IIB
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 416
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 24, 1999
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs
AN ACT
To provide for the rectification of certain retirement coverage
errors affecting Federal employees, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Federal Retirement Coverage Corrections Act’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Applicability.
Sec. 4. Restriction relating to future corrections.
Sec. 5. Irrevocability of elections.
TITLE I—DESCRIPTION OF RETIREMENT COVERAGE ERRORS TO
WHICH THIS ACT APPLIES AND MEASURES FOR THEIR REC-
TIFICATION
Subtitle A—Employee Who Should Have Been FERS Covered, But Who Was
Erroneously CSRS Covered or CSRS-Offset Covered Instead
Sec. 101. Elections.
Sec. 102. Effect of an election to be transferred from CSRS to FERS to cor-
rect a retirement coverage error.
Sec. 103. Effect of an election to be transferred from CSRS-Offset to FERS
to correct a retirement coverage error.
Sec. 104. Effect of an election to be transferred from CSRS to CSRS-Offset
to correct a retirement coverage error.
Sec. 105. Effect of an election to be restored (or transferred) to CSRS-Offset
after having been corrected to FERS from CSRS-Offset (or
CSRS).
Sec. 106. Effect of election to remain FERS covered after having been cor-
rected to FERS from CSRS-Offset (or CSRS).
Subtitle B—Employee Who Should Have Been FERS Covered, CSRS-Offset
Covered, or CSRS Covered, But Who Was Erroneously Social Security-Only
Covered Instead
Sec. 111. Elections.
Sec. 112. Effect of an election to become FERS covered to correct the retire-
ment coverage error.
Sec. 113. Effect of an election to become CSRS-Offset covered to correct the
retirement coverage error.
Sec. 114. Effect of an election to become CSRS covered to correct the retire-
ment coverage error.
Subtitle C—Employee Who Should Have Been Social Security-Only Covered,
But Who Was Erroneously FERS Covered, CSRS-Offset Covered, or CSRS
Covered Instead
Sec. 121. Uncorrected error: employee who should be Social Security-Only cov-
ered, but who is erroneously FERS covered instead.
Sec. 122. Uncorrected error: employee who should be Social Security-Only cov-
ered, but who is erroneously CSRS-Offset covered instead.
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Sec. 123. Uncorrected error: employee who should be Social Security-Only cov-
ered, but who is erroneously CSRS covered instead.
Sec. 124. Corrected error: situations under sections 121–123.
Sec. 125. Vested employees excepted from automatic exclusion.
Subtitle D—Employee Who Should Have Been CSRS Covered or CSRS-
Offset Covered, But Who Was Erroneously FERS Covered Instead
Sec. 131. Elections.
Sec. 132. Effect of an election to be transferred from FERS to CSRS to cor-
rect a retirement coverage error.
Sec. 133. Effect of an election to be transferred from FERS to CSRS-Offset
to correct a retirement coverage error.
Sec. 134. Effect of an election to be restored to FERS after having been cor-
rected to CSRS.
Sec. 135. Effect of an election to be restored to FERS after having been cor-
rected to CSRS-Offset.
Sec. 136. Disqualification of certain individuals to whom same election was pre-
viously available.
Subtitle E—Employee Who Should Have Been CSRS-Offset Covered, But
Who Was Erroneously CSRS Covered Instead
Sec. 141. Automatic transfer to CSRS-Offset.
Sec. 142. Effect of transfer.
Subtitle F—Employee Who Should Have Been CSRS Covered, But Who Was
Erroneously CSRS-Offset Covered Instead
Sec. 151. Elections.
Sec. 152. Effect of an election to be transferred from CSRS-Offset to CSRS
to correct the retirement coverage error.
Sec. 153. Effect of an election to be restored to CSRS-Offset after having been
corrected to CSRS.
Subtitle G—Additional Provisions Relating to Government Agencies
Sec. 161. Repayment required in certain situations.
Sec. 162. Equitable sharing of amounts payable from the Government if more
than one agency involved.
Sec. 163. Provisions relating to the original responsible agency.
TITLE II—GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 201. Identification and notification requirements.
Sec. 202. Individual appeal rights.
