Larry:

My husband worked for the railroad for 30 years and now gets railroad retirement. As a result, I also get railroad retirement. Can I also get social security?

Hi,

You could file for Social Security benefits assuming that you worked long enough to qualify, however, you can only be paid the higher of a) your Social Security benefit rate, or b) your Railroad Tier 1 benefit rate. Either way, any Tier 2 Railroad benefits for which you qualify would remain unchanged, so you would likely only want to apply for Social Security benefits if and when your Social Security rate exceeds your Tier 1 Railroad rate.

Best, Jerry