I am a spouse of a railroad retiree who had over 30 years of service. I am 64, and have paid into SS for 46 years, why can't I receive both retirement.

Hi. My expertise is limited to Social Security benefits, so you may want to direct your question to someone at the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) for a more thorough explanation.

Here is my understanding. Railroad Retirement (RR) is a 2-tiered program. Tier 1 RR benefits are intended as a substitute for Social Security benefits, and earnings on which a person paid Social Security taxes can be included when calculating their Tier 1 RR rate. As a result, RR regulations prohibit a person from drawing both Tier 1 RR benefits and Social Security benefits in full.

If a person files for both RR benefits and Social Security benefits, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) offsets their Tier 1 RR benefit rate by the amount of any Social Security benefits that they collect. But, Tier 2 RR benefits, which are based strictly on a person's Railroad earnings, are not offset by any Social Security benefits they may be collecting. Therefore, it is possible to collect both RR benefits and Social Security benefits, but you can't be paid more than a) the higher of your Social Security benefit rate or your Tier 1 RR rate, plus b) your Tier 2 RR rate.

The bottom line is that if someone is already drawing RR benefits, it's generally only advantageous to file for Social Security benefits if their Social Security benefit rate would be higher than their Tier 1 RR rate.

Best, Jerry