in her care a child who, if her husband were then to die, would be entitled to an annuity under section 5(c) of the act. [Board Order 55-89, 20 F.R. 3712, May 27, 1955, as amended by Board Order 60-13, 25 F.R. 1674, Feb. 26, 1960]

PART 234-ANNUITIES DUE BUT UNPAID AT DEATH

Sec.

234.1 Employee annuities due but unpaid at death.

234.2 Spouse annuities due but unpaid at death.

234.3

Insurance annuities due but unpaid at death.

234.4 Joint and survivor annuities due but unpaid at death.

234.5 234.6

Time of filing application.
Escheat.

AUTHORITY: The provisions of this Part 234 issued under sec. 10, 50 Stat. 314, 45 U.S.C. 228j.

SOURCE: The provisions of this Part 234 contained in Board Order 60-40, 25 F.R. 2419, Mar. 23, 1960, unless otherwise noted.

§ 234.1 Employee annuities due but unpaid at death.

(a) Annuities which will have become due an employee but will not have been paid at the employee's death, if such death shall have occurred after September 1958, shall be paid to the person, if any, who will have been determined by the Board to be such employee's widow or widower and to have been living with (see § 239.6 of this chapter) the employee at the time of the employee's death and who will not have died before receiving payment of such annuities.

(b) If there is no such widow or widower, then such annuities shall be payable to: (1) Any person or persons, equitably entitled thereto, to the extent and in the proportions that he or they shall have paid the burial expenses of the employee and to the extent that he or they will not have been reimbursed under section 5(f) (1) of the act for having paid such expenses. If there is no such person or persons or if the total of such annuities exceeds the amount payable under this subparagraph, such total, or the remainder thereof, as the case may be, shall be paid in the order named and in equal shares to the person or persons in the following groups whose relationship to the employee will have been determined by the Board and who will not have died before receiving payment of

such annuities; (2) children; (3) grandchildren; (4) parents; (5) brothers and sisters.

§ 234.2 Spouse annuities due but unpaid at death.

(a) Annuities which will have become due a spouse but will not have been paid at the spouse's death, if such death shall have occurred after September 1958, shall be paid to the employee from whose employment such spouse's annuity derived and who will not have died before receiving payment of such annuities.

(b) If the employee died before receiving payment, such annuities shall then be paid as provided in § 234.1(b) as if they were annuities due the employee but unpaid at the time of such employee's death.

§ 234.3

Insurance annuities due but unpaid at death.

(a) Insurance annuities which will have become due a survivor of an employee but will not have been paid at the survivor's death, if such death shall have occurred after September 1958, shall be paid to the person, if any, who will have been determined by the Board to be such employee's widow or widower and to have been living with (see § 239.6 of this chapter) the employee at the time of the employee's death and who will not have died before receiving payment of such annuities.

(b) If there is no such widow or widower, such annuities shall be paid in the order named and in equal shares to the person or persons in the following groups whose relationship to the employee will have been determined by the Board and who will not have died before receiving payment of such annuities: (1) Children; (2) grandchildren; (3) parents; (4) brothers and sisters.

§ 234.4 Joint and survivor annuities due but unpaid at death.

Survivor annuities pursuant to an election which will have become due a survivor of an employee but will not have been paid at the survivor's death, if such death shall have occurred after September 1958, shall be paid in the order named and in equal shares to the person or persons in the following groups whose relationship to the employee will have been determined by the Board and who will not have died before receiving payment of such annuities: (a) Children;

§ 236.1

Payment with or without formal administration.

When the amount payable under the Railroad Retirement Act to the estate of a deceased individual is $1,000, or less, and no administrator or executor has been or is expected to be appointed, or where the estate of the deceased has been closed and reopening thereof is not expected, the director of retirement claims, and any employee designated by him for the purpose, is hereby authorized to require formal administration of the estate in the first case, or reopening of the estate in the other; or to make certification for payment, without such requirements, to such person or persons and in such proportions as would be the case if the estate were administered under the laws of the state of last domicile of the deceased.

