fifteen consecutive calendar years he will have been engaged in another occupation in one-half or more of all the months in which he will have earned wages or salary, he may claim such other occupation as his regular occupation. “(3) Such satisfactory proof shall be made from time to time as prescribed by the Board, of the disability provided for in paragraph (iv) or (v) of subdivision (1) and of the continuance of such disability (according to the standards applied in the establishment of such disability) until the employee attains the age of sixty-five. If the individual fails to comply with the requirements prescribed by the Board as to proof of the continuance of the disability until he attains the age of sixty-five years, his right to an annuity by reason of such disability shall, except for good cause shown to the Board, cease, but without prejudice to his rights to any subsequent annuity to which he may be entitled. “(b) (1) An individual who— “(i) has attained age 60 and completed thirty years of service or attained age 65; “(ii) has completed twenty-five years of service; “(iii) is entitled to the payment of an annuity under subsection (a)(1); and “(iv) had a current connection with the railroad industry at the time such annuity began to accrue; shall, subject to the conditions set forth in subdivision (2) of this subsection and in subsections (e) and (h), be entitled to a supplemental annuity in the amount provided under section 3 of this Act: Provided, however, That in cases where an individual’s annuity under subsection (a)(1) begins to accrue on other than the first day of the month, the amount of any supplemental annuity to which he is entitled for that month shall be reduced by one-thirtieth for each day with respect to which he is not entitled to an annuity under subsection (a)(1). “(2) No individual shall be entitled to a supplemental annuity provided by this subsection for any period after he renders any service as an employee for compensation after his supplemental annuity closing date, which is the last day of the month following the month in which he attains age 65: Provided, however, That the supplemental annuity closing date of an individual who attained age 65 prior to January 1, 1975, shall be determined under section 3(j)(4) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937: Provided further, That for an employee whose supplemental annuity closing date occurs after he has completed at least 23 years of service but before he has completed 25 years of service and before he would have been entitled (upon filing an application therefor) to monthly insurance benefits under section 202(a) of the Social Security Act if he had no service as an employee under this Act, such closing date shall be extended to the earlier of (A) the day before the first day of the first month for which he would (on application) be entitled to monthly insurance benefits under section 202(a) of the Social Security Act if he had no service as an employee under this Act, or (B) the last day of the first month for which he qualifies for a supplemental annuity under this subsection. “(3) The provisions of subdivision (2) shall not supersede the provisions of any agreement reached through collective bargaining which provides for mandatory retirement at an age less than the applicable supplemental annuity closing date determined under such subdivision. “(c) (1) The spouse of an individual, if— “(i) such individual (A) is entitled to an annuity under subsection (a)(1) and (B) has attained the age of 60 and has com-88 Stat. 1314pleted thirty years of service or has attained the age of 62, and “(ii) such spouse (A) has attained the age of 65, or (B) has attained the age of 60 and such individual has completed thirty years of service, or (C), in the case of a wife, has in her care (individually or jointly with her husband) a child who meets the qualifications prescribed in paragraph (iii) of subsection (d)(1) (without regard to the provisions of clause (B) of such paragraph), shall, subject to the conditions set forth in subsections (e), (f), and (h), be entitled to a spouse’s annuity, if he or she has filed application therefor, in the amount provided under section 4 of this Act. “(2) A spouse who would be entitled to an annuity under subdivision (1) if he or she had attained the age of 65 may elect upon or after attaining the age of 62 to receive such annuity, but the annuity in any such case shall be reduced by 1/180 for each calendar month that the spouse is under age 65 when the annuity begins to accrue. “(3) For the purposes of this Act, the term ‘spouse’ shall mean the wife or husband of an annuitant under subsection (a)(1) who (i) was married to such annuitant for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the day on which the application for a spouse’s annuity is filed, or in the month prior to his or her marriage to such annuitant was eligible for an annuity under paragraph (i) or (iv) of subsection (d)(1) or, on the basis of disability, under paragraph (iii) thereof, or is the parent of such annuitant’s son or daughter, if, as of the day on which the application for a spouse’s annuity is filed, such wife or husband and such annuitant were members of the same household, or such wife or husband was receiving regular contributions from such annuitant toward her or his support, or such annuitant has been ordered by any court to contribute to the support of such wife or husband; and (ii) in the case of a husband, was receiving at least one-half of his support from his wife at the time his wife’s annuity under subsection (a)(1) began. “(d) (1) The following described survivors of a deceased employee who will have completed ten years of service and will have had a current connection with the railroad industry at the time of his death shall, subject to the conditions set