Sec. 203. Information to be furnished by Government agencies to authorities
administering this Act.
Sec. 204. Regulations.
Sec. 205. All elections to be approved by OPM.
Sec. 206. Technical and conforming amendments.
TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. Provisions to permit continued conformity of other Federal retire-
ment systems.
Sec. 302. Provisions to prevent reductions in force and any unfunded liability
in the CSRDF.
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Sec. 303. Individual right of action preserved for amounts not otherwise pro-
vided for under this Act.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) CSRS.—The term ‘‘CSRS’’ means the Civil
Service Retirement System.
(2) CSRDF.—The term ‘‘CSRDF’’ means the
Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund.
(3) CSRS COVERED.—The term ‘‘CSRS cov-
ered’’, with respect to any service, means service
that is subject to the provisions of subchapter III of
chapter 83 of title 5, United States Code, other than
those that apply only with respect to an individual
described in section 8402(b)(2) of such title.
(4) 
CSRS-OFFSET
COVERED.—The 
term
‘‘CSRS-Offset covered’’, with respect to any service,
means service that is subject to the provisions of
subchapter III of chapter 83 of title 5, United
States Code, that apply with respect to an individual
described in section 8402(b)(2) of such title.
(5) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means
an employee as defined by section 8331 or 8401 of
title 5, United States Code, and any other individual
(not satisfying either of those definitions) serving in
an appointive or elective office or position in the ex-
ecutive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Govern-
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ment who, by virtue of that service, is permitted or
required to be CSRS covered, CSRS-Offset covered,
FERS covered, or Social Security-Only covered.
(6) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Execu-
tive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift In-
vestment Board’’ or ‘‘Executive Director’’ means the
Executive Director appointed under section 8474 of
title 5, United States Code.
(7) FERS.—The term ‘‘FERS’’ means the
Federal Employees’ Retirement System.
(8) FERS COVERED.—The term ‘‘FERS cov-
ered’’, with respect to any service, means service
that is subject to chapter 84 of title 5, United States
Code.
(9) GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Government’’
has the meaning given such term by section 8331(7)
of title 5, United States Code.
(10) OASDI 
TAXES.—The term ‘‘OASDI
taxes’’ means the OASDI employee tax and the
OASDI employer tax.
(11) 
OASDI 
EMPLOYEE
TAX.—The 
term
‘‘OASDI employee tax’’ means the tax imposed
under section 3101(a) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 (relating to Old-Age, Survivors and Dis-
ability Insurance).
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error, misrepresentation, or inaction on the part of
an employee or agent of the Government (including
an error as described in section 163(b)(2)), causes
an individual erroneously to be enrolled or not en-
rolled in a retirement system, as further described in
the applicable subtitle of title I.
(17) SOCIAL
SECURITY-ONLY
COVERED.—The
term ‘‘Social Security-Only covered’’, with respect to
any service, means Government service that con-
stitutes employment under section 210 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 410), and that—
(A) is subject to OASDI taxes; but
(B) is not subject to any retirement system
for Government employees (disregarding title II
of the Social Security Act).
(18) 
THRIFT
SAVINGS
FUND.—The 
term
‘‘Thrift Savings Fund’’ means the Thrift Savings
Fund established under section 8437 of title 5,
United States Code.
SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), this Act
shall apply with respect to any retirement coverage error
that occurs before, on, or after the date of enactment of
this Act, excluding any error corrected within 1 year after
the date on which it occurs.
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(b) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this Act shall affect
any retirement coverage or treatment accorded with re-
spect to any individual in connection with any period be-
ginning before the first day of the first applicable pay pe-
riod beginning on or after January 1, 1984.
SEC. 4. RESTRICTION RELATING TO FUTURE CORREC-
TIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in
this Act, any individual who, on or after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, becomes or remains affected by a retire-
ment coverage error may not be excluded from or made
subject to any retirement system for the sole purpose of
correcting such error.
(b) COORDINATION WITH OTHER LAWS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be
considered to preclude any voluntary retirement cov-
erage election made other than under this Act.
