208.1 208.2 208.5 208.7 208.9 208.11 208.15 Statutory provisions. Current connection with the rail- Annuities for employees. Establishment of permanent disa- Cessation of service to a local lodge or division. 208.17 Establishment of permanent disability for any regular employment. 208.25 Proof of continuance of disability. 208.27 Disability annuitant to notify of recovery from disability and of employment or self-employment. 208.29 Cessation of disability annuities. 208.31 Cessation of disability annuity not prejudicial to further eligibility. AUTHORITY: The provisions of this Part 208 issued under secs. 2, 10, 50 Stat. 309, as amended, 314, as amended; 45 U.S.C. 228b, 228j, except as otherwise noted. § 208.1 Statutory provisions. (a) The following-described individuals, if they shall have been employees on or after the enactment date, and shall have completed ten years of service, shall, subject to the conditions set forth in subsections (b), (c), and (d), be eligible for annuities after they shall have ceased to render compensated service to any person, whether or not an employer as defined in section 1 (a) (but with the right to engage in other employment to the extent not prohibited by subsection (d)): (1) Individuals who on or after the enactment date shall be sixty-five years of age or over. (2) Women who will have attained the age of sixty and will have completed thirty years of service. (3) Men who will have attained the age of sixty and will have completed thirty years of service, or individuals who will have attained the age of sixty-two and will have completed less than thirty years of service, but the annuity of such men or such individuals shall be reduced by 180 for each calendar month that he or she is under age sixty-five when the annuity begins to accrue. (4) Individuals having a current connection with the railroad industry, and whose permanent physical or mental condition is such as to be disabling for work in their regular occupation, and who (1) will have completed twenty years of service or (ii) will have attained the age of sixty. The Board, with the cooperation of employers and employees, shall secure the establishment of standards determining the physical and mental conditions which permanently disqualify employees for work in the several occupations in the railroad industry, and the Board, employers, and employees shall cooperate in the promotion of the greatest practicable degree of uniformity in the standards applied by the several employers. An individual's condition shall be deemed to be disabling for work in his regular occupation if he will have been disqualified by his employer because of disability for service in his regular occupation in accordance with the applicable standards so established; if the employee will not have been so disqualified by his employer, the Board shall determine whether his condition is disabling for work in his regular occupation in accordance with the standards generally established; and, if the employee's regular occupation is not one with respect to which standards will have been established, the standards relating to a reasonably comparable occupation shall be used. If there is no such comparable occupation, the Board shall determine whether the employee's condition is disabling for work in his regular occupation by determining whether under the practices generally prevailing in industries in which such occupation exists such condition is a permanent disqualification for work in such occupation. For the purposes of this section, an employee's "regular occupation" shall be deemed to be the occupation in which he will have been engaged in more calendar months than the calendar months in which he will have been engaged in any other occupation during the last preceding five calendar years, whether or not consecutive, in each of which years he will have earned wages or salary, except that, if an employee establishes that during the last fifteen consecutive calendar years he will have been engaged in another occupation in one-half or more of all the months in which he will have earned wages or salary, he may claim such other occupation as his regular occupation; or (5) Individuals whose permanent physical or mental condition is such that they are unable to engage in any regular employment. Such satisfactory proof shall be made from time to time as prescribed by the Board, of the disability provided for in paragraph 4 or 5 and of the continuance of such disability (according to the standards applied in the establishment of such disability) until the employee attains the age of sixty-five. If the individual fails to comply with the requirements prescribed by the Board as to proof of the continuance of the disability until he attains the age of sixty-five years, his right to an annuity by reason of such disability shall, except for good cause shown to the Board, cease, but without prejudice to his rights to any subsequent annuity to which he may be entitled. If before attaining the age of sixty-five an employee in receipt of an annuity under paragraph 4 or 5 is found by the Board to be no longer disabled as provided in said paragraphs his annuity shall cease upon the last day of the month in which he ceases to be so disabled. If after cessation of his disability annuity the employee will have acquired additional years of service, such additional years of service may be credited to him with the same effect as if no annuity had previously been awarded to him. (b) An annuity shall be paid only if the applicant shall have relinquished such rights as he may have to return to the service of an employer and