
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC212]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                    CHAPTER 6A--PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
 
        SUBCHAPTER I--ADMINISTRATION AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
 
                         Part A--Administration
 
Sec. 212. Retirement of commissioned officers


(a) Age; voluntariness; length of service; computation of retired pay

    (1) A commissioned officer of the Service shall, if he applies for 
retirement, be retired on or after the first day of the month following 
the month in which he attains the age of sixty-four years. This 
paragraph does not permit or require the involuntary retirement of any 
individual because of the age of the individual.
    (2) A commissioned officer of the Service may be retired by the 
Secretary, and shall be retired if he applies for retirement, on the 
first day of any month after completion of thirty years of active 
service.
    (3) Any commissioned officer of the Service who has had less than 
thirty years of active service may be retired by the Secretary, with or 
without application by the officer, on the first day of any month after 
completion of twenty or more years of active service of which not less 
than ten are years of active commissioned service in any of the 
uniformed services.
    (4) Except as provided in paragraph (6), a commissioned officer 
retired pursuant to paragraph (1), (2), or (3) who was (in the case of 
an officer in the Reserve Corps) on active duty with the Service on the 
day preceding such retirement shall be entitled to receive retired pay 
at the rate of 2\1/2\ per centum of the basic pay of the highest grade 
held by him as such officer and in which, in the case of a temporary 
promotion to such grade, he has performed active duty for not less than 
six months, (A) for each year of active service, or (B) if it results in 
higher retired pay, for each of the following years:
        (i) his years of active service (determined without regard to 
    subsection (d) of this section) as a member of a uniformed service; 
    plus
        (ii) in the case of a medical or dental officer, four years and, 
    in the case of a medical officer, who has completed one year of 
    medical internship or the equivalent thereof, one additional year, 
    the four years and the one year to be reduced by the period of 
    active service performed during such officer's attendance at medical 
    school or dental school or during his medical internship; plus
        (iii) the number of years of service with which he was entitled 
    to be credited for purposes of basic pay on May 31, 1958, or (if 
    higher) on any date prior thereto, reduced by any such year included 
    under clause (i) and further reduced by any such year with which he 
    was entitled to be credited under paragraphs (7) and (8) of section 
    205(a) of title 37 on any date before June 1, 1958;

except that (C) in the case of any officer whose retired pay, so 
computed, is less than 50 per centum of such basic pay, who retires 
pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, who has not less than 
twelve whole years of active service (computed without the application 
of subsection (e) of this section), and who does not use, for purposes 
of a retirement annuity under subchapter III of chapter 83 of title 5, 
any service which is also creditable in computing his retired pay from 
the Service, it shall, instead, be 50 per centum of such pay, and (D) 
the retired pay of an officer shall in no case be more than 75 per 
centum of such basic pay.
    (5) With the approval of the President, a commissioned officer whose 
service as Surgeon General, Deputy Surgeon General, or Assistant Surgeon 
General has totaled four years or more and who has had not less than 
twenty-five years of active service in the Service may retire 
voluntarily at any time; and except as provided in paragraph (6), his 
retired pay shall be at the rate of 75 per centum of the basic pay of 
the highest grade held by him as such officer.
    (6) The retired pay of a commissioned officer retired under this 
subsection who first became a member of a uniformed service after 
September 7, 1980, is determined by multiplying--
        (A) the retired pay base determined under section 1407 of title 
    10; by
        (B) the retired pay multiplier determined under section 1409 of 
    such title for the number of years of service credited to the 
    officer under paragraph (4).

    (7) Retired pay computed under section 211(g)(3) of this title or 
under paragraph (4) or (5) of this subsection, if not a multiple of $1, 
shall be rounded to the next lower multiple of $1.

(b) Basic pay of highest temporary grade

    For purposes of subsection (a) of this section, the basic pay of the 
highest grade to which a commissioned officer has received a temporary 
promotion means the basic pay to which he would be entitled if serving 
on active duty in such grade on the date of his retirement.

(c) Recall to active duty

    A commissioned officer, retired for reasons other than for failure 
of promotion to the senior grade, may (1) if an officer of the Regular 
Corps or an officer of the Reserve Corps entitled to retired pay under 
subsection (a) of this section, be involuntarily recalled to active duty 
during such times as the Commissioned Corps constitutes a branch of the 
land or naval forces of the United States, and (2) if an officer of 
either the Regular or Reserve Corps, be recalled to active duty at any 
time with his consent.

