· 194 Boa me is pee of the employee's past service nt and the firm res sepenent would SIM ving adjustments te nesses the macisted Cens e Index turing the period from September 3, 1975 earber of Septemcer of the year preceding the year e employee's inity begins ir September 30, 1980. op to his reglar many, in algkie employee would re plemenca. 7 wich would be considered a part of taf level any component ringing in amount from 13. 6. Finally, an empire with "rested rights" to benefits the Railroad Retirement At and the Social Security Act ified date · December 31, 1974 in the case of some employees aber 31 of the year in which the employee last performed rvice in the case of other employees would receive an addis efit amount based on his employment prior to 1975. This intended to preserve an eligible employee's "right" to such fits as had accrued prior to the effective date of the new

Retirement Act.

yee annuitants currently receiving annuities would continue he same amounts they were receiving before the effective date w Act, but their annuities would be divided into social secu 1 components and staff components. Up to four automatic ving adjustments in the staff level annuity components would ded for employees whose annuities began to accrue on or before tive date of any particular increase these increases, which e 32.5 percent of the applicable annual increase in the un1 Consumer Price Index, would become effective June 1, 1977, 1978. June 1, 1979, and June 1, 1980, respectively.

ses' annuities, like employee annuities, would consist of a social level component plus a staff level component. Generally g, the amount of each component would be equal to one-half employee's corresponding component (exclusive of the ems supplemental annuity), subject to the same spouse maximum ontained in present law. The social security level component be reduced if the spouse is entitled to a social security benefit on either the employee's earnings or her own earnings. The would, however, received an additional benefit amount if she vested rights" to benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act and

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In the case of spouses, the present law provides that a spouse of an employee can be eligible for a spouse's annuity only if the employee has attained age 65. Furthermore, a spouse who does not have a child of the employee in her care can receive an unreduced spouse's annuity only if she has attained age 65 or a reduced annuity if she has attained age 62. These eligibility requirements would be liberalized under the proposed Act to provide: (1) that a spouse of an employee who has 30 years of service would be eligible for an unreduced annuity when both she and the employee have attained age 60 [this liberalization would be applicable only in cases where the employee's annuity first began to accrue on or after July 1, 1974] and (2) that a spouse of an employee who has less than 30 years of service can receive an unreduced spouse's annuity when the employee has attained age 62 and the spouse has either attained age 65 or has a child of the employee in her care or a reduced spouse's annuity when the employee and the spouse have both attained age 62 [this liberalization would be applicable only in cases where the employee's annuity first begins to accrue on or after January 1, 1975].

The eligibility requirements for survivor annuities under the proposed Act would be the same as those set forth in the present Act.

Finally, the proposed Act contains a provision which would provide automatic adjustments in the eligibility requirements for social security level annuity amounts or health care benefits provided under the Act whenever amendments to the Social Security Act become effective after December 31, 1974, to liberalize the eligibility requirements for similar benefits under that Act. No person can become entitled to an annuity under the Railroad Retirement Act by reason of this provision if: (1) the Social Security Act provided benefits for such a person prior to 1975 but the Railroad Retirement Act did not [examples of such persons would be divorced wives and children of living employees] or (2) the person does not satisfy a requirement contained in the proposed Railroad Retirement Act of a kind which was either not imposed by the Social Security Act on December 31. 1974, or was not liberalized by the amending legislation. Furthermore, the provision in question would not operate to provide annuities to an employee, and those deriving from him, who has less than 10 years of railroad service or to survivors in a case where the employee did not have a current connection with the railroad industry at the time of his death.

COMPUTATION OF ANNUITIES UNDER THE PROPOSED RAILROAD RETIREMENT

ACT

An employee's regular annuity under the proposed Railroad Retirement Act would consist of two basic components-a social security level component computed under the social security benefit formulas on the basis of the employee's combined railroad and nonrailroad earnings (this component would be reduced by the amount of any monthly social security benefit actually paid to the employee) and a staff level component based on railroad service only. The staff level component would be composed of subcomponents based on past service

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(service prior to January 1, 1975, the effective date of the new Act) and future service. The past service subcomponent would consist of two pieces: (1) an amount computed under the present Railroad Retirement Act on the basis of railroad service through December 31, 1974, less an imputed social security benefit amount based only on railroad service through December 31, 1974; and (2) $1.50 for each of the employee's first 10 years of railroad service prior to 1975 plus $1.00 for each year of the employee's railroad service prior to 1975 in excess of 10 years of service this amount would be provided only for employees who engage in railroad service after 1974. The future service portion of the employee's staff level benefit would be equal to the sum of one-half percent of the employee's average monthly compensation after 1974 plus $4.00 multiplied by the employee's years of service after 1974. Both the first piece of the employee's past service subcomponent and the future service subcomponent would be subject to cost-of-living adjustments due to increases in the unadjusted Consumer Price Index during the period from September 30, 1976, through the earlier of September 30 of the year preceding the year in which the employee's annuity begins or September 30, 1980.

