(c) The Office at any time may discontinue a policy purchased from a company under subsection (a) of this section. (d)(1) The provisions of any contract under this chapter which relate to the nature or extent of coverage or benefits (including payments with respect to benefits) shall supersede and preempt any law of any State or political subdivision thereof, or any regulation issued thereunder, which relates to group life insurance to the extent that the law or regulation is inconsistent with the contractual provisions. (2) For the purpose of this section, "State" means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and a territory or possession of the United States. § 8710. Reinsurance (a) The Office of Personnel Management shall arrange with a company issuing a policy under this chapter for the reinsurance, under conditions approved by the Office, of portions of the total amount of insurance under the policy, determined under this section, with other life insurance companies which elect to participate in the reinsurance. (b) The Office shall determine for and in advance of a policy year which companies are eligible to participate as reinsurers and the amount of insurance under a policy which is to be allocated to the issuing company and to reinsurers. The Office shall make this determination at least every 3 years and when a participating company withdraws. (c) The Office shall establish a formula under which the amount of insurance retained by an issuing company after ceding reinsurance, and the amount of reinsurance ceded to each reinsurer, is in proportion to the total amount of each company's group life insurance, excluding insurance purchased under this chapter, in force in the United States on the determination date, which is the most recent December 31 for which information is available to the Office. In determining the proportions, the portion of a company's group life insurance in force on the determination date in excess of $100,000,000 shall be reduced by— (1) 25 percent of the first $100,000,000 of the excess; However, the amount retained by or ceded to a company may not exceed 25 percent of the amount of the company's total life insurance in force in the United States on the determination date. (d) A fraternal benefit association which is (1) licensed to transact life insurance under the laws of a State or the District of Columbia; and (2) engaged in issuing insurance certificates on the lives of employees of the United States exclusively; is eligible to act as a reinsuring company and may be allocated an amount of reinsurance equal to 25 percent of its total life insurance in force on employees of the United States on the determination date named by subsection (c) of this section. (e) An issuing company or reinsurer is entitled, as a minimum, to be allocated an amount of insurance under the policy equal to any reduction from December 31, 1953, to the determination date, in the amount of the company's group life insurance under policies issued to associations of employees of the United States. However, any increase under this subsection in the amount allocated is reduced by the amount in force on the determination date of any policy covering life insurance agreements assumed by the Office. (f) The Office may modify the computations under this section as necessary to carry out the intent of this section. § 8711. Basic tables of premium rates (a) A policy purchased under this chapter shall include, for the first policy year, basic tables of premium rates as follows: (1) For group life insurance, a schedule of basic premium rates by age which the Office of Personnel Management determines to be consistent with the lowest schedule of basic premium rates generally charged for new group life insurance policies issued to large employers. (2) For group accidental death and dismemberment insurance, a basic premium rate which the Office determines is consistent with the lowest rate generally charged for new group accidental death and dismemberment policies issued to large employers. The schedule for group life insurance, except as otherwise provided by this section, shall be applied to the distribution by age of the amounts of group life insurance under the policy at its date of issuance to determine an average basic premium rate per $1,000 of life insurance. (b) The policy shall provide that the basic premium rates determined for the first policy year continue for later policy years except as readjusted for a later year based on experience under the policy. The company issuing the policy may make the readjustment on a basis that the Office determines in advance of the policy year is consistent with the general practice of life insurance companies under policies of group life and group accidental death and dismemberment insurance issued to large employers. (c) The policy shall provide that if the Office determines that ascertaining the actual age distribution of the amounts of group life insurance in force at the date of issue of the policy or at the end of the first or any later year of insurance thereunder would not be possible except at a disproportionately high expense, the Office may approve the determination of a tentative average group life premium rate, for the first or any later policy year, instead of using the actual age distribution. The Office, on request by the company issuing the policy, shall redetermine the tentative average premium rate during any policy year, if experience indicates that the assumptions made in determining that rate were incorrect for that year. (d) The policy shall stipulate the maximum expense and risk charges for the first policy year. The Office shall determine these charges on a basis consistent with the general level of charges made by life insurance companies under policies of group life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance issued to large employers. The maximum charges continue from year to year, except that the Office may redetermine them for any year either by agree ment with the company issuing the policy or on written notice given to the company at least 1 year before the beginning of the year for which the redetermined maximum charges will be effective. § 8712. Annual accounting; special contingency reserve A policy purchased under this chapter shall provide for an accounting to the Office of Personnel Management not later than 90 days after the end of each policy year. The accounting shall set forth, in a form approved by the Office (1) the amounts of premiums actually accrued under the policy from its date of issue to the end of the policy year; (2) the total of all mortality and other claim charges incurred for that period; and (3) the amounts of the insurers' expense and risk charges for that period. An excess of the total of paragraph (1) of this section over the sum of paragraphs (2) and (3) of this section shall be held by the company issuing the policy as a special contingency reserve to be used by the company only for charges under the policy. The reserve shall bear interest at a rate determined in advance of each policy year by the company and approved by the Office as being consistent with the rate generally used by the company for similar funds held under other group life insurance policies. When the Office determines that the special contingency reserve has attained an amount estimated by it to make satisfactory provision for adverse fluctuations in future charges under the policy, any further excess shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Employees' Life Insurance Fund. When a policy is discontinued, any balance remaining in the special contingency reserve after all charges have been made shall be deposited