(d) ``Active service'' defined

    The term ``active service'', as used in subsection (a) of this 
section, includes:
        (1) all active service in any of the uniformed services;
        (2) active service with the Public Health Service, other than as 
    a commissioned officer, which the Surgeon General determines is 
    comparable to service performed by commissioned officers of the 
    Service, except that, if there are more than five years of such 
    service only the last five years thereof may be included;
        (3) all active service (other than service included under the 
    preceding provisions of this subsection) which is creditable for 
    retirement purposes under laws governing the retirement of members 
    of any of the uniformed services; and
        (4) service performed as a member of the Senior Biomedical 
    Research Service established by section 237 of this title, except 
    that, if there are more than 5 years of such service, only the last 
    5 years thereof may be included.

(e) Crediting of part of year

    For the purpose of determining the number of years by which a 
percentage of the basic pay of an officer is to be multiplied in 
computing the amount of his retired pay pursuant to section 211(g)(3) of 
this title or paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of this section, each full 
month of service that is in addition to the number of full years of 
service credited to an officer is counted as one-twelfth of a year and 
any remaining fractional part of a month is disregarded.

(f) Retirement or separation for physical disability

    For purposes of retirement or separation for physical disability 
under chapter 61 of title 10, a commissioned officer of the Service 
shall be credited, in addition to the service described in section 
1208(a)(2) of that title, with active service with the Public Health 
Service, other than as a commissioned officer, which the Surgeon General 
determines is comparable to service performed by commissioned officers 
of the Service, except that, if there are more than five years of such 
service, only the last five years thereof may be so credited. For such 
purposes, such section 1208(a)(2) shall be applicable to officers of the 
Regular or Reserve Corps of the Service.

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title II, Sec. 211, 58 Stat. 688; Feb. 28, 1948, 
ch. 83, Sec. 7, 62 Stat. 46; Oct. 12, 1949, ch. 681, title V, 
Sec. 521(d), 63 Stat. 835; 1953 Reorg. Plan No. 1, Secs. 5, 8, eff. Apr. 
11, 1953, 18 F.R. 2053, 67 Stat. 631; Apr. 27, 1956, ch. 211, Sec. 5(a)-
(c), 70 Stat. 117; Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, Sec. 5, 70A Stat. 620; Pub. 
L. 86-415, Sec. 4, Apr. 8, 1960, 74 Stat. 33; Pub. L. 91-253, Sec. 1, 
May 14, 1970, 84 Stat. 216; Pub. L. 96-76, title III, Sec. 308, Sept. 
29, 1979, 93 Stat. 585; Pub. L. 96-342, title VIII, Sec. 813(h)(2), 
Sept. 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 1110; Pub. L. 97-25, title III, Sec. 303(b), 
July 27, 1981, 95 Stat. 145; Pub. L. 97-35, title XXVII, Sec. 2765(a), 
Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 932; Pub. L. 98-94, title IX, Secs. 922(d), 
923(f), Sept. 24, 1983, 97 Stat. 642, 643; Pub. L. 99-348, title II, 
Sec. 207(b), July 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 702; Pub. L. 101-509, title V, 
Sec. 529 [title III, Sec. 304(b)], Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1427, 1464.)

                          Codification

    In subsec. (a)(4), ``subchapter III of chapter 83 of title 5'' 
substituted for ``the Civil Service Retirement Act'' on authority of 
Pub. L. 89-554, Sec. 7(b), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 631, the first 
section of which enacted Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.


