[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR217.20]

[Page 214-215]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
                  CHAPTER II--RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
 
PART 217_APPLICATION FOR ANNUITY OR LUMP SUM--Table of Contents
 
                     Subpart C_Filing An Application
 
Sec. 217.20  When a written statement is used to establish the filing 
date.

    (a) Statement filed with the Board. A written statement indicating 
an intent to file a claim for an annuity or lump sum, filed with the 
Board as provided in Sec. Sec. 217.15 and 217.16, can establish the 
filing date of an application. A form set up by the Board to obtain 
information about persons who may be eligible for an annuity or lump sum 
in a particular

[[Page 215]]

case is not by itself considered a written statement for the purpose of 
this section. The Board will use the filing date of the written 
statement if all of the following requirements are met:
    (1) The statement gives a person's clear and positive intent to 
claim an annuity or lump sum for himself or herself or for some other 
person.
    (2) The claimant or a person described in Sec. 217.17 signs the 
statement.
    (3) The person who signed the statement files an application with 
the Board on one of the forms described in part 200 of this chapter 
within 90 days after the date a notice is sent advising the person of 
the need to file an application.
    (4) The claimant is alive when the application is filed except as 
provided in Sec. 217.10.
    (b) Statement filed with the Social Security Administration. A 
written statement filed with the Social Security Administration can be 
used to establish the filing date of an application if, assuming the 
statement were an application, the conditions under Sec. 217.7 are met 
and--
    (1) The statement gives a clear and positive intent to claim 
benefits under title II of the Social Security Act;
    (2) The claimant or a person described in Sec. 217.17 signs the 
statement;
    (3) The statement is sent to the Board by the Social Security 
Administration;
    (4) The person who signed the statement files an application with 
the Board on one of the forms described in part 200 of this chapter 
within 90 days after the date a notice is sent advising the person of 
the need to file an application; and
    (5) The claimant is alive when the application is filed except as 
provided in Sec. 217.10.
    (c) Telephone contact with the Board. If an individual telephones a 
Board office and advises a Board employee that he or she intends to file 
an application but cannot do so before the end of the month, the Board 
employee will prepare and sign a written statement which may be used to 
establish the filing date of an application if all of the following 
requirements are met:
    (1) The inquirer expresses a clear and positive intent to claim 
benefits for himself or herself or for some other person;
    (2) The prescribed application cannot be filed by the end of the 
current month;
    (3) The inquirer is either the potential claimant or the person who 
will file an application as representative payee therefor;
    (4) The inquiry is received by an office of the Board no more than 3 
months before eligibility exists;
    (5) It appears that a loss of benefits might otherwise result;
    (6) The telephone inquirer files an application with the Board on 
one of the forms described in part 200 of this chapter within 90 days 
after the date a notice is sent advising the person of the need to file 
an application; and
    (7) The claimant is alive when the application is filed, except as 
provided in Sec. 217.10 of the part.

[47 FR 7647, Feb. 22, 1982, as amended at 54 FR 13364, Apr. 3, 1989]