[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR220.17]

[Page 266-267]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
                  CHAPTER II--RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
 
PART 220_DETERMINING DISABILITY--Table of Contents
 
 Subpart C_Disability Under the Railroad Retirement Act for Work in an 
                 Employee's Regular Railroad Occupation
 
Sec.  220.17  Recovery from disability for work in the regular occupation.

    (a) General. Disability for work in the regular occupation will end 
if--
    (1) There is medical improvement in the annuitant's impairment(s) to 
the extent that the annuitant is able to perform the duties of his or 
her regular occupation; or
    (2) The annuitant demonstrates the ability to perform the duties of 
his or her regular occupation. The Board provides a trial work period 
before terminating a disability annuity because of the annuitant's 
return to work.
    (b) Definition of the trial work period. The trial work period is a 
period during which the annuitant may test his or her ability to work 
and still be considered occupationally disabled. It begins and ends as 
described in paragraph (e) of this section. During this period, the 
annuitant may perform ``services'' (see paragraph (c) of this section) 
in as many as 9 months, but these months do not have to be consecutive. 
The Board will not consider those services as showing that the 
annuitant's occupational disability has ended until the annuitant has 
performed services in at least 9 months. However, after the trial work 
period has ended, the Board will consider the work the annuitant did 
during the trial work period in determining whether the annuitant's 
occupational disability has ended at any time after the trial work 
period.
    (c) What the Board means by services in an occupational disability 
case. When used in this section, ``services'' means any activity which, 
even though it may not be substantial gainful activity as defined in 
Sec.  220.141, is--
    (1) Done by a person in employment or self-employment for pay or 
profit, or is the kind normally done for pay or profit; and
    (2) The activity is a return to the same duties of the annuitant's 
regular occupation or the activity so closely approximates the duties of 
the regular occupation as to demonstrate the ability to perform those 
duties.
    (d) Limitations on the number of trial work periods. The annuitant 
may have only one trial work period during each period in which he or 
she is occupationally disabled.

[[Page 267]]

    (e) When the trial work period begins and ends. (1) The trial work 
period begins with whichever of the following calendar months is the 
latest--
    (i) The annuity beginning date;
    (ii) The month after the end of the appropriate waiting period; or
    (iii) The month the application for disability is filed.
    (2) The trial work period ends with the close of whichever of the 
following calendar months is the earlier--
    (i) The ninth month (whether or not the months have been 
consecutive) in which the annuitant performed services; or
    (ii) The month in which new evidence, other than evidence relating 
to any work the annuitant did during the trial work period, shows that 
the annuitant is not disabled, even though the annuitant has not worked 
a full nine months. The Board may find that the annuitant's disability 
has ended at any time during the trial work period if the medical or 
other evidence shows that the annuitant is no longer disabled.