                               Amendments

    1990--Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 101-509 added par. (4).
    1986--Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 99-348 amended par. (6) generally. 
Prior to amendment, par. (6) read as follows: ``In computing retired pay 
under paragraph (4) or (5) in the case of any commissioned officer who 
first became a member of a uniformed service on or after September 8, 
1980, the monthly retired pay base computed under section 1407(h) of 
title 10 shall be used in lieu of using the basic pay of the highest 
grade held by him as such officer.''
    1983--Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 98-94, Sec. 922(d), added par. (7).
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 98-94, Sec. 923(f), substituted ``each full 
month of service that is in addition to the number of full years of 
service credited to an officer is counted as one-twelfth of a year and 
any remaining fractional part of a month is disregarded'' for ``a part 
of a year that is six months or more is counted as a whole year, and a 
part of a year that is less than six months is disregarded''.
    1981--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 97-35 substituted ``shall, if he 
applies for retirement, be retired on or after'' for ``shall be retired 
on'', and substituted provisions relating to involuntary retirement as a 
result of age, for provisions relating to inapplicability to the Surgeon 
General.
    Pub. L. 97-25 inserted provision that this paragraph does not apply 
to Surgeon General.
    1980--Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 96-342, Sec. 813(h)(2)(A), substituted 
``Except as provided in paragraph (6), a'' for ``A''.
    Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 96-342, Sec. 813(h)(2)(B), substituted 
``except as provided in paragraph (6), his'' for ``his''.
    Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 96-342, Sec. 813(h)(2)(C), added par. (6).
    1979--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 96-76 struck out requirement respecting 
active service for purposes of credit.
    1970--Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 91-253 inserted ``plus'' after the 
semicolon at end of cl. (ii) and added cl. (iii).
    1960--Pub. L. 86-415 amended section generally, and among other 
changes, authorized retirement of commissioned officers who have had 
less than 30 years of active service any time after the completion of 20 
years of active service, permitted persons who have served as Deputy 
Surgeons General or Assistant Surgeons General for four or more years 
and who have had at least 25 years of active service to retire 
voluntarily at any time, provided for the recall to active duty of 
officers of the Reserve Corps entitled to retired pay under subsection 
(a) of this section during such times as the Corps constitutes a branch 
of the land or naval forces of the United States, authorized credit, for 
retirement purposes, of active service in the uniformed services and 
limited to five years the crediting of active service with the Public 
Health Service other than as a commissioned officer, and established the 
methods for computation of retired pay for active duty officers retiring 
for age or length of service.
    1956--Subsec. (a). Act Apr. 27, 1956, Sec. 5(a), authorized 
crediting of noncommissioned service for purposes of retirement.
    Subsec. (b)(1). Act Apr. 27, 1956, Sec. 5(b), authorized crediting 
of noncommissioned service in the Service for purposes of retirement.
    Subsec. (c). Act Apr. 27, 1956, Sec. 5(c), permitted recall of 
retired officers of the Regular Corps without their consent whenever the 
Regular Corps has military status, and authorized recall of retired 
officers of the Regular or Reserve Corps with their consent at any time.
    Subsec. (g). Act Aug. 10, 1956, provided for crediting of service 
for purposes of retirement or separation for physical disability under 
chapter 61 of title 10.
    1949--Subsec. (a). Act Oct. 12, 1949, redesignated subsec. (b) as 
(a), substituted ``subsection (b)'' for ``subsection (c)'' and repealed 
former subsec. (a) relating to retirement for disability or disease.
    Subsec. (b). Act Oct. 12, 1949, redesignated subsec. (c) as (b) and 
struck out reference to retirement for disability or disease. Former 
subsec. (b) redesignated (a).
    Subsec. (c). Act Oct. 12, 1949, redesignated subsec. (d) as (c) and 
struck out reference to recovery from a disability. Former subsec. (c) 
redesignated (b).
    Subsecs. (d) to (f). Act Oct. 12, 1949, redesignated subsecs. (e) to 
(g) as (d) to (f), respectively. Former subsec. (d) redesignated (c).
    Subsecs. (g), (h). Act Oct. 12, 1949, redesignated subsec. (h) as 
(g) and amended subsection generally to relate to retirement or 
separation for physical disability. Former subsec. (g) redesignated (f).
    1948--Subsec. (b). Act Feb. 28, 1948, inserted length of service for 
retirement purposes.
    Subsec. (c)(2). Act Feb. 28, 1948, made subdivision applicable to 
grade of Assistant Surgeon General.
    Subsec. (d). Act Feb. 28, 1948, substituted ``under the provisions 
of subsection (b) of this section'' for ``for age''.
    Subsecs. (g), (h). Act Feb. 28, 1948, added subsecs. (g) and (h).