forth in subsections (g) and (h), be entitled to annuities, if they have filed application therefor, in the amounts provided under section 4 of this Act— “(i) a widow (as defined in section 216 (c) and (k) of the Social Security Act) or widower (as defined in section 216 (g) and (k) of the Social Security Act) of such a deceased employee who has not remarried and who (A) will have attained the age of sixty or (B) will have attained the age of fifty but will not have attained age sixty and is under a disability which began before the end of the period prescribed in subdivision (2), and who, in the case of a widower, was receiving at least one-half of his support from the deceased employee at the time of her death or at the time her annuity under subsection (a)(1) began; “(ii) a widow (as defined in section 216 (c) and (k) of the Social Security Act) of such a deceased employee who has not remarried and who (A) is not entitled to an annuity under paragraph (i), and (B) at the time of filing an application for an annuity under this paragraph, will have in her care a child of such deceased employee, which child is entitled to an annuity under paragraph (iii)(other than an annuity payable to a child who has attained age 18 and is not under a disability); “(iii) a child (as defined in section 216 (e) and (k) of the Social Security Act) of such a deceased employee who (A) will be less than eighteen years of age, or (B) will be less than twenty-88 Stat. 1315two years of age and a full-time student at an educational institution, or (C) will, without regard to his age, be under a disability which began before he attained age twenty-two or before the close of the eighty-fourth month following the month in which his most recent entitlement to an annuity under this paragraph terminated because he ceased to be under a disability, and who is unmarried and was dependent upon the employee at the time of the employee’s death; and “(iv) a parent (as defined in section 202(h)(3) of the Social Security Act) of such a deceased employee who (A) will have attained the age of sixty and (B) will have received at least one-half of his or her support from such deceased employee at the time of the employees’ death and (C) will not have remarried after the employee’s death: Provided, however, That no parent will be entitled to an annuity under this paragraph on the basis of the deceased employee’s compensation and years of service in any case where such employee died leaving a widow or widower or a child who is, or who might in the future become, entitled to an annuity under this subsection. “(2) The period referred to in clause (B) of subdivision (1)(i) is the period (i) beginning with the latest of (A) the month of the employee’s death, (B) in the case of a widow, the last month for which she was entitled to an annuity under paragraph (ii) of subdivision (1) as the widow of the deceased employee, or (C) the month in which the widow’s or widower’s previous entitlement to an annuity as the widow or widower of the deceased employee terminated because her or his disability had ceased and (ii) ending with the month before the month in which she or he attains age sixty, or, if earlier, with the close of the eighty-fourth month following the month with which such period began. “(3) For purposes of paragraph (i) or (iii) of subdivision (1), a widow, widower, or child shall be under a disability if her or his permanent physical or mental condition is such that she or he is unable to engage in any regular employment. The provisions of subsection (a)(3) of this section as to the proof of disability shall apply with regard to determinations with respect to disability under subdivision (1). “(4) In determining for purposes of this subsection and subdivision (3) of subsection (c) whether an applicant is the wife, husband, widow, widower, child, or parent of a deceased employee as claimed, the rules set forth in section 216(h) of the Social Security Act shall be applied deeming, for this purpose, individuals entitled to an annuity under subsection (c) to be entitled to benefits under subsection (b) or (c) of section 202 of the Social Security Act and, individuals entitled to an annuity under paragraph (i) or (ii) of subsection (d)(1) to be entitled to a benefit under subsection (e), (f), or (g) of section 202 of the Social Security Act. For purposes of paragraph (iii) of subdivision (1), a child shall be deemed to have been dependent upon his parent employee if the conditions set forth in section 202(d)(3), (4), or (9) of the Social Security Act are fulfilled. The provisions of paragraph (7) of section 202(d) of the Social Security Act (defining the terms ‘full-time student’ and ‘educational institution’) shall be applied by the Board in the administration of this subsection as if the references therein to the Secretary were references to the Board. A child who attains age twenty-two at a time when he is a full-time student (as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (7) of section 202(d) of the Social Security Act and without the application of subparagraph (B) of such paragraph) but has not (at such time) completed the requirements for, or received, a degree from a four-year88 Stat. 1316 college or university shall be deemed (for purposes of determining his continuing or initial entitlement to an annuity under this subsection) not to have attained such age until the first day of the first month following the end of the quarter or semester in which he is enrolled at such time (or, if the educational institution in which he is enrolled is not operated on a quarter or semester system, until the first day of the first month following the completion of the course in which he is enrolled or until the first day of the third month beginning after such time, whichever first occurs). “(e) (1) No individual