[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 10, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45705-45706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-17260]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel & 
Readiness).

ACTION: Notice.

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    In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel 
and Readiness) announces the following

[[Page 45706]]

proposed reinstatement of a public information collection and seeks 
public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: (a) 
Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of burden of the proposed information collection; (c) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the information 
collection on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by 
September 9, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations on the proposed 
information collection should be sent to the Office of the Under 
Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), (Force Management 
Policy/Military Personnel Policy/Compensation), ATTN: Lt Col Bob 
Rennicker, 4000 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-4000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and 
associated collection information, please write to the above address or 
call 703-697-3793.
    Title, Associated Form, and OMB Control Number: Validation of 
Public or Community Service Employment Performed by Retired Personnel 
Retired Under the Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) for 
Increased Retirement Compensation, DD Form 2676, OMB Number 0704-0357.
    Needs and Uses: This information collection requirement is 
necessary to validate the public service or community service of 
military members who retired under the Temporary Early Retirement 
Authority. The Military Services and the Coast Guard had the authority 
until December 31, 2001, to permit early retirement for selected 
Service personnel with more than 15, but less than 20 years of service. 
All of these members who retired under Section 4403(a) before the 
completion of at least 20 years of active duty service may take 
employment in public or community service, making them eligible for 
increased early retirement compensation. A retiree may receive service 
credit for all qualifying periods of employment by a registered public 
or community service organization during the ``enhanced requirement 
qualification period.'' This qualification period begins on the date of 
retirement and ends on the date the retired member would have attained 
20 years of creditable service for retirement purposes. This 
information collection is needed to provide certification of a member's 
full-time public and/or community service employment by a registered 
public or community service organization and to recompute the member's 
retired pay for all qualifying periods of employment.
    Affected Public: Individuals; business or other for-profit 
institutions; and not-for-profit institutions.
    Annual Burden Hours: 126.
    Number of Respondents: 756.
    Responses per Respondents: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 10 minutes.
    Frequency: Annually.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary of Information Collection

    This information collection is used by all Service personnel 
retiring early who are potentially eligible for increased retirement 
compensation from employment with public or community service 
organizations and employers who are registered public or community 
service organizations.
    During retirement processing conducted by the Services, personnel 
were advised of the certification process for public or community 
service employment within the enhanced retirement qualification period. 
When public or community service employment is found with a registered 
employing organization, the DD Form 2676, ``Validation of Public or 
Community Service Employment.'' is completed by both the retiree and 
the employer. Employers certify full-time, paid employment (full-time 
employment is defined by the organization concerned, but is typically 
at least 33 hours per week or 143 hours per month, including paid 
holidays and paid periods of leave or vacation). The retired personnel 
then complete their portion of the form and mail the validation form to 
the Defense Manpower and Data Center (DMDC) for review and processing 
in a data base designed for this program. To continue to receive 
credit, retired personnel employed in public or community service 
organizations submit the completed certified forms to DMDC annually on 
the anniversary of their retirement date. After the information is 
processed, DMDC will send retired personnel a statement of their 
certification account. At the end of the enhanced qualification period, 
retired personnel submit final completed certified forms to DMDC. Once 
final validation has been completed, the DMDC will transmit the data to 
either the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) or the Coast 
Guard Finance Center for update of final pay information files. The 
forms will be maintained by the DMDC for a period of 5 years after the 
last day of the enhanced retirement qualification period. When retired 
personnel reach age 62, the Finance Centers will recomputed retirement 
benefits, adding whatever public or community service employment was 
validated during the enhanced retirement qualification period.

    Dated: July 3, 2002.
Patricia L. Toppings,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 02-17260 Filed 7-9-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-08-M