[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: 20CFR216.42]

[Page 201]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
                  CHAPTER II--RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
 
PART 216_ELIGIBILITY FOR AN ANNUITY--Table of Contents
 
                     Subpart E_Supplemental Annuity
 
Sec. 216.42  How a private railroad pension affects a supplemental annuity.

    (a) What is a private railroad pension. The Board determines whether 
a pension established by a railroad employer is a private pension that 
will cause a reduction in the employee's supplemental annuity. A private 
pension for purposes of this subpart is a plan that:
    (1) Is a written plan or arrangement which is communicated to the 
employees to whom it applies;
    (2) Is established and maintained by an employer for a defined group 
of employees; and
    (3) Provides for the payment of definitely determinable benefits to 
employees over a period of years, usually for life, after retirement or 
disability. Such a plan is sometimes referred to as a defined benefit 
plan.
    (b) Defined contribution plan. A plan under which the employer is 
obligated to make fixed contributions to the plan regardless of profits 
(sometimes known as a money purchase plan) is a private pension plan. A 
plan under which the employer's contributions are discretionary is not a 
private pension plan under this section.
    (c) Other than retirement benefits. A plan which provides benefits 
not customarily considered retirement benefits (such as unemployment 
benefits, sickness or hospitalization benefits) is not a private pension 
plan under this section.
    (d) Effective date of private railroad pension for supplemental 
annuity purposes. A private pension reduces a supplemental annuity 
payment effective on the first day of the month after the month the 
Board determines that it is a private pension as defined in paragraph 
(a) of this section.
    (e) Effect of private railroad pension. A supplemental annuity is 
reduced by the amount of any private pension the employee is receiving 
which is attributable to an employer's contributions, less any amount by 
which the private pension is reduced because of the supplemental 
annuity. The supplemental annuity is not reduced for the amount of a 
private pension attributable to the employee's contributions. The Board 
will determine the amount of a private pension for any month which is 
attributable to the employee's contributions.