Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (Agency) is issuing an interim final rule to amend its regulations governing back pay awards and retirement benefits court orders. This rule clarifies that the regulations governing a participant's options for electing makeup contributions when he or she receives a back pay award or other retroactive pay adjustment apply when the back pay award or other retroactive pay adjustment is for a period during which the participant was not appointed to a position that is covered by FERS, CSRS, or an equivalent system under which TSP participation is authorized. This rule also clarifies that an attorney is not a permissible payee for a retirement benefits court order or legal process affecting the Thrift Savings Plan and ensures that the date used to compute earnings on a court-ordered distribution amount is the same as the date used to compute the payee's entitlement.

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (Agency) is amending its regulations at 5 CFR part 1653. Based on the Agency's memorandum of understanding and data match program with the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), as well as a legislative amendment which subjects TSP accounts to orders issued pursuant to the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA), the Agency's court order volume has significantly increased and will likely continue to increase significantly. In order to promote efficiency and equity in light of this current and likely future increase in the Agency's court order workload, the Agency is amending its regulations to shorten the time period in which child support orders and MVRA orders are payable. The amendments clarify that these payments are subject to Federal income tax withholding and that tax withholding cannot be waived. Further, the amendments provide that when payment of a qualifying retirement benefits order is to be made to a participant's current or former spouse, the payee may request to have the payment made as early as 30 days after the date of the TSP decision letter. The Agency considers these amendments to be procedural in character. As a result, no notice and comment period is required by the Administrative Procedure Act. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A).