(a)(1)(A) The employing agency shall deduct and withhold from the basic pay of an employee, Member, Congressional employee, law enforcement officer, firefighter, bankruptcy judge, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, United States magistrate,¹ Court of Federal Claims judge, member of the Capitol Police, member of the Supreme Court Police, nuclear materials courier, or customs and border protection officer, as the case may be, the percentage of basic pay applicable under subsection (c).

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(B)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), an equal amount shall be contributed from the appropriation or fund used to pay the employee or, in the case of an elected official, from an appropriation or fund available for payment of other salaries of the same office or establishment. When an employee in the legislative branch is paid by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, the Chief Administrative Officer may pay from the applicable accounts of the House of Representatives the contribution that otherwise would be contributed from the appropriation or fund used to pay the employee.

(ii) In the case of an employee of the United States Postal Service, no amount shall be contributed under this subparagraph.

(2) The amounts so deducted and withheld, together with the amounts so contributed, shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Fund under such procedures as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. Deposits made by an employee or Member also shall be credited to the Fund.

(b) Each employee or Member is deemed to consent and agree to these deductions from basic pay. Notwithstanding any law or regulation affecting the pay of an employee or Member, payment less these deductions is a full and complete discharge and acquittance of all claims and demands for regular services during the period covered by the payment, except the right to the benefits to which the employee or Member is entitled under this subchapter.

(c) Each employee or Member credited with civilian service after July 31, 1920, for which retirement deductions or deposits have not been made, may deposit with interest an amount equal to the following percentages of his basic pay received for that service:

Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subsection and any provision of section 206(b)(3) of the Federal Employees’ Retirement Contribution Temporary Adjustment Act of 1983, the percentage of basic pay required under this subsection in the case of an individual described in section 8402(b)(2) shall, with respect to any covered service (as defined by section 203(a)(3) of such Act) performed by such individual after December 31, 1983, and before January 1, 1987, be equal to 1.3 percent, and, with respect to any such service performed after December 31, 1986, be equal to the amount that would have been deducted from the employee’s basic pay under subsection (k) of this section if the employee’s pay had been subject to that subsection during such period.

(d)(1) Each employee or Member who has received a refund of retirement deductions under this or any other retirement system established for employees of the Government covering service for which he may be allowed credit under this subchapter may deposit the amount received, with interest. Credit may not be allowed for the service covered by the refund until the deposit is made.

(2)(A) This paragraph applies with respect to any employee or Member who—

(i) separates before March 1, 1991, and receives (or elects, in accordance with applicable provisions of this subchapter, to receive) a refund (described in paragraph (1)) which relates to a period of service ending before March 1, 1991;

(ii) is entitled to an annuity under this subchapter (other than a disability annuity) which is based on service of such employee or Member, and which commences on or after December 2, 1990; and

(iii) does not make the deposit (described in paragraph (1)) required in order to receive credit for the period of service with respect to which the refund relates.

(B) Notwithstanding the second sentence of paragraph (1), the annuity to which an employee or Member under this paragraph is entitled shall (subject to adjustment under section 8340) be equal to an amount which, when taken together with the unpaid amount referred to in subparagraph (A)(iii), would result in the present value of the total being actuarially equivalent to the present value of the annuity which would otherwise be provided the employee or Member under this subchapter, as computed under subsections (a)-(i) and (n) of section 8339 (treating, for purposes of so computing the annuity which would otherwise be provided under this subchapter, the deposit referred to in subparagraph (A)(iii) as if it had been timely made).

(C) The Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this paragraph.

(e)(1) Interest under subsection (c), (d)(1), (j), (k), or (l) of this section is computed in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection and regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management.

(2) Interest accrues annually on the outstanding portion of any amount that may be deposited under subsection (c), (d)(1), (j), (k), or (l) of this section, and is compounded annually, until the portion is deposited. Such interest is computed from the mid-point of each service period included in the computation, or from the date refund was paid. The deposit may be made in one or more installments. Interest may not be charged for a period of separation from the service which began before October 1, 1956.

(3) The rate of interest is 4 percent a year through December 31, 1947, and 3 percent a year beginning January 1, 1948, through December 31, 1984. Thereafter, the rate of interest for any calendar year shall be equal to the overall average yield to the Fund during the preceding fiscal year from all obligations purchased by the Secretary of the Treasury during such fiscal year under section 8348(c), (d), and (e) of this title, as determined by the Secretary.

(f) Under such regulations as the Office of Personnel Management may prescribe, amounts deducted under subsection (a) or (k) of this section and deposited under subsections (c) and (d)(1) of this section shall be entered on individual retirement records.

(g) Deposit may not be required for—

(1) service before August 1, 1920;

(2) military service, except to the extent provided under section 8332(c) or section 8334(j) of this title;

(3) service for the Panama Railroad Company before January 1, 1924;

(4) service performed before October 29, 1983,,² by natives of the Pribilof Islands in the taking and curing of fur seal skins and other activities in connection with the administration of the Pribilof Islands except where deductions, contributions, and deposits were made before October 29, 1983;

(5) days of unused sick leave credited under section 8339(m) of this title; or

(6) any period for which credit is allowed under section 8332(l) of this title.

