5 USC 8331 - Definitions

U.S Code last checked for updates: Jun 15, 2026

§ 8331.

Definitions

For the purpose of this subchapter—

(1)

“employee” means—

(A)

an employee as defined by section 2105 of this title;

(B)

the Architect of the Capitol, an employee of the Architect of the Capitol, and an employee of the Botanic Garden;

(C)

a Congressional employee as defined by section 2107 of this title (other than the Architect of the Capitol, an employee of the Architect of the Capitol, and an employee of the Botanic Garden), after he gives notice in writing to the official by whom he is paid of his desire to become subject to this subchapter;

(D)

a temporary Congressional employee appointed at an annual rate of pay, after he gives notice in writing to the official by whom he is paid of his desire to become subject to this subchapter;

(E)

a United States Commissioner whose total pay for services performed as Commissioner is not less than $3,000 in each of the last 3 consecutive calendar years ending after December 31, 1954;

(F)

an individual employed by a county committee established under section 590h(b) of title 16;

(G)

an individual first employed by the government of the District of Columbia before October 1, 1987;

(H)

an individual employed by Gallaudet College;

(I)

an individual appointed to a position on the office staff of a former President under section 1(b) of the Act of August 25, 1958 (72 Stat. 838);

(J)

an alien (i) who was previously employed by the Government, (ii) who is employed full time by a foreign government for the purpose of protecting or furthering the interests of the United States during an interruption of diplomatic or consular relations, and (iii) for whose services reimbursement is made to the foreign government by the United States;

(K)

an individual appointed to a position on the office staff of a former President, or a former Vice President under section 5 of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as amended (78 Stat. 153), who immediately before the date of such appointment was an employee as defined under any other subparagraph of this paragraph; and

(L)

an employee described in section 2105(c) who has made an election under section 8347(q)(1) to remain covered under this subchapter;

but does not include—

(i)

a justice or judge of the United States as defined by section 451 of title 28;

(ii)

an employee subject to another retirement system for Government employees (besides any employee excluded by clause (x), but including any employee who has made an election under section 8347(q)(2) to remain covered by a retirement system established for employees described in section 2105(c));

(iii)

an employee or group of employees in or under an Executive agency excluded by the Office of Personnel Management under section 8347(g) of this title;

(iv)

an individual or group of individuals employed by the government of the District of Columbia excluded by the Office under section 8347(h) of this title;

(v)

an employee of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, or a court named by section 610 of title 28, excluded by the Director of the Administrative Office under section 8347(o) of this title;

(vi)

a construction employee or other temporary, part-time, or intermittent employee of the Tennessee Valley Authority;

(vii)

an employee under the Office of the Architect of the Capitol excluded by the Architect of the Capitol under section 8347(i) of this title;

(viii)

an employee under the Library of Congress excluded by the Librarian of Congress under section 8347(j) of this title;

(ix)

a student-employee as defined by section 5351 of this title;

(x)

an employee subject to the Federal Employees’ Retirement System;

(xi)

an employee under the Botanic Garden excluded by the Director or Acting Director of the Botanic Garden under section 8347(l) of this title; or

(xii)

a member of the Foreign Service (as described in section 103(6) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980), appointed after December 31, 1987.

Notwithstanding this paragraph, the employment of a teacher in the recess period between two school years in a position other than a teaching position in which he served immediately before the recess period does not qualify the individual as an employee for the purpose of this subchapter. For the purpose of the preceding sentence, “teacher” and “teaching position” have the meanings given them by section 901 of title 20;

(2)

“Member” means a Member of Congress as defined by section 2106 of this title, after he gives notice in writing to the official by whom he is paid of his desire to become subject to this subchapter, but does not include any such Member of Congress who is subject to the Federal Employees’ Retirement System or who makes an election under section 8401(20) of this title not to be subject to such System;

(3)

“basic pay” includes—

(A)

the amount a Member received from April 1, 1954, to February 28, 1955, as expense allowance under section 601(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 850), as amended; and that amount from January 3, 1953, to March 31, 1954, if deposit is made therefor as provided by section 8334 of this title;

(B)

additional pay provided by—

(i)

subsection (a) of section 60e–7 of title 2 and the provisions of law referred to by that subsection; and

(ii)

sections 60e–8, 60e–9, 60e–10, 60e–11, 60e–12, 60e–13, and 60e–14 of title 2;

(C)

premium pay under section 5545(c)(1) of this title;

(D)

with respect to a law enforcement officer, premium pay under section 5545(c)(2) of this title;

(E)

availability pay—

(i)

received by a criminal investigator under section 5545a of this title; or

(ii)

received after September 11, 2001, by a Federal air marshal or criminal investigator (as defined in section 5545a(a)(2)) of the Transportation Security Administration, subject to all restrictions and earning limitations imposed on criminal investigators receiving such pay under section 5545a, including the premium pay limitations under section 5547;

(F)

pay as provided in section 5545b(b)(2) and (c)(2);

(G)

with respect to a customs officer (referred to in subsection (e)(1) of section 5 of the Act of February 13, 1911), compensation for overtime inspectional services provided for under subsection (a) of such section 5, but not to exceed 50 percent of any statutory maximum in overtime pay for customs officers which is in effect for the year involved;

(H)

any amount received under section 5948 (relating to physicians comparability allowances); and

