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.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

69026 

Vol. 75, No. 217 

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 

FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT 

INVESTMENT BOARD 

5 CFR Parts 1600, 1604, 1651, and 1690 

Employee Contribution Elections and 

Contribution Allocations; Uniformed 

Services Accounts; Death Benefits; 

Thrift Savings Plan 

AGENCY: Federal Retirement Thrift 

Investment Board. 

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Retirement Thrift 

Investment Board (Agency) proposes to 

amend its regulations to establish 

procedures to maintain beneficiary 

participant accounts for spouse 

beneficiaries in accordance with the 

Thrift Savings Plan Enhancement Act of 

2009. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 10, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

using one of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Office of General Counsel, 

Attn: Thomas Emswiler, Federal 

Retirement Thrift Investment Board, 

1250 H Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20005. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: The address 

for sending comments by hand delivery 

or courier is the same as that for 

submitting comments by mail. 

• Facsimile: Comments may be 

submitted by facsimile at (202) 942– 

1676. 

The most helpful comments explain 

the reason for any recommended change 

and include data, information, and the 

authority that supports the 

recommended change. We will post all 

substantive comments (including any 

personal information provided) without 

change (with the exception of redaction 

of SSNs, profanities, et cetera) on 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laurissa Stokes at 202–942–1645. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Agency 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)). 

Congressional Authorization for 

Beneficiary Participant Accounts 

Currently, a spouse beneficiary of a 

TSP participant must either transfer his 

or her TSP death benefit payment to 

another eligible employer plan or 

individual retirement account (IRA), or 

receive the payment immediately. On 

June 22, 2009, the President signed the 

Thrift Savings Plan Enhancement Act of 

2009 (‘‘the Act’’), Public Law 111–31 

(Division B, Title I), 123 Stat. 1776, 

1853. The Act authorized the Agency to 

allow a spouse of a deceased participant 

to retain a lump sum death benefit 

payment in the TSP, subject to certain 

restrictions on contributions, loans, and 

withdrawal elections. This proposed 

rule would conform the Agency’s 

regulations to the Act and would set 

forth the rules and limitations 

applicable to beneficiary participant 

accounts. 

Establishing a Beneficiary Participant 

Account 

The Agency will automatically 

establish a beneficiary participant 

account upon identifying a deceased 

participant’s spouse as a sole or partial 

beneficiary eligible for a lump sum 

death benefit payment. Consistent with 

its treatment of accounts of participants 

who have separated from Federal 

service, the Agency will not maintain a 

beneficiary participant account if the 

amount of the deceased participant’s 

vested account balance to which the 

spouse is entitled is less than $200. The 

Agency also will not transfer this de 

minimus amount to another eligible 

plan or pay it by electronic funds 

transfer. Instead the TSP will make an 

immediate distribution to the spouse. 

A civilian beneficiary participant 

account is a beneficiary participant 

account that is established with a death 

benefit payment from a civilian TSP 

participant account to which 

contributions were made by or on behalf 

of a civilian employee (i.e. a civilian 

TSP participant account). A uniformed 

services beneficiary participant account 

is a beneficiary participant account that 

is established with a death benefit 

payment from a TSP participant account 

to which contributions were made by or 

on behalf of a member of the uniformed 

services (i.e. a uniformed services TSP 

participant account). 

Consistent with its treatment of 

accounts of participants who have both 

a civilian account and a uniformed 

services account, the TSP will maintain 

civilian beneficiary participant accounts 

separate from uniformed services 

beneficiary participant accounts. 

Beneficiary participants who acquire 

both a uniformed services participant 

account and a civilian beneficiary 

participant account will receive two 

separate TSP account numbers; one for 

the civilian beneficiary participant 

account and one for the uniformed 

services beneficiary participant account. 

Initial Account Balance Allocation 

Upon notice of a participant’s death, 

the Agency currently transfers all funds 

in a deceased participant’s account to 

the Government Securities Investment 

(G) Fund. This practice protects the 

account balance from risk of incurring 

losses between the time the Agency 

receives notice of the participant’s death 

and the time the Agency makes a 

distribution to a beneficiary. The 

Agency will continue this practice even 

when it appears that the beneficiary is 

the participant’s spouse. Therefore, 

funds in a beneficiary participant 

account will initially be allocated 

entirely to the G Fund regardless of the 

allocation of the participant’s account 

balance at the time of his or her death. 