[Board Order 48-437, 14 F.R. 294, Jan. 20, 1949]

surviving spouse or kindred, payment shall not be made without formal administration unless and until such creditor has, on a form prescribed by the Board, waived and released his claim against such estate with the same effect as if it had heretofore been paid and fully satisfied: Provided, however, That payment may be made to a creditor or creditors, on a proportionate basis, for burial expenses or medical expenses of the last illness of the deceased in the order of priority under the applicable law: Provided further, That where several persons are creditors by virtue of having contributed small amounts of $25 or less each to a fund administered by a custodian for payment of the burial expenses of the deceased, payment may be made to such custodian without requiring formal assignments or waivers signed by each such person.

Board Order 55-89, 20 F. R. 3713, May 27, 1955]

§ 236.3 Direction of payment to other individuals.

If it is determined by the Board that the benefit is payable to two or more individuals mentioned in § 236.1, any one or more of such individuals may, if he wishes, upon a form approved by the Board, direct the payment of his interest to any other of such individuals.

[4 FR. 1493, Apr. 7, 1939, redesignated by Board Order 47-1, 12 F.R. 469, Jan. 23, 1947]

§ 236.4

Selection under State allowance or exemption laws.

Whenever, under the laws of the State in which the deceased was last domiciled, the surviving spouse or kindred is, in the judgment of the Board, entitled to allowance or exemption, the benefit may become payable without court proceedings, in accordance with the provisions of such allowance or exemption laws, if such spouse or kindred executes and files with the Board a prescribed form in which he selects and accepts the benefit as a first payment toward the allowance or exemption, and agrees in the event of any proceedings concerning the administration or distribution of assets of the estate of the deceased to notify the probate court or other proper authority of such selection and acceptance.

[4 F.R. 1493, Apr. 7, 1939, redesignated by Board Order 47-1, 12 F.R. 469, Jan. 23, 1947]

An employee will have been "completely insured" if it appears to the satisfaction of the Board that at the time of his death, whether before or after the enactment of this section, he will have completed ten years of service and will have had the qualifications set forth in any one of the following paragraphs:

(i) a current connection with the railroad industry; and a number of quarters of coverage, not less than six, and at least equal to one-half of the number of quarters, elapsing in the period after 1936, or after the quarter in which he will have attained the age of twenty-one, whichever is later, and up to but excluding the quarter in which he will have attained the age of sixty-five years or died, whichever will first have occurred (excluding from the elapsed quarters any quarter which is not a quarter of coverage and during any part of which a retirement annuity will have been payable to him); and if the number of such elapsed quarters is an odd number such number shall be reduced by one; or

(ii) a current connection with the railroad industry; and either will have had forty or more quarters of coverage or would be fully insured under title II of the Social Security Act if his service as an employee after December 31, 1936, were included in the term "employment" as defined in that Act; or

(iii) a pension will have been payable to him; or a retirement annuity based on service of not less than ten years (as computed in awarding the annuity) will have begun to accrue to him before 1948. (Section 5(1) (7) of the act.)

An employee will have been "partially insured" at the time of his death, whether before or after the enactment of this section, if it appears to the satisfaction of the Board that he will have completed ten years of service and (1) will have had a current connection with the railroad industry; and (ii) either will have had six or more quarters of coverage in the period ending with the quarter in which he will have died or in which a retirement annuity will have begun to accrue to him and beginning with the third calendar year next preceding the year in which such event occurs, or would be currently insured under title II of the Social Security Act if his service as an employee after December 31, 1936, were included in the term "employment" as defined in that Act. (Section 5(1) (8) of the act.)

An individual shall be deemed to have "a current connection with the railroad industry" at the time an annuity begins to accrue to him and at death if, in any thirty consecutive calendar months before the month in which an annuity under section 2 begins to accrue to him (or the month in which he dies if that first occurs), he will have been in service as an employee in not less than twelve calendar months and, if such thirty calendar months do not immediately precede such month, he will not have been engaged in any regular employment other than employment for an employer in the period before such month and after the end of such thirty months. For the purposes of section 5 only, an individual shall be deemed also to have a "current connection with the railroad industry" if he is in all other respects completely insured but would not bẹ fully insured under the Social Security Act, or if he is in all other respects partially insured but would be neither fully nor currently insured under the Social Security Act, or if he has no wage quarters of coverage. (Section 1(0) of the act.)

