In 1951, RR compensation and SS earnings were first coordinated for life benefits. If the RR worker had less than 120 months of RR service at the time of retirement or disability onset, the RRB transferred the compensation earned to the Social Security Administration (SSA) to treat as wages for title II insured status and benefit computations.

If a RR worker met insured status under both programs, each agency awarded benefits. However, the 1974 amendments drastically changed the way the RRB and the SSA pay retirement benefits.

In 1974, RR compensation and SS earnings were coordinated for survivor benefits. If the deceased RR worker had 120 or more months of RR work and a current connection (for additional information on current connection, see RS 01601.100B.6), the SSA transferred the SS earnings to the RRB. If the deceased RR worker had less than 120 months of RR work or no current connection, the RRB transferred the RR compensation to the SSA. Only one agency can award survivors benefits on a deceased RR worker's record.

The RR Act of 1974 restructured the RR system to assure its long-term actuarial soundness. It represented a major change in the relationship and coordination of RR and SS benefits.

The most significant change for the SSA was the certification, under certain conditions, of SS benefits to the RRB rather than to Treasury. When the SSA certifies payment to the RRB, the RRB offsets the tier I annuity amount to account for entitlement to SS benefits and pays a single combined benefit check.

In certain cases, the SSA certifies SS benefits to the RRB even when the claimant is not concurrently entitled to a RR annuity, but is potentially eligible for a future annuity. In such cases, the claimant receives only the full SS benefit certified to the RRB, which in turn the RRB certifies to Treasury for payment.

NOTE: Prior to 1975, a person entitled to benefits under both RR and SS received two checks, one from each agency, even though there was a limited SS offset in effect at that time.

The 1981 amendments to the RR Act of 1974:

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  provided for RR annuities for divorced spouses and certain divorced widow(er)s,

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  altered some annuity computations, and

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  included various other changes, some of which affected SSA’s coordination with RRB.

The 2001 amendments to the RR Act of 1974 eased the minimum vesting requirement for RR benefits for RR workers and their survivors. Effective January 01, 2002, RR workers and their survivors meet the minimum vesting requirement for RR benefits, if the RR worker had:

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  10 years (120 months) of RR covered service under the RR Act; or

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  at least 5 years (60 months) of RR service, all of which accrued after December 31, 1995.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 provides for the payment of a RR annuity to an independently entitled divorced spouse effective August 17, 2007.