Once a beneficiary participant account 

is established, the spouse beneficiary 

may redistribute the beneficiary 

participant account balance among the 

TSP investment funds by making an 

interfund transfer. 

Withdrawal Options 

A spouse beneficiary will be afforded 

the same withdrawal options with 

respect to his or her beneficiary 

participant account that the participant 

would have had with respect to his or 

her TSP account if the participant was 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 217 / Wednesday, November 10, 2010 / Proposed Rules 69027 

living and separated from service. 

Accordingly, a spouse beneficiary may 

elect to withdraw all or a portion of his 

or her beneficiary participant account as 

a partial payment or as a full 

withdrawal, that is in a single payment, 

a series of monthly payments, a life 

annuity, or any combination of these 

options. The spouse beneficiary cannot 

request loans, age-based withdrawals, or 

financial hardship withdrawals. 

Required Minimum Distributions 

The Internal Revenue Code requires 

spouse beneficiaries to receive a portion 

of their beneficiary participant account 

on or before the later of—(1) The end of 

the calendar year immediately following 

the calendar year in which the 

participant died; or (2) The end of the 

calendar year in which the employee 

would have attained age 701⁄2. The 

Agency will ensure that the annual total 

payments satisfy any applicable 

minimum distribution requirement of 

the Internal Revenue Code by making a 

supplemental payment, if necessary. 

The Agency will calculate minimum 

distributions based on the beneficiary 

participant account balance and the 

beneficiary participant’s age, using the 

IRS Single Life Table, Treas. Reg. 

§ 1.401(a)(9)–9, Q&A 1. 

Spousal Rights After Remarriage 

Sections 8351 and 8435, Title 5 of the 

United States Code give certain rights to 

the spouses of participants. These 

spousal rights are not applicable to the 

spouse of a beneficiary participant. 

Thus, if a beneficiary participant 

remarries, his or her new spouse will 

not have the right to consent, notice, or 

any particular form of distribution (e.g. 

joint and survivor annuity) with respect 

to withdrawals from the beneficiary 

participant account. 

Contributions, Transfers, and Rollovers 

to Beneficiary Participant Accounts 

The Thrift Savings Plan Enhancement 

Act of 2009 prohibits a spouse 

beneficiary from making contributions 

or ‘‘transfers’’ (trustee-to-trustee transfers 

or rollovers) to a beneficiary participant 

account. Accordingly, the Agency will 

not accept a contribution allocation 

request from a spouse beneficiary and a 

spouse beneficiary may not transfer or 

roll over any distributions from an IRA 

or an eligible employer plan into a 

beneficiary participant account. 

A beneficiary participant may acquire 

multiple civilian beneficiary participant 

accounts and/or multiple uniformed 

services beneficiary participants if he or 

she remarries a Federal employee who 

then dies having designated him or her 

as a beneficiary. Beneficiary participant 

accounts cannot be combined since 

combining accounts requires a transfer 

from one beneficiary participant 

account to another. 

Transfers and Rollovers From 

Beneficiary Participant Accounts 

A spouse beneficiary may transfer or 

roll over all or a portion of an eligible 

rollover distribution (within the 

meaning of Internal Revenue Code 

§ 402(c)(4)) to a traditional IRA, Roth 

IRA, or eligible employer plan. A spouse 

beneficiary who is a current or former 

Federal employee may also transfer or 

roll over all or a portion of an eligible 

rollover distribution from a civilian 

beneficiary participant account into his 

or her own civilian or uniformed 

services TSP participant account. 

A spouse beneficiary who is a current 

or former Federal employee may, 

likewise, transfer or roll over all or a 

portion of an eligible rollover 

distribution from a uniformed services 

beneficiary participant account into a 

civilian or uniformed services TSP 

participant account. However, a transfer 

of a uniformed services beneficiary 

participant account to a civilian TSP 

participant account cannot include taxexempt money attributable to the 

combat zone exclusion. Any tax-exempt 

money must remain in the uniformed 

services beneficiary account unless it is 

transferred or rolled over to an IRA or 

it is transferred directly to a uniformed 

services TSP participant account or 

other eligible employer plan that 

accepts tax-exempt money. 

