Nov
13
2012
By sheibj
I will be 65 in a few months, and have questions about retirement and benefits. I am still working full-time, my ex-husband is retired from the Railroad. I have Social Security benefits, and my question is how will my benefits be affected with the Railroad retirement Tier 1 and Tier 2 benefits? We were married for twenty years and have been divorced for twenty two years. I have not remarried and he has already retired from the railroad. If I should retire when I turn 66, will my social security benefits be deducted from the divorced spousal annuity I should receive from the railroad, and will I only receive the difference between the two benefits? ?Thank you.
Divorced spouse of Retired Railroad employee
We're not experts on the Railroad Retirement Program, so I recommend contacting the SSA directly for this.
I did, however, find useful excerpts from the following document :
http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v68n2/v68n2p41.html
The (1981) legislation also instituted nonrevenue-directed provisions, such as extending benefits to divorced spouses under the same conditions as those that apply under Social Security.
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Divorced spouses are eligible for Tier I spousal benefits under the same conditions as those that apply to Social Security.
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As with Social Security, RRB survivor benefits can be paid to widows, widowers, divorced spouses, dependent parents, and children who are under age 18, 18–19 years old and a full-time student (12th grade or below), or disabled prior to age 22.
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Surviving divorced spouses are eligible to receive benefits if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, up to the Tier I amount (RRB 2006c). Surviving divorced spouses can also receive a payment for dependent children under age 16, or for a child in their care who became disabled prior to age 22 (in such cases, the length-of-marriage rule does not apply). To be eligible for widow or widower benefits, the recipient must not have remarried, unless the remarriage occurred after age 60, or after age 50 if disabled before the remarriage (RRB 2007c).
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In addition to workers, Tier II benefits are provided to current spouses and survivors, while divorced spouses can only receive these benefits as part of a property settlement.