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

18159 

Vol. 80, No. 64 

Friday, April 3, 2015 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

5 CFR Part 843 

RIN 3206–AN16 

Federal Employees’ Retirement 

System; Present Value Conversion 

Factors for Spouses of Deceased 

Separated Employees 

AGENCY: Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) is issuing a 

proposed rule to revise the table of 

reduction factors for early commencing 

dates of survivor annuities for spouses 

of separated employees who die before 

the date on which they would be 

eligible for unreduced deferred 

annuities. This rule is necessary to 

ensure that the tables conform to 

demographic assumptions adopted by 

the Board of Actuaries and published in 

the Federal Register on March 20, 2015, 

as required by 5 U.S.C. 8461(i). 

DATES: We must receive your comments 

by June 2, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number and/or RIN 

number RIN 3206–AN16 by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Email: combox@opm.gov. Include 

RIN number 3206–AN16 in the subject 

line of the message. 

• Mail: Jim Giuseppe, Retirement 

Policy, Retirement Services, Office of 

Personnel Management, 1900 E. Street 

NW., Washington, DC 20415–3200. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Roxann Johnson, (202) 606–0299. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 

20, 2015, OPM published a notice 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 

demographic factors adopted by the 

Board of Actuaries of the Civil Service 

Retirement System. 80 FR 15,036 

(March 20, 2015). By statute under 5 

U.S.C. 8461(i), the demographic factors 

require corresponding changes in factors 

used to produce actuarially equivalent 

benefits when required by the FERS Act. 

Section 843.311 of title 5, Code of 

Federal Regulations, regulates the 

benefits for the survivors of separated 

employees under 5 U.S.C. 8442(c). This 

section provides a choice of benefits for 

eligible current and former spouses. If 

the current or former spouse is the 

person entitled to the unexpended 

balance under the order of precedence 

at 5 U.S.C. 8424, he or she may elect to 

receive the unexpended balance instead 

of an annuity. 

Alternatively, an eligible current or 

former spouse may elect to receive an 

annuity commencing on the day after 

the employee’s death or on the deceased 

separated employee’s 62nd birthday. If 

the annuity commences on the deceased 

separated employee’s 62nd birthday, the 

annuity will equal 50 percent of the 

annuity that the separated employee 

would have received had he or she 

attained age 62. If the current or former 

spouse elects the earlier commencing 

date, the annuity is reduced using the 

factors in Appendix A to subpart C of 

part 843 to make the annuity actuarially 

equivalent to the present value of the 

annuity that the spouse or former 

spouse would have received if the 

annuity had commenced on the retiree’s 

62nd birthday. These rules amend that 

appendix to conform to the revised 

demographic assumptions. 

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory 

Review 

This rule has been reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget in 

accordance with Executive Order (E.O.) 

12866, as amended by E.O. 13258 and 

E.O. 13422. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

I certify that this regulation will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

because the regulation will only affect 

retirement payments to surviving 

current and former spouses of former 

employees and Members who separated 

from Federal service with title to a 

deferred annuity. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 843 

Air traffic controllers, Disability 

benefits, Firefighters, Government 

employees, Law enforcement officers, 

Pensions, Retirement. 

U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 

Katherine Archuleta, 

Director. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Office of Personnel 

Management proposes to amend 5 CFR 

part 843 as follows: 

PART 843—FEDERAL EMPLOYEES 

RETIREMENT SYSTEM—DEATH 

BENEFITS AND EMPLOYEE REFUNDS 

■ 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 Supart C of Part 843— 

Present Value Conversion Factors for 

Earlier Comencing Date of Annuities of 

Current and Former Spouses of 

Diseased Separated Employees 

With at least 10 but less than 20 years of 

creditable service— 

Age of separated employee 

at birthday before death Multiplier 

26 .......................................... .0726 

27 .......................................... .0792 

28 .......................................... .0859 

29 .......................................... .0930 

30 .......................................... .1002 

31 .......................................... .1081 

32 .......................................... .1165 

33 .......................................... .1252 

34 .......................................... .1343 

35 .......................................... .1443 

36 .......................................... .1550 

37 .......................................... .1664 

38 .......................................... .1786 

39 .......................................... .1914 

40 .......................................... .2053 

41 .......................................... .2200 

42 .......................................... .2358 

43 .......................................... .2528 

44 .......................................... .2710 

45 .......................................... .2905 

46 .......................................... .3114 

47 .......................................... .3337 

48 .......................................... .3580 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
18160 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 64 / Friday, April 3, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

Age of separated employee 

at birthday before death Multiplier 

49 .......................................... .3839 

50 .......................................... .4118 

51 .......................................... .4419 

52 .......................................... .4745 

53 .......................................... .5097 

54 .......................................... .5477 

55 .......................................... .5889 

56 .......................................... .6336 

57 .......................................... .6822 

58 .......................................... .7350 

59 .......................................... .7926 

60 .......................................... .8556 

61 .......................................... .9244 

With at least 20, but less than 30 years of 

creditable service— 

Age of separated employee 

at birthday before death Multiplier 

36 .......................................... .1810 

37 .......................................... .1943 

38 .......................................... .2086 

39 .......................................... .2236 

40 .......................................... .2398 

41 .......................................... .2570 

42 .......................................... .2754 

43 .......................................... .2953 

44 .......................................... .3166 

45 .......................................... .3394 

46 .......................................... .3638 

47 .......................................... .3899 

48 .......................................... .4182 

49 .......................................... .4485 

50 .......................................... .4812 

51 .......................................... .5164 

52 .......................................... .5545 

53 .......................................... .5955 

54 .......................................... .6400 

55 .......................................... .6881 

56 .......................................... .7404 

57 .......................................... .7972 

58 .......................................... .8590 

59 .......................................... .9264 

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 .......................... .4561 .4910 