Section 1600.31 of the Agency’s 

regulations currently prohibits 

participants from requesting incoming 

transfers or rollovers if they are 

receiving monthly payments from their 

TSP accounts. For this reason, a spouse 

beneficiary who is a current or former 

Federal employee would not be 

permitted to transfer an eligible rollover 

distribution from a beneficiary 

participant account to his or her own 

TSP participant account if he or she is 

receiving monthly payments from that 

account. The Agency proposes to 

remove this limitation on incoming 

transfers and rollovers. Thus, a spouse 

beneficiary would be permitted to 

transfer or roll over all or a portion of 

an eligible rollover distribution from his 

or her beneficiary participant account to 

his or her own TSP participant account 

even if he or she is receiving monthly 

payments. 

Combining a Uniformed Services 

Beneficiary Participant Account and a 

Civilian Beneficiary Participant 

Account Not Permitted 

The Agency’s regulations currently 

provide that a participant may combine 

his or her uniformed services account 

with a civilian account through a 

‘‘transfer.’’ See 5 CFR 1604.5(b). Even in 

the absence of this regulatory language, 

combining accounts would, as practical 

matter, require that one account be 

transferred to the other. Because the 

Thrift Savings Plan Enhancement Act 

prohibits contributions or transfers to a 

beneficiary participant account, a 

spouse beneficiary cannot combine his 

or her uniformed services beneficiary 

participant account with his or her 

civilian beneficiary participant account. 

Death of a Beneficiary Participant 

The balance of a beneficiary 

participant account must be disbursed 

upon the death of the beneficiary 

participant. A beneficiary participant 

may designate a beneficiary for his or 

her beneficiary participant account. If 

the beneficiary participant does not 

designate a beneficiary for his or her 

beneficiary participant account, the 

account will be disbursed in accordance 

with the order of precedence set forth at 

5 CFR 1651(a)(2) through (6). No 

individual who is entitled to a death 

benefit from a beneficiary participant 

account shall be eligible to keep his or 

her benefit in the TSP. 

A recipient of a death benefit payment 

from a beneficiary participant account 

cannot transfer the payment to an IRA 

or eligible retirement plan (including 

the TSP). The Internal Revenue Code 

permits death benefit distributions to be 

rolled over only when the distribution 

is ‘‘paid to the spouse of the employee’’ 

or the ‘‘designated beneficiary (as 

defined by section 401(a)(9)(E)) of the 

employee.’’ 26 U.S.C. 402(c)(9) 

(emphasis added); 26 U.S.C. 402(c)(11) 

(emphasis added). Because a beneficiary 

participant is not the employee, the TSP 

must pay the recipient of the death 

benefit payment directly and the 

payment will be fully taxable to that 

individual in the year of distribution. 26 

U.S.C. 402(a). 

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 and members of the 

uniformed services who participate in 

the Thrift Savings Plan, which is a 

Federal defined contribution retirement 

savings plan created under the Federal 


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Employees’ Retirement System Act of 

1986 (FERSA), Public Law 99–335, 100 

Stat. 514, and which is administered by 

the Agency. It will also affect their 

spouse beneficiaries. 

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, 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 § 1532 is not required. 

List of Subjects 

5 CFR Part 1600 

Government employees, Pensions, 

Retirement. 

5 CFR Part 1604 

Military personnel, Pensions, 

Retirement. 

5 CFR Part 1651 

Claims, Government employees, 

Pensions, Retirement. 

5 CFR Part 1690 

Government employees, Pensions, 

Retirement. 

Gregory T. Long, 

Executive Director, Federal Retirement Thrift 

Investment Board. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Agency proposes to 

amend 5 CFR chapter VI as follows: 

PART 1600—EMPLOYEE 

CONTRIBUTION ELECTIONS AND 

CONTRIBUTION ALLOCATIONS 

1. The authority citation for part 1600 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8351, 8432(a), 8432(b), 

8432(c), 8432(j), 8474(b)(5) and (c)(1), Thrift 

Savings Plan Enhancement Act of 2009, 

section 102. 

