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.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

78877 

Vol. 75, No. 242 

Friday, December 17, 2010 

FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT 

INVESTMENT BOARD 

5 CFR Parts 1600, 1604, 1650, 1651, 

and 1690 

Employee Contribution Elections and 

Contribution Allocations; Uniformed 

Services Accounts; Methods of 

Withdrawing Funds From the Thrift 

Savings Plan; Death Benefits; Thrift 

Savings Plan 

AGENCY: Federal Retirement Thrift 

Investment Board. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Retirement Thrift 

Investment Board (Agency) is amending 

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: This final rule is effective 

December 20, 2010. 

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)). 

This regulation was published in 

proposed form on November 10, 2010 

(75 FR 69026). The Agency received two 

comments. Both commenters 

recommended changes to the Agency’s 

regulations. However, each of the 

recommendations offered by the 

commenters are either outside the scope 

of this proposed rule or would result in 

a change that is beyond the authority 

granted by the Thrift Savings Plan 

Enhancement Act of 2009 (‘‘the Act’’), 

Public Law 111–31 (Division B, Title I), 

123 Stat. 1776, 1853. Therefore, the 

Agency is publishing the proposed rule 

as final without substantive 

modification. 

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. 

Subject to certain restrictions on 

contributions, loans, and withdrawal 

elections, the Act authorizes the Agency 

to allow a spouse of a deceased 

participant to retain a lump sum death 

benefit payment in the TSP. This final 

rule conforms the Agency’s regulations 

to the Act and sets 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 

balance of the beneficiary participant 

account is less than $200 on the date the 

account is established. 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 in the form of 

a U.S. Treasury check. 

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 

civilian accounts and uniformed 

services accounts, 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 

market-driven 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 for beneficiaries who are 

spouses. Therefore, regardless of the 

allocation of the participant’s account 

balance at the time of his or her death, 

funds in a beneficiary participant 

account will initially be allocated 

entirely to the G Fund. 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 

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 


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78878 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

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 

cannot accept a contribution allocation 

request from a spouse beneficiary and a 

spouse beneficiary cannot 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 

section 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. 

As currently written, the Agency’s 

regulations prohibit 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. 

This final rule removes the above 

described limitation on incoming 

transfers and rollovers. Thus, a spouse 

beneficiary will 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 a 

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)–(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 

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. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 78879 

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. 

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 1600 

Government employees, Pensions, 

Retirement. 

5 CFR Part 1604 

Military personnel, Pensions, 

Retirement. 

5 CFR Part 1650 

Alimony, Claims, Government 

employees, 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 amends 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 1650—METHODS OF 

WITHDRAWING FUNDS FROM THE 

THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN 

■ 5. The authority citation for part 1650 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8351, 8433, 8434, 

8435, 8474(b)(5), and 8474(c)(1). 

■ 6. Amend § 1650.13, by removing 

paragraph (f). 

PART 1651—DEATH BENEFITS 

■ 7. 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)). 

■ 8. 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) and establishment of 

beneficiary participant accounts under 

§ 1651.19, 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. The state law of the 

participant’s domicile will be used to 

determine whether the participant was 

married at the time of death. 

* * * * * 

■ 9. 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 of the beneficiary 

participant account is less than $200 on 

the date the 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. 

* * * * * 

■ 10. 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. 

Regardless of the allocation of the 

deceased participant’s account balance 

at the time of his or her death, each 

beneficiary participant account will be 

initially allocated 100 percent to the 

Government Securities Investment (G) 

Fund. 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 


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78880 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

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 any 

withdrawal option is available to 

separated participants. The provisions 

of § 1650.12, § 1650.13, and § 1650.14 

shall apply as if all references 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, and § 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 § 1651.19, 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 

■ 11. The authority citation for part 

1690 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8474. 

■ 12. Amend § 1690.1, to add the 

definitions of ‘‘Beneficiary participant’’, 

‘‘Beneficiary participant account’’, 

‘‘Civilian beneficiary participant 

account’’, and ‘‘Uniformed services 

beneficiary participant account’’, and by 

revising the definitions 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. 