(2) REGULATIONS.—The Office of Personnel
Management shall prescribe any regulations which
may be necessary to apply this Act in the case of
any individual who changes retirement coverage pur-
suant to an election described in paragraph (1).
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SEC. 5. IRREVOCABILITY OF ELECTIONS.
Any election made (or deemed to have been made)
under this Act by an employee or any other individual
shall be irrevocable.
TITLE I—DESCRIPTION OF RE-
TIREMENT 
COVERAGE 
ER-
RORS TO WHICH THIS ACT AP-
PLIES AND MEASURES FOR
THEIR RECTIFICATION
Subtitle A—Employee Who Should
Have Been FERS Covered, But
Who 
Was 
Erroneously 
CSRS
Covered or CSRS-Offset Cov-
ered Instead
SEC. 101. ELECTIONS.
(a) APPLICABILITY.—This subtitle shall apply in the
case of any employee who—
(1) should be (or should have been) FERS cov-
ered but, as a result of a retirement coverage error,
is (or was) CSRS covered instead; or
(2) should be (or should have been) FERS cov-
ered but, as a result of a retirement coverage error,
is (or was) CSRS-Offset covered instead.
(b) UNCORRECTED ERROR.—If, at the time of mak-
ing an election under this section, the retirement coverage
error described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a)
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(as applicable) has not been corrected, the employee af-
fected by such error may elect—
(1) to be FERS covered instead; or
(2) to remain (or instead become) CSRS-Offset
covered.
(c) CORRECTED ERROR.—If, at the time of making
an election under this section, the retirement coverage
error described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a)
(as applicable) has been corrected, the employee affected
by such error may elect—
(1) to be CSRS-Offset covered instead; or
(2) to remain FERS covered.
(d) DEFAULT RULE.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—If the employee is given
written notice in accordance with section 201 as to
the availability of an election under this section, but
does not make any such election within the 6-month
period beginning on the date on which such notice
is so given, the option under subsection (b)(2) or
(c)(2), as applicable, shall be deemed to have been
elected on the last day of such period.
(2) CSRS NOT AN OPTION.—Nothing in this
section shall be considered to afford an employee the
option of becoming or remaining CSRS covered.
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(e) RETROACTIVE EFFECT.—An election under this
section (including an election by default, and an election
to remain covered by the retirement system by which the
electing individual is covered as of the date of the election)
shall be effective retroactive to the effective date of the
retirement coverage error (as referred to in subsection (a))
to which such election relates.
SEC. 102. EFFECT OF AN ELECTION TO BE TRANSFERRED
FROM CSRS TO FERS TO CORRECT A RETIRE-
MENT COVERAGE ERROR.
(a) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply in the
case of any employee affected by an error described in sec-
tion 101(a)(1) who elects the option under section
101(b)(1).
(b) DISPOSITION
OF
CONTRIBUTIONS
TO
THE
CSRDF.—
(1) EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS.—
(A) TRANSFER TO OASDI TRUST FUNDS.—
There shall be transferred from the CSRDF to
the OASDI trust funds an amount equal to the
amount of the OASDI employee tax that should
have been deducted and withheld from the Fed-
eral wages of the employee for the period of er-
roneous coverage involved.
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(B) RULE IF THERE ARE EXCESS CSRDF
CONTRIBUTIONS.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—Any excess amount
described in clause (ii) that is attributable
to an employee described in subsection (a)
shall be forfeited.
(ii) EXCESS AMOUNT DEFINED.—The
excess amount described in this clause is,
in the case of an employee, the amount by
which—
(I) that portion of the employee’s
lump-sum credit that is attributable
to the period of erroneous coverage in-
volved, exceeds (if at all)
(II) the total of the amount de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) plus the
amount that should have been de-
ducted under section 8422 of title 5,
United States Code, from the pay of
the employee for the period of erro-
neous coverage involved.