47 .......................... .4889 .5264 

48 .......................... .5244 .5646 

49 .......................... .5624 .6055 

50 .......................... .6035 .6497 

51 .......................... .6476 .6973 

52 .......................... .6954 .7487 

53 .......................... .7469 .8042 

54 .......................... .8027 .8643 

55 .......................... .8631 .9294 

56 .......................... .9287 1.0000 

[FR Doc. 2015–07747 Filed 4–2–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–38–P 

OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS 

5 CFR Part 2600, 2601, 2604 

RIN 3209–AA40, 3209–AA41, 3209–AA39 

Organization and Functions; 

Implementation of Statutory Gift 

Acceptance Authority; Freedom of 

Information Act 

AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics 

(OGE). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Office of 

Government Ethics is updating and 

streamlining its organization and 

functions regulation and its statutory 

gift acceptance authority 

implementation. OGE is also updating 

and streamlining its Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) regulation to 

reflect OGE’s existing policy and 

practice and to implement changes to 

the FOIA. Finally, the proposed 

revisions make administrative changes 

and update cost figures for calculating 

and charging fees. 

DATES: Written comments are invited 

and must be received on or before June 

2, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit written 

comments to OGE on the proposed rule 

by any of the following methods: 

• Email: usoge@oge.gov. Include the 

appropriate Regulation Identifier 

Number in the subject line of the 

message. 

• Fax: (202) 482–9237. 

• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: U.S. 

Office of Government Ethics, Suite 500, 

1201 New York Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20005–3917, Attention: 

Jennifer Matis, Assistant Counsel. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include OGE’s agency name and the 

appropriate Regulation Identifier 

Number. Use RIN 3209–AA40 to submit 

comments on the proposed changes to 5 

CFR part 2600; RIN 3209–AA41 to 

submit comments on the proposed 

changes to 5 CFR part 2600; and RIN 

3209–AA39 to submit comments on the 

proposed changes to 5 CFR part 2604. 

OGE will post all comments on its Web 

site (www.oge.gov). All comments 

received will be posted without change; 

OGE generally does not edit a 

commenter’s personal identifying 

information from submissions. You 

should submit only information that 

you wish to make available publicly. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Matis, Assistant Counsel, 202– 

482–9216. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Substantive Discussion 

The rule proposes revisions to 

standardize, update, and streamline the 

language of 5 CFR parts 2600, 2601, and 

2604. In addition, the proposed 

revisions to 5 CFR part 2600 remove 

out-of-date information regarding OGE’s 

organizational structure and instead 

refer individuals to its Web site for 

current information. Likewise, the 

proposed revisions to 5 CFR part 2601 

reflect changes to OGE’s organizational 

structure. 

The primary purpose of the proposed 

revisions to 5 CFR part 2604 is to reflect 

changes to the FOIA under the 

Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our 

National (OPEN) Government Act of 

2007, Public Law 110–175, and to 

incorporate principles established by 

the 2009 FOIA memorandum. OGE is 

committed to operating transparently 

and has been administratively adhering 

to the developments in FOIA law and to 

the President’s directive. Except as 

noted below, the proposed revisions 

reflect OGE’s existing policies and 

practices. 

The following is a subpart-by-subpart 

analysis of the proposed changes to 5 

CFR part 2604: 

Subpart A—General Provisions. The 

definition of ‘‘duplication’’ has been 

updated in accordance with changes in 

technology. The definition of 

‘‘representative of the news media’’ has 

been revised to incorporate amendments 

to the FOIA under the OPEN 

Government Act. Section 2604.104 has 

been added to inform FOIA requesters 

about OGE’s obligations regarding the 

preservation of records. Section 

2604.105 has been added to clarify that 

OGE’s FOIA regulation does not create 

an entitlement to additional rights or 

services beyond those conferred by the 

FOIA. 

Subpart B—FOIA Public Reading 

Room Facility and Web site; Index 

Indentifying Information for the Public. 

Section 2604.201(a)(2) was revised to 

reflect OGE’s existing practice of 

proactively identifying and posting on 

its Web site records of interest to the 

public, in accordance with the 

principles set forth by the 2009 FOIA 

memorandum. Section 2604.201(b)(5) 

was revised to parallel the language of 

the FOIA. After consideration, OGE 

decided not to revise § 2604.202(b), 

which contains a notice that the 

Director of OGE has determined that it 

is unnecessary and impracticable to 

publish and distribute a quarterly index 

of materials available under 5 U.S.C. 

552(a)(2). However, OGE will consider 

whether it would be feasible to publish 


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