I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3511
To provide additional pension security for spouses and former spouses, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 22, 1996
Mrs. LOWEY (for herself, Ms. FURSE, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Ms. ROYBAL-AL-
LARD, and Mr. LAFALCE) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the
Committees on Government Reform and Oversight, Transportation and
Infrastructure, and Economic and Educational Opportunities, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the commit-
tee concerned
A BILL
To provide additional pension security for spouses and former
spouses, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Women’s Pension Eq-
uity Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. MODEL SPOUSAL CONSENT FORM AND QUALIFIED
DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER.
(a) MODEL SPOUSAL CONSENT FORM.—
(1) AMENDMENT
TO
INTERNAL
REVENUE
CODE.—Section 417(a) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(7) CONSENT FORM.—The Secretary shall de-
velop a form not later than January 1, 1997, for the
spousal consent required under paragraph (2)
which—
‘‘(A) is written in a manner calculated to
be understood by the average person, and
‘‘(B) discloses in plain form whether—
‘‘(i) the waiver is irrevocable, and
‘‘(ii) the waiver may be revoked by a
qualified domestic relations order.’’.
(2) AMENDMENT TO ERISA.—Section 205(c) of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974 (29 U.S.C. 1055(c)) is amended by adding at
the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(8) The Secretary of the Treasury shall de-
velop a form not later than January 1, 1997, for the
spousal consent required under paragraph (2)
which—
‘‘(A) is written in a manner calculated to
be understood by the average person, and
‘‘(B) discloses in plain form whether—
‘‘(i) the waiver is irrevocable, and
‘‘(ii) the waiver may be revoked by a
qualified domestic relations order.’’.
(b) MODEL
QUALIFIED
DOMESTIC
RELATIONS
ORDER.—
(1) AMENDMENT TO ERISA.—Section 206(d)(3)
of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974 (29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(O) The Secretary shall develop a form not later
than January 1, 1997, for a qualified domestic relations
order—
‘‘(i) which meets all the requirements of sub-
paragraph (B)(i), and
‘‘(ii) the provisions of which focus attention on
the need to consider the treatment of any lump sum
payment, qualified joint and survivor annuity, or
qualified preretirement survivor annuity.’’.
(2) AMENDMENT
TO
INTERNAL
REVENUE
CODE.—Section 414(p) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(13) The Secretary of Labor shall develop a
form not later than January 1, 1997, for a qualified
domestic relations order which—
‘‘(A) which meets all the requirements of
paragraph (1)(A), and
‘‘(B) the provisions of which focus atten-
tion on the need to consider the treatment of
any lump sum payment, qualified joint and sur-
vivor annuity, or qualified preretirement survi-
vor annuity.’’.
(c) PUBLICITY.—The Secretary of the Treasury and
the Secretary of Labor shall include publicity for the
model forms required by the amendments made by this
section in the pension outreach efforts undertaken by each
Secretary.
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF TIER II RAILROAD RETIREMENT
BENEFITS TO SURVIVING FORMER SPOUSES
PURSUANT TO DIVORCE AGREEMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 of the Railroad Retire-
ment Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231d) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
payment of any portion of an annuity computed under sec-
tion 3(b) to a surviving former spouse in accordance with
a court decree of divorce, annulment, or legal separation
or the terms of any court-approved property settlement
incident to any such court decree shall not be terminated
upon the death of the individual who performed the service
with respect to which such annuity is so computed unless
such termination is otherwise required by the terms of
such court decree.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act.
SEC. 4. SURVIVOR ANNUITIES FOR WIDOWS, WIDOWERS,
AND FORMER SPOUSES OF FEDERAL EM-
PLOYEES WHO DIE BEFORE ATTAINING AGE
FOR 
DEFERRED 
ANNUITY 
UNDER 
CIVIL
SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
(a) BENEFITS FOR WIDOW OR WIDOWER.—Section
8341(f) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by—
(A) by inserting ‘‘a former employee sepa-
rated from the service with title to deferred an-
nuity from the Fund dies before having estab-
lished a valid claim for annuity and is survived
by a spouse, or if’’ before ‘‘a Member’’; and
(B) by inserting ‘‘of such former employee
or Member’’ after ‘‘the surviving spouse’’;
(2) in paragraph (1)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘former employee or’’
before ‘‘Member commencing’’; and
(B) by inserting ‘‘former employee or’’
before ‘‘Member dies’’; and
(3) in the undesignated sentence following para-
graph (2)—
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A) by inserting ‘‘former employee or’’ before
‘‘Member’’; and
(B) in subparagraph (B) by inserting
‘‘former employee or’’ before ‘‘Member’’.
