Rights to benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act also carry responsibilities for reporting events that may affect the payment of these benefits to the employee or to members of the employee’s family. If these events are not reported, benefit overpayments can occur that have to be repaid, sometimes with interest and penalties.
Events that can affect the payment of a railroad retirement annuity and result in overpayments if not promptly reported include:
- entitlement to social security or certain other benefits, and changes in the
amount of such benefit payments; - post-retirement work and earnings;
- the death of an annuitant;
- changes in marital status;
- a child leaving the care of a spouse or widow(er);
- a student ceasing full-time attendance.
Click here to read a release from the RRB that describes how these events affect railroad retirement benefits and what should be done to prevent overpayments.