5 U.S.C. 8347; 5 U.S.C. 8461; 5 U.S.C. 8716; 5 U.S.C. 8913; section 9 of Pub. L. 86-724, 74 Stat. 849, 851-52 (September 8, 1960) as amended by section 102 of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1978, 92 Stat. 3781, 3783 (February 23, 1978).
(a) The purpose of this part is to enable changes needed for implementation of the new retirement and insurance processing system created by the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM's) Retirement Systems Modernization (RSM) initiative. RSM is OPM's strategic initiative to improve the quality and timeliness of services to employees and annuitants covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) by using contemporary, automated business processes and supporting technology. The RSM initiative is designed to transform the retirement process, as well as the processing of annuitant insurance elections of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB), and Retired Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (RFEHB) coverage, by employing more efficient and effective business systems to respond to increased customer demand for higher levels of customer service and online self-service tools.
(b) The provisions of this part authorize exceptions from regulatory provisions that would otherwise apply to CSRS and FERS annuities and FEGLI, FEHB and RFEHB benefits processed by or at the direction of OPM under the RSM initiative. Those regulatory provisions that would otherwise apply were established for a paper-based retirement and insurance benefits processing system that may eventually be phased out but which will continue to
(c) The provisions of this part do not affect retirement and insurance eligibility and annuity computation provisions. The provisions for capturing retirement and insurance data in an electronic format, however, may support, in some instances, more precise calculations of annuity and insurance benefits than were possible using paper records.
(a) The provisions of parts 831, 835, 837 through 839, 841 through 847, 870, 890, and 891 of this chapter remain in effect, as applicable, except to the extent that they are inconsistent with one or more provisions of this part or implementing directives prescribed by the Director under § 850.104.
(b) The provisions of this part do not supersede or alter any functions performed by a private insurance company or carrier with which OPM has entered into a contract, or with which OPM may enter into a contract in the future, under chapter 87 or 89 of title 5, United States Code, or under any other provision of law or regulation.
In this part—
The Director must prescribe, in the form he or she deems appropriate, such detailed procedures as the Director determines to be necessary to carry out the purpose of this part.
Agencies employing individuals whose retirement records or processing are affected by this part are responsible for counseling those individuals regarding their rights and benefits under CSRS, FERS, FEGLI, FEHB, or RFEHB.
(a) Subject to any provisions prescribed by the Director under § 850.104—
(1) An electronic communication may be deemed to satisfy any statutory or regulatory requirement under CSRS, FERS, FEGLI, FEHB or RFEHB for a written election, notice, application, consent, request, or specific form format;
(2) An electronic signature of an electronic communication may be deemed to satisfy any statutory or regulatory requirement under CSRS, FERS, FEGLI, FEHB or RFEHB that an individual submit a signed writing to OPM;
(3) An electronic signature of a witness to an electronic signature may be deemed to satisfy any statutory or regulatory requirement under CSRS, FERS, FEGLI, FEHB or RFEHB for a signature to be witnessed; and
(4) Any statutory or regulatory requirement under CSRS, FERS, FEGLI, FEHB or RFEHB that a signature be notarized may be satisfied if the electronic signature of the person authorized to sign is attached to or logically associated with all other information
(b) For purposes of this section, an electronic signature is a method of signing an electronic communication, including an application, claim, or notice, designation of beneficiary, or assignment that—
(1) Identifies and authenticates a particular person as the source of the electronic communication; and
(2) Indicates such person's approval of the information contained in the electronic communication.
(c) The Director will issue directives under § 850.104 that identify the acceptable methods of effecting electronic signatures for particular purposes under this part. Acceptable methods of creating an electronic signature may include—
(1) Non-cryptographic methods, including—
(i) Personal Identification Number (PIN) or password;
(ii) Smart card;
(iii) Digitized signature; or
(iv) Biometrics, such as fingerprints, retinal patterns, and voice recognition;
(2) Cryptographic control methods, including—
(i) Shared symmetric key cryptography;
(ii) Public/private key (asymmetric) cryptography, also known as digital signatures;
(3) Any combination of methods described in paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) of this section; or
(4) Such other means as the Director may find appropriate.
