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

14201

Vol. 60, No. 51

Thursday, March 16, 1995

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL

MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Parts 831 and 842

RIN 3206–AG10

Termination of Survivor Annuity

Entitlement Based on Remarriage

Before Age 55

AGENCY: Office of Personnel

Management.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel

Management (OPM) is issuing final

regulations concerning survivor annuity

entitlement under the Civil Service

Retirement System and Federal

Employees Retirement System. The

regulations facilitate qualification for a

current spouse survivor annuity in

certain cases involving a former

spouse’s remarriage to a retiree. The

regulations also limit the scope of the

current regulations prohibiting

reinstatement of a former spouse

survivor annuity after an annulment.

The regulations are necessary to

implement the basic purpose of the

statute.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 17, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Harold L. Siegelman, (202) 606–0299.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August

15, 1994, we published (at 59 FR 41716)

proposed regulations to facilitate

qualification for a current spouse

survivor annuity in certain cases

involving a former spouse’s remarriage

to a retiree and to limit the scope of the

current regulations prohibiting

reinstatement of a former spouse

survivor annuity after an annulment.

We received one comment that relates to

the former spouse annulment issue. We

address the comment in our discussion

of that issue.

Under sections 8341(h)(3)(B) and

8445(c)(2) of title 5, United States Code,

a former spouse’s survivor annuity

entitlement terminates if the former

spouse remarries before age 55. In a

recent case, a retiree’s former spouse

was eligible for a survivor annuity, but

she remarried the retiree before she

reached age 55. They remarried to make

sure the former spouse would get a

survivor annuity. The retiree died 1

month after the remarriage without

notifying OPM and the survivor

reduction in the retiree’s annuity

continued until his death. The retiree,

assuming the remarriage would assure

his wife’s future, died without having

filed a written election to provide a

survivor annuity for her. (See 5 U.S.C.

8339(j)(5)(B) and 8419(b)(2)(C).) In our

adjudication of this case, we decided to

construe the statute so that the widow’s

pre-age 55 remarriage to the retiree

under these circumstances does not

disqualify her. To interpret the law to

prevent her from receiving a survivor

annuity would produce an

unconscionable result that Congress

never intended. Accordingly, we

decided to issue regulations to adopt a

more reasonable approach to this

situation. Under these regulations, when

a retiree remarries a former spouse who

would be entitled, if not for the

remarriage, to a former spouse survivor

annuity based on the retiree’s service,

and the retiree takes no action to

terminate the annuity reduction, we will

deem the retiree to have elected to

continue the reduction to provide a

current spouse annuity under section

8339(j)(5)(B)(iii) or section 8419(b)(2)(C)

of title 5, United States Code. We will

deem the election to have occurred

whether the former spouse’s entitlement

was based on the retiree’s election or on

a court order. Of course, an election will

not be deemed if the retiree, in writing,

asks OPM to stop the reduction either

before or after the remarriage.

The new regulations also clarify the

scope of the current regulations

concerning reinstatement of a former

spouse survivor annuity entitlement

after an annulment. Our current

regulations provide that a former

spouse’s entitlement will not be

reinstated even if it ended due to a

remarriage that is later determined to be

invalid and is annulled. The comment

that we received on the proposed

regulations expressed the belief that,

when a void marriage is annulled ab

initio, we should act as though the

marriage never occurred.

The rationale for our approach is

based on the State courts’ treatment of

remarriage for alimony purposes.

Generally, the courts will not allow

alimony to be reinstated when the

remarriage is annulled because the

payer of the alimony is allowed to rely

on the act of remarriage (regardless of

validity) to plan for the future without

the alimony obligation. See 55 FR 9094,

March 12, 1990 (addressing similar

comments in connection with the

original issuance of the current

regulation). The only purpose of our

proposed rule was to clarify that the

current regulation does not apply to a

very small class of cases for which the

alimony analogy is inapposite.

Our alimony analogy does not fit

cases in which the former spouse’s

entitlement is not related to any

reduction in the retiree’s annuity.

Section 4(b)(1)(B) and 4(b)(4) of the

Civil Service Retirement Spouse Equity

Act of 1984, as amended, provide

survivor annuity benefits to former

spouses who meet certain criteria,

without requiring a reduction in a

retiree’s benefit. We proposed and are

now amending section 831.644(d) of

Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, to

allow reinstatement of entitlements

based on section 4(b)(1)(B) and 4(b)(4) of

the Civil Service Retirement Spouse

Equity Act of 1984, as amended, if the

remarriage before age 55 is later found

to be invalid from its inception. The

alimony analogy continues to fit—and

therefore we will not reinstate the

former spouse’s entitlement following

an annulment—in any situation in

which a reduction in the employee

annuity is required to provide the

former spouse survivor annuity.

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

Federal agencies and retirement

payments to retired Government

employees, spouses, and former

spouses.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Parts 831 and

842

Administrative practice and

procedure, Air traffic controllers,

Claims, Disability benefits, Firefighters,

Government employees, Income taxes,
14202 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 51 / Thursday, March 16, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

Intergovernmental relations, Law

enforcement officers, Pensions,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Retirement.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Lorraine A. Green,

Deputy Director.

Accordingly, OPM is amending

subpart F of 5 CFR part 831 and subpart

F of 5 CFR part 842, as follows:

PART 831—RETIREMENT

1. The authority citation for part 831

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8347; § 831.102 also

issued under 5 U.S.C. 8334; § 831.106 also

issued under 5 U.S.C. 552a; § 831.108 also

issued under 5 U.S.C. 8336(d)(2);

§ 831.201(b)(6) also issued under 5 U.S.C.

