RB-9s, Events that Affect a Survivor Annuity

CURRENT

EVENTS THAT AFFECT

A SURVIVOR ANNUITY

United States of America
Railroad Retirement Board

Visit our Web site at www.rrb.gov
RB-9s (03-09)

Events That Must Be Reported

●

If you file for any social security benefits or if there is a
change in the amount of those benefits.

●

If you file for a public service pension from a Federal,
State, or local government.

●

If there is a change in your earnings estimate.

●

If you begin working for any railroad employer.

●

If there is a change in your mailing address.

●

If any person for whom you are receiving an annuity dies
or leaves your care.

●

If you are receiving a disability annuity and your
condition improves or you become able to work.

●

If there is a change in your marital status.

●

If a qualifying child leaves your care, marries, or dies.

●

If there is a change in your school attendance.

Introduction

R

ights to benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act
also carry responsibilities for reporting events that
may affect the payment of these benefits.

This booklet describes the different events that will affect your
survivor annuity. You should be aware of these events and
notify the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) immediately if
any apply to you or someone you are receiving annuity
payments on behalf of.
The events you should report can affect:
●

the amount of the monthly payment; or

●

the total amount which can be paid during the year; or

●

whether we can continue to pay an annuity at all.

Keep this booklet handy and refer to it occasionally to see if
you need to report an event to the RRB. Failure to promptly
notify the RRB can result in an overpayment that could cause
the annuity to be suspended, and may result in the assessment
of interest and penalties.

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Responsibility For Reporting Events To The RRB
If you are receiving your own annuity, it is your responsibility
to report the events that affect your annuity. If you are receiving
annuity payments on behalf of someone who is unable to
handle his or her own funds, you are responsible for knowing if
anything has happened which would affect that person’s
annuity and for making the necessary report to the RRB.

If You Fail To Report An Event
Failure to promptly notify the RRB can result in an
overpayment that could cause the annuity to be suspended and
may result in the assessment of interest and penalties. Failure
to promptly report an event that results in an overpayment will
generally constitute “fault” on your part, requiring that the
overpayment be repaid.

How To Report An Event
If, at any time, you find that one of the conditions explained in
this booklet applies to you, you should immediately notify the
RRB in writing. The notice should be sent to the nearest RRB
field office. However, if you wish, you may also call or visit that
office. If you need to personally visit one of our field offices,
please call for an appointment. You will not be refused service
if you do not have an appointment, but RRB representatives can
serve you better if an appointment is made.
Most RRB offices are open to the public from 9:00 a.m. until
3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. To locate the nearest RRB
office, visit our Web site at www.rrb.gov or call 877-772-5772.

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Information To Include When Reporting An Event
When you report an event, be sure to include the following
information in your letter:
●

Your railroad retirement claim number. This number
can be found at the top of your application receipt or
on any correspondence from the RRB;

●

the railroad employee’s name;

●

your name (or the annuitant's name if you are reporting
an event for someone else);

●

your address and daytime telephone number;

●

a clear explanation of what event you are reporting;

●

the exact date (month, day, year) that the event
occurred; and

●

the name of your employer and your estimated earnings
for the year if you are reporting work.

Events To Be Reported
The following sections describe the effect certain events will
have on your annuity.

If You Receive Social Security Benefits
The Tier I portion of a survivor annuity is reduced by the amount
of any social security benefit you receive. When you file for
social security benefits, the Social Security Administration will
decide if you are entitled to receive benefits and compute the
amount of the benefit which is payable.
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Usually, the actual payment will be made by the RRB and will
be combined with your regular monthly railroad retirement
payment. If you begin to receive a separate social security
payment, you should notify your local RRB office immediately.
It is your responsibility to notify us. Do not rely on the Social
Security Administration to tell us about your benefits.
You should also notify the RRB if you are receiving separate
social security payments and these benefits are adjusted for a
reason other than a normal cost-of-living increase.

If You Receive A Public Service Pension
In most situations, the Tier I portion of a survivor annuity is
reduced by the amount of any public service pension payments
which you are entitled to receive. A public service pension is
the retirement pay you receive because you worked for the
Federal Government of the United States, a state government,
or any political subdivision of a state, such as a city, county,
town, village or school. If you start to receive a public service
pension, you must notify the RRB.
The RRB should also be notified if there are any changes in the
amount of the public service pension you are receiving or if
you are offered the opportunity to receive a public service
pension payment, but you choose to receive a one-time
payment instead of monthly payments.

Work Outside The Railroad Industry
Work outside the railroad industry may affect your annuity
payments. Whenever you expect your earnings for any year to
be more than the annual earnings exempt amount, you must

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notify the nearest RRB office promptly. If you do not notify us
promptly, you may be paid more than you are due and have to
refund the overpayment. Refer to Form G-77, How Earnings
Affect Payment of Survivor Annuities, for the annual earnings
exempt amounts.
If the previous earnings estimate you furnished should change,
immediately notify the nearest RRB office. For example, if you
stop working or you realize you will not earn as much as you
previously reported, or you work more hours and will increase
your income.
You must continue to report earnings over the annual earnings
exempt amount until you attain full retirement age. Refer to
Booklet RB-17, Survivor Annuities, for a complete explanation
of full retirement age.

