§231q Crediting Service Under Social Security Act

Summary

Work done by someone who is an employee under the railroad law usually does not count as "employment" for Social Security. But when figuring monthly Social Security insurance benefits, survivor benefits during a worker’s life, and monthly or lump-sum death benefits, that railroad work is counted if the worker will have less than ten years of service (or less than five years if all that service came after December 31, 1995). It is also counted for death benefits if the worker had less than ten years (or the five-year rule) or had ten or more years (or five or more all after December 31, 1995) but did not have a current connection with the railroad when they died. When pay is used for these benefit calculations, money earned in a calendar year is presumed, unless shown otherwise, to be paid evenly across the months the person worked that year. For this purpose, all the railroad service is treated as if it happened inside the United States.