in the Treasury to the credit of the Fund. The company may make the deposit in equal monthly installments over a period of not more than 2 years. § 8713. Effect of other statutes Any provision of law outside of this chapter which provides coverage or any other benefit under this chapter to any individuals who (based on their being employed by an entity other than the Government) would not otherwise be eligible for any such coverage or benefit shall not apply with respect to any individual appointed, transferred, or otherwise commencing that type of employment on or after October 1, 1988. § 8714. Employees' Life Insurance Fund (a) The amounts withheld from employees under section 8707 of this title and the sums contributed from appropriations and funds under section 8708 of this title shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Employees' Life Insurance Fund. The Fund is available without fiscal year limitation for (1) premium payments under an insurance policy purchased under this chapter; and (2) expenses incurred by the Office of Personnel Management in the administration of this chapter within the limitations that may be specified annually by appropriation acts. (b) The Secretary of the Treasury may invest and reinvest any of the money in the Fund in interest-bearing obligations of the United States, and may sell these obligations for the purposes of the Fund. The interest on and the proceeds from the sale of these obligations, and the income derived from dividend or premium rate adjustments from insurers, become a part of the Fund. (c)(1) No tax, fee, or other monetary payment may be imposed or collected by any State, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or by any political subdivision or other governmental authority thereof, on, or with respect to, any premium paid under an insurance policy purchased under this chapter. (2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not be construed to exempt any company issuing a policy of insurance under this chapter from the imposition, payment, or collection of a tax, fee, or other monetary payment on the net income or profit accruing to or realized by that company from business conducted under this chapter, if that tax, fee, or payment is applicable to a broad range of business activity. § 8714a. Optional insurance (a) Under the conditions, directives, and terms specified in sections 8709-8712 of this title, the Office of Personnel Management, without regard to section 5 of title 41, may purchase a policy which shall make available to each insured employee equal amounts of optional life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance in addition to the amounts provided in section 8704(a) of this title. (b) The optional life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance shall be made available to each insured employee under such conditions as the Office shall prescribe and in amounts approved by the Office but not more than the greater of $10,000 or an amount which, when added to the amount provided in section 8704(a) of this title, makes the sum of his insurance equal to his annual pay. (c)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the optional insurance on an employee stops on his separation from service or 12 months after discontinuance of his pay, whichever is earlier, subject to a provision for temporary extension of life insurance coverage and for conversion to an individual policy of life insurance under conditions approved by the Office. 1 (2)(A) In the case of any employee who retires on an immediate annuity and has been insured under this section throughout— (i) the 5 years of service immediately preceding the date of such retirement, or 1 Effective June 19, 1986, section 7(1) of P.L. 99-336 struck out section 206 and inserted a new 206 to the "Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984". The new section 206 amends section 8714a(c)(1) of title 5, U.S.C. by inserting after the first sentence the following new sentence: "Justices and judges of the United States described in section 8701(a)(5) (ii) and (iii) of this chapter are deemed to continue in active employment for purposes of this chapter.". Effective January 1, 1987, section 207(k)(3) of P.L. 99-335 strikes subsection (c)(1) and inserts a new subsection (c)(1). As a result, the sentence as added by 7(1) of P.L. 99-336 should probably be added to subsection (c)(1) as amended by 207(k)(3) of P.L. 99–335. (ii) the full period or periods of service during which the employee was entitled to be insured, if less than 5 years, the amount of optional life insurance only which has been in force throughout such period may be continued, under conditions determined by the Office. (B) In the case of any employee who becomes entitled to receive compensation under subchapter I of chapter 81 of this title because of disease or injury to the employee and has been insured under this section throughout (i) the 5 years of service immediately preceding the date such employee becomes entitled to such compensation, or (ii) the full period or periods of service during which the employee was entitled to be insured, if less than 5 years, the amount of optional life insurance only which has been in force throughout such period may be continued, under conditions determined by the Office, during the period the employee is receiving such compensation for disease or injury and is held by the Secretary of Labor or his delegate to be unable to return to duty. (C) The amount of optional life insurance continued under subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B) of this paragraph shall be reduced by 2 percent at the end of each full calendar month after the date the employee becomes 65 years of age and is retired or is receiving compensation for disease or injury. The Office shall prescribe minimum amounts, not less than 25 percent of the amount of life insurance in force before the first reduction, to which the insurance may be reduced. 1 (3) Notwithstanding paragraph (c)(1) of this section, 1 a justice or judge of the United States as defined by section 8701(a)(5) of this title who resigns his office without meeting the requirements of section 371(a) of title 28, United States Code, for continuation of the judicial salary shall have the right to convert regular optional life insurance coverage issued under this section during his judicial service to an individual policy of life insurance under the same conditions approved by the Office governing conversion of basic life insurance coverage for employees eligible as provided in section 8706(a) of this title. (d)(1) During each period in which an employee has the optional insurance the full cost thereof shall be withheld from his pay. During each period in which an employee continues optional life insurance after retirement or while in receipt of compensation for work injuries, as provided in section 8706(b) of this title, the full cost thereof shall be withheld from his annuity or compensation, except that, at the end of the calendar month in which he becomes 65 years of age, the optional life insurance shall be without cost to him. Amounts so withheld shall be deposited, used, and invested as provided in section 8714 of this title and shall be reported and accounted for separately from amounts withheld and contributed under sections 8707 and 8708 of this title. (2) If an agency fails to withhold the proper cost of optional insurance from an individual's salary, compensation, or retirement annuity, the collection of amounts properly due may be waived by the agency if, in the judgment of the agency, the individual is with 1So in original. Probably should be “paragraph (1) of this subsection,”. |