Federal Employees' Retirement System; Present Value Conversion Factors for Spouses of Deceased Separated Employees
| Published date | 28 May 2019 |
| Citation | 84 FR 24401 |
| Record Number | 2019-10849 |
| Section | Proposed rules |
| Court | Personnel Management Office |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 102 (Tuesday, May 28, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 28, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24401-24402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10849]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 102 / Tuesday, May 28, 2019 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 24401]]
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
5 CFR Part 843
RIN 3206-AN82
Federal Employees' Retirement System; Present Value Conversion
Factors for Spouses of Deceased Separated Employees
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing to
revise the table of reduction factors for early commencing dates of
survivor annuities for spouses of separated employees who die before
the date on which they would be eligible for unreduced deferred
annuities, and to revise the annuity factor for spouses of deceased
employees who die in service when those spouses elect to receive the
basic employee death benefit in 36 installments under the Federal
Employees' Retirement System (FERS) Act of 1986. These rules are
necessary to ensure that the tables conform to the economic and
demographic assumptions adopted by the Board of Actuaries and published
in the Federal Register on May 20, 2019.
DATES: Send comments on or before July 29, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number and/or
Regulatory Information Number (RIN) and title, by the following method:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
All submissions received must include the agency name and docket
number or RIN for this document. The general policy for comments and
other submissions from members of the public is to make these
submissions available for public viewing at http://www.regulations.gov
as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers
or contact information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karla Yeakle, (202) 606-0299.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 20, 2019, OPM published notice 84 FR
22915 in the Federal Register to revise the normal cost percentages
under the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) Act of 1986,
Public Law 99-335, 100 Stat. 514, as amended, based on economic
assumptions and demographic factors adopted by the Board of Actuaries
of the Civil Service Retirement System. By statute under 5 U.S.C.
8461(i), the revisions to the actuarial assumptions require
corresponding changes in factors used to produce actuarially equivalent
benefits when required by the FERS Act.
Section 843.309 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, regulates
the payment of the basic employee death benefit. Under 5 U.S.C.
8442(b), the basic employee death benefit may be paid to a surviving
spouse as a lump sum or as an equivalent benefit in 36 installments.
These rules amend 5 CFR 843.309(b)(2) to conform the factor used to
convert the lump sum to 36-installment payments with the revised
economic assumptions.
Section 843.311 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, regulates
the benefits for the survivors of separated employees under 5 U.S.C.
8442(c). This section provides a choice of benefits for eligible
current and former spouses. If the current or former spouse is the
person entitled to the unexpended balance under the order of precedence
under 5 U.S.C. 8424, he or she may elect to receive the unexpended
balance instead of an annuity.
Alternatively, an eligible current or former spouse may elect to
receive an annuity commencing on the day after the employee's death or
on the deceased separated employee's 62nd birthday. If the annuity
commences on the deceased separated employee's 62nd birthday, the
annuity will equal 50 percent of the annuity that the separated
employee would have received had he or she attained age 62. If the
current or former spouse elects an earlier commencing date, the annuity
is reduced using the factors in Appendix A to subpart C of part 843 to
make the annuity actuarially equivalent to the present value of the
annuity that the spouse or former spouse would have received if the
annuity had commenced on the deceased separated employee's 62nd
birthday. These rules amend Appendix A to subpart C of part 843 to
conform the factors to the revised actuarial assumptions.
Regulatory Impact Analysis
OPM has examined the impact of this rule as required by Executive
Order 12866 and Executive Order 13563, which directs agencies to assess
all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public,
health, and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). A
regulatory impact analysis must be prepared for major rules with
economically significant effects of $100 million or more in any one
year. This rule was not designated as a ``significant regulatory
action,'' under Executive Order 12866.
Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs
This proposed rule is not expected to be a E.O. 13771 regulatory
action because this proposed rule is not significant under E.O. 12866.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Office of Personnel Management certifies that this rule will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Federalism
We have examined this rule in accordance with Executive Order
13132, Federalism, and have determined that this rule will not have any
negative impact on the rights, roles and responsibilities of State,
local, or tribal governments.
Civil Justice Reform
This regulation meets the applicable standard set forth in
Executive Order 12988.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
This rule will not result in the expenditure by state, local, and
tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100
million or more in any year and it will not significantly or uniquely
affect small governments. Therefore, no actions were deemed
[[Page 24402]]
necessary under the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of
1995.