of the person by whom he was last employed; but this requirement shall not apply to the individuals mentioned in subdivision 4 and subdivision 5 of subsection (a) prior to attaining age sixty-five. (c) An annuity shall begin to accrue as of a date to be specified in a written application (to be made in such manner and form as may be prescribed by the Board and to be signed by the individual entitled thereto), but: (1) not before the date following the last day of compensated service of the applicant, and (2) Not more than twelve months before the filing of the application. (Sec. 2, 50 Stat. 309, 310, as amended; 45 U. S. C. 228b.) [12 F.R. 859, Feb. 6, 1947, as amended by Board Order 55-89, 20 F.R. 3706, May 27, 1955; Board Order 60-8, 25 F.R. 720, Jan. 28, 1960; Board Order 62-33, 27 F.R. 3321, Apr. 7, 1962] § 208.2 Employee status. To be eligible for an annuity an individual, in addition to other qualifications, must have been an employee on August 29, 1935, or, if not an employee on that date, he must have rendered service subsequent to December 31, 1936, as an employee. (Sec. 1, 50 Stat. 307, as amended; 45 U.S.C. 228a) [12 F.R. 861, Feb. 6, 1947] § 208.5 Current connection with the railroad industry. (a) An individual will have had a current connection with the railroad industry at the time an annuity begins to accrue to him if he will have had a period of 30 consecutive calendar months which meets the following requirements: First, that period must have ended before an annuity begins to accure to him in accordance with Part 214 of this chapter. Second, during that period he must have been in service as an employee in at least 12 calendar months. Third, if there was any interval between the end of the 30-month period and the month in which an annuity begins to accrue to him, he must not, in that interval, have been engaged in any regular employment other than service for an employer. (For statutory provisions, see § 237.101 of this chapter.) (b) For the purposes of this part and § 225.5 of this chapter, "regular employment" shall mean full- or part-time employment for remuneration by an individual for a person (as defined in § 201.1 (j) of this chapter) on a continuing or recurring basis. Self-employment shall not be considered "regular employment." An individual performing employment for remuneration, whether or not under a contract, shall be deemed to be in the employ of a person unless such employment is performed as a part of his independently established trade, business or occupation. An individual shall be deemed to have been engaged in "regular employment" in the interval between the end of the last 30-month period in which he had been in service as an employee in 12 calendar months and the month in which an annuity begins to accrue to him if he worked for one or more persons in any three consecutive calendar quarters wholly or partially within such interval and earned wages of at least $300 for work in each of any two consecutive calendar quarters wholly or partially within such interval even though such two quarters do not fall within a three-consecutive-calendar-quarter pe riod of work. (c) A determination as to whether or not an individual will have had a current connection with the railroad industry made on or after June 8, 1960, shall be made under the provisions of this section. In any case in which a disability annuity under § 208.7(a) (3), a minimum annuity under § 225.5 of this chapter, or a spouse's annuity under § 232.202(c) of this chapter has previously been denied because the individual did not have a current connection with the railroad industry under the provisions of this section as in effect prior to June 8, 1960, the decision denying the claim in whole or in part may be reopened and reconsidered under the provisions of this section: Provided, however, That any annuity or increase in annuity for which an individual may be found entitled shall not be retroactive more than 12 months before the date of such reopening. [Board Order 60-99, 25 F.R. 5764, June 23. 1960] § 208.7 Annuities for employees. (a) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, an individual who has been an employee on or after August 29, 1935, has completed 10 years of service, and has ceased to render service for compensation to any person, whether or not an employer under the act, is eligible for an annuity if : (1) The individual has attained the age of 65, or the individual is a woman, and (i) has attained the age of 60 and (ii) has completed at least 354 months of service, or (2) The individual is a man who has attained age 60 and has completed at least 354 months of service, or the individual is a man or woman who has attained age 62 and has completed less than 354 months of service, but the annuity of such an individual shall be reduced by 180 for each calendar month during all of which he or she is under age 65 when the annuity begins to accrue, or (3) The individual has a current connection with the railroad industry and his permanent physical or mental condition is such as to be disabling for work in his regular occupation, and (i) has completed at least 234 months of service, or (ii) has attained the age of 60, or (4) The physical or mental condition of the individual is such that he is unable to engage in any regular employment. (b) No annuity shall be certified for payment to an individual until such time as he has filed with the Board a duly executed application form, has established by proof satisfactory to the Board that he possesses all the qualifications therefor, and, except for an individual whose eligibility for an annuity is