The RRB survivor annuity consists of one or two tiers and, if the particular survivors
are eligible, additional annuity components may be payable.
The amount is based on the deceased's combined RR and SS earnings. It is generally
equivalent to the amount that would have been payable under SS. It may be reduced
for a survivor's entitlement to SS benefits payable on their own or any other person's
SS earnings record, or receipt of a government pension.
NOTE: The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025 and repealed
the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) provisions
which reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits for people who receive a
government pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security (a “non-covered
pension”) because they did not pay Social Security taxes. The RRB refers to the two
repealed provisions (WEP and GPO) as the non-covered service pension (NCSP) reduction,
which affected railroad employees, and the public service pension (PSP) offset, which
applied to spouses, divorced spouses, and widows/widowers. The repeal of these provisions
means that individuals who were previously affected by these reductions will retroactively
have their full tier-I benefit amount restored for months after December 2023, which
is the effective date of the repeal, and for future monthly benefit payments.