An individual who was married to the employee is the deceased employee's surviving divorced spouse if he or she:
(a) Was married to the employee for a period of at least 10 years immediately before the date the divorce became final, and applies for an annuity based on age or disability; or
(b) Applies for an annuity based on having a ``child in care'' and either:
(1) Is the natural parent of the employee's child;
(2) Was married to the employee at the time the employee or the surviving divorced spouse adopted the other's child who was then under 18 years old; or
(3) Was married to the employee at the time they adopted a child who was then under 18 years old. Sec. 216.67 ``Child in care.''
(a) Railroad Retirement Act. Part 222 of this chapter sets forth what is required to establish that a child is in an individual's care for purposes of the Railroad Retirement Act. This definition is used to establish eligibility for the tier II component of a female spouse or widow(er) annuity under that Act. Under this definition a child must be under age 18 or under a disability before any benefit is payable based upon having the child in care.
(b) Social Security Act. In order to establish eligibility for the tier I components of a spouse or widow(er) annuity, and eligibility for a surviving divorced spouse annuity based upon having a child of the employee in care, the definition of ``child in care'' found in the Social Security Act is used. Under this definition, a child must be under age 16 or under a disability.