determined in accordance with paragraph (a) (3) or (4) of this section, has relinquished rights to return to service as required by Part 216 of this chapter. In no case shall an annuity begin to accrue earlier than (1) twelve months prior to the date upon which the application therefor was filed with the Board, or (2) the day following the last day of the applicant's compensated service: Provided, however, That where such date falls on the thirty-first day of any month the annuity shall begin to accrue on the first day of the following month. individual whose eligibility for an annuity is determined in accordance with paragraph (a) (3) or (4) of this section, 33-584-65- -10 An shall relinquish rights to return to service as required by Part 216 of this chapter upon his attainment of age 65. (c) Except as provided in § 208.31 and in section 407 of the 1946 amendments to the Railroad Retirement Act, enacted as Public Law 572, 79th Cong., after an annuity has been awarded to an individual, he shall not be eligible for a new or additional annuity, by reason of acquiring, after the annuity awarded him began to accrue, any additional eligibility qualifications. [12 F.R. 861, Feb. 6, 1947, as amended by Board Order 55-89, 20 F.R. 3706, May 27, 1955; Board Order 60-8, 25 F.R. 720, Jan. 28, 1960; Board Order 62-33, 27 F.R. 3321, Apr. 7, 1962] § 208.9 Regular occupation defined. For the purpose of an annuity under § 208.7(a) (3), an individual's regular occupation shall be his occupation in the railroad industry in which (a) he has been engaged in service for hire, including service for hire outside the railroad industry, in more calendar months than the calendar months in which he has been engaged in service for hire in any other occupation, whether or not in the railroad industry, during the last preceding five calendar years, whether or not consecutive, or (b) he has been engaged in service for hire, including service for hire outside the railroad industry, in not less than one-half of all the months in which he has been engaged in service for hire, whether or not in the railroad industry, during the last preceding 15 consecutive calendar years. [12 F.R. 861, Feb. 6, 1947] § 208.11 Establishment of permanent disability for work in the applicant's "regular occupation". (a) An individual's physical or mental condition shall be deemed to be permanently disabling for work in his "regular occupation," whether or not he has been disqualified for such work by his employer, if, in accordance with the occupational disability standards established by the Board, he is physically or mentally unable to perform the duties of such occupation, and the facts of his physical or mental condition afford a reasonable basis for an inference that such condition is permanent. The cause of the disabling physical or mental condition is immaterial. If the employee's regular occupation is one with respect to which occupational disability standards have not been established by the Board, the occupational disability standards established by the Board for a reasonable comparable occupation in the railroad industry shall govern the determination of the individual's inability to work in his regular occupation; and in the absence of such comparable occupation, such determination shall be made by ascertaining whether under the practices generally prevailing in other industries having such occupation, the individual's physical or mental condition is a permanent disqualification for work in his regular occupation. The condition of permanent disability for work in the individual's regular occupation must be established in each particular case in the manner and to the extent prescribed by the Board. (b) In the case of an individual whose last employment was as an officer or employee of a railway labor organization, including a subordinate unit "employer" and to whom continuance in such employment is not available, the disability standards to be applied shall be those applicable to the position to which the individual holds seniority rights or from which he left to assume a position with a railway labor organization. [Board Order 53-85, 18 F. R. 2335, Apr. 22, 1953] § 208.15 Cessation of service to a local lodge or division. In determining whether an individual has ceased to render compensated service to a local lodge or division of a railway-labor-organization employer the Board shall not consider as a day of compensated service any day in any month with respect to which month the individual earned compensation that is required to be disregarded within the provisions of § 222.3 (f) of this chapter. (Sec. 1, 50 Stat. 307, as amended; 45 U.S.C. 228a) [12 F.R. 861, Feb. 6, 1947] § 208.17 Establishment of permanent disability for any regular employ ment. (a) An individual is permanently disabled from engaging in any regular employment whenever his physical or mental condition is such that he is unable to perform regularly, in the usual and customary manner, the substantial and material duties of any regular and gainful employment which is substantial and not trifling, with any employer, whether or not subject to the act, and the facts of his physical or mental condition afford a reasonable basis for an inference that such condition is permanent. (b) The condition of permanent disability for any regular employment must be established in each particular case in the manner and to the extent prescribed by the Board. The following disabilities, while not an exclusive or exhaustive catalogue of conditions under which an individual may be considered permanently disabled from engaging in any regular employment