[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: 20CFR216.15]



[Page 212-213]

 

                      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 213]]



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.