(a)(1) Applications and related submissions that otherwise would be required by this chapter to be made in writing may instead be submitted in such form as the Director prescribes under § 850.104.
(2) Subject to any directives prescribed by the Director under § 850.104, applications and related submissions that are otherwise required to be made to an individual's employing agency (other than by statute) may instead be submitted to the electronic retirement and insurance processing system or to OPM.
(b) Data provided under subpart C of this part are the basis for adjudicating claims for CSRS and FERS retirement benefits, and will support the administration of FEGLI, FEHB and RFEHB coverage for annuitants, under this part.
(c) For the purposes of this subpart, “OPM notice” means the notice informing the retiree or other individual of the annuity computation rate and of the elections made by the retiree or other such individual eligible to make such an election and informing him or her of the time limit under § 850.202 or 850.203 for any election, revocation or change of election.
(a) A survivor election under subsection (j) or (k) of section 8339, or under section 8416, 8417, or 8420 of title 5, United States Code, which is otherwise required to be in writing may be effected in such form as the Director prescribes under § 850.104.
(b)(1) Except as provided in §§ 831.622(b)(1), 831.631, 831.632, 842.610(b)(1), 842.611, and 842.612 of this chapter, an individual making a survivor election at the time of retirement may not revoke or change that election later than 35 days after the date of the OPM notice to the individual of the amount of annuity to which he or she is entitled.
(2) A retiree may change a survivor election under § 831.622(b)(1) or § 842.610(b)(1) of this chapter no later than 18 months after the commencing date of the annuity to which he or she is entitled.
(a) Any other election may be effected in such form as the Director prescribes under § 850.104. Such elections include but are not limited to—
(1) Elections of coverage under CSRS, FERS, FEGLI, FEHB or RFEHB by individuals entitled to elect such coverage;
(2) Applications for service credit and applications to make deposit; and
(3) Elections regarding the withholding of State income tax from annuity payments.
(b) Any election, which, if it were not processed under this part, would have a deadline described in reference to the first regular monthly payment or the date of final adjudication, may not be made later than 35 days after the date of the OPM notice to the individual concerned of the amount of annuity to which he or she is entitled.
(a) Acceptable electronic records for processing by the electronic retirement and insurance processing system include—
(1) Electronic employee data submitted by an agency or other entity through EHRI and stored within the new retirement and insurance processing system;
(2) Electronic Official Personnel Folder (e-OPF) data; and
(3) Documents, including hardcopy versions of the Individual Retirement Record (SF 2806 or SF 3100), or data obtained from such documents, that are converted to an electronic or digital form by means of image scanning or other forms of electronic or digital conversion.
(b) Documents that are not converted to an electronic or digital form will continue to be acceptable records for processing by the retirement and insurance processing system.
(c) OPM is required to retain documents after they have been converted to electronic records in accordance with title 44, United States Code.
(a) The retirement and insurance processing system does not affect the responsibilities of an agency with respect to employees or Members of Congress subject to subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, for the initiation and maintenance of records, evidence, or other information described in this title.
(b) Agencies are responsible for correcting errors in data provided to OPM under § 850.301.
An individual who submits personal documents to OPM in support of a claim for retirement or insurance benefits may have such documents returned to the individual if he or she requests the return of the documents when submitting the documents. If OPM receives a request for return of such documents at a later time, OPM may provide the individual with a copy of the document that is derived from electronic records.
(a) An agency or other entity that submits electronic employee records directly or through a shared service center to the electronic retirement and insurance processing system must include in the notice of law enforcement officer, firefighter, or nuclear materials retirement coverage, required by § 831.811(a), 831.911(a), 842.808(a), or 842.910(a) of this chapter, the position description number, or other unique alphanumeric identifier, of the position for which law enforcement officer, firefighter, or nuclear materials courier retirement coverage has been approved.
(b) The Director will issue directives under § 850.104 that identify the acceptable methods for an agency or other entity to submit to OPM electronic files of both the notice required by § 831.811(a), 831.911(a), 842.808(a), or 842.910(a) of this chapter, and the coverage determination files and background material required under § 831.811(b), 831.911(b), 842.808(b), or 842.910(b) of this chapter, associated with the positions included in the notice.