[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 3, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12431-12432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03553]



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 Rules and Regulations
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
 having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
 to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
 under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
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 The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 42 / Tuesday, March 3, 2020 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 12431]]



FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD

5 CFR Parts 1630, 1632 and 1650


Cost-of-Living Adjustments and Identity Verification

AGENCY: Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

ACTION: Final rule.

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

SUMMARY: The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) is 
amending its regulations to change the cost-of-living adjustment rate 
used to calculate the annual increase for annuities with an increasing 
payment option and to clarify its requirements regarding identification 
verification and availability of announcements of meetings open to 
public observation.

DATES: This rule is effective March 1, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Austen Townsend, (202) 864-8647.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FRTIB administers the Thrift Savings 
Plan (TSP), which was established by the Federal Employees' Retirement 
System Act of 1986 (FERSA), Public Law 99-335, 100 Stat. 514. The TSP 
provisions of FERSA are codified, as amended, largely at 5 U.S.C. 8351 
and 8401-79. The TSP is a tax-deferred retirement savings plan for 
federal civilian employees and members of the uniformed services. The 
TSP is similar to cash or deferred arrangements established for 
private-sector employees under section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue 
Code (26 U.S.C. 401(k)).
    On December 17, 2019, the FRTIB published a proposed rule with 
request for comments in the Federal Register (84 FR 68815) and, for the 
reasons described below, is publishing the proposed rule as final 
without change. The proposed rule amended 5 CFR 1650.14(g) to provide 
for a fixed cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) rate of 2 percent for 
annuities with an increasing payment option. Several commentators 
expressed concern that a fixed rate of 2 percent would not provide 
adequate inflation protection for participants over the long term and 
was a cost-saving measure for FRTIB. As noted in the preamble to the 
proposed rule, the FRTIB will regularly review the COLA to ensure that 
it continues to be beneficial for TSP participants. Moreover, all TSP 
assets are held in trust and any savings that result from the COLA 
change will be passed along to participants, not the FRTIB.
    The proposed rule also amended (1) 5 CFR 1630.4(a) and 1630.7(c) to 
clarify that TSP participants may be required to provide identifying 
particulars to access their account information; and (2) 5 CFR 
1632.4(c) to reflect the FRTIB's existing practice of maintaining the 
annual Board meeting schedule online at frtib.gov and publishing 
announcements of meetings open to public observation in the Federal 
Register. The FRTIB received no comments on these changes.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    I certify that this regulation will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. This regulation will 
affect Federal employees, members of the uniformed services who 
participate in the TSP, and beneficiary participants.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    I certify that these regulations do not require additional 
reporting under the criteria of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    Pursuant to the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 602, 
632, 653, and 1501-1571, the effects of this regulation on state, 
local, and tribal governments and the private sector have been 
assessed. This regulation will not compel the expenditure in any one 
year of $100 million or more by state, local, and tribal governments, 
in the aggregate, or by the private sector. Therefore, a statement 
under 2 U.S.C. 1532 is not required.

Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office

    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 810(a)(1)(A), the Agency submitted a report 
containing this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, 
the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the 
United States before publication of this rule in the Federal Register. 
This rule is not a major rule as defined at 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

List of Subjects

5 CFR Part 1630

    Privacy.

5 CFR Part 1632

    Sunshine Act.

5 CFR Part 1650

    Alimony, Claims, Government employees, Pensions, Retirement.

Ravindra Deo,
Executive Director, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the FRTIB amends 5 CFR 
Chapter VI as follows:

PART 1630--PRIVACY ACT REGULATIONS

0
1. The authority citation continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 552a.


0
2. Amend Sec.  1630.4 by revising paragraph (a)(2) to read as follows:


Sec.  1630.4  Request for notification and access.

    (a) * * *
    (2) Participants may also inquire whether this system contains 
records about them and access certain records through the account 
access section of the TSP website and the ThriftLine (the TSP's 
automated telephone system). The TSP website is www.tsp.gov. To use the 
TSP ThriftLine, the participant must have a touch-tone telephone and 
call (877) 968-3778. Information such as account balance and 
transaction status is available on the TSP website and the ThriftLine. 
To access these features, the participant may be required to verify his 
or her identity by providing identifying particulars.
* * * * *

0
3. Amend Sec.  1630.7 by revising paragraph (c)(3) to read as follows:


Sec.  1630.7  Identification requirements.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (3) A participant may also access the TSP website or call the TSP 
ThriftLine to obtain account information. These systems may require 
identity and account verification information and

[[Page 12432]]

may require the participant to verify his or her identity by providing 
identifying particulars.

PART 1632--RULES REGARDING PUBLIC OBSERVATION OF MEETINGS

0
4. The authority for this citation continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 552b and 8474.


0
5. Amend Sec.  1632.4 by revising paragraph (c) to read as follows:


Sec.  1632.4  Meetings open to public observation.

* * * * *
    (c) The annual Board meeting schedule will be maintained on 
frtib.gov. In addition, agency announcements of meetings open to public 
observation will be published in the Federal Register. Requests for 
announcements may be made by telephoning or by writing to the Office of 
External Affairs, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, 77 K 
Street NE, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20002.

PART 1650--METHODS OF WITHDRAWING FUNDS FROM THE THRIFT SAVINGS 
PLAN

0
6. The authority citation continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 8351, 8432d, 8433, 8434, 8435, 8474(b)(5) 
and 8474(c)(1).


0
7. Amend Sec.  1650.14 by revising paragraph (g)(4) to read as follows:


Sec.  1650.14  Annuities.

* * * * *
    (g) * * *
    (4) Either a single life or joint (with spouse) life annuity with 
increasing payments. This annuity provides monthly payments to the 
participant only, or to the participant and spouse, as applicable. The 
monthly payments are increased once each year on the anniversary of the 
first payment by a fixed rate of 2 percent. If the participant chooses 
a joint life annuity, the annual 2 percent increase also applies to 
benefits received by the survivor.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2020-03553 Filed 2-28-20; 12:00 pm]
 BILLING CODE 6760-01-P