Larry,

I will be 63 in March and I will have 10 years with the Railroad in March. However, I worked full time since I was 18, paying into social security. I have two questions: 1) Will I just loose the 30+ years of social security if I draw RR retirement? and 2) I have a disabled adult child (mentally handicapped). Will he receive social security benefits on me when i retire even if I'm drawing RR retirement?

Thank you,

Sarah

Hi Sarah,

When you file for Railroad Retirement (RR) benefits, your benefit rate will be made up of 2 tiers. Tier 1 is calculated similar to Social Security (SS), and considers your SS covered earnings in the rate calculation. Tier 2 is like a company pension that's based solely on your RR earnings. If you file for both RR & SS benefits, Social Security will calculate your SS benefit rate based only on your SS covered earnings, and you will be paid the higher of either a) your SS benefit rate or b) your tier 1 RR rate, plus any tier 2 RR benefits to which you are entitled.

You would have to be drawing Social Security retirement or disability benefits in order for your child to potentially qualify for disabled adult child benefits from SS.

You may be interested in reading the following information from the Railroad Board's website: https://www.rrb.gov/NewsRoom/NewsReleases/Q%26A%3A%20Comparison%20of%20B....

Best, Jerry