SUBCHAPTER VI-GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE

PROVISIONS

§ 8461. Authority of the Office of Personnel Management (a) The Office shall pay all benefits that are payable under subchapter II, IV, V, or VI of this chapter from the Fund.

(b) The Office shall administer all provisions_of_this_chapter not specifically required to be administered by the Board, the Executive Director, the Secretary of Labor, or any other officer or agency.

(c) The Office shall adjudicate all claims under the provisions of this chapter administered by the Office.

(d) The Office shall determine questions of disability and dependency arising under the provisions of this chapter administered by the Office. Except to the extent provided under subsection (e), the decisions of the Office concerning these matters are final and conclusive and are not subject to review. The Office may direct at any time such medical or other examinations as it considers necessary to determine the facts concerning disability or dependency of an individual receiving or applying for annuity under the provisions of this chapter administered by the Office. The Office may suspend or deny annuity for failure to submit to examination.

(e)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), an administrative action or order affecting the rights or interests of an individual or of the United States under the provisions of this chapter administered by the Office may be appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board under procedures prescribed by the Board.

(2) In the case of any individual found by the Office to be disabled in whole or in part on the basis of the individual's mental condition, and that finding was made pursuant to an application by an agency for purposes of disability retirement under section 8451, the procedures under section 7701 shall apply and the decision of the Board shall be subject to judicial review under section 7703.

(f) The Office shall fix the fees for examinations made under subchapter V of this chapter by physicians or surgeons who are not medical officers of the United States. The fees and reasonable traveling and other expenses incurred in connection with the examinations are paid from appropriations for the cost of administering the provisions of this chapter administered by the Office.

(g) The Office may prescribe regulations to carry out the provisions of this chapter administered by the Office.

(h)(1) Each Government agency shall furnish the Director with such information as the Director determines necessary in order to administer this chapter.

(2) The Director, in consultation with the officials from whom such information is requested, shall establish (by regulation or otherwise) such safeguards as are necessary to ensure that informa

tion made available under this subsection is used only for the purpose authorized.

(i) In making a determination of "actuarial equivalence" under this chapter, the economic assumptions used shall be the same as the economic assumptions most recently used by the Office (before the determination of actuarial equivalence involved) in determining the normal-cost percentage of the System.

(j)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Director of Central Intelligence shall, in a manner consistent with the administration of this chapter by the Office, and to the extent considered appropriate by the Director of Central Intelligence

(A) determine entitlement to benefits under this chapter based on the service of employees of the Central Intelligence Agency;

(B) maintain records relating to the service of such employees;

(C) compute benefits under this chapter based on the service of such employees;

(D) collect deposits to the Fund made by such employees, their spouses, their former spouses, and their survivors;

(E) authorize and direct disbursements from the Fund to the extent based on service of such employees; and

(F) perform such other functions under this chapter (other than under subchapters III and VII of this chapter) with respect to employees of the Central Intelligence Agency as the Director of Central Intelligence, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, determines to be appropriate.

(2) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall furnish such information and, on a reimbursable basis, such services to the Director of Central Intelligence as the Director of Central Intelligence requests to carry out paragraph (1).

(k)(1) The Director of Central Intelligence, in consultation with the Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, may

(A) maintain exclusive records relating to elections, contributions, and accounts under the Thrift Savings Plan provided in subchapter III of this chapter in the case of employees of the Central Intelligence Agency;

(B) provide that contributions by, or on behalf of, such employees to the Thrift Savings Plan be accounted for by such Executive Director in aggregate amounts;

(C) make the necessary disbursements from, and the necessary allocations of earnings, losses, and charges to, individual accounts of such employees under the Thrift Savings Plan; and

(D) perform such other functions under subchapters III and VII of this chapter (but not including investing sums in the Thrift Savings Fund) with respect to employees of the Central Intelligence Agency as the Director of Central Intelligence, in consultation with the Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, determines to be appropriate.

(2) The Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board may not exercise authority under this chapter in the case of employees of the Central Intelligence Agency to the extent that the Director of Central Intelligence exercises authority provided in paragraph (1).

(3) The Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board shall furnish such information and, on a reimbursable basis, such services to the Director of Central Intelligence as the Director of Central Intelligence determines necessary to carry out this subsection.

(1) Subsection (h)(1), and sections 8439(b) and 8474(c)(4), shall be applied with respect to information relating to employees of the Central Intelligence Agency in a manner that protects intelligence sources, methods, and activities.

(m)(1) The Director of Central Intelligence, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, shall by regulation prescribe appropriate procedures to carry out subsections (j), (k), and (1).

(2) The regulations shall provide procedures for the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to inspect and audit disbursements from the Fund under this chapter.

