Service before January 1, 1937. (1) Service performed before January 1, 1937, is called prior service. Prior service is creditable under the Railroad Retirement Act if the employee had an employment relation with a railroad employer on August 29, 1935. Prior service may be combined with creditable service performed after December 31, 1936, to make the employee's total years of service equal, but not exceed, 30 years (360 months).

An employee is considered to have an employment relation on August 29, 1935, if:

The employee was on that date in active railroad service for an employer; or

The employee was on that date on a leave of absence expressly granted by the employer or the employer's authorized representative, but only if such leave of absence was established to the satisfaction of the Board before July 1947; or

The employee had 6 months of active railroad service for an employer during the period August 29, 1935, through December 31, 1945; or

The employee was not in the service of an employer by reason of a mental or physical disability from which the employee was continuously disabled until the employee attained age 65 or until August 1945; or

Solely for the reason stated in paragraph (a)(2)(iv) of this section the employee was not recalled to active service before August 1945; or

If the employee was recalled, the employee was unable to perform 6 months of service during the period August 29, 1935, through December 31, 1945, solely for the reason stated in paragraph (a)(2)(iv) of this section.

Service after December 31, 1936. All service performed after December 31, 1936, is creditable. If an employee has service both before January 1, 1937, and after December 31, 1936, all service after December 31, 1936, is credited first; if this service totals less than 30 years (360 months), then the service before January 1, 1937, is included but only up to the amount sufficient to make the total years of service equal 30. Where the years of service include only part of the service performed before January 1, 1937, the part included is taken in reverse order beginning with the last calendar month of the service.

Service after December 31, 1936, to a local lodge or division. Services performed for a local lodge or division of a railway labor organization is creditable if the employee is credited with compensation as defined in § 211.2 of this chapter.

Service based on time lost. Any month or any part of a month during which an employee performed no active service but received pay for time lost as an employee is counted as a month of service. Service for time lost as an employee shall be credited as provided for in § 211.3 of this chapter.

Place of performance of service. (1) Service performed for an employer who conducts the principal part of its business with the United States is creditable. However, service performed for an employer who conducts the principal part of its business outside the United States is creditable only when the service is performed in the United States. If an employer, other than a local lodge or division or a general committee of a railway labor organization, does not conduct the principal part of its business within the United States, the service performed outside the United States for that employer is not creditable.

Service performed outside the United States by an employee who is not a citizen or resident of the United States is not creditable if the employer is required under the laws of that place to hire, in whole or in part, only citizens or residents of that place.

Service as employee representative. Service performed as an employee representative is creditable in the same manner and to the same extent as service performed for an employer.

Service performed after the beginning date of an annuity. Service performed after the beginning date of an annuity shall be used in the annuity recomputation.