[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]


 ========================================================================
 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.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[FR Doc. 2019-10849 Filed 5-24-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6325-38-P