
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 22USC4044]

 
               TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE
 
                       CHAPTER 52--FOREIGN SERVICE
 
       SUBCHAPTER VIII--FOREIGN SERVICE RETIREMENT AND DISABILITY
 
        Part I--Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System
 
Sec. 4044. Definitions

    As used in this part, unless otherwise specified, the term--
        (1) ``annuitant'' means any individual, including a former 
    participant or survivor, who meets all requirements for an annuity 
    from the Fund under this chapter or any other Act and who has filed 
    a claim for such annuity;
        (2) ``child'' means an individual--
            (A) who--
                (i) is an offspring or adopted child of the participant,
                (ii) is a stepchild or recognized natural child of the 
            participant and who received more than one-half support from 
            the participant, or
                (iii) lived with the participant, for whom a petition of 
            adoption was filed by the participant, and who is adopted by 
            the surviving spouse of the participant after the death of 
            the participant;

            (B) who is unmarried; and
            (C) who--
                (i) is under the age of 18 years,
                (ii) is a student under the age of 22 years (for 
            purposes of this clause, an individual whose 22d birthday 
            occurs before July 1 or after August 31 of the calendar year 
            in which that birthday occurs, and while the individual is a 
            student, is deemed to become 22 years of age on the first 
            July 1 which occurs after that birthday), or
                (iii) is incapable of self-support because of a physical 
            or mental disability which was incurred before the 
            individual reached the age of 18 years;

        (3) ``court'' means any court of any State, the District of 
    Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern 
    Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands, and any Indian court as 
    defined by section 1301(3) of title 25;
        (4) ``court order'' means any court decree of divorce or 
    annulment, or any court order or court approved property settlement 
    agreement incident to any court decree of divorce or annulment;
        (5) ``Foreign Service normal cost'' means the level percentage 
    of payroll required to be deposited in the Fund to meet the cost of 
    benefits payable under the System (computed in accordance with 
    generally accepted actuarial practice on an entry-age basis) less 
    the value of retirement benefits earned under another retirement 
    system for Government employees and less the cost of credit allowed 
    for military and naval service;
        (6) ``former spouse'' means a former wife or husband of a 
    participant or former participant who was married to such 
    participant for not less than 10 years during periods of service by 
    that participant which are creditable under section 4056 of this 
    title;
        (7) ``Fund balance'' means the sum of--
            (A) the investments of the Fund calculated at par value, 
        plus
            (B) the cash balance of the Fund on the books of the 
        Treasury;

        (8) ``lump-sum credit'' means the compulsory and special 
    contributions to the credit of a participant or former participant 
    in the Fund plus interest on such contributions at 4 percent a year 
    compounded annually to December 31, 1976, and after such date, for a 
    participant who separates from the Service after completing at least 
    1 year of civilian service and before completing 5 years of such 
    service, at the rate of 3 percent per year to the date of separation 
    (except that interest shall not be paid for a fractional part of a 
    month in the total service or on compulsory and special 
    contributions from an annuitant for recall service or other service 
    performed after the date of separation which forms the basis for 
    annuity);
        (9) ``military and naval service'' means honorable active 
    service--
            (A) in the Armed Forces of the United States,
            (B) in the Regular or Reserve Corps of the Public Health 
        Service after June 30, 1960, or
            (C) as a commissioned officer of the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration, or a predecessor organization, after 
        June 30, 1961,

    but does not include service in the National Guard except when 
    ordered to active duty in the service of the United States;
        (10) ``pro rata share'', in the case of any former spouse of any 
    participant or former participant, means a percentage which is equal 
    to the percentage that (A) the number of years during which the 
    former spouse was married to the participant during the creditable 
    service (creditable under part I or II of this subchapter) of that 
    participant is of (B) the total number of years of such creditable 
    service (creditable under part I or II of this subchapter);
        (11) ``spousal agreement'' means any written agreement between--
            (A) a participant or former participant; and
            (B) his or her spouse or former spouse;