shall be entitled to an annuity under subsection (a)(1) until he shall have ceased to render compensated service to any person, whether or not an employer as defined in section 1(a) (but with the right to engage in other employment to the extent not prohibited by subdivision (3) or (4) of this subsection or by subsection (f)). As used in this subsection, the term ‘compensated service’ shall not include any service as an elected public official of the United States, a State, or any political subdivision of a State. “(2) An annuity under subsection (a)(1) shall be paid only if the applicant shall have relinquished such rights as he may have to return to the service of an employer and of the person, or persons, by whom he was last employed: Provided, however, That this requirement shall not apply to individuals mentioned in paragraphs (iv) and (v) of subsection (a)(1) prior to attaining age sixty-five: Provided further, That, notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding proviso and of clause (i) of subsection (c)(1) of this section, an annuity shall be paid to the spouse of an individual only if such individual shall have satisfied the requirements of this subdivision without regard to the preceding proviso: And provided further, That, notwithstanding the provisions of the first proviso of this subdivision and of clause (iii) of subsection (b)(1) of this section, a supplemental annuity shall be paid to an individual only if such individual shall have satisfied the requirements of this subdivision without regard to the first proviso thereof. “(3) No annuity under subsection (a)(1) or supplemental annuity under subsection (b)(1) shall be paid with respect to any month in which an individual in receipt of an annuity or supplemental annuity thereunder shall render compensated service to an employer or to the last person, or persons, by whom he was employed prior to the date on which the annuity under subsection (a)(1) began to accrue. Individuals receiving annuities under subsection (a)(1) shall report to the Board immediately all such compensated service. “(4) No annuity under paragraph (iv) or (v) of subsection (a)(1) shall be paid to an individual with respect to any month in which the individual is under age sixty-five and is paid more than $200 in earnings from employment or self-employment of any form: Provided, however, That for purposes of this subdivision, if a payment in any one calendar month is for accruals in more than one calendar month, such payment shall be deemed to have been paid in each of the months in which accrued to the extent accrued in such month. Any such individual under the age of sixty-five shall report to the Board any such payment of earnings for such employment or self-employment before receipt and acceptance of an annuity for the second month following the month of such payment. A deduction shall be imposed, with respect to any such individual who fails to make such report, in the annuity or annuities otherwise due the individual, in an amount equal to the amount of the annuity for each month in which he is paid such earnings in such employment or self-employment, except that the first deduction imposed pursuant to this sentence shall in no case exceed an amount equal to the amount of the annuity otherwise due for the first88 Stat. 1317 month with respect to which the deduction is imposed. If pursuant to the first sentence of this subdivision an annuity was not paid to an individual with respect to one or more months in any calendar year, and it is subsequently established that the total amount of such individual’s earnings during such year as determined in accordance with that sentence (but exclusive of earnings for services described in subdivision (3)) did not exceed $2,400, the annuity with respect to such month or months, and any deduction imposed by reason of the failure to report earnings for such month or months under the third sentence of this subdivision, shall then be payable. If the total amount of such individual’s earnings during such year (exclusive of earnings for services described in subdivision (3)) is in excess of $2,400, the number of months in such year with respect to which an annuity is not payable by reason of such first and third sentences shall not exceed one month for each $200 of such excess, treating the last $100 or more of such excess as $200; and if the amount of the annuity has changed during such year, any payments of annuities which become payable solely by reason of the limitations contained in this sentence shall be made first with respect to the month or months for which the annuity is larger. “(5) The annuity of a spouse under subsection (c) shall, with respect to any month, be subject to the same provisions of this subsection as the individual’s annuity. In addition, the annuity of a spouse under subsection (c) shall not be payable for any month if the individual’s annuity under subsection (a)(1) is not payable for such month by reason of the provisions of this subsection. “(f) (1) That portion of the individual’s annuity as is computed under section 3(a) of this Act on the basis of (A) his compensation and years of service subsequent to December 31, 1974, and (B) his wages and self-employment income derived from employment and self-employment under the Social Security Act and that portion of the individual’s annuity as is computed under section 3(h) of this Act shall be subject to deductions on account of work pursuant to the provisions of section 203 of the Social Security Act in the same manner as if such portion of such annuity were a monthly insurance benefit under that Act: Provided, however, That the provisions of this subdivision shall be applicable to the annuity of an individual only if such individual would be fully insured under the Social Security Act on the basis of wages and