7701(b)(2); § 831.204 also issued under

section 7202(m)(2) of the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act of 1990, Pub. L. 105–508,

104 Stat. 1388–339; § 831.303 also issued

under 5 U.S.C. 8334(d)(2); § 831.502 also

issued under 5 U.S.C. 8337; § 831.502 also

issued under section 1(3), E.O. 11228, 3 CFR

1964–1965 Comp.; § 831.621 also issued

under section 201(d) of the Federal

Employees Benefits Improvement Act of

1986, Pub. L. 99–251, 100 Stat. 23; subpart

S also issued under 5 U.S.C. 834(k); subpart

V also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8343a and

section 6001 of the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act of 1987, Pub. L. 100–203,

101 Stat. 1330–275; § 831.2203 also issued

under section 7001(a)(4) of the Omnibus

Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, Pub. L.

101–508; 104 Stat. 1388–328.

Subpart F—Survivor Annuities

2. In section 831.644, paragraph (d) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 831.644 Remarriage.

* * * * *

(d) (1) If present or future entitlement

to a former spouse annuity is terminated

because of remarriage before age 55, the

entitlement will not be reinstated upon

termination of the remarriage by death

or divorce.

(2) If present or future entitlement to

a former spouse annuity is terminated

because of remarriage before age 55, the

entitlement will not be reinstated upon

annulment of the remarriage unless—

(i) The decree of annulment states that

the marriage is without legal effect

retroactively from the marriage’s

inception; and

(ii) The former spouse’s entitlement is

based on section 4(b)(1)(B) or section

(4)(b)(4) of Pub. L. 98–615.

(3) If a retiree who is receiving a

reduced annuity to provide a former

spouse annuity and who has remarried

that former spouse (before the former

spouse attained age 55) dies, the retiree

will be deemed to have elected to

continue the reduction to provide a

current spouse annuity unless the

retiree requests (or has requested) in

writing that OPM terminate the

reduction.

PART 842—FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

RETIREMENT SYSTEM—BASIC

ANNUITY

3. The authority citation for part 842

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8461(g); §§ 842.104 and

842.106 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8461(n);

§ 842.105 also issued under 5 U.S.C.

8402(c)(1) and 7701(b)(2); § 842.106 also

issued under section 7202(m)(2) of the

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990,

Pub. L. 101–508 and 5 U.S.C. 8402(c)(1);

§§ 842.604 and 842.611 also issued under 5

U.S.C. 8417; § 842.607 also issued under 5

U.S.C. 8416 and 8417; § 842.614 also issued

under 5 U.S.C. 8419; § 842.615 also issued

under 5 U.S.C. 8418; § 842.703 also issued

under section 7001(a)(4) of the Omnibus

Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, Pub. L.

101–508; § 842.707 also issued under section

6001 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation

Act of 1987, Pub. L. 100–203; § 842.708 also

issued under section 4005 of the Omnibus

Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, Pub. L.

101–239 and section 7001 of the Omnibus

Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, Pub. L.

101–508; subpart H also issued under 5

U.S.C. 1104.

Subpart F—Survivor Elections

4. In section 842.612, paragraph (h) is

added to read as follows:

§ 842.612 Post-retirement election of a

fully reduced annuity or one-half reduced

annuity to provide a current spouse

annuity.

* * * * *

(h) If a retiree who is receiving a

reduced annuity to provide a former

spouse annuity and who has remarried

that former spouse (before the former

spouse attained age 55) dies, the retiree

will be deemed to have elected to

continue the reduction to provide a

current spouse annuity unless the

retiree requests (or has requested) in

writing that OPM terminate the

reduction.

[FR Doc. 95–6508 Filed 3–15–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6325–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

7 CFR Parts 300 and 319

[Docket No. 94–036–2]

Importation of Fruits and Vegetables

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: We are allowing a number of

previously prohibited fruits and

vegetables to be imported into the

United States from certain parts of the

world. All of the fruits and vegetables,

as a condition of entry, will be subject

to inspection, disinfection, or both, at

the port of first arrival as may be

required by a U.S. Department of

Agriculture inspector. In addition, some

of the fruits and vegetables will be

required to undergo prescribed

treatments for fruit flies or other

injurious insects as a condition of entry,

or to meet other special conditions. This

action will provide the United States

with additional kinds and sources of

fruits and vegetables while continuing

to provide protection against the

introduction and dissemination of

injurious plant pests by imported fruits

and vegetables.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 16, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Frank E. Cooper or Mr. Peter Grosser,

Senior Operations Officers, Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant

Protection and Quarantine, Port

Operations, 4700 River Road Unit 139,

Riverdale, Maryland 20737–1228; (301)

734–8645.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in 7 CFR 319.56

through 319.56–8 (referred to below as

the regulations) prohibit or restrict the

importation of fruits and vegetables into

the United States from certain parts of

the world to prevent the introduction

and dissemination of injurious insects

that are new to or not widely distributed

within and throughout the United

States.

On October 25, 1994, we published in

the Federal Register (59 FR 53606–

53612, Docket No. 94–036–1) a proposal

to amend the regulations by allowing

additional fruits and vegetables to be

imported into the United States from

certain parts of the world under

specified conditions. The importation of

these fruits and vegetables had been

prohibited because of the risk that the