The O/M may be reduced due to earnings from employment or self-employment in the same manner as a social security benefit. These restrictions on earnings are found at subpart E of part 404 of this chapter. Earnings can never reduce an employee's benefit below the railroad formula rate less the amount that those benefits would be reduced by earnings.
The DIB O/M is not payable for any month in which the disabled employee refuses, without good reason, to accept vocational rehabilitation services available under an approved state program. A disabled child's benefit under the O/M is not payable for any month in which the child refuses, without good reason, to accept such vocational rehabilitation services, unless the child is a full-time student.
(a) General. The full amount of the spouse overall minimum benefit is not payable for any month a spouse, who is included in the overall minimum because he or she has a child in his or her care, is under retirement age and is no longer caring for an eligible child. However, if the spouse is at least 62 years old, a reduced spouse annuity or a reduced overall minimum benefit is payable if the spouse has stated that he or she will accept a reduced benefit.
(b) Report required. When the overall minimum, which includes a benefit for a spouse who has the employee's child in his or her care, is payable, both the employee and spouse are responsible for reporting when the child leaves the spouse's care. The report is due before the benefits are paid for the second month after the first month in which the child is no longer in the spouse's care.
(c) Penalty for failure to report. If the employee or spouse does not report the fact that a spouse included in the overall minimum no longer has an eligible child in his or her care within the time limit shown in paragraph (b) of this section, a penalty is deducted from the overall minimum amount, unless there is a good reason for the person's failure to report. The penalty deduction for the first failure to make a timely report equals the amount of the overall minimum increase for the first month in which a report should have been made. The deduction for the second failure to make a timely report is twice the amount of the overall minimum increase for the first month in which a report should have been made. The deduction for the third and later failures to make a timely report is three times the amount of the overall minimum increase for the first month in which a report should have been made or, if less, the overall minimum increase times the number of months for which a timely report was not made.
The age DIB O/M is not payable for any month after the month the Board receives notice that the employee has been deported for a reason shown in section 202(h) of the Social Security Act. This restriction no longer applies if the employee is later legally admitted to the United States for permanent residence.
If a person is convicted of subversive activities (under chapter 37, 105, or 115 of title 18 of the U.S. Code or section 4, 112, or 113 of the Internal Security Act of 1950, as amended), the court may order that earnings in the year of the conviction and previous years are to be disregarded in determining whether the person is entitled to social security benefits. These earnings would also be ignored in determining entitlement to the age or DIB O/M.
A blind employee or child who is 55 years old or older is entitled to an O/M benefit based on disability while he or she is working in substantial gainful activity that does not require skills or ability used in his or her previous work. However, the DIB O/M or child's O/M benefit is not payable for any month in which the employee or child works in any type of substantial gainful activity which requires skills or abilities comparable to those of any gainful activity in which he or she has previously engaged with some regularity and over a substantial period of time.