Earnings
In general, earnings restrictions apply to gross earnings from
employment and net earnings from self-employment. If your
earnings are from an employer covered under the Social
Security Act, the amount of earnings you should report is the
amount reported for social security (FICA) tax. Net earnings
from self-employment equal the amount of gross income
minus expenses that were reported for social security tax under
the Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA). Add your
earnings from employment and self-employment together to
determine the total earnings for the year.
Do not include as “earnings” any money that you received for
any reason other than work, such as interest from savings,
income investments, gifts, inheritances, buy-outs, pensions or
other retirement benefits.
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For any year in which you will not attain full retirement age,
you will lose $1 in benefits for every $2 of earnings over the
annual exempt amount. For the year in which you attain full
retirement age, you will lose $1 in benefits for every $3 of
earnings over the exempt amount. Beginning with the month
in which you actually attain full retirement age, earnings
restrictions no longer apply.
If you work outside the United States for 45 or more hours in
a month and do not pay FICA or SECA taxes for this work,
you will lose part of your annuity regardless of the amount of
money you earn.

Work In The Railroad Industry
You cannot be paid an RRB survivor benefit for any month in
which you worked for a railroad or other employer in the
railroad industry. This applies no matter how old you are or how
much money you earn from that work. You must notify the
RRB immediately if you go to work for the railroad industry.

Change Of Address
To avoid a delay in receiving your check or important
information, notify the nearest RRB office immediately if you
change your address. It is important to report all changes to the
RRB even if your payments are sent directly to a financial
institution. Even if you are on direct deposit, the RRB still keeps
your home mailing address on record. This mailing address is
used to send any material other than your payments to you (such
as notices of cost-of-living increases, Medicare information,
new annual earnings exempt amounts, and tax statements). If
you do not report your change of address and your payments are
on direct deposit, the RRB cannot be responsible for any
important information that you do not receive.
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To notify the RRB of a change of address, write or call your
local RRB office and provide the following information:
●

Your RRB claim number;

●

your name;

●

your new address;

●

your old address; and,

●

the date you will start receiving mail at the new
address.

If The Annuitant Dies
An annuity is not payable for the month of death. It is therefore
important to promptly notify your local RRB office if the
annuitant dies. If a check is received after the date of death, it must
be returned to your local office or to the Treasury Department
address on the envelope. If a direct deposit payment is made after
the date of death, you should be aware that the financial institution
is required to remove the amount and return it to the Treasury
Department when they receive notice of death. While we realize
that this is a stressful time, the prompt reporting of the death of the
annuitant will prevent the added stress of erroneous payments.

If Your Disability Improves Or You Are Able To
Return To Work
If you are disabled and your condition improves, or your doctor
tells you that you are able to work, or you return to work, you
should promptly tell the nearest RRB field office. These changes
in your status can affect your entitlement to a disability annuity.

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If An Annuitant’s Marital Status Changes Or A
Qualifying Child Leaves Your Care
If you are receiving a survivor annuity, you must notify the nearest
RRB office if you or a child in your care marries after beginning to
receive an annuity. The marriage of a survivor annuitant may cause
either the annuity to terminate or the amount of the annuity to
change. Also, if your annuity is based on having a minor or
disabled child in your care, your annuity will end when the child
leaves your care, marries, or is no longer disabled.

School Attendance
If you are a child who is receiving a student’s annuity, you must
immediately notify the RRB if any of the following events occur:
●

You change schools;

●

you stop attending school and you do not intend to resume
full-time attendance within the next four months;

●

you are temporarily not attending school full-time and you
had originally intended to return to full-time attendance
within four months, but you find you will not be returning
to school or your return will be delayed;

●

you reduced your school attendance to less than full-time,
or less than 20 hours per week; or

●

you start attending school at the request of, or as a
requirement of, an employer.

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Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability

Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and
Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) regulations, no qualified
person may be discriminated against on the basis of disability.
RRB programs and activities must be accessible to all
qualified applicants and beneficiaries, including those who are
vision- or hearing-impaired. Disabled persons needing
assistance (including auxiliary aids or program information in
accessible formats) should contact the nearest RRB office.
Complaints of alleged discrimination by the RRB on the basis
of disability must be filed within 90 days in writing with the
Director of Administration, Railroad Retirement Board,
844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.
Questions about individual rights under this regulation may be
directed to the RRB’s Director of Equal Opportunity at the
same address shown above.

Fraud and Abuse Hot Line

Call the toll-free Fraud & Abuse Hot Line if you have
reason to believe that someone is receiving railroad retirement
benefits to which (s)he is not entitled; that persons responsible
for the financial affairs of minors or incompetent beneficiaries
are misappropriating benefits; or that a doctor, hospital, or
other provider of health care services is performing
unnecessary or inappropriate services or is billing Medicare
for services not received. You may also use the Hot Line to
report any suspected misconduct by a Railroad Retirement
Board (RRB) employee. The Hot Line has been installed by
the RRB’s Inspector General to receive any evidence of fraud
or abuse of the RRB’s benefit programs.
Call (toll-free) 1-800-772-4258. Or you may send your
complaints in writing to: Railroad Retirement Board, OIG,
Hot Line Officer, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois
60611-2092.
Please do NOT call the Inspector General’s Hot Line with
questions about eligibility requirements, delayed claims, or
similar problems. Such matters should be directed to the
nearest RRB field office.