Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 66679 

(ii) The number of applications 

submitted under the military spouse 

hiring authority; 

(iii) The number of military spouses 

appointed under the military spouse 

hiring authority during the preceding 

fiscal year; and 

(iv) Actions taken to advertise the 

military spouse hiring authority, and 

any other actions taken to promote the 

hiring of military spouses. 

(2) Agencies must send their reports 

electronically to OPM’s Employee 

Services, VETS Office at 

militaryspouse@opm.gov. 

(3) Agencies are also required to send 

their reports separately and directly to 

Department of Labor (DOL) at 

milspouse@dol.gov. 

[FR Doc. 2023–21254 Filed 9–27–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–39–P 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

5 CFR Part 843 

[Docket ID: OPM–2023–0008] 

RIN 3206–AO55 

Federal Employees’ Retirement 

System; Present Value Conversion 

Factors for Spouses of Deceased 

Separated Employees 

AGENCY: Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) is adopting its 

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. 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 remains unchanged. These 

revisions 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 14, 2023, 

as required by law. 

DATES: This rule is effective October 1, 

2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karla Yeakle, (202) 606–0299. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 

14, 2023, OPM published a notice at 88 

FR 23108 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 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. 

As a result, on July 14, 2023, at 88 FR 

45100, OPM published a proposed rule 

in the Federal Register to revise the 

table of reduction factors in 5 CFR part 

843, Appendix A to subpart C 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. 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 5 CFR 843.309 

remains unchanged. 

OPM received one comment in 

response to its proposed rule. The 

commentor questioned whether this 

rule change will affect the cost to the 

Federal retirement systems. Any 

potential cost impact to the retirement 

systems would merely be costs 

associated with complying with the 

statutory requirements under 5 U.S.C. 

8442(c)(2)(B)(ii) and 5 U.S.C. 8461(i). 

The provision under 5 U.S.C. 

8442(c)(2)(B)(ii) requires that if a 

survivor of a former Federal employee 

elects to receive a survivor annuity 

immediately upon the death of the 

former employee (instead of electing to 

wait to receive the survivor annuity 

until the deceased former employee 

would have otherwise been entitled to 

an unreduced deferred annuity benefit), 

then OPM must reduce the survivor 

annuity so it is ‘‘actuarially equivalent’’ 

to the present value of what the survivor 

annuitant would have received had the 

survivor elected the later survivor 

annuity commencing date. The statutory 

provision under 5 U.S.C. 8461(i) 

provides that OPM must determine 

‘‘actuarial equivalence’’ using the same 

economic assumptions most recently 

used by the Board of Actuaries for 

valuation of the FERS based on dynamic 

assumptions. Therefore, any potential 

cost impacts to the retirement systems 

are the result of changes to OPM’s 

calculations of actuarial equivalence 

using the most recent dynamic 

assumptions used by the Board of 

Actuaries as required under 5 U.S.C. 

8442(c)(2)(B)(ii) and 5 U.S.C. 8461(i). 

Additionally, considering the small 

number of survivor annuities affected, 

OPM does not anticipate this rule will 

have substantial cost impact to the 

retirement systems. 

The effective date of a substantive 

rule is normally delayed by 30 days. See 

5 U.S.C. 553(d). OPM published notice 

of the normal cost percentages on April 

14, 2023, with an effective date of 

October 1, 2023. Based on the same 

economic assumptions as the normal 

cost percentages, OPM published notice 

of conversion factors on July 14, 2023, 

and provided a 30-day comment period. 

OPM provided notice of the October 1, 

2023, effective date for the conversion 

factors in its July 14, 2023, proposed 

rule and received no comments 

regarding the date. Delaying the 

effective date by 30 days is unnecessary 

as this is a routine, technical rule to 

update the conversion factors to align 

with the economic assumptions 

underlying the normal cost percentages. 

Furthermore, the normal cost 

percentages are used to calculate 

payments into the Civil Service 

Retirement and Disability Fund (Fund) 

and failing to adjust the conversion 

factors at the same time could result in 

a liability to the Fund. Accordingly, it 

is also in the public interest to ensure 

consistency between the economic 

assumptions underlying the normal cost 

percentages and the conversion factors. 

Finally, ensuring the effective dates for 

the two rules are in alignment complies 

with 5 U.S.C. 8442 and 8461(i). 

Therefore, OPM finds there is good 

cause to make the rule effective October 

1, 2023. 

Expected Impact of This Rule 

OPM is adopting its 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. The 

factors that are in effect can be found in 

appendix A to subpart C of 5 CFR part 

843. 