(h) For the purpose of survivor annuities, deposits authorized by subsections (c), (d)(1), (j), and (k) of this section may also be made by a survivor of an employee or Member.

(i)(1) The Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall pay to the Fund the amount which an employee may deposit under subsection (c) of this section for service creditable under section 8332(b)(12) of this title if such creditable service immediately precedes service as an employee subject to this subchapter with a break in service of no more than ninety working days. The Director shall pay such amount from any appropriation available to him as a necessary expense of the appropriation concerned.

(2) The amount the Director pays in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be reduced by the amount of any refund to the employee under section 376 of title 28. Except to the extent of such reduction, the amount the Director pays to the Fund shall satisfy the deposit requirement of subsection (c) of this section.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the amount the Director pays under this subsection shall constitute an employer contribution to the Fund, excludable under section 402 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 from the employee’s gross income until such time as the contribution is distributed or made available to the employee, and shall not be subject to refund or to lump-sum payment to the employee.

(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a bankruptcy judge or magistrate judge who is covered by section 377 of title 28 or section 2(c) of the Retirement and Survivors’ Annuities for Bankruptcy Judges and Magistrates Act of 1988 shall not be subject to deductions and contributions to the Fund, if the judge or magistrate judge notifies the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts of an election of a retirement annuity under those provisions. Upon such an election, the judge or magistrate judge shall be entitled to a lump-sum credit under section 8342(a) of this title.

(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a judge who is covered by section 7296 of title 38 shall not be subject to deductions and contributions to the Fund, if the judge notifies the Director of the Office of Personnel Management of an election of a retirement annuity under that section. Upon such an election, the judge shall be entitled to a lump-sum credit under section 8342(a) of this title.

(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims who is covered by section 178 of title 28 shall not be subject to deductions and contributions to the Fund if the judge notifies the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts of an election of a retirement annuity under those provisions. Upon such an election, the judge shall be entitled to a lump-sum credit under section 8342(a) of this title.

(j)(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), and subject to paragraph (5), each employee or Member who has performed military service before the date of the separation on which the entitlement to any annuity under this subchapter is based may pay, in accordance with such regulations as the Office shall issue, to the agency by which the employee is employed, or, in the case of a Member or a Congressional employee, to the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, as appropriate, an amount equal to 7 percent of the amount of the basic pay paid under section 204 of title 37 to the employee or Member for each period of military service after December 1956. The amount of such payments shall be based on such evidence of basic pay for military service as the employee or Member may provide, or if the Office determines sufficient evidence has not been so provided to adequately determine basic pay for military service, such payment shall be based upon estimates of such basic pay provided to the Office under paragraph (4).

(B) In any case where military service interrupts creditable civilian service under this subchapter and reemployment pursuant to chapter 43 of title 38 occurs on or after August 1, 1990, the deposit payable under this paragraph may not exceed the amount that would have been deducted and withheld under subsection (a)(1) from basic pay during civilian service if the employee had not performed the period of military service.

(2) Any deposit made under paragraph (1) of this subsection more than two years after the later of—

(A) October 1, 1983; or

(B) the date on which the employee or Member making the deposit first becomes an employee or Member following the period of military service for which such deposit is due,

shall include interest on such amount computed and compounded annually beginning on the date of the expiration of the two-year period. The interest rate that is applicable in computing interest in any year under this paragraph shall be equal to the interest rate that is applicable for such year under subsection (e) of this section.

(3) Any payment received by an agency, the Secretary of the Senate, or the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives under this subsection shall be immediately remitted to the Office for deposit in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Fund.

(4) The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Commerce, or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as appropriate, shall furnish such information to the Office as the Office may determine to be necessary for the administration of this subsection.

(5) Effective with respect to any period of military service after December 31, 1998, the percentage of basic pay under section 204 of title 37 payable under paragraph (1) shall be equal to the same percentage as would be applicable under subsection (c) of this section for that same period for service as an employee, subject to paragraph (1)(B).

(6)(A) In calculating and processing the deposit under paragraph (1) with respect to an employee, Member, or annuitant, if the employing agency of such employee, Member, or annuitant makes an administrative error, such employing agency may pay, on behalf of the employee, Member, or annuitant, any additional interest assessed due to the administrative error.

(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, as appropriate, shall be considered the employing agency of a Member or Congressional employee.

(C) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall issue such regulations as are necessary to carry out this paragraph.

(k)(1) Effective with respect to pay periods beginning after December 31, 1986, in administering this section in the case of an individual described in section 8402(b)(2) of this title—

(A) the amount to be deducted and withheld by the employing agency shall be determined in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection instead of subsection (a)(1)(A); and

(B) the amount of the contribution under subparagraph (B) of subsection (a)(1) shall be the amount which would have been contributed under such subparagraph if this subsection had not been enacted.