self-employment income derived from employment and self-employment under that Act and on the basis of compensation derived from service as an employee after December 31, 1974, if such service as an employee had been included in the term ‘employment’ as defined in that Act. Any person in receipt of an annuity subject to deduction under this subsection shall report to the Board the receipt of excess earnings as defined in paragraph (3) of section 203(f) of the Social Security Act. “(2) That portion of the spouse’s annuity under subsection (c) which is derived from the portion of the individual’s annuity subject to deductions under subdivision (1) and that portion of the spouse’s annuity as is computed under section 4(e) of this Act shall be subject to deductions on account of work pursuant to the provisions of section 203 of the Social Security Act in the same manner as if such portion of such spouse’s annuity were a monthly insurance benefit under that Act. In addition, such portion of the spouse’s annuity shall be subject to deductions if the individual’s annuity is subject to deductions under subdivision (1) in the same manner as if such portion of such spouse’s annuity were a monthly insurance benefit under the Social Security Act. 88 Stat. 1318 “(g) (1) No annuity shall be paid to a survivor under subsection (d) with respect to any month in which such survivor renders service for compensation as an employee of an employer. Survivors receiving annuities under subsection (d) shall report to the Board immediately all such service for compensation. “(2) Deductions, in amounts and at such time or times as the Board shall determine, shall be made from any payments to which a survivor is entitled under subsection (d) until the total of such deductions equals such survivor’s annuity under that subsection for any month, if for such month such survivor is under the age of seventy-two and is charged with excess earnings under section 203(f) of the Social Security Act or, having engaged in any activity outside the United States, would be charged under such section 203(f) with any excess earnings derived from such activity if it had been an activity within the United States. For purposes of this subdivision the Board shall have the authority to take such actions and to make such determinations and such suspensions of payment of benefits in the manner and to the extent that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare would be authorized to take or to make under section 203(h)(3) of the Social Security Act if the survivors were receiving the annuities to which this subdivision applies under section 202 of such Act: Provided, however, That in determining a survivor’s excess earnings for a year for the purposes of this subdivision there shall not be included his income from employment or self-employment during months beginning with the month with respect to which he ceases to be qualified for an annuity. Survivors receiving annuities under subsection (d) shall report to the Board the receipt of excess earnings described in this subdivision. “(h) (1) In the event military service credited under section 3(i)(2) of this Act is or has been used as the basis or as a partial basis for a pension, disability compensation, or any other gratuitous benefits payable on a periodic basis under any other Act of Congress, any annuity of an individual under subsection (a)(1) which is based in part on such military service shall be reduced, with respect to a calendar month for all or part of which such other benefit is also payable, by (i) the proportion which the number of years of service by which such military service increases the years of service bears to the total years of service, or (ii) the aggregate amount of such pension or other benefit with respect to that month, whichever would result in the smaller reduction: Provided, however, That in no case shall the reduction under this subdivision operate to reduce the annuity of an individual under subsection (a)(1) below the amount it would have been if military service had not been included in the individual’s years of service. If the annuity of an individual under subsection (a)(1) is reduced for any month by reason of this subdivision, any annuity payable to the spouse of such individual for such month under subsection (c) shall be reduced proportionately. “(2) The supplemental annuity provided an individual by subsection (b) shall, with respect to any month, be reduced by the amount of the supplemental pension, attributable to the employer’s contribution, that such individual is entitled to receive for that month under any other supplemental pension plan: Provided, however, That the maximum of such reduction shall be equal to the amount of the supplemental annuity less any amount by which the supplemental pension is reduced by reason of the supplemental annuity. “(3) If a spouse entitled to an annuity under subsection (c) or a survivor entitled to an annuity under subsection (d) for any month is also entitled to annuity under subsection (a)(1) for such month, the annuity under subsection (c) or (d) shall be reduced, but not below88 Stat. 1319 zero, by an amount equal to the annuity under subsection (a)(1): Provided, however, That the provisions of this subdivision shall not apply if either the spouse or survivor or the individual upon whose earnings record the spouse’s or survivor’s annuity under subsection (c) or (d) is based rendered service as an employee to an employer, or as an employee representative, prior to January 1, 1975. “(4) If an annuitant is entitled to more than one annuity under subsections (c) and (d) for a month, such annuitant shall be entitled to only the larger of such annuities for such month, except that, if such annuitant so elects, he shall instead be entitled to only the smaller of such annuities for such month.