Of all the applications for survivor 

annuity death benefits OPM receives 

annually, OPM expects this rule to 

affect approximately one percent of 

those survivor annuity death 

applications it receives that are based on 

the death of a separated employee. Of 

the changes this rule implements, the 

most significant change is to conform 

the factors to the revised actuarial 

assumptions when the current or former 

spouse elects to receive an adjusted 

annuity beginning on the day after the 

death of the separated employee, such 

that the annuity is reduced using the 

factors in appendix A to subpart C of 5 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
66680 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

CFR 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. When OPM updates the FERS 

normal cost, the FERS law at 5 U.S.C. 

8461(i) requires that OPM make 

corresponding changes to the factors 

used to produce actuarially equivalent 

benefits under FERS. Specifically, this 

rule is needed to revise the present 

value conversion factors for certain 

benefits payable under FERS to current 

and former spouses of deceased 

separated employees. This rule allows 

certain survivors to make choices about 

what benefits they want to receive and, 

in some instances, when they want the 

benefits to begin. Considering the small 

number of survivor annuities affected, 

OPM does not anticipate this rule will 

substantially affect local economies or 

have a large impact in local labor 

markets. 

Regulatory Review 

Executive Orders 13563, 12866, and 

14094 direct 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). This rule was not designated as 

a ‘‘significant regulatory action,’’ under 

Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, 

was not reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Director of OPM 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. 

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 

OMB Control Number. 

This rule involves an OMB-approved 

collection of information subject to the 

PRA titled ‘‘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),’’ 

OMB Control Number 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. 

Kayyonne Marston, 

Federal Register Liaison. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, OPM amends 5 CFR part 843 

as follows: 

PART 843—FEDERAL EMPLOYEES 

RETIREMENT SYSTEM—DEATH 

BENEFITS AND EMPLOYEE REFUNDS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 843 

continues 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 

■ 2. 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— 

Age of separated employee at 

birthday before death Multiplier 

26 .............................................. .1081 

27 .............................................. .1146 

28 .............................................. .1215 

29 .............................................. .1289 

30 .............................................. .1367 

31 .............................................. .1451 

32 .............................................. .1539 

33 .............................................. .1634 

34 .............................................. .1735 

35 .............................................. .1840 

36 .............................................. .1954 

37 .............................................. .2071 

38 .............................................. .2196 

39 .............................................. .2326 

40 .............................................. .2460 

41 .............................................. .2611 

42 .............................................. .2772 

43 .............................................. .2939 

44 .............................................. .3124 

45 .............................................. .3314 

46 .............................................. .3525 

47 .............................................. .3743 

48 .............................................. .3978 

49 .............................................. .4230 

50 .............................................. .4500 

51 .............................................. .4792 

52 .............................................. .5106 

53 .............................................. .5442 

54 .............................................. .5804 

55 .............................................. .6190 

56 .............................................. .6614 

57 .............................................. .7070 

58 .............................................. .7565 

59 .............................................. .8100 

60 .............................................. .8680 

61 .............................................. .9312 

With at least 20, but less than 30 years of 

creditable service— 

Age of separated employee at 

birthday before death Multiplier 

36 .............................................. .2248 

37 .............................................. .2383 

38 .............................................. .2528 

39 .............................................. .2679 

40 .............................................. .2835 

41 .............................................. .3009 

42 .............................................. .3195 

43 .............................................. .3389 

44 .............................................. .3601 

45 .............................................. .3821 

46 .............................................. .4064 

47 .............................................. .4316 

48 .............................................. .4587 

49 .............................................. .4878 

50 .............................................. .5190 

51 .............................................. .5526 

52 .............................................. .5887 

53 .............................................. .6274 

54 .............................................. .6691 

55 .............................................. .7137 

56 .............................................. .7623 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 66681 

Age of separated employee at 

birthday before death Multiplier 

57 .............................................. .8149 

58 .............................................. .8717 

59 .............................................. .9332 

With at least 30 years of creditable 

service— 

Age of separated 

employee at 

birthday before 

death 

Multiplier by 

separated 

employee’s 

year of birth 

After 1966 From 1950 

through 1966 

46 ........................ .4989 .5332 

47 ........................ .5300 .5665 

48 ........................ .5634 .6021 

49 ........................ .5991 .6403 

50 ........................ .6374 .6813 

51 ........................ .6786 .7253 

52 ........................ .7228 .7725 

53 ........................ .7703 .8232 

54 ........................ .8213 .8778 

55 ........................ .8763 .9365 

56 ........................ .9357 1.0000 

[FR Doc. 2023–21284 Filed 9–27–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–38–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2023–1403; Project 

Identifier MCAI–2023–00479–T; Amendment 

39–22548; AD 2023–18–07] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Dassault 