2. Amend § 1600.31, by revising 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 1600.31 Accounts eligible for transfer. 

(a) A participant who has an open 

TSP account and is entitled to receive 

(or receives) an eligible rollover 

distribution, within the meaning of 

I.R.C. section 402(c)(4) (26 U.S.C. 

402(c)(4)), from an eligible employer 

plan or a rollover contribution, within 

the meaning of I.R.C. section 408(d)(3) 

(26 U.S.C. 408(d)(3)), from a traditional 

IRA may cause to be transferred (or 

transfer) that distribution into his or her 

TSP account. 

* * * * * 

PART 1604—UNIFORMED SERVICES 

ACCOUNTS 

3. The authority citation for part 1604 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8440e, 8474(b)(5) and 

(c)(1). 

4. Revise § 1604.8 to read as follows: 

§ 1604.8 Death benefits. 

The account balance of a deceased 

service member will be paid as 

described at 5 CFR part 1651. If a 

service member account contains 

combat zone contributions, the death 

benefit payment will be made pro rata 

from all sources. 

PART 1651—DEATH BENEFITS 

5. Revise the authority citation for 

part 1651 to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8424(d), 8432(j), 

8433(e), 8435(c)(2), 8474(b)(5), 8474(c)(1), 

and Sec. 109, Pub. L. 111–31,123 Stat. 1176 

(5 U.S.C. 8433(e)). 

6. Amend § 1651.5 by revising 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 1651.5 Spouse of participant. 

(a) For purposes of payment under 

§ 1651.2(a)(2) of this chapter and 

establishment of beneficiary participant 

accounts under § 1651.19 of this 

chapter, the spouse of the participant is 

the person to whom the participant was 

married on the date of death. A person 

is considered to be married even if the 

parties are separated, unless a court 

decree of divorce or annulment has been 

entered. State law of the participant’s 

domicile will be used to determine 

whether the participant was married at 

the time of death. 

* * * * * 

7. Amend § 1651.14 by revising 

paragraph (c) to read as follows: 

§ 1651.14 How payment is made. 

* * * * * 

(c) Payment to the participant’s 

spouse. The Agency will automatically 

establish a beneficiary participant 

account (described in § 1651.19) for any 

spouse beneficiary. The Agency will not 

maintain a beneficiary participant 

account if the balance is less than $200 

on the date the beneficiary participant 

account is established. The Agency also 

will not transfer this amount to another 

eligible plan or pay it by electronic 

funds transfer. Instead the spouse will 

receive an immediate distribution in the 

form of a check. 

* * * * * 

8. Add § 1651.19 to read as follows: 

§ 1651.19 Beneficiary participant 

accounts. 

A beneficiary participant account may 

be established only for a spouse of a 

deceased participant who is a sole or 

partial beneficiary of the deceased 

participant’s TSP account. Beneficiary 

participant accounts are subject to the 

following rules and procedures: 

(a) Initial investment allocation. Each 

beneficiary participant account will be 

initially allocated 100 percent to the 

Government Securities Investment (G) 

Fund regardless of the allocation of the 

deceased participant’s account balance 

at the time of his or her death. A 

beneficiary participant may redistribute 

his or her beneficiary participant 

account balance among the TSP 

investment funds by making an 

interfund transfer request described in 

part 1601, subpart C, of this chapter. 

(b) Contributions. A beneficiary 

participant may not make contributions 

or transfers to his or her beneficiary 

participant account. The TSP will not 

accept a contribution allocation request 

described in part 1601, subpart B of this 

chapter for a beneficiary participant 

account. 

(c) Required minimum distributions. 

(1) A beneficiary participant must begin 

receiving annual distributions from his 

or her beneficiary participant account 

balance on or before the later of— 

(i) The end of the calendar year 

immediately following the calendar year 

in which the participant died; or 

(ii) The end of the calendar year in 

which the participant would have 

attained age 701⁄2. 

(2) The TSP will ensure that the 

amount of the beneficiary participant’s 

annual distributions that occur after the 

required minimum distribution date 

satisfy the applicable minimum 

distribution requirements of the Internal 

Revenue Code. The TSP will calculate 

minimum distributions based on the 

beneficiary participant account balance 

and the beneficiary participant’s age, 

using the IRS Single Life Table, 26 CFR 

1.401(a)(9)–9, Q&A–1. 

