RETIRING with 360+ months of service, 60+ years of age
An Employee with 360+ months of service and with the age of 60, can retire anytime. The rule stales that
the first month a person is eligible for retirement would be the month after a person attains the age of 60,
unless that person’s birthday is the 1st of the month, in which case they can retire on their birthday.
EXAMPLE - You turn 60 on December 5th. The first dale you can retire is January 1st. If you wanted to
take your 11 Personal Leave days in January and retire on January 12th, your retirement would be prorated
for the month, with 18 days of retirement on February 1st
With 360 months of service, there is NO age reduction to either your tier 1 or tier 2 retirement.
Railroad Retirement is paid in two parts:
Tier 1 Is the same as Social Security. This is based on your best 35 years of earnings, regardless or
where you worked. Railroad, Military, delivering papers, etc. The total of compensation is indexed to the
year you are going to retire, then divided by 420 to give a monthly average. Then computations are made
from that number. The more you earned working for the Railroad, the more you will make in retirement.
If you have 35 years of maximum Tier 1 earnings, and 360 months of service, the most you can draw per
month is $3,148 at age 60 and 3,895 at age 70.
Tier 2 ls based on your best 5 years of Tier 2 Earnings. If you are making the maximum Tier 2 earnings,
then you would multiply your months or service by about $4.50 per monthly credit.
Example. 420 months of service X $4.50 = $1890 a month in Tier 2 Benefits.
A 60-year-old rail, with 420 months (35 years) of service with maximum compensation would have a
Maximum Railroad Annuity of $3148 + $1890 = $5,038 per month, in retirement.
Go online at WWW.RRB.GOV to set up an account and get a good estimate of your RR Retirement
annuity.
Here is what you need to do to get retired:
The RRB needs Original. or Certified Copies of your Birth Certificate, your significant others Birth
Certificate, your marriage certificate and your DD-214 (if military). These documents can be taken to ANY
RRB Office where they will be scanned. Or, take them to a place where the RRB is having meetings
about Retirement, or you can call the RRB and they will tell you how and where to send your
documents. Your documents will be copied and returned. - You can do this at ANY age. Get your
documentation in the system EARLY!
Once you have chosen a date to retire, you can contact an RRB Office near you and arrange for an
appointment to have an interview, either by phone or in person (post Covid). The RRB will take your
information, set your date for retirement and send you a form AA-1. (If you have procrastinated about
getting your documents to the RRB, you can arrange a way to get them scanned into the system at this
time.)
In addition to the AA-1, You will also need your latest BA-6. which is mailed to you from the RRB every
June. This document shows your latest amount of Railroad Retirement months of service, as of the
previous December 31st. These 2 documents show you qualify for either the 60-30 Iron Road Health
Insurance policies or the National Plan GA-46000 and your spouse qualifies for the National Plan GA-
46000.
Retiree has Iron Road Health Care (UPREHS)
The working Iron Road Health Insurance challenger plan will continue for one month after a month in
which you had 7 work events, on 7 different days. You will have 2 choices for health insurance until you
tum 65.
The 60-30 plan is free, pays at the 80% rate and is capped at $171,000 from 60 until 65 years of age.
The 60-30+ plan costs $260 a month, pays Just like your working challenger plan and is capped at
$500,000 between 60 and 65 years of age.
Depot drug covers Pharmaceuticals for either plan. The $1700 yearly cap is gone, but the
pharmaceuticals are included in that $500,000 cap.
One major difference between the 60-30+ and the Challenger plan is that with Challenger you have up to
30 physical therapy visits per year. But with the 60-30+ you have a cap of $1500.
Retiree has the National Plan Health care (BC/BS - UHC - AETNA)
The working National Health Insurance plan will continue for one month after a month in which you had 7
work events, on 7 different days. The GA-46000 will be available to the retiree until the age of 65. This
policy pays at the 80% rate and has a $171,000 lifetime cap.
A Supplemental for the GA-46000 can be purchased for $315 per month that pays 70% of the 20% that
the GA-46000 does not pay, making this a 94% policy. The Supplemental also adds $500,000 to the
lifetime cap.
Express Scripts covers Pharmaceuticals for this plan.