(C) RULE IF LUMP-SUM CREDIT IS LESS
THAN
TOTAL
EMPLOYEE
CONTRIBUTIONS
TO
OASDI AND CSRDF THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN
MADE.—
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(i) IN GENERAL.—
(I) SHORTFALL TO BE MADE UP
BY AGENCY.—If the amount described
in subparagraph (B)(ii)(I) is less than
the total amount described in sub-
paragraph 
(B)(ii)(II), 
an 
amount
equal to the shortfall shall be made up
(in such manner as the Commissioner
of Social Security shall prescribe) by
the agency in or under which the em-
ployee is then employed, out of
amounts otherwise available in the ap-
propriation, fund, or account from
which any OASDI employer tax or
contribution to the CSRDF (as appli-
cable) may be made, except as pro-
vided in subclause (II) or clause
(iii)(I).
(II) REDUCTION
FOR
DEPOSIT
DUE.—In any case in which a deposit
is required under clause (ii), the
amount required to be made up under
subclause (I) shall be reduced by the
amount of the deposit so required
(but not below zero).
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(ii) DEPOSIT REQUIREMENT.—
(I) IN GENERAL.—To the extent
that the shortfall under clause (i) is
due to the any lump-sum credit re-
ceived by the employee (for which an
appropriate 
deposit 
under 
section
8334(d)(1) of title 5, United States
Code, has not been made), the em-
ployee shall be required to repay an
amount equal to the amount of such
deposit, except as provided in clause
(iii)(I).
(II) TREATMENT
AS
A
DEBT
DUE.—If an employee fails to pay the
amount required under subclause (I),
that amount shall be recoverable by
the CSRDF under the same authori-
ties (including to waive a right of re-
covery) 
as 
described 
in 
section
114(b)(2). For purposes of any exer-
cise of authority under the preceding
sentence, the Director of the Office of
Personnel Management shall be con-
sidered the head of the agency con-
cerned.
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(iii) SPECIAL RULES.—
(I) DEPOSIT FOR FERS DEDUC-
TIONS NOT MANDATORY.—Nothing in
this subparagraph shall, in any situa-
tion described in clause (ii), be consid-
ered to require any agency make-up
payment (or employee repayment) of
any portion of the lump-sum credit
(beyond any amount necessary in
order to permit the transfer described
in paragraph (1)(A)) which would be
assignable to amounts that should
have been deducted under section
8422 of title 5, United States Code,
from pay of the employee involved.
(II) AUTHORITY TO MAKE FERS
DEPOSIT.—An employee under this
section who has received a lump-sum
credit (described in clause (ii)(I)) may
not be credited, under chapter 84 of
title 5, United States Code, with any
period of service to which that lump-
sum credit relates unless the employee
deposits into the CSRDF an amount
equal to the percentage of such em-
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ployee’s basic pay (for such period of
service) that should have been de-
ducted under section 8422 of title 5,
United States Code.
(D) DEFINITION OF LUMP-SUM CREDIT.—
For purposes of this paragraph, the term
‘‘lump-sum credit’’ has the meaning given such
term by section 8331 of title 5, United States
Code, except as the context may otherwise indi-
cate.
(E) PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE APPLI-
CATION OF THIS PARAGRAPH IN OTHER SITUA-
TIONS.—
(i) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—To the ex-
tent necessary to permit the operation of
this paragraph in any situation covered by
any other provisions of this Act (which in-
corporate this paragraph by reference),
any necessary technical and conforming
amendments to this paragraph not other-
wise specifically provided for (such as cita-
tions to appropriate provisions of law cor-
responding to provisions cited in this para-
graph) shall be made under regulations
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which the Office of Personnel Management
shall prescribe.
(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—
(I) DEPOSITS
NOT
PRECLUDED
BY
FERS
RESTRICTION.—Nothing in
section 8424(a) of title 5, United
States Code, shall, in any situation
covered by this Act, prevent the mak-
ing of any deposit (and crediting, for
retirement purposes, of service for the
corresponding period of time) to the
extent that the deposit relates to the
period of erroneous coverage involved.
(II) EXCEPTION.—The preceding
sentence shall not apply in any situa-
tion in which the employee involved
was erroneously FERS covered, and
remained FERS covered after the rec-
tification provided for under this Act.
(2) GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTIONS.—
(A) TRANSFER TO OASDI TRUST FUNDS.—
There shall be transferred from the CSRDF to
the OASDI trust funds the excess of—
(i) the amount of the OASDI em-
ployer tax that should have been paid with