(d) Withdrawal elections. A 

beneficiary participant may elect to 

withdraw all or a portion of his or her 

beneficiary participant account as a 

partial payment or as a full withdrawal, 

that is in a single payment, a series of 

monthly payments, a life annuity, or 

any combination of these options. The 

provisions of §§ 1650.12, 1650.13, and 

1650.14 shall apply as if all references 


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to a participant are references to a 

beneficiary participant and all 

references to an account balance are 

references to a beneficiary participant 

account balance. 

(e) Ineligibility for certain 

withdrawals. A beneficiary participant 

is ineligible to request the following 

types of withdrawals from his or her 

beneficiary participant account: Agebased withdrawals described in 

§ 1650.31 of this chapter, financial 

hardship withdrawals described in 

§ 1650.32 of this chapter, or loans 

described in part 1655 of this chapter. 

A beneficiary participant will not be 

ineligible for a partial withdrawal 

because the deceased participant 

previously elected an age-based 

withdrawal. 

(f) Spousal rights. The spousal rights 

described in 5 U.S.C. 8351, 5 U.S.C. 

8435, or § 1650.61 of this chapter do not 

apply to beneficiary participant 

accounts. 

(g) Transfers. A beneficiary 

participant may request that the TSP 

transfer all or a portion of an eligible 

rollover distribution (within the 

meaning of I.R.C. section 402(c)(4)) from 

his or her beneficiary participant 

account to traditional IRA, Roth IRA or 

eligible employer plan (including a 

civilian or uniformed services TSP 

account other than a beneficiary 

participant account). In order to request 

such a transfer, the beneficiary 

participant must use the transfer form 

provided by the TSP. 

(h) Periodic statements. The TSP will 

furnish beneficiary participants with 

periodic statements in a manner 

consistent with part 1640 of this 

chapter. 

(i) Privacy Act. Part 1630 of this 

chapter shall apply with respect to a 

beneficiary participant as if the 

beneficiary participant is a TSP 

participant. 

(j) Error correction. If, because of an 

error committed by the Board or the TSP 

record keeper, a beneficiary 

participant’s account is not credited or 

charged with the investment gains or 

losses the account would have received 

had the error not occurred, the account 

will be credited subject to and in 

accordance with the rules and 

procedures set forth in § 1605.21. A 

beneficiary participant may submit a 

claim for correction of Board or TSP 

record keeper error pursuant to the 

procedures described in § 1605.22. 

(k) Court orders. Court orders relating 

to a civilian beneficiary participant 

account or uniformed services 

beneficiary participant account shall be 

processed pursuant to the procedures 

set forth in part 1653 of this chapter as 

if all references to a TSP participant are 

references to a beneficiary participant 

and all references to a TSP account or 

account balance are references to a 

beneficiary participant account or 

beneficiary participant account balance. 

Notwithstanding any provision of part 

1653, a payee of a court-ordered 

distribution from a beneficiary 

participant account cannot request a 

transfer of the court-ordered distribution 

to an eligible employer plan or IRA. 

(l) Death of beneficiary participant. 

To the extent it is not inconsistent with 

this section, a beneficiary participant 

account shall be disbursed upon the 

death of the beneficiary participant in 

accordance with part 1651 as if any 

reference to a participant is a reference 

to a beneficiary participant. For 

example, a beneficiary participant may 

designate a beneficiary for his or her 

beneficiary participant account in 

accordance with §§ 1651.3 and 1651.4 of 

this chapter. No individual who is 

entitled to a death benefit from a 

beneficiary participant account shall be 

eligible to keep the death benefit in the 

TSP or request that the TSP transfer all 

or a portion of the death benefit to an 

IRA or eligible employer plan. 

(m) Uniformed services beneficiary 

participant accounts. Uniformed 

services beneficiary participant 

accounts are subject to the following 

additional rules and procedures: 

(1) Uniformed services beneficiary 

participant accounts are established and 

maintained separately from civilian 

beneficiary participant accounts. 