(2)(A) With respect to Federal wages of an employee or Member (or that portion thereof) not exceeding the contribution and benefit base during the calendar year involved, the appropriate amount to be deducted and withheld under this subsection is the amount by which—

(i) the total deduction for those wages (or for that portion) exceeds;

(ii) the OASDI contribution with respect to those wages (or that portion).

(B) With respect to any portion of Federal wages of an employee or Member which exceed the contribution and benefit base during the calendar year involved, the appropriate amount to be deducted and withheld under this subsection is an amount equal to the total deduction for that portion.

(C) For purposes of this paragraph—

(i) the term “Federal wages” means basic pay for service as an employee or Member, as the case may be;

(ii) the term “contribution and benefit base” means the contribution and benefit base in effect with respect to the period involved, as determined under section 230 of the Social Security Act;

(iii) the term “total deduction”, as used with respect to any Federal wages (or portion thereof), means an amount equal to the amount of those wages (or of that portion), multiplied by the percentage which (but for this subsection) would apply under subsection (a)(1)(A) with respect to the individual involved; and

(iv) the term “OASDI contribution”, with respect to any income, means the amount of tax which may be imposed under section 3101(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to such income (determined without regard to any income which is not a part of Federal wages).

(3) The amount of a deposit under subsection (c) of this section for any service with respect to which paragraph (1) of this subsection applies shall be equal to an amount determined based on the preceding provisions of this subsection, and shall include interest.

(4) In administering paragraphs (1) through (3)—

(A) the term “an individual described in section 8402(b)(2) of this title” shall be considered to include any individual—

(i) who is subject to this subchapter as a result of a provision of law described in section 8347(o), and

(ii) whose employment (as described in section 8347(o)) is also employment for purposes of title II of the Social Security Act and chapter 21 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and

(B) the term “Federal wages”, as applied with respect to any individual to whom this subsection applies as a result of subparagraph (A), means basic pay for any employment referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii).

(l)(1) Each employee or Member who has performed service as a volunteer or volunteer leader under part A of title VIII of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, as a full-time volunteer enrolled in a program of at least 1 year’s duration under part A, B,³ or C of title I of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, or as a volunteer or volunteer leader under the Peace Corps Act before the date of the separation on which the entitlement to any annuity under this subchapter is based may pay, in accordance with such regulations as the Office of Personnel Management shall issue, an amount equal to 7 percent of the readjustment allowance paid to the employee or Member under title VIII of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 or section 5(c) or 6(1) of the Peace Corps Act or the stipend paid to the employee or Member under part A, B,³ or C of title I of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, for each period of service as such a volunteer or volunteer leader. This paragraph shall be subject to paragraph (4).

(2) Any deposit made under paragraph (1) more than 2 years after the later of—

(A) October 1, 1993; or

(B) the date on which the employee or Member making the deposit first becomes an employee or Member,

shall include interest on such amount computed and compounded annually beginning on the date of the expiration of the 2-year period. The interest rate that is applicable in computing interest in any year under this paragraph shall be equal to the interest rate that is applicable for such year under subsection (e).

(3) The Director of the Peace Corps and the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service shall furnish such information to the Office of Personnel Management as the Office may determine to be necessary for the administration of this subsection.

(4) Effective with respect to any period of service after December 31, 1998, the percentage of the readjustment allowance or stipend (as the case may be) payable under paragraph (1) shall be equal to the same percentage as would be applicable under subsection (c) of this section for the same period for service as an employee.

(5)(A) In calculating and processing the deposit under paragraph (1) with respect to an employee, Member, or annuitant, if an employing agency of such employee, Member, or annuitant makes an administrative error that causes additional interest assessed to accrue on the deposit, the employing agency may pay, on behalf of the employee, Member, or annuitant, any additional interest assessed due to the administrative error.

(B) In calculating and processing the deposit under paragraph (1) with respect to an employee, Member, or annuitant, if the Office of Personnel Management makes an administrative error that causes additional interest assessed to accrue on the deposit, the Office of Personnel Management may pay, on behalf of the employee, Member, or annuitant, any additional interest assessed due to the administrative error.

(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, as appropriate, shall be considered the employing agency of a Member or congressional employee.

(D) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall issue such regulations as are necessary to carry out this paragraph.

(m) A Member who has served in a position in the executive branch for which the rate of basic pay was reduced for the duration of the service of the Member to remove the impediment to the appointment of the Member imposed by article I, section 6, clause 2 of the Constitution, or the survivor of such a Member, may deposit to the credit of the Fund an amount equal to the difference between the amount deducted from the basic pay of the Member during that period of service and the amount that would have been deducted if the rate of basic pay which would otherwise have been in effect during that period had been in effect, plus interest computed under subsection (e).

(n) Notwithstanding subsection (c), no deposit may be made with respect to service credited under section 8332(b)(17).