The Railroad Retirement Act provides an annuity for the child of a deceased employee but not for the child of a living employee. The Act does provide that the child of a living employee can establish another individual's eligibility for a spouse annuity or cause an increase in the annuities of an employee and spouse. The eligibility requirements described in this subpart also apply for the following purposes, except as otherwise indicated in this part:

(a) To establish annuity eligibility for a spouse under subpart F of this part if he or she has the employee's eligible child in care;

(b) To establish annuity eligibility for a widow(er), or surviving divorce spouse or remarried widow(er) under subpart G of this part if he or she has the employee's child in care; or

(c) To provide an increase in the employee's annuity under the Social Security Overall Minimum Guaranty (see part 229) by including the eligible child.

An individual is eligible for a child's annuity if the individual:

(a) Is a child of an employee who has completed 10 years of railroad service and had a current connection with the railroad industry when he or she died;

(b) Is not married at the time the application is filed;

(c) Is dependent upon the employee as defined in part 222 of this chapter; and

(d) Meets one of the following at the time the application is filed:

(1) Is under age 18; or

(2) Is age 18 or older and either:

(i) Is disabled as defined in part 220 of this chapter before attaining age 22 (the disability must continue through the time of application for benefits);

(ii) Is under age 19 and is a full-time student as defined in § 216.74 of this part; or

(iii) Becomes age 19 in a month in which he or she is a full-time student and has not completed the requirement for, or received a diploma or certificate from, a secondary school.

An eligible child of a deceased employee is entitled to an annuity upon applying therefor and submitting any evidence requested by the Board.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 3220-0030)

If an individual's entitlement to a child's annuity has ended, the individual may be re-entitled if he or she has not married and he or she applies to be re-entitled. The re-entitlement may begin with:

(a) The first month in which the individual is a full-time student if he or she is under age 19, or is age 19 and has not completed requirements for, or received a diploma or certificate from, a secondary school;

(b) The first month the individual is disabled, if the disability began before he or she attained age 22 and continues through the time of application for benefits; or

(c) The first month in which the individual is under a disability that began before the last day of a 7-year period (84 consecutive months) following the month in which the previous child's annuity ended, or the individual was no longer included as a disabled child in a railroad retirement annuity paid under the Social Security Overall Minimum Annuity (see part 229).

(a) A child is a full-time elementary or secondary school student if he or she meets all of the following conditions:

(1) The child is in full-time attendance at an elementary or secondary school; or

(2) The child is instructed in elementary or secondary education at home in accordance with a home school law of the State or other jurisdiction in which the child resides; or

(3) The child is in an independent study elementary or a secondary education program administered by the local school, district, or jurisdiction, which is in accordance with the law of the State or other jurisdiction in which he or she resides.

(b) The child is in full-time attendance in a day or evening non-correspondence course of at least 13 weeks duration and he or she is carrying a subject load that is considered full-time for day students under the institution's standards and practices. If he or she is in a home schooling program as described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, he or she must be carrying a subject load that is considered full-time for day students under the standards and practices set by the State or other jurisdiction in which the student resides.

(c) To be considered in full-time attendance, scheduled attendance must be at the rate of at least 20 hours per week unless one of the exceptions in paragraphs (c) (1) and (2) of this section applies. If the student is in an independent study program as described in paragraph (a)(3) of this section, the number of hours spent in school attendance is determined by combining the number of hours of attendance at a school facility with the agreed upon number of hours spent in independent study. The student may still be considered in full-time attendance if the scheduled rate of attendance is below 20 hours per week if the Board finds that:

(1) The school attended does not schedule at least 20 hours per week and going to that particular school is the student's only reasonable alternative; or

(2) The student's medical condition prevents him or her from having scheduled attendance of at least 20 hours per week. To prove that the student's medical condition prevents him or her from scheduling 20 hours per week, the Board may request that the student provide appropriate medical evidence or a statement from the school; or

(3) The student is not attending classes, but is graduating in that month and classes ended the month before.

(d) An individual is not a full-time student if, while attending an elementary or secondary school, he or she is paid compensation by an employer who has requested or required that the individual attend the school. An individual is not a full time student while he or she is confined in a penal institution or correctional facility because he or she committed a felony after October 19, 1980.

(e) A student who reaches age 19 but has not completed the requirements for a secondary school diploma or certificate and who is a full-time elementary or secondary student, as defined in paragraph (a) of this section, will continue to be eligible for benefits until the first day of the first month following the end of the quarter or semester in which he or she is then enrolled, or if the school is not operated on a quarter or semester system, the earlier of:

(1) The first day of the month following completion of the course(s) in which he or she was enrolled when age 19 was reached; or

(2) The first day of the third month following the month in which he or she reached age 19.

[63 FR 17326, Apr. 9, 1998]

A student who has been in full-time attendance at an elementary or secondary school is considered a full-time student during a period of non-attendance (include part-time attendance) if:

(a) The period of non-attendance is 4 consecutive months or less;

(b) The student shows to the satisfaction of the Board that he or she intends to return, or the student does return, to full-time attendance at the end of the period; and

(c) The student has not been expelled or suspended from the school.