Under the 1974 Act, railroad employees with 10 or more years of railroad service, who are not entitled to a vested dual benefit payment, may be eligible for a lump-sum refund payment if they had concurrent railroad and social security earnings within the period 1951 through 1974. The combined earnings from the railroad retirement and social security systems in any of those years must exceed the maximums given in § 234.53. The lump-sum refund is payable to either the employee or the employee's survivors.

Employees receive their lump-sum refund payment from the Board, without applying for it, at the time their regular annuity is awarded. If an employee dies without receiving payment of a regular annuity, the lump-sum refund payment is payable to the employee's survivors in the same order of priority as shown for the RLS in § 234.44.

The lump-sum refund payment is deductible from the RLS; however, it has no effect on the payment of other benefits.

(a) The lump-sum refund payment is calculated as follows:

(1) Combine the railroad employee's creditable earnings, including military service, under the Social Security Act and Railroad Retirement Act for each of the years 1951 through 1974;

(2) Determine the amount of the employee's creditable earnings in excess of the amounts for each year shown in the chart in paragraph (b) of this section;

(3) Multiply the results of paragraph (a)(2) of this section by the percentage shown in the chart in paragraph (b) of this section; and

(4) Add the results of paragraph (a)(3) of this section. The total is the amount of the lump-sum refund payment.

(b) Chart for calculation of lump-sum refund payment.