Retirement Annuity Supplement Clarity Act

Bill: 116-s-4977
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK]
Introduced: 2020-12-08
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management

Separation, divorce, custody, support
Latest action: action_date: 2020-12-08
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2020-12-08
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Retirement Annuity Supplement Clarity Act</b></p> <p>This bill specifies that an annuity supplement payment made under the Federal Employees Retirement System must be included when dividing an annuity pursuant to a court order in a divorce or similar proceeding, unless the court order expressly provides otherwise.</p>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4977 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES December 8, 2020 Mr. Lankford (for himself and Ms. Sinema ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To amend title 5, United States Code, to require that a court decree, court order, or other similar process expressly provides for an annuity supplement payment.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Retirement Annuity Supplement Clarity Act . 2. Court orders (a) Court orders Section 8467 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following: (c) If a court decree, court order, or agreement described in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) expressly divides an annuity under subchapter II, an annuity supplement payment made under section 8421 shall be included in the computation of that division, unless the court decree, court order, or agreement expressly excludes division of the annuity supplement. . (b) Technical and conforming amendment Section 8241 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (c). (c) Applicability (1) In general The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to all annuity supplement payments under section 8421 of title 5, United States Code, that begin on, or after the date of enactment of this Act. (2) Retroactive payments (A) Definition In this paragraph: (i) Annuity supplement The term annuity supplement means an annuity supplement under section 8241 of title 5, United States Code. (ii) Covered annuitant The term covered annuitant means any annuitant— (I) who was retired on or before the date of enactment of this Act; (II) who is or was entitled to an annuity supplement; (III) whose annuity was subject to a court order described in section 8467(a)(1) that was silent regarding the annuity supplement or that included language that expressly excluded the annuity supplement from division; and (IV) whose annuity supplement was recomputed by the Office of Personnel Management during the period beginning on June 30, 2016, and ending on the date of enactment of this Act to retroactively include the annuity supplement in the division of the annuity. (B) Payment The Office of Personnel Management shall pay a one-time payment from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund established under section 8348 of title 5, United States Code, to a covered annuitant who received an annuity supplement under section 8421 of title 5, United States Code, before the date of enactment of this Act an amount (without interest) equal to the amount deducted from the annuity of the covered annuitant as a result of including the annuity supplement in the computation of a court-ordered division or other scenario described in subparagraph (A)(ii)(III)(bb). (3) No repayment Overpayments paid to a covered annuitant, or any overpayments of apportionment paid to a former spouse of a covered annuitant (as the case may be), before the date of enactment of this Act, which resulted from excluding the covered annuitant’s annuity supplement in the computation of a court-ordered apportionment, shall be waived.