[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 128 (Thursday, July 2, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39852-39854]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13609]


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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 843

RIN 3206-ANO03


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 issuing a proposed 
rule 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 April 6, 2020.

DATES: Send comments on or before August 31, 2020.

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 April 6, 2020, OPM published notice 85 FR 
19174 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

[[Page 39853]]

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. If the separated employee died before 
having attained the minimum retirement age, the annuity commences on 
the day the deceased separated employee would have been eligible for an 
unreduced annuity as specified under this section. If the current or 
former spouse instead elects to receive an adjusted annuity beginning 
on the day after the death of the separated employee, 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 otherwise would have received. 
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 rule is not an E.O. 13771 regulatory action because this rule 
is related to agency organization, management, or personnel.

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 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.

Office of Personnel Management.
Alexys Stanley,
Regulatory Affairs Analyst.

    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 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8461; 843.205, 843.208, and 843.209 also 
issued under 5 U.S.C. 8424; 843.309 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8442; 
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, 2020, 36 equal 
monthly installments of 2.95307 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--

[[Page 39854]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Age of separated  employee at birthday  before death      Multiplier
------------------------------------------------------------------------
26.........................................................        .1014
27.........................................................        .1077
28.........................................................        .1144
29.........................................................        .1215
30.........................................................        .1290
31.........................................................        .1370
32.........................................................        .1454
33.........................................................        .1544
34.........................................................        .1641
35.........................................................        .1742
36.........................................................        .1852
37.........................................................        .1963
38.........................................................        .2090
39.........................................................        .2216
40.........................................................        .2348
41.........................................................        .2498
42.........................................................        .2657
43.........................................................        .2822
44.........................................................        .3007
45.........................................................        .3197
46.........................................................        .3409
47.........................................................        .3625
48.........................................................        .3860
49.........................................................        .4114
50.........................................................        .4386
51.........................................................        .4681
52.........................................................        .4997
53.........................................................        .5336
54.........................................................        .5703
55.........................................................        .6095
56.........................................................        .6527
57.........................................................        .6994
58.........................................................        .7499
59.........................................................        .8047
60.........................................................        .8642
61.........................................................        .9291
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With at least 20, but less than 30 years of creditable service--

------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Age of separated employee at birthday before death       Multiplier
------------------------------------------------------------------------
36.........................................................        .2142
37.........................................................        .2272
38.........................................................        .2418
39.........................................................        .2566
40.........................................................        .2720
41.........................................................        .2894
42.........................................................        .3078
43.........................................................        .3270
44.........................................................        .3484
45.........................................................        .3705
46.........................................................        .3949
47.........................................................        .4201
48.........................................................        .4473
49.........................................................        .4767
50.........................................................        .5082
51.........................................................        .5423
52.........................................................        .5788
53.........................................................        .6180
54.........................................................        .6605
55.........................................................        .7060
56.........................................................        .7558
57.........................................................        .8096
58.........................................................        .8680
59.........................................................        .9312
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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..................................................     .4881     .5228
47..................................................     .5194     .5563
48..................................................     .5531     .5924
49..................................................     .5894     .6314
50..................................................     .6283     .6730
51..................................................     .6704     .7180
52..................................................     .7154     .7662
53..................................................     .7638     .8181
54..................................................     .8162     .8741
55..................................................     .8725     .9345
56..................................................     .9338    1.0000
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[FR Doc. 2020-13609 Filed 7-1-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-38-P