(3) The Director of Central Intelligence shall submit the regulations prescribed under paragraph (1) to the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives before the regulations take effect.

who

(n)(1) Under regulations prescribed by the Office, an employee

(A)1 has not previously made an election under this subsection or had an opportunity to make an election under this paragraph;

(B) has 5 more years of civilian service creditable under this chapter; and

(C) moves, without a break in service of more than 1 year, to employment in a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard, respectively, described in section 2105(c),

shall be given the opportunity to elect irrevocably, within 30 days after such move, to remain covered as an employee under this chapter during any employment described in section 2105(c) after such move.

(2) Under regulations prescribed by the Office, an employee of a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard described in section 2105(c), who

(A)1 has not previously made an election under this subsection or had an opportunity to make an election under this paragraph;

(B) is a vested participant in a retirement system established for employees described in section 2105(c), as the term "vested participant" is defined by such system;

1So in original. The margin of this subparagraph probably should be moved 2 ems to the left.

(C) moves, without a break in service of more than 1 year, to a position that is not described by section 2105(c); and

(D) is not eligible to make an election under section 8347(q), shall be given the opportunity to elect irrevocably, within 30 days after such move, to remain covered, during any subsequent employment as an employee as defined by section 2105(a) or section 2105(c), by the retirement system applicable to such employee's current or most recent employment described by section 2105(c) rather than be subject to this chapter.

§ 8462. Cost-of-living adjustments

(a) For the purpose of this section

(1) the term "base quarter", as used with respect to a year, means the calendar quarter ending on September 30 of such year;

(2) the price index for a base quarter is the arithmetical mean of such index for the 3 months comprising such quarter; and

(3) the term "percent change in the price index", as used with respect to a year, means the percentage derived by— (A) reducing

(i) the price index for the base quarter of such year, by

(ii) the price index for the base quarter of the preceding year in which an adjustment under this subsection was made;

(B) dividing the difference under subparagraph (A) by the price index referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii); and (C) multiplying the quotient under subparagraph (B) by 100. (b)(1) Except as provided in subsection (c), effective December 1 of any year in which an adjustment under this subsection is to be made, as determined under paragraph (2), each annuity payable from the Fund under this chapter (other than an annuity under section 8443) having a commencing date not later than such December 1 shall be adjusted as follows:

(A) If the percent change in the price index for the year does not exceed 3 percent, each annuity subject to adjustment under this subsection shall be increased by the lesser of—

(i) the percent change in the price index (rounded to the nearest one-tenth of 1 percent); or

(ii) 2 percent.

(B) If the percent change in the price index for the year exceeds 3 percent, each annuity subject to adjustment under this subsection shall be increased by the excess of

(i) the percent change in the price index (rounded to the nearest one-tenth of 1 percent), over

(ii) 1 percent.

(2) An adjustment under this subsection shall be made in a year only if the price index for the base quarter of such year exceeds the price index for the base quarter of the preceding year in which an adjustment under this subsection was made.

(3) An annuity under this chapter shall not be subject to adjustment under section 8340. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall affect the computation of any amount under section 8443(a)(2).

(c) Eligibility for an annuity increase under this section is governed by the commencing date of each annuity payable from the Fund as of the effective date of an increase, except as follows:

(1) The first increase (if any) made under subsection (b) to an annuity which is payable from the Fund to an annuitant or survivor (other than a child under section 8443) whose annuity has not been increased under this subsection or subsection (b) shall be equal to the product (adjusted to the nearest one-tenth of 1 percent) of—

(A) one-twelfth of the applicable percent change computed under subsection (b), multiplied by

(B) the number of months (not to exceed 12 months, counting any portion of a month as a month)—

(i) for which the annuity was payable from the Fund before the effective date of the increase; or

(ii) in the case of a survivor of a deceased annuitant whose annuity has not been so increased, since the annuity was first payable to the deceased annuitant.

(2) Effective from its commencing date, an annuity payable from the Fund to an annuitant's survivor (other than a widow or widower whose annuity is computed under section 8442(g) or a child under section 8443) shall be increased by the total percentage by which the deceased annuitant's annuity had been increased under this section during the period beginning on the date the deceased annuitant's annuity commenced and ending on the date of the deceased annuitant's death.

(3)(A) An adjustment under subsection (b) for any year shall not be effective with respect to the annuity of an annuitant who is under 62 years of age as of the date on which such adjustment would otherwise first take effect.

(B)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), this paragraph applies only with respect to an annuitant under section 8412, 8413, or 8414.

(ii) This paragraph does not apply with respect to an annuitant under subsection (d) or (e) of section 8412 or (in the case of an annuitant separated from service as a military reserve technician as a result of disability) under section 8414(c).

(4) The first increase (if any) made under subsection (b) to an annuity which is payable from the Fund to a widow or widower whose annuity is computed under section 8442(g) shall be equal to the product (adjusted to the nearest one-tenth of 1 percent) of

(A) one-twelfth of the applicable percent change computed under subsection (b), multiplied by

(B) the number of months (not to exceed 12 months, counting any portion of a month as a month) since

(i) the effective date of the adjustment last made under this section in the annuity of the annuitant on