{"data":{"id":"us/20-cfr-218.5","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"20 CFR 218.5","heading":"General rules.","body":"(a) An annuity begins either on the earliest date permitted by law, or on a specific date chosen by the applicant. If the applicant chooses a specific date, that date must not be before the earliest date permitted by law.\n(b) An annuity may not begin on the thirty-first day of a month, unless the claimant would lose benefits if the annuity begins on the first day of the following month. No annuity is payable for the thirty-first day of any month.","path":["Title 20—Employees' Benefits","CHAPTER II—RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD","SUBCHAPTER B—REGULATIONS UNDER THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT ACT","PART 218—ANNUITY BEGINNING AND ENDING DATES","Subpart B—When an Annuity Begins"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-20.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:24:45Z","sha256":"7908b47a43e4e4ce147bcede14d519b3ea5ee862266dbab599ca269c86516e1a","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/20-cfr-218.3","next":"us/20-cfr-218.6"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}