Aviation Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is superseding 

Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2020–03– 

19, which applied to certain Dassault 

Aviation Model MYSTERE–FALCON 

20–C5, 20–D5, 20–E5, and 20–F5 

airplanes. AD 2020–03–19 required 

revising the existing maintenance or 

inspection program, as applicable, to 

incorporate new or more restrictive 

airworthiness limitations. This AD 

continues to require the actions in AD 

2020–03–19 and requires revising the 

existing maintenance or inspection 

program, as applicable, to incorporate 

additional new or more restrictive 

airworthiness limitations; as specified 

in a European Union Aviation Safety 

Agency (EASA) AD, which is 

incorporated by reference. This AD was 

prompted by a determination that new 

or more restrictive airworthiness 

limitations are necessary. The FAA is 

issuing this AD to address the unsafe 

condition on these products. 

DATES: This AD is effective November 2, 

2023. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain publication listed in this AD 

as of November 2, 2023. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain publication listed in this AD 

as of April 2, 2020 (85 FR 11280, 

February 27, 2020). 

ADDRESSES: 

AD Docket: You may examine the AD 

docket at regulations.gov under Docket 

No. FAA–2023–1403; or in person at 

Docket Operations between 9 a.m. and 

5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. The AD docket 

contains this final rule, the mandatory 

continuing airworthiness information 

(MCAI), any comments received, and 

other information. The address for 

Docket Operations is U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

Material Incorporated by Reference: 

• For EASA material incorporated by 

reference in this AD, contact EASA, 

Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 

Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 

8999 000; email ADs@easa.europa.eu; 

website easa.europa.eu. You may find 

this material on the EASA website at 

ad.easa.europa.eu. It is also available at 

regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA– 

2023–1403. 

• For Dassault service information 

incorporated by reference in this AD, 

contact Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation, 

Teterboro Airport, P.O. Box 2000, South 

Hackensack, NJ 07606; telephone 201– 

440–6700; website dassaultfalcon.com. 

• You may view this service 

information at the FAA, Airworthiness 

Products Section, Operational Safety 

Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des 

Moines, WA. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, 

call 206–231–3195. It is also available at 

regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA– 

2023–1403. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom 

Rodriguez, Aviation Safety Engineer, 

FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, 

Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 206– 

231–3226; email tom.rodriguez@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The FAA issued a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR 

part 39 to supersede AD 2020–03–19, 

Amendment 39–19843 (85 FR 11280, 

February 27, 2020) (AD 2020–03–19). 

AD 2020–03–19 applied to certain 

Dassault Aviation Model MYSTERE– 

FALCON 20–C5, 20–D5, 20–E5, and 20– 

F5 airplanes. AD 2020–03–19 required 

revising the existing maintenance or 

inspection program, as applicable, to 

incorporate new or more restrictive 

airworthiness limitations. The FAA 

issued AD 2020–03–19 to address 

fatigue cracking, damage, and corrosion 

in principal structural elements, which 

could result in reduced structural 

integrity of the airplane. 

The NPRM published in the Federal 

Register on July 11, 2023 (88 FR 44065). 

The NPRM was prompted by EASA AD 

2023–0058, dated March 16, 2023, 

issued by EASA, which is the Technical 

Agent for the Member States of the 

European Union (referred to after this as 

the MCAI). The MCAI states that new or 

more restrictive airworthiness 

limitations have been developed. 

You may examine the MCAI in the 

AD docket at regulations.gov under 

Docket No. FAA–2023–1403. 

In the NPRM, the FAA proposed to 

continue to require the actions in AD 

2020–03–19. In the NPRM, the FAA also 

proposed to require revising the existing 

maintenance or inspection program, as 

applicable, to incorporate additional 

new or more restrictive airworthiness 

limitations, as specified in an EASA AD. 

The FAA is issuing this AD to address 

fatigue cracking, damage, and corrosion 

in principal structural elements. The 

unsafe condition, if not addressed, 

could result in reduced structural 

integrity of the airplane. 

Discussion of Final Airworthiness 

Directive 

Comments 

The FAA received no comments on 

the NPRM or on the determination of 

the cost to the public. 

Conclusion 

This product has been approved by 

the aviation authority of another 

country and is approved for operation in 

the United States. Pursuant to the FAA’s 

bilateral agreement with this State of 

Design Authority, it has notified the 

FAA of the unsafe condition described 

in the MCAI referenced above. The FAA 

reviewed the relevant data and 

determined that air safety requires 

adopting this AD as proposed. 

Accordingly, the FAA is issuing this AD 

to address the unsafe condition on this 

product. Except for minor editorial 

changes, this AD is adopted as proposed 

in the NPRM. None of the changes will 

increase the economic burden on any 

operator. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1