Vision is NOT covered. You can COBRA this coverage for 18 months at $3.88 per month.
Dental is NOT covered. You can COBRA this coverage for 18 months at $26.04 per month.
Cobra is continued thru United Health Care and must be paid monthly or quarterly lo UHC.
First Retirement check will come the 1st of the month after the first full month you retire in.
Example - You retire on March 31. Your first check will come on May 1st.
Example- You retire on March 15th. Your first check would usually come on May 1st, for 16 days of prorated
retirement and the month of April's retirement pay. Although You may get a check on April 1st for
16 days. It can work either way.
Have a spouse?
At the age of 60, and with at least one year of marriage, the spousal Retirement Annuity would be 50% of
your tier 1 and 45% of your tier 2.
Health Insurance on your Spouse?
When you retire, your spouse is entitled to the National Plan GA-46000, under United Health Care. It will
start the month after you had a month with 7 work events in it.
The spouse can go on this GA-46000, regardless of age, when the employee with 360+ Months
retires. The spouse can stay on this policy until the employee qualifies for Medicare, or would have
qualified for Medicare.
Example: Employee retires on birthday at age 60, passes on 2 months later. A 45-year-old spouse can
stay on the GA-46000 for another 4 years and 10 months.
The GA-46000 pays at 80% and has a $171 ,000 lifetime cap.
There Is a Supplemental to the GA-46000 that costs $315 per month. II will pay 70% of the 80% that the
GA-46000 does not pay. This makes the Health Insurance pay at 94%. The Supplemental adds
$500,000 to the lifetime cap.
Prescriptions are provided through Express Scripts.
Have dependent children under 26 when you retire?
If the children stay in school, they can qualify for health, dental and vision benefits until age
26. The Insurance company will require proof that the child is taking a full-time school load and has not
taken a job that provides insurance or has gotten married.
If child Is NOT enrolled in school after 19 years of age, then the child can qualify for Health benefits, no
denial or vision, if the child remains unmarried and is not employed at a job where they could
qualify for health benefits.
All RETIREE INSURANCE POLICIES AT: www.yourtracktoheallh.com
Want to work in Retirement?
Once retired, you cannot make over $25, In any one month for any job that pays into Railroad Retirement,
either the Railroad or Union work or you will lose your Retirement Annuity for that month.
If you want to work between the age of 60 and your full Retirement Age (66 -67), you can make up to
$18,960 per year. If you make more than that, you will lose $1 for every $2 you make. You can make all
$18,960 in one month, then not work again and have NO effect on your Retirement.
After your full retirement age (FRA), you can make all you want and it will NOT affect your Retirement at
all, if you do not work for a Railroad, Union, or your last non-railroad previous employer.
Spouse wants to work in Retirement?
Rules are the same. Will lose $1 of retirement for every $2 they make over $18,960 per year, until at full
retirement age (FRA). Must not work at their last non-railroad employer before retirement.
Can Retired Employee or Spouse work the last job they had pre-retirement:
YES, but there is a stiff penalty.
Example: Your wife worked for Joann's Fabric shop before retirement. After retirement she wants to
occasionally worked for Joann's. The penalty will be to lose $1 for every $2 from the first dollar made on her
Tier 2 Railroad annuity, up to 50%.
Employee would be the same. Say an employee started working for Ace Hardware occasionally, before
they retired. If the employee works for Ace after he retires, they will lose $1 for every $2 made, from the
first Dollar.
However, if the wife went to Target and the husband went to True Value after retirement, then they both
could work up to the $18,960 per year, without losing any retirement.
Do not try to make sense of this, it is just the rules.
Can a Widow work at their last pre-retirement non railroad employer?
Yes, they can and with no retirement reductions if they stay under the $18,960 per year.
HOW DOES GETTING FIRED AFFECT MY RETIREMENT INSURANCE:
With Iron Road Health Insurance, you have to part with the UP on good terms or you do not qualify for the
60-30 or 60-30+ Insurance plans. You can get your retirement money, just not the GREAT rates on
Health Insurance for the employee. Spouse Insurance availability Is not affected because they are on the
National Plan.
You can cobra the working iron road challenger plan for $621.00 per month.
updated 7-1-2021