The term "quarter of coverage" shall mean a compensation quarter of coverage or a wage quarter of coverage, and the term "quarters of coverage" shall mean compensation quarters of coverage, or wage quarters of coverage, or both: Provided, That there shall be for a single employee no more than four quarters of coverage for a single calendar year. (Section 5(1)(3) of the act.)

The term "compensation quarter of coverage" shall mean any quarter of coverage

If upon computation of the compensation quarters of coverage in accordance with the above table an employee is found to lack a completely or partially insured status which he would have if compensation paid in a calendar year were presumed to have been paid in equal proportions with respect to all months in the year in which the employee will have been in service as an employee, such presumption shall be made. (Section 5(1)(4) of the act.)

The term "wage quarter of coverage" shall mean any quarter of coverage determined in accordance with the provisions of Title II of the Social Security Act. (Section 5(1)(5) of the act.)

[Board Order 59-232, 25 F.R. 479, Jan. 21, 1960; 25 F.R. 1073, Feb. 6, 1960]

(1)

(a) Payments based upon, and existence of, completely insured status. All insurance annuities and lump sums, other than a residual lump sum, for survivors are conditioned upon an employee's insured status. This status is determined by the employee's service, compensation, and wage history. Unless the employee was completely insured at death, his widow cannot become entitled to a widow's insurance annuity, her widower cannot become entitled to a widower's insurance annuity, and his or her surviving parent cannot become entitled to a parent's insurance annuity on the basis of the employee's earnings.

(2) For the purpose of determining whether an employee was completely insured at death, it is immaterial whether his death occurred before, on, or after the enactment date of section 5 of the act.

(3) An employee was completely insured at death if:

(i) He had completed at least 10 years of service, had acquired the number of

quarters of coverage specified in paragraph (d) of this section, and had a current connection with the railroad industry at the time of his death; or

(ii) He had completed at least 10 years of service, would be fully insured under title II of the Social Security Act if his service after 1936 were included in the term "employment" as defined in that act, and had a current connection with the railroad industry at the time of his death, provided that his death occurred on or after September 6, 1958 (or before that date if none of his survivors became entitled earlier to monthly benefits under title II of the Social Security Act by reason of his death); or

(iii) There had been payable to him a pension under section 6 of the act; or (iv) There had begun to accrue to him before 1948 a retirement annuity based on not less than 10 years of service (as computed in awarding the annuity).

(b) Quarter of coverage. A quarter of coverage may be either a compensation quarter of coverage or a wage quarter of coverage.

A compensation quarter of coverage is a quarter of coverage computed, with respect to compensation paid an employee after 1936, regardless of his age, in accordance with the table contained in section 5(1)(4) of the act.

A wage quarter of coverage is a quarter of coverage determined in accordance with the provisions of Title II of the Social Security Act.

The term "quarters of coverage" includes compensation quarters of coverage, wage quarters of coverage, or both. However, no employee may acquire more than four quarters of coverage for a single calendar year.

(c) Current connection with the railroad industry.

(1) A deceased individual will have had a current connection with the railroad industry at the time of his death 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 had begun to accrue to him in accordance with Part 214 of this chapter, or before the month in which he died if that occurred first. 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 began to

accrue to him, or the month in which he died if that occurred first, he must not, in that interval, have been engaged in any regular employment other than service for an employer. For the purposes of this paragraph, "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 had begun to accrue to him, or the month in which he died if that occurred first, 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-calendarquarter period of work.

(2) A deceased individual will have also had a current connection with the railroad industry at the time of his death for the purposes of this part if:

(i) He was neither fully nor currently insured under the Social Security Act, but would otherwise have a completely or partially insured status under the Railroad Retirement Act; or

(ii) He had no wage quarters of coverage.

(3) A determination as to whether or not a deceased 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 paragraph.

(d) Determination of completely insured status on basis of quarters of coverage and current connection. An employee, whether or not he was completely insured at death by virtue of having been a pensioner or an annuitant, could have been completely insured at the time of his death if at that time he had com