§ 831.1713 Application for phased retirement. ( a ) To elect to enter phased retirement status, a retirement-eligible employee covered by § 831.1711 must— ( 1 ) Submit to an authorized agency official a written and signed request to enter phased employment, on a form prescribed by OPM;
( 2 ) Obtain the signed written approval of an authorized agency official to enter phased employment; and
( 3 ) File an application for phased retirement, in accordance with § 831.104.
( b ) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, an applicant for phased retirement may withdraw his or her application any time before the election becomes effective, but not thereafter.
( c ) An applicant for phased retirement may not withdraw his or her application after OPM has received a certified copy of a court order (under part 581 or part 838 of this chapter) affecting the benefits.
( d ) ( 1 ) An employee and an agency approving official may agree to a time limit to the employee's period of phased employment as a condition of approval of the employee's request to enter phased employment and phased retirement, or by mutual agreement after the employee enters phased employment status.
( 2 ) To enter into such an agreement, the employee and the approving official must complete a written and signed agreement.
( 3 ) The written agreement must include the following: ( i ) The date the employee's period of phased employment will terminate;
( ii ) A statement that the employee can request the approving official's permission to return to regular employment status at any time as provided in § 831.1721; the agreement must also explain how returning to regular employment status would affect the employee, as described in §§ 831.1721-1723.
( iii ) A statement that the employee has a right to elect to fully retire at any time as provided in § 831.1731;
( iv ) A statement that the employee may accept a new appointment at another agency, with or without the new agency's approval of phased employment, at any time before the expiration of the agreement or within 3 days of the expiration of the agreement; the agreement must also explain how accepting an appointment at a new agency as a regular employee would affect the employee, as described in §§ 831.1721-1723;
( v ) An explanation that when the agreed term of phased employment ends, the employee will be separated from employment and that such separation will be considered voluntary based on the written agreement; and
( vi ) An explanation that if the employee is separated from phased employment and is not employed within 3 days (i.e., the employee has a break in service of greater than 3 days), the employee will be deemed to have elected full retirement.
( 4 ) The agency approving official and the employee may rescind an existing agreement, or enter into a new agreement to extend or reduce the term of phased employment agreed to in an existing agreement, by entering into a new written agreement meeting the requirements of this paragraph, before the expiration of the agreement currently in effect.
( e ) An agency must establish written criteria that will be used to approve or deny applications for phased retirement before approving or denying applications for phased retirement.