                         Change of Name

    Senior Biomedical Research Service changed to Silvio O. Conte Senior 
Biomedical Research Service by Pub. L. 103-43, title XX, Sec. 2001, June 
10, 1993, 107 Stat. 208. See section 237 of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

    Section 529 [title III, Sec. 304(c)] of Pub. L. 101-509 provided 
that: ``Except as otherwise provided, the provisions of this section 
[enacting section 237 of this title and amending this section] shall be 
effective on the 90th day following the date of the enactment of this 
Act [Nov. 5, 1990].''


                    Effective Date of 1983 Amendment

    Amendment by section 922(d) of Pub. L. 98-94 effective Oct. 1, 1983, 
see section 922(e) of Pub. L. 98-94, set out as a note under section 
1401 of Title 10, Armed Forces.
    Amendment by section 923(f) of Pub. L. 98-94 applicable with respect 
to the computation of retired or retainer pay of any individual who 
becomes entitled to that pay after Sept. 30, 1983, see section 923(g) of 
Pub. L. 98-94, set out as a note under section 1174 of Title 10.


                    Effective Date of 1970 Amendment

    Section 2 of Pub. L. 91-253 provided that: ``The amendments made by 
this Act [amending this section] shall apply in the case of retired pay 
for any period after the month in which this Act is enacted [May 
1970].''


                    Effective Date of 1960 Amendment

    Section 8(b) of Pub. L. 86-415 provided that: ``The amendment made 
by section 4 [amending this section] shall become effective on the date 
of enactment of this Act [Apr. 8, 1960] in the case of commissioned 
officers of the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service, and on July 
1, 1960, in the case of commissioned officers of the Reserve Corps of 
the Public Health Service.''


                    Effective Date of 1949 Amendment

    Amendment by act Oct. 12, 1949, effective Oct. 1, 1949, see section 
533(a) of act Oct. 12, 1949.


                            Savings Provision

    Section 8(c), (d) of Pub. L. 86-415 provided that:
    ``(c) An officer in the Regular Corps on active duty on the date of 
enactment of this Act [Apr. 8, 1960] may be retired and have his retired 
pay computed under section 211 of the Public Health Service Act, as 
amended by this Act [this section], or, if he so elects, under such 
section as in effect prior to the date of enactment of this Act [Apr. 8, 
1960].
    ``(d) The limitation under subsection (f) of section 211 of the 
Public Health Service Act, as amended by this Act [subsec. (f) of this 
section], on the amount of active service with the Public Health 
Service, other than as a commissioned officer, which may be counted for 
purposes of retirement or separation for physical disability, shall not 
apply in the case of any officer of the Reserve Corps of the Public 
Health Service on active duty on June 30, 1960.''

                          Transfer of Functions

    Functions of Public Health Service, Surgeon General of Public Health 
Service, and all other officers and employees of Public Health Service, 
and functions of all agencies of or in Public Health Service transferred 
to Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare by Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 
1966, eff. June 25, 1966, 31 F.R. 8855, 80 Stat. 1610, set out as a note 
under section 202 of this title. Secretary of Health, Education, and 
Welfare redesignated Secretary of Health and Human Services by section 
509(b) of Pub. L. 96-88 which is classified to section 3508(b) of Title 
20, Education.
    Functions of Federal Security Administrator transferred to Secretary 
of Health, Education, and Welfare and all agencies of Federal Security 
Agency transferred to Department of Health, Education, and Welfare by 
section 5 of Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1953, set out as a note under section 
3501 of this title. Federal Security Agency and office of Administrator 
abolished by section 8 of Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1953. Secretary and 
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare redesignated Secretary and 
Department of Health and Human Services by section 509(b) of Pub. L. 96-
88 which is classified to section 3508(b) of Title 20.

                         Delegation of Functions

    Functions of President delegated to Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, see Ex. Ord. No. 11140, eff. Jan. 30, 1964, 29 F.R. 1637, as 
amended, set out as a note under section 202 of this title.


               Coverage Under Civil Service Retirement Act

    Creditable service for purposes of the Civil Service Retirement Act 
for certain commissioned officers of the Regular or Reserve Corps of the 
Public Health Service, see section 6(a), (b) of Pub. L. 86-415, set out 
as a note under section 8332 of Title 5, Government Organization and 
Employees.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 209, 210 of this title; 
title 10 section 1406.