In addition to his regular annuity, an eligible employee would receive a supplemental annuity (which would be considered a part of his total staff level annuity component) ranging in amount from $23.00 to $43.00. Finally, an employee with "vested rights" to benefits under both the Railroad Retirement Act and the Social Security Act as of a specified date (December 31, 1974, in the case of some employees and December 31 of the year in which the employee last performed railroad service in the case of other employees) would receive an additional benefit amount based on his employment prior to 1975. This amount is intended to preserve an eligible employee's "right" to such dual benefits as had accrued prior to the effective date of the new Railroad Retirement Act.

Employee annuitants currently receiving annuities would continue to draw the same amounts they were receiving before the effective date of the new Act, but their annuities would be divided into social security level components and staff components. Up to four automatic cost-of-living adjustments in the staff level annuity components would be provided for employees whose annuities began to accrue on or before the effective date of any particular increase these increases, which would be 32.5 percent of the applicable annual increase in the unadjusted Consumer Price Index, would become effective June 1, 1977, June 1, 1978, June 1, 1979, and June 1, 1980, respectively.

Spouses' annuities, like employee annuities, would consist of a social security level component plus a staff level component. Generally speaking, the amount of each component would be equal to one-half of the employee's corresponding component (exclusive of the employee's supplemental annuity), subject to the same spouse maximum as is contained in present law. The social security level component would be reduced if the spouse is entitled to a social security benefit based on either the employee's earnings or her own earnings. The spouse would, however, received an additional benefit amount if she had "vested rights" to benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act and

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the Social Security Act as of the effective date of the proposed Act. This additional amount would compensate, with respect to benefit rights accrued prior to 1975, for the reduction in the social security level component of the spouse's annuity because of her entitlement to a benefit under the Social Security Act. Spouses' annuities being paid at the time the new Act becomes effective would be continued at the same rates but, like employee annuities, would be divided into components in accordance with the provisions of the new Act.

The employee and spouse annuities described above would be subject to a maximum which, in a case where the employee had maximum. earnings, would, generally speaking, limit the combined employee and spouse annuities to the greater of (1) $1200 a month or (2) 90 percent of the employee's taxable earnings. In addition to this maximum provision, the new Act would contain two minimum provisions applicable to employee and spouse annuities. The first of these minimums. guarantees that, in cases where the employee's annuity begins to accrue before 1983, the total of the annuities and supplemental annuity payable to the employee and his spouse for any month under the new Act cannot be less than the total amount that would have been payable to them for that month under the present Act as in effect on December 31, 1974, on the basis of the maximum monthly compensation creditable at that time. The second minimum provision is similar to the so-called social security minimum guaranty provision contained in the present Act. Generally speaking, it assures that the total monthly benefits to a retired employee and his spouse will not be less than the amount that would have been payable to the employee's family under the Social Security Act on the basis of his combined railroad and nonrailroad earnings.

A survivor, like an employee and a spouse, would be entitled to a social security level benefit under the new Act computed on the basis of the deceased employee's combined railroad and nonrailroad earnings. This benefit, like a social security survivor benefit, would be subject to reduction if the survivor becomes entitled to a social security benefit based on his or her own earnings. It would also be subject to reduction by the amount of the social security level component of any employee annuity to which the survivor may be entitled. The staff component of the survivor annuity would be equal to 30 percent of the social security level annuity component prior to any reduction due to receipt of a benefit based on the survivor's own earnings. An additional benefit amount may be payable to a widow or widower who had "vested rights" to benefits under both the Railroad Retirement Act and the Social Security Act on December 31, 1974. The new survivor annuity formulas would be applicable to survivors on the benefit rolls when the new Act becomes effective. These formulas would provide an increase in benefits for most survivors since survivors who are not entitled to benefits based on their own earnings now receive survivor annuities equal to 110 percent of the amount that would have been payable to them under the Social Security Act whereas under the new Act those same survivors would receive 130 percent of that amount. Those survivors on the rolls who would not receive an increase under the new formulas are assured that there will be no decrease in the benefit amounts to which they are entitled.