Beneficiary participants who have a 

uniformed services beneficiary 

participant account and a civilian 

beneficiary participant account will be 

issued two separate TSP account 

numbers. A beneficiary participant must 

file separate interfund transfers and/or 

withdrawal requests for each account 

and submit separate beneficiary 

designation forms for each account; 

(2) A uniformed services beneficiary 

participant account and a civilian 

beneficiary participant account cannot 

be combined; 

(3) If a uniformed services beneficiary 

participant account contains combat 

zone contributions, any payments or 

withdrawals from the account will be 

distributed pro rata from all sources; 

(4) A beneficiary participant may 

transfer or roll over all or any portion 

of an eligible rollover distribution 

(within the meaning of I.R.C. section 

402(c)(4)) from a uniformed services 

beneficiary participant account into a 

civilian or uniformed services TSP 

participant account. However, taxexempt money attributable to combat 

zone contributions cannot be transferred 

from a uniformed services beneficiary 

participant account to a civilian TSP 

participant account. 

(n) Multiple beneficiary accounts. 

Each beneficiary participant account is 

maintained separately from all other 

beneficiary participant accounts. If an 

individual has multiple beneficiary 

participant accounts, each of the 

individual’s beneficiary participant 

accounts will have a unique account 

number. A beneficiary participant must 

file separate interfund transfers and/or 

withdrawal requests and submit 

separate beneficiary designation forms 

for each beneficiary participant account 

that the TSP maintains for him or her. 

A beneficiary participant account 

cannot be combined with another 

beneficiary participant account. 

PART 1690—THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN 

9. The authority citation for part 1690 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8474. 

10. Amend § 1690.1, by adding the 

definitions of ‘‘Beneficiary participant’’, 

‘‘Beneficiary participant account’’, 

‘‘Civilian beneficiary participant 

account’’, and ‘‘Uniformed services 

beneficiary participant account’’, and by 

revising the definition of ‘‘Plan 

participant’’ and ‘‘Spouse’’ in 

alphabetical order to read as follows: 

§ 1690.1 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Beneficiary participant means a 

spouse beneficiary for whom the TSP 

maintains a beneficiary participant 

account pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 8433(e) 

and in accordance with 5 CFR 1651.19. 

Beneficiary participant account 

means an account maintained pursuant 

to 5 U.S.C. 8433(e) and in accordance 

with 5 CFR 1651.19. The term includes 

both civilian beneficiary participant 

accounts and uniformed services 

beneficiary participant accounts. 

* * * * * 

Civilian beneficiary participant 

account means a beneficiary participant 

account that is established with a death 

benefit payment from a TSP account to 

which contributions were made by or on 

behalf of a civilian employee. 

* * * * * 

Plan participant or participant means 

any person with an account (other than 

a beneficiary participant account) in the 

Thrift Savings Plan or who would have 

an account (other than a beneficiary 

account) but for an employing agency 

error. 

* * * * * 

Spouse means the person to whom a 

TSP participant is married on the date 


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69030 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 217 / Wednesday, November 10, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

he or she signs a form on which the TSP 

requests spousal information, including 

a spouse from whom the participant is 

legally separated, and a person with 

whom the participant is living in a 

relationship that constitutes a common 

law marriage in the jurisdiction in 

which they live. Where a participant is 

seeking to reclaim an account that has 

been forfeited pursuant to 5 CFR 

1650.16, spouse also means the person 

to whom the participant was married on 

the withdrawal deadline. For purposes 

of 5 CFR 1651.5 and 5 CFR 1651.19, 

spouse also means the person to whom 

the participant was married on the date 

of the participant’s death. 