(b) BENEFITS
FOR
FORMER
SPOUSE.—Section
8341(h) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1) by adding after the first
sentence ‘‘Subject to paragraphs (2) through (5) of
this subsection, a former spouse of a former em-
ployee who dies after having separated from the
service with title to a deferred annuity under section
8338(a) but before having established a valid claim
for annuity is entitled to a survivor annuity under
this subsection, if and to the extent expressly pro-
vided for in an election under section 8339(j)(3) of
this title, or in the terms of any decree of divorce
or annulment or any court order or court-approved
property settlement agreement incident to such de-
cree.’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in subparagraph (A)(ii) by striking ‘‘or
annuitant,’’ and inserting ‘‘annuitant, or former
employee’’; and
(B) in subparagraph (B)(iii) by inserting
‘‘former employee or’’ before ‘‘Member’’.
(c) PROTECTION OF SURVIVOR BENEFIT RIGHTS.—
Section 8339(j)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by inserting at the end the following:
‘‘The Office shall provide by regulation for the appli-
cation of this subsection to the widow, widower, or surviv-
ing former spouse of a former employee who dies after
having separated from the service with title to a deferred
annuity under section 8338(a) but before having estab-
lished a valid claim for annuity.’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act and shall apply only in the case of a former
employee who dies on or after such date.
SEC. 5. COURT ORDERS RELATING TO FEDERAL RETIRE-
MENT BENEFITS FOR FORMER SPOUSES OF
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.
(a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8345(j) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended—
(A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as
paragraph (4); and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(3) Payment to a person under a court decree, court
order, property settlement, or similar process referred to
under paragraph (1) shall include payment to a former
spouse of the employee, Member, or annuitant.’’.
(2) LUMP-SUM
BENEFITS.—Section 8342 of
title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(A) in subsection (c) by striking ‘‘Lump-
sum benefits’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to sub-
section (j), lump-sum benefits’’; and
(B) in subsection (j)(1) by striking ‘‘the
lump-sum credit under subsection (a) of this
section’’ and inserting ‘‘any lump-sum credit or
lump-sum benefit under this section’’.
(b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—
Section 8467 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-
section (d); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow-
ing new subsection:
‘‘(c) Payment to a person under a court decree, court
order, property settlement, or similar process referred to
under subsection (a) shall include payment to a former
spouse of the employee, Member, or annuitant.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act.
SEC. 6. PREVENTION OF CIRCUMVENTION OF COURT
ORDER BY WAIVER OF RETIRED PAY TO EN-
HANCE CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT ANNU-
ITY.
(a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT AND DISABILITY
SYSTEM.—(1) Subsection (c) of section 8332 of title 5,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(4) If an employee or Member waives retired pay
that is subject to a court order for which there has been
effective service on the Secretary concerned for purposes
of section 1408 of title 10, the military service on which
the retired pay is based may be credited as service for
purposes of this subchapter only if, in accordance with
regulations prescribed by the Director of the Office of Per-
sonnel Management, the employee or Member authorizes
the Director to deduct and withhold from the annuity pay-
able to the employee or Member under this subchapter,
and to pay to the former spouse covered by the court
order, the same amount that would have been deducted
and withheld from the employee’s or Member’s retired pay
and paid to that former spouse under such section 1408.’’.
(2) Paragraph (1) of such subsection is amended by
striking out ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (2)’’ and
inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (4)’’.
(b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—
(1) Subsection (c) of section 8411 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) If an employee or Member waives retired pay
that is subject to a court order for which there has been
effective service on the Secretary concerned for purposes
of section 1408 of title 10, the military service on which
the retired pay is based may be credited as service for
purposes of this chapter only if, in accordance with regula-
tions prescribed by the Director of the Office of Personnel
Management, the employee or Member authorizes the Di-
rector to deduct and withhold from the annuity payable
to the employee or Member under this subchapter, and
to pay to the former spouse covered by the court order,
the same amount that would have been deducted and with-
held from the employee’s or Member’s retired pay and
paid to that former spouse under such section 1408.’’.
(2) Paragraph (1) of such subsection is amended by
striking out ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3)’’
and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3),
and (5)’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall take effect on January 1, 1997.
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