Agency:
Scheme Nickname:
Hearings re: statutory prohibition of retirement annuities
Adjudication scheme providing a federal annuitant with a forum to challenge an OPM notice of withholding of annuity payment due to statutory prohibitions related to enumerated criminal convictions or falsification of employment application. (See 5 CFR 831.1101 - 831.1112).
Comments/Notes on Adjudication Structure:
OPM regulations refer to the "Associate Director for Compensation" as the agency official with authority to make initial determinations regarding prohibition on payment of annuities, issue of notices, and decide cases when the annuitant fails to file an answer or does not request a hearing. (ALJs decide contested cases.) However, the regulation has not been updated since promulgation in 1969.
Types of Adjudication:
Type A
Type B
Comments/Notes on Adjudication Type(s):
While ALJs decide contested cases, the OPM "Associate Director for Compensation" -- a position which hasn't existed at OPM for decades -- is the deciding official in uncontested cases.
Other Comments:
OPM regulations implementing prohibitions on payment of annuities for specified statutory bases has not been updated since the late 1960s. Specified statutory bases include falsification of employment applications as well as criminal convictions for: espionage; treason; unlawful disclosure of classified information; advocating the overthrow of government; seditious conspiracy; and recruiting for service against the United States. (See 75 Stat. 640). The underlying statute (Pub. L. 87-299 (Sept. 26, 1961)), which, in turn, amended the Act of September 1, 1954, dates to the McCarthy era.
Verified by Agency:
Not verified
Is this a Major Adjudication:
No