* * * * * 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 78881 

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 

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. 2010–31656 Filed 12–16–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6760–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2010–0596; Directorate 

Identifier 2010–NE–22–AD; Amendment 39– 

16533; AD 2010–24–14] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Pratt & 

Whitney PW4000 Series Turbofan 

Engines 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

Pratt & Whitney PW4000 series turbofan 

engines. This AD requires initial and 

repetitive borescope inspections (BSI) or 

fluorescent penetrant inspections (FPI) 

for cracks in the anti-vortex tube (AVT) 

shelf slots on the 10th stage disk of the 

high-pressure compressor (HPC) drum 

rotor disk assembly. This AD results 

from 47 reports received since 2007 of 

HPC 10th stage disks found cracked in 

the AVT shelf slots during shop visit 

inspections. We are issuing this AD to 

prevent failure of the HPC 10th stage 

disk, uncontained engine failure, and 

damage to the airplane. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective 

January 21, 2011. The Director of the 

Federal Register approved the 

incorporation by reference of certain 

publications listed in the regulations as 

of January 21, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You can get the service 

information identified in this AD from 

Pratt & Whitney, 400 Main St., East 

Hartford, CT 06108; telephone (860) 

565–8770; fax (860) 565–4503. 

The Docket Operations office is 

located at Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Gray, Aerospace Engineer, Engine 

Certification Office, FAA, Engine and 

Propeller Directorate, 12 New England 

Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803; 

e-mail: james.e.gray@faa.gov; telephone 

(781) 238–7742; fax (781) 238–7199. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA 

proposed to amend 14 CFR part 39 with 

a proposed AD. The proposed AD 

applies to certain Pratt & Whitney 

PW4000 series turbofan engines. We 

published the proposed AD in the 

Federal Register on July 14, 2010 (75 FR 

40757). That action proposed to require 

initial and repetitive BSI or FPI for 

cracks in the AVT shelf slots on the 10th 

stage disk of the HPC drum rotor disk 

assembly. 

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 AD, the regulatory 

evaluation, any comments received, and 

other information. The street address for 

the Docket Operations office (telephone 

(800) 647–5527) is provided in the 

ADDRESSES section. Comments will be 

available in the AD docket shortly after 

receipt. 

Comments 

We provided the public the 

opportunity to participate in the 

development of this AD. We have 

considered the comments received. 

Request for Airplane Model Changes in 

the Applicability 

One commenter, The Boeing 

Company, requests that we change the 

list of airplane models in the 

applicability paragraph. The commenter 

requests that we add the 747–400 and 

–400F airplane models, and remove the 

747–200 airplane model. These changes 

will make the list accurate. 

We agree. We changed the AD 

applicability to reflect these changes. 

Request To Include Engine Removal 

Disassembly Labor Costs 

One commenter, Japan Airlines, 

requests that we change the costs of 

compliance estimate to include engine 

removal and disassembly labor costs. 

The commenter states that their 

domestic routes can go 7,000 cycles-inservice or more between engine 

overhauls. Since the inspection 

compliance interval in the proposed AD 

is within every 7,200 cycles-in-service, 

some of their engines could be removed 

and disassembled before they would 

normally be scheduled. 

We do not agree. The inspection 

compliance interval of within every 

7,200 cycles-in-service captures when 

most of the fleet will remove the lowpressure turbine shaft, or overhaul the 

HPC. Most operators will incur no 

additional costs. We did not change the 

AD. 

Request To Add Service Bulletins as 

Terminating Action 

Two commenters, Martinair Holland 

and Delta Airlines, Inc., request that we 

add Pratt & Whitney Service Bulletin 

(SB) No. PW4ENG 72–801 to the AD as 

terminating action for the repeat 

inspection. The commenters state that 

Pratt & Whitney issued that SB, as well 

as SB No. PW4G–100–72–225, to 

introduce a redesigned HPC 9th stage 

stator that will correct the cracking 

problem. 

We agree. We modified the AD to 

include optional terminating action for 

the repetitive inspections. 

Reference the Latest Service Bulletin 

Since we issued the proposed AD, 

Pratt & Whitney has issued Revision 1 

of Pratt & Whitney SB No. PW4ENG 72– 

799. We updated the AD to reference 

Revision 1 of this SB. 


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