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Title 45, RailroadsRelease 119-110

§231m Assignability; Exemption From Levy

Title 45 › CHAPTER 9 — RETIREMENT OF RAILROAD EMPLOYEES › SUBCHAPTER IV — RAILROAD RETIREMENT ACT OF 1974 › § 231m

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

Annuities and supplemental annuities can’t be sold, taken by creditors, seized by the court, or taxed by any law, and their payments can’t be promised ahead of time — except as allowed by federal income tax rules and the special exceptions below. Supplemental annuities can be taxed as federal income. Parts of an annuity not figured one way, and any supplemental annuity, can be treated as marital or split in a divorce or legal separation, and the annuity board must pay according to the court order or settlement. If the worker isn’t otherwise entitled to an annuity, those court-ordered payments can still start only after all three happen: the worker has 10 years of railroad service (or 5 years all after December 31, 1995), the spouse or ex-spouse is age 62, and the worker is age 62 (or would have been if dead). Payments stop when the spouse or ex-spouse dies unless the court set an earlier end date. One particular portion computed under a special rule stops when the worker dies. Payments for someone not otherwise entitled are figured as if the worker were entitled.

Full Legal Text

Title 45, §231m

Railroads, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.], notwithstanding any other law of the United States, or of any State, territory, or the District of Columbia, no annuity or supplemental annuity shall be assignable or be subject to any tax or to garnishment, attachment, or other legal process under any circumstances whatsoever, nor shall the payment thereof be anticipated
(b)(1)This section shall not operate to exclude the amount of any supplemental annuity paid to an individual under section 231a(b) of this title from income taxable pursuant to the Federal income tax provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.].
(2)This section shall not operate to prohibit the characterization or treatment of that portion of an annuity under this subchapter which is not computed under section 231b(a), 231c(a), or 231c(f) of this title, or any portion of a supplemental annuity under this subchapter, as community property for the purposes of, or property subject to, distribution in accordance with a court decree of divorce, annulment, or legal separation or the terms of any court-approved property settlement incident to any such court decree. The Board shall make payments of such portions in accordance with any such characterization or treatment or any such decree or settlement.
(3)(A)Payments made pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection shall not require that the employee be entitled to an annuity under section 231a(a)(1) of this title: Provided, however, That where an employee is not entitled to such an annuity, payments made pursuant to paragraph (2) may not begin before the month in which the following three conditions are satisfied:
(i)The employee has completed ten years of service in the railroad industry or, five years of service all of which accrues after December 31, 1995.
(ii)The spouse or former spouse attains age 62.
(iii)The employee attains age 62 (or if deceased, would have attained age 62).
(B)Payments made pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection shall terminate upon the death of the spouse or former spouse, unless the court document provides for termination at an earlier date. Notwithstanding the language in a court order, that portion of payments made pursuant to paragraph (2) which represents payments computed pursuant to section 231b(f)(2) of this title shall not be paid after the death of the employee.
(C)If the employee is not entitled to an annuity under section 231a(a)(1) of this title, payments made pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be computed as though the employee were entitled to an annuity.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2008—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 110–458 added par. (3). 1986—Subsecs. (a), (b)(1). Pub. L. 99–514 substituted “Internal Revenue Code of 1986” for “Internal Revenue Code of 1954”. 1983—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–76, § 419(a)(1), substituted “(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section and the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, notwithstanding” for “Notwithstanding”. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 98–76, § 419(a)(2), substituted “(b)(1) This” for “: Provided, however, That the provisions of this”. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 98–76, § 419(a)(3), added par. (2).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2008 Amendment Pub. L. 110–458, title I, § 110(b)(1), Dec. 23, 2008, 122 Stat. 5112, provided that: “The amendment made by subsection (a)(1) [amending this section] shall apply with respect to payments due for months after August 2007. If, prior to the

Effective Date

of such amendment, payment pursuant to paragraph (2) of section 14(b) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231m(b)) was terminated because of the employee’s death, payment to the former spouse may be reinstated for months after August 2007.”

Effective Date

of 1983 Amendment Pub. L. 98–76, title IV, § 419(b), Aug. 12, 1983, 97 Stat. 438, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by this section [amending this section] shall apply with respect to annuity amounts payable for months beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 12, 1983].”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

45 U.S.C. § 231m

Title 45, Railroads

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110