        (12) ``student'' means a child regularly pursuing a full-time 
    course of study or training in residence in a high school, trade 
    school, technical or vocational institute, junior college, college, 
    university, or comparable recognized educational institution (for 
    purposes of this paragraph, a child who is a student shall not be 
    deemed to have ceased to be a student during any period between 
    school years, semesters, or terms if the period of nonattendance 
    does not exceed 5 calendar months and if the child shows to the 
    satisfaction of the Secretary of State that he or she has a bona 
    fide intention of continuing to pursue his or her course of study 
    during the school year, semester, or term immediately following such 
    period);
        (13) ``surviving spouse'' means the surviving wife or husband of 
    a participant or annuitant who was married to the participant or 
    annuitant for at least 9 months immediately preceding his or her 
    death or is a parent of a child born of the marriage, except that 
    the requirement for at least 9 months of marriage shall be deemed 
    satisfied in any case in which the participant or annuitant dies 
    within the applicable 9-month period, if--
            (A) the death of such participant or annuitant was 
        accidental; or
            (B) the surviving spouse of such individual had been 
        previously married to the individual and subsequently divorced 
        and the aggregate time married is at least 9 months;

        (14) ``unfunded liability'' means the estimated excess of the 
    present value of all benefits payable from the Fund under this part 
    over the sum of--
            (A) the present value of deductions to be withheld from the 
        future basic salary of participants and of future agency 
        contributions to be made on their behalf, plus
            (B) the present value of Government payments to the Fund 
        under section 4061 of this title, plus
            (C) the Fund balance as of the date the unfunded liability 
        is determined; and

        (15) ``special agent'' means an employee of the Department of 
    State with a primary skill code of 2501--
            (A) the duties of whose position--
                (i) are primarily--
                    (I) the investigation, apprehension, or detention of 
                individuals suspected or convicted of offenses against 
                the criminal laws of the United States; or
                    (II) the protection of persons pursuant to section 
                2709(a)(3) of this title against threats to personal 
                safety; and

                (ii) are sufficiently rigorous that employment 
            opportunities should be limited to young and physically 
            vigorous individuals, as determined by the Secretary of 
            State pursuant to section 4823 of this title;

            (B) performing duties described in subparagraph (A) before, 
        on, or after November 13, 1998; or
            (C) transferred directly to a position which is supervisory 
        or administrative in nature after performing duties described in 
        subparagraph (A) for at least 3 years.

(Pub. L. 96-465, title I, Sec. 804, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2102; Pub. 
L. 99-335, title IV, Secs. 402(a)(2), (3), 403, 404(a), June 6, 1986, 
100 Stat. 609, 610; Pub. L. 100-238, title II, Sec. 211, Jan. 8, 1988, 
101 Stat. 1773; Pub. L. 105-382, Sec. 2(a)(1), Nov. 13, 1998, 112 Stat. 
3406.)

                       References in Text

    This chapter, referred to in par. (1), was in the original ``this 
Act'', meaning Pub. L. 96-465, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2071, as amended, 
known as the Foreign Service Act of 1980, which is classified 
principally to this chapter (Sec. 3901 et seq.). For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out 
under section 3901 of this title and Tables.


                               Amendments

    1998--Par. (15). Pub. L. 105-382 added par. (15).
    1988--Par. (13). Pub. L. 100-238, Sec. 211(1), which directed the 
amendment of par. (13) by striking out ``, in the case of death in 
service or marriage after retirement,'' was executed by striking out ``, 
in the case of a death in service or marriage after retirement,'' after 
``annuitant who'', as the probable intent of Congress.
    Pub. L. 100-238, Sec. 211(2), (3), substituted ``9 months'' for 
``one year'' and inserted before semicolon at end ``, except that the 
requirement for at least 9 months of marriage shall be deemed satisfied 
in any case in which the participant or annuitant dies within the 
applicable 9-month period, if--
        ``(A) the death of such participant or annuitant was accidental; 
    or
        ``(B) the surviving spouse of such individual had been 
    previously married to the individual and subsequently divorced and 
    the aggregate time married is at least 9 months''.
    1986--Pub. L. 99-335, Sec. 402(a)(2), substituted ``part'' for 
``subchapter'' in provision preceding par. (1).
    Par. (3). Pub. L. 99-335, Sec. 403, substituted ``, the District of 
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana 
Islands, or the Virgin Islands, and any Indian court as defined in 
section 1301(3) of title 25'' for ``or of the District of Columbia''.
    Par. (10). Pub. L. 99-335, Sec. 404(a), inserted ``(creditable under 
part I or II of this subchapter)'' after ``creditable service'' in two 
places.
    Par. (14). Pub. L. 99-335, Sec. 402(a)(3), inserted ``under this 
part'' after ``payable from the Fund'' in provision preceding subpar. 
(A).