Congressional Review Act
This action pertains to agency management, personnel, and
organization and does not substantially affect the rights or
obligations of nonagency parties and, accordingly, is not a ``rule'' as
that term is used by the Congressional Review Act (Subtitle E of the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA)).
Therefore, the reporting requirement of 5 U.S.C. 801 does not apply.
Paperwork Reduction Act
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required
to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure
to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements
of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (PRA),
unless that collection of information displays a currently valid Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number.
This rule involves an OMB approved collection of information
subject to the PRA Application for Death Benefits (FERS)/Documentation
and Elections in Support of Application for Death Benefits when
Deceased was an Employee at the Time of Death (FERS), 3206-0172. The
public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to average 60
minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions,
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data
needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The
total burden hour estimate for this form is 16,751 hours. The systems
of record notice for this collection is: OPM SORN CENTRAL-1-Civil
Service Retirement and Insurance Records.
List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 843
Air traffic controllers, Disability benefits, Firefighters,
Government employees, Law enforcement officers, Pensions, Retirement.
Alexys Stanley,
Regulatory Affairs Analyst, Office of Personnel Management.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Office of Personnel
Management proposes to amend 5 CFR part 843 as follows:
PART 843--FEDERAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM--DEATH BENEFITS AND
EMPLOYEE REFUNDS
0
1. The authority citation for part 843 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8461; Sec. Sec. 843.205, 843.208, and
843.209 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8424; Sec. 843.309 also issued
under 5 U.S.C. 8442; Sec. 843.406 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8441.
Subpart C--Current and Former Spouse Benefits
0
2. In Sec. 843.309, revise paragraph (b)(2) to read as follows:
Sec. 843.309 Basic employee death benefit.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(2) For deaths occurring on or after October 1, 2019, 36 equal
monthly installments of 2.96358 percent of the amount of the basic
employee death benefit.
* * * * *
0
3. Revise Appendix A to subpart C of part 843 to read as follows:
Appendix A to Subpart C of Part 843--Present Value Conversion Factors
for Earlier Commencing Date of Annuities of Current and Former Spouses
of Deceased Separated Employees
With at least 10 but less than 20 years of creditable service--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age of separated employee at birthday before death Multiplier
------------------------------------------------------------------------
26......................................................... .0998
27......................................................... .1068
28......................................................... .1138
29......................................................... .1214
30......................................................... .1291
31......................................................... .1375
32......................................................... .1463
33......................................................... .1555
34......................................................... .1651
35......................................................... .1755
36......................................................... .1867
37......................................................... .1986
38......................................................... .2113
39......................................................... .2247
40......................................................... .2390
41......................................................... .2540
42......................................................... .2701
43......................................................... .2875
44......................................................... .3057
45......................................................... .3252
46......................................................... .3460
47......................................................... .3680
48......................................................... .3917
49......................................................... .4171
50......................................................... .4445
51......................................................... .4739
52......................................................... .5055
53......................................................... .5393
54......................................................... .5758
55......................................................... .6151
56......................................................... .6578
57......................................................... .7037
58......................................................... .7536
59......................................................... .8076
60......................................................... .8663
61......................................................... .9302
------------------------------------------------------------------------
With at least 20, but less than 30 years of creditable service--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age of separated employee at birthday before death Multiplier
------------------------------------------------------------------------
36......................................................... .2153
37......................................................... .2291
38......................................................... .2436
39......................................................... .2592
40......................................................... .2756
41......................................................... .2930
42......................................................... .3116
43......................................................... .3316
44......................................................... .3527
45......................................................... .3752
46......................................................... .3992
47......................................................... .4247
48......................................................... .4521
49......................................................... .4814
50......................................................... .5131
51......................................................... .5470
52......................................................... .5834
53......................................................... .6225
54......................................................... .6646
55......................................................... .7100
56......................................................... .7592
57......................................................... .8123
58......................................................... .8698
59......................................................... .9322
------------------------------------------------------------------------
With at least 30 years of creditable service--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Multiplier by
separated
employee's year of
birth
Age of separated employee at birthday before death -------------------
From
After 1950
1966 through
1966
------------------------------------------------------------------------
46.................................................. .4912 .5254
47.................................................. .5226 .5591
48.................................................. .5564 .5953
49.................................................. .5926 .6340
50.................................................. .6316 .6757
51.................................................. .6733 .7203
52.................................................. .7181 .7683
53.................................................. .7663 .8199
54.................................................. .8182 .8754
55.................................................. .8741 .9353
56.................................................. .9346 1.0000
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[FR Doc. 2019-10849 Filed 5-24-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-38-P