are disabilities from which the Board will presume, in the absence of facts to the contrary, that an individual is so disabled: (1) Loss of, or permanent loss of use of, both feet. (2) Loss of, or permanent loss of use of both hands. (3) Loss of, or permanent loss of use of, one hand and one foot. (4) Permanent industrial blindness (corrected vision of twenty two-hundredths or less in both eyes). (5) Permanent total loss of hearing in both ears (inability to hear the conversational tone of voice at any distance) unless offset or capable of being offset by some practicable device. (6) Permanently helpless or permanently bedridden. (7) Aphonia (complete loss of vocalization (phonetic) from organic, i.e., nonfunctional cause). [12 F.R. 861, Feb. 6, 1947] § 208.25 Proof of continuance of disability. An individual who has been awarded an annuity upon the basis of his having become totally and permanently disabled for regular employment for hire, or upon the basis of his having become permanently disabled for work in his regular occupation, shall, as and whenever notified by the Board, submit any information which the Board may require relating to his employment, including self-employment, and earnings therefrom, while in the receipt of such an annuity, and shall submit to an examination to be made by a physician, or physicians, or a board of physicians, designated by the Board. The Board may at any time or times require additional proof of the continuance of the disability which served as the basis for awarding such annuity. The provisions of this section shall not apply to an individual after he has attained age 65. [Board Order 54-76, 19 F. R. 2160, Apr. 15, 1954] § 208.27 Disability annuitant to notify of recovery from disability and of employment or self-employment. It shall be the duty of an individual awarded an annuity upon the basis of permanent disability for any regular employment, or upon the basis of permanent disability for work in his regular occupation, to notify the Board before he attains age 65 of his recovery from such disability and of any employment or self-employment as prescribed in § 217.3 of this chapter. [Board Order 60-8, 25 F.R. 720, Jan. 28, 1960] of disability § 208.29 Cessation the annuitant shows good cause for such noncompliance. [Board Order 60-8, 25 F.R. 720, Jan. 28, 1960] § 208.31 Cessation of disability annuity not prejudicial to further eligibility. The cessation pursuant to section 208.29 of a disability annuity shall not prejudice any rights of the individual, formerly in receipt of such annuity, to any annuity to which he may thereafter become entitled; and for such purpose, years of service acquired by such an individual whose annuity shall have so ceased prior to age 65 may be credited with the same effect as if no annuity had previously been awarded. [Board Order 60-8, 25 F.R. 720, Jan. 28, 1960] an Sec. 209.1 209.3 nuities. (a) An annuity awarded to an individual upon the basis of his having become permanently disabled for any regular employment, or upon the basis of his having become permanently disabled for work in his regular occupation, shall cease before the individual attains age 65 as of the last day of: (1) The month in which he recovers from such disability; or (2) The month preceding the month in which he dies, regardless of his age; or (3) The month following the month in which a notice was mailed to him requiring him to furnish additional proof of the continuance of his disability, if he failed to comply with such notice; or (4) The month in which the Board receives notice of his failure to appear for, or submit to, a required examination; or (5) The month in which he was required to furnish the Board with any information relating to employment, earnings and his physical or mental condition, if he failed to furnish such information. (b) The annuity of an individual based upon either the disability described in § 208.7(a) (3) or (4) who fails to relinquish rights to return to service in accordance with Part 216 of this chapter shall be suspended as of the end of the month in which he attains age 65. (c) Annuity payments which ceased by reason of noncompliance with the provisions of one or more of paragraphs (a) (3) through (5) of this section shall be restored if within a reasonable time PART 209-MILITARY SERVICE 209.4 209.12 209.13 (a) For the purposes of determining eligibility for an annuity and computing an annuity, including a minimum annuity, there shall also be included in an individual's years of service, within the limitations hereinafter provided in this section, voluntary or involuntary military service of an individual within or without the United States during any war service period, including such military service prior to the date of enactment of this amendment: Provided, however, That such military service shall be included only subject to and in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of section 3, in the same manner as though military service were service rendered as an employee: Provided further, That an individual who entered military service prior to a war service period shall not be regarded as having been in military service in a war service period with respect to any part of the period for which he entered such military service. (b) For the purpose of this section and section 202, as amended, an individual shall be deemed to have been in "military service" when commissioned or enrolled in the active service of the land or naval forces of the United States and until resignation or discharge therefrom; and the service of any individual in any reserve component of the |