[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR216.15]

[Page 194-195]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
                  CHAPTER II--RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
 
PART 216_ELIGIBILITY FOR AN ANNUITY--Table of Contents
 
         Subpart B_Current Connection With the Railroad Industry
 
Sec. 216.15  Special current connection test.

    (a) For survivor annuities. An employee who does not have a current 
connection under the regular test has a current connection only to 
qualify an individual for a survivor annuity if:
    (1) The employee would not be fully or currently insured under 
section 214 of the Social Security Act if his or her railroad 
compensation after 1936 were treated as social security earnings;
    (2) The employee has no quarters of coverage as defined in section 
213 of the Social Security Act; or
    (3) The employee received a pension or a retirement annuity that 
began before 1948 based on at least 114 months of service.
    (b) For survivor and supplemental annuities. An employee who does 
not have a current connection under the regular test has a current 
connection in order

[[Page 195]]

to pay a supplemental or survivor annuity if he or she meets all of the 
following requirements:
    (1) Has been credited with at least 25 years of railroad service;
    (2) Stopped working in the railroad industry ``involuntarily and 
without fault'' on or after October 1, 1975, or was on furlough, leave 
of absence or absent for injury on that date;
    (3) Did not decline an offer of employment in the same ``class or 
craft'' as his or her most recent railroad service; and
    (4) Was alive on October 1, 1981.
    (c) ``Involuntarily and without fault'' defined. An employee is 
considered to have stopped railroad employment involuntarily and without 
fault if:
    (1) The employee loses his or her job;
    (2) The employee could not, through the exercise of seniority 
rights, remain in railroad service in the same class or craft as his or 
her most recent railroad service, regardless of the location where that 
service would be performed; and
    (3) The employee did not lose his or her job because of poor job 
performance, misconduct, medical reasons or other action or inaction on 
the part of the employee.
    (d) Effect of separation allowance. An employee who accepts a 
separation allowance and in so doing relinquishes his or her seniority 
rights to railroad employment is deemed to have voluntarily terminated 
his or her railroad service. However, if the employee stopped railroad 
employment involuntarily and without fault, as defined in paragraph (c) 
of this section, receipt of a separation allowance will not affect a 
current connection under paragraph (b) of this section.
    (e) ``Class or craft'' defined. The terms``class or craft,'' as used 
in this section, have the same meaning as they do generally in the 
railroad industry.
    (f) For supplemental annuities only. An additional special current 
connection test is required for an individual who was receiving a 
disability annuity which terminated due to the individual's recovery 
from disability. If the individual becomes entitled to a new annuity, a 
new current connection test based on the new annuity beginning date must 
be made. This test is made using the rules contained in Sec. Sec. 
216.13 and 216.17.