[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: 20CFR302.5]



[Page 538-539]

 

                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS

 

                  CHAPTER II--RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

 

PART 302_QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE--Table of Contents

 

Sec.  302.5  Accelerated benefit year.



    (a) Eligibility conditions. An employee who is not a qualified 

employee with respect to the benefit year in effect at the time of his 

or her application for benefits may be eligible for an ``accelerated'' 

benefit year if he or she meets all of the following conditions.

    (1) The employee has 10 or more years of service, as defined in part 

210 of this chapter, prior to the beginning of his or her current period 

of unemployment or sickness;

    (2) The employee has satisfied the qualifying conditions as defined 

in Sec.  302.3 of this part with respect to the next succeeding benefit 

year;

    (3) The employee's current period of unemployment or sickness 

includes at least 14 consecutive days of unemployment or 14 consecutive 

days of sickness; and

    (4)(i) If the applicant is claiming unemployment benefits, he or she 

did not voluntarily leave work without good cause or did not voluntarily 

retire, or

    (ii) If the applicant is claiming sickness benefits, he or she has 

not attained age 65 or has not voluntarily retired.

    (b) Beginning date of benefit year. An accelerated benefit year 

begins on the first day of the month during which the employee's period 

of 14 consecutive days of unemployment or 14 consecutive days of 

sickness begins. Thus, for example, if an eligible employee has 14 

consecutive days of unemployment from May 29-June 11, his or her benefit 

year beginning date is May 1, that is, he or she does not have to wait 

until July 1 to begin receiving benefits. If such employee also had a 

claim for the period May 15 to May 28, such claim may then be 

compensable or may serve as the waiting period even though the claim did 

not consist of 14 days of unemployment. His or her benefit year ends 

June 30 of the following year.

    (c) Effect of attaining age 65. If a benefit year begins early for 

the purpose of paying sickness benefits and the employee attains age 65 

before July 1 of



[[Page 539]]



the general benefit year, sickness benefits may not be paid for any day 

from the day on which the employee attained age 65 up to and including 

June 30, but unemployment benefits may be paid in this interim period if 

the employee is otherwise eligible. Sickness benefits may be paid for 

days of sickness beginning July 1 or later. If a benefit year begins 

early for the purpose of paying unemployment benefits, attainment of age 

65 will have no effect on the employee's rights to sickness benefits, 

other than extended sickness benefits, in the accelerated benefit year. 

An employee is deemed to attain age 65 on the day before his or her 

sixty-fifth birthday.