* * * * * 

Uniformed services beneficiary 

participant account means a beneficiary 

participant account that is established 

with a death benefit payment from a 

TSP account to which contributions 

were made by or on behalf of a member 

of the uniformed services. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2010–28320 Filed 11–9–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6760–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2010–1109; Directorate 

Identifier 2010–NM–155–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Bombardier, 

Inc. Model CL–600–2C10 (Regional Jet 

Series 700, 701, & 702) Airplanes, 

Model CL–600–2D15 (Regional Jet 

Series 705) Airplanes, and Model CL– 

600–2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) 

Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for the 

products listed above. This proposed 

AD results from mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information (MCAI) 

originated by an aviation authority of 

another country to identify and correct 

an unsafe condition on an aviation 

product. The MCAI describes the unsafe 

condition as: 

Rudder Travel Limiter (RTL) return spring, 

part number (P/N) E0650–069–2750S, failed 

prior to completion of the required 

endurance test. In addition, the replacement 

RTL return spring, P/N 670–93465–1 * * * 

was found to be susceptible to chafing on the 

primary actuator, which could also result in 

eventual dormant spring failure. There are 

two return springs in the RTL and if both 

springs failed, a subsequent mechanical 

disconnect of the RTL components would 

result in an unannunciated failure of the 

RTL. This, in turn, would permit an increase 

of rudder authority beyond normal structural 

limits and, in the event of a strong rudder 

input, controllability of the aeroplane could 

be affected. 

* * * * * 

The proposed AD would require 

actions that are intended to address the 

unsafe condition described in the MCAI. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by December 27, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, 

M–30, West Building Ground Floor, 

Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, 

M–30, West Building Ground Floor, 

Room W12–40, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

For service information identified in 

this proposed AD, contact Bombardier, 

Inc., 400 Coˆte-Vertu Road West, Dorval, 

Que ́bec H4S 1Y9, Canada; telephone 

514–855–5000; fax 514–855–7401; 

e-mail thd.crj@aero.bombardier.com; 

Internet http://www.bombardier.com. 

You may review copies of the 

referenced service information at the 

FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, 

Washington. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, 

call 425–227–1221. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; or in person at the 

Docket Operations office between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. The AD docket 

contains this proposed AD, the 

regulatory evaluation, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for the Docket Operations 

office (telephone (800) 647–5527) is in 

the ADDRESSES section. Comments will 

be available in the AD docket shortly 

after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cesar Gomez, Aerospace Engineer, 

Airframe and Mechanical Systems 

Branch, ANE–171, FAA, New York 

Aircraft Certification Office, 1600 

Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, 

New York 11590; telephone (516) 228– 

7318; fax (516) 794–5531. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to send any written 

relevant data, views, or arguments about 

this proposed AD. Send your comments 

to an address listed under the 

ADDRESSES section. Include ‘‘Docket No. 

FAA–2010–1109; Directorate Identifier 

2010–NM–155–AD’’ at the beginning of 

your comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of this proposed AD. We will 

consider all comments received by the 

closing date and may amend this 

proposed AD based on those comments. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. We 

will also post a report summarizing each 

substantive verbal contact we receive 

about this proposed AD. 

Discussion 

Transport Canada Civil Aviation 

(TCCA), which is the aviation authority 

for Canada, has issued Canadian 

Airworthiness Directive CF–2010–18, 

dated June 16, 2010 (referred to after 

this as ‘‘the MCAI’’), to correct an unsafe 

condition for the specified products. 

The MCAI states: 

Rudder Travel Limiter (RTL) return spring, 

part number (P/N) E0650–069–2750S, failed 

prior to completion of the required 

endurance test. In addition, the replacement 

RTL return spring, P/N 670–93465–1 (see 

Note) was found to be susceptible to chafing 

on the primary actuator, which could also 

result in eventual dormant spring failure. 

There are two return springs in the RTL and 

if both springs failed, a subsequent 

mechanical disconnect of the RTL 

components would result in an 

unannunciated failure of the RTL. This, in 

turn, would permit an increase of rudder 

authority beyond normal structural limits 

and, in the event of a strong rudder input, 

controllability of the aeroplane could be 

affected. 

Note: RTL return springs, P/N 670–93465– 

1, were installed in production aeroplanes 

serial number 10266 (CL–600–2C10) and 

15182 (CL–600–2D24) respectively and were 

introduced in-service by [Bombardier] 

Service Bulletin (SB) 670BA–27–047. SB 

670BA–27–047 has since been superseded by 

[Bombardier] SB 670BA–27–055. 

This directive mandates repetitive [detailed] 

inspection of the RTL [for broken] return 

springs and [damage through the casing, or 

chafing of the casing of the] primary actuator, 

with replacement of parts as necessary. 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS-1