                    Effective Date of 1998 Amendment

    Pub. L. 105-382, Sec. 4, Nov. 13, 1998, 112 Stat. 3409, as amended 
by Pub. L. 106-554, Sec. 1(a)(4) [div. B, title I, Sec. 145(a)], Dec. 
21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A-250, provided that:
    ``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act 
[amending this section and sections 4045, 4046, 4052, 4071a, and 4071d 
of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 
3901 of this title] and the amendments made by this Act--
        ``(1) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act 
    [Nov. 13, 1998]; and
        ``(2) shall apply with respect to--
            ``(A) any individual first appointed on or after that date 
        as a special agent who will have any portion of such 
        individual's annuity computed in conformance with section 
        806(a)(6) of the Foreign Service Act [of 1980] [22 U.S.C. 
        4046(a)(6)]; and
            ``(B) any individual making an election under subsection 
        (b), subject to the provisions of such subsection.
    ``(b) Election for Current Participants.--
        ``(1) Eligibility.--An election under this subsection may be 
    made by any currently employed participant or participant who was 
    serving as of January 1, 1997 under chapter 8 of the Foreign Service 
    Act of 1980 [22 U.S.C. 4041 et seq.] who is serving or has served as 
    a special agent, or by a survivor of a special agent who was 
    eligible to make an election under this section.
        ``(2) Effect of an election.--
            ``(A) In general.--If an individual makes an election under 
        this subsection, the amendments made by this Act [amending this 
        section and sections 4045, 4046, 4052, 4071a, and 4071d of this 
        title] shall become applicable with respect to such individual, 
        subject to subparagraph (B).
            ``(B) Treatment of prior service.--
                ``(i) Special contribution.--An individual may, after 
            making the election under this subsection, make a special 
            contribution up to the full amount of the difference between 
            the contributions actually deducted from pay for prior 
            service and the deductions that would have been required if 
            the amendments made by this Act had then been in effect. Any 
            special contributions under this clause shall be computed 
            under regulations based on section 805(d) of the Foreign 
            Service Act of 1980 [22 U.S.C. 4045(d)] (as amended by 
            section 2), including provisions relating to the computation 
            of interest.
                ``(ii) Actuarial reduction.--
          ``(I) Rule if the special contribution is paid.--If the full 
                amount of the special contribution under clause (i) is 
                paid, no reduction under this clause shall apply.
          ``(II) Rule if less than the entire amount is paid.--If no 
                special contribution under clause (i) is paid, or if 
                less than the entire amount of such special contribution 
                is paid, the recomputed annuity shall be reduced by an 
                amount sufficient to make up the actuarial present value 
                of the shortfall.
    ``(c) Regulations and Notice.--Not later than 6 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 13, 1998], the Secretary of 
State--
        ``(1) shall promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to 
    carry out this Act; and
        ``(2) shall take measures reasonably designed to provide notice 
    to participants as to any rights they might have under this Act.
    ``(d) Election Deadline.--An election under subsection (b) must be 
made not later than 90 days after the date on which the relevant notice 
under subsection (c)(2) is provided.
    ``(e) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term `special 
agent' has the meaning given such term under section 804(15) of the 
Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4044(15)), as amended by section 
2(a).''
    [Pub. L. 106-554, Sec. 1(a)(4) [div. B, title I, Sec. 145(b)], Dec. 
21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A-250, provided that: ``The amendment made 
by this section [amending section 4 of Pub. L. 105-382, set out above] 
shall take effect on January 1, 2001.'']


                    Effective Date of 1988 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 100-238 effective 90 days after Jan. 8, 1988, 
see section 261(a) of Pub. L. 100-238, set out as a note under section 
4054 of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1986 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 99-335 effective Jan. 1, 1987, see section 
702(a) of Pub. L. 99-335, set out as an Effective Date note under 
section 8401 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 4046, 4055, 4057, 4060, 
4071a, 4159 of this title.