(I)

with respect to a border patrol agent, the amount of supplemental pay received through application of the level 1 border patrol rate of pay or the level 2 border patrol rate of pay for scheduled overtime within the regular tour of duty of the border patrol agent as provided in section 5550;

but does not include bonuses, allowances, overtime pay, military pay, pay given in addition to the base pay of the position as fixed by law or regulation except as provided by subparagraphs (B) through (I) of this paragraph 1

 So in original. Probably should be followed by a comma.

retroactive pay under section 5344 of this title in the case of a retired or deceased employee, uniform allowances under section 5901 of this title, or lump-sum leave payments under subchapter VI of chapter 55 of this title. For an employee paid on a fee basis, the maximum amount of basic pay which may be used is $10,000;

(4)

“average pay” means the largest annual rate resulting from averaging an employee’s or Member’s rates of basic pay in effect over any 3 consecutive years of creditable service or, in the case of an annuity under subsection (d) or (e)(1) of section 8341 of this title based on service of less than 3 years, over the total service, with each rate weighted by the time it was in effect;

(5)

“Fund” means the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund;

[(6)

Repealed. Pub. L. 96–499, title IV, § 403(b), Dec. 5, 1980, 94 Stat. 2606;]

(7)

“Government” means the Government of the United States, the government of the District of Columbia, Gallaudet University, and, in the case of an employee described in paragraph (1)(L), a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard described in section 2105(c);

(8)

“lump-sum credit” means the unrefunded amount consisting of—

(A)

retirement deductions made from the basic pay of an employee or Member;

(B)

amounts deposited by an employee or Member covering earlier service, including any amounts deposited under section 8334(j) of this title; and

(C)

interest on the deductions and deposits at 4 percent a year to December 31, 1947, and 3 percent a year thereafter compounded annually to December 31, 1956, or, in the case of an employee or Member separated or transferred to a position in which he does not continue subject to this subchapter before he has completed 5 years of civilian service, to the date of the separation or transfer;

but does not include interest—

(i)

if the service covered thereby aggregates 1 year or less; or

(ii)

for the fractional part of a month in the total service;

(9)

“annuitant” means a former employee or Member who, on the basis of his service, meets all requirements of this subchapter for title to annuity and files claim therefor;

(10)

“survivor” means an individual entitled to annuity under this subchapter based on the service of a deceased employee, Member, or annuitant;

(11)

“survivor annuitant” means a survivor who files claim for annuity;

(12)

“service” means employment creditable under section 8332 of this title;

(13)

“military service” means honorable active service—

(A)

in the armed forces;

(B)

in the Regular or Reserve Corps 2

 See Change of Name note below.

of the Public Health Service after June 30, 1960; or

(C)

as a commissioned officer of the Environmental Science Services Administration after June 30, 1961;

and includes service as a cadet at the United States Military Academy, the United States Air Force Academy, or the United States Coast Guard Academy, or as a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, but does not include service in the National Guard except when ordered to active duty in the service of the United States or full-time National Guard duty (as such term is defined in section 101(d) of title 10) if such service interrupts creditable civilian service under this subchapter and is followed by reemployment in accordance with chapter 43 of title 38 that occurs on or after August 1, 1990;

(14)

“Member service” means service as a Member and includes the period from the date of the beginning of the term for which elected or appointed to the date on which he takes office as a Member;

(15)

“price index” means the Consumer Price Index (all items—United States city average) published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics;

(16)

“base month” means the month for which the price index showed a percent rise forming the basis for a cost-of-living annuity increase;

(17)

“normal-cost percentage” means the entry-age normal cost computed by the Office of Personnel Management in accordance with generally accepted actuarial practice and standards (using dynamic assumptions) and expressed as a level percentage of aggregate basic pay;

(18)

“Fund balance” means the current net assets of the Fund available for payment of benefits, as determined by the Office in accordance with appropriate accounting standards, but does not include any amount attributable to—

(A)

the Federal Employees’ Retirement System; or

(B)

contributions made under the Federal Employees’ Retirement Contribution Temporary Adjustment Act of 1983 by or on behalf of any individual who became subject to the Federal Employees’ Retirement System;

(19)

“unfunded liability” means the estimated excess of the present value of all benefits payable from the Fund to employees and Members, and former employees and Members, subject to this subchapter, and to their survivors, over the sum of—

(A)

the present value of deductions to be withheld from the future basic pay of employees and Members currently subject to this subchapter and of future agency contributions to be made in their behalf; plus

(B)

the present value of Government payments to the Fund under section 8348(f) of this title; plus

(C)

the Fund balance as of the date the unfunded liability is determined;

(20)

“law enforcement officer” means an employee, the duties of whose position are primarily the investigation, apprehension, or detention of individuals suspected or convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the United States, including an employee engaged in this activity who is transferred to a supervisory or administrative position. For the purpose of this paragraph, “detention” includes the duties of—

(A)

employees of the Bureau of Prisons and Federal Prison Industries, Incorporated;

(B)

employees of the Public Health Service assigned to the field service of the Bureau of Prisons or of the Federal Prison Industries, Incorporated;

(C)

employees in the field service at Army or Navy disciplinary barracks or at confinement and rehabilitation facilities operated by any of the armed forces; and

(D)

employees of the Department of Corrections of the District of Columbia, its industries and utilities;

whose duties in connection with individuals in detention suspected or convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the United States or of the District of Columbia or offenses against the punitive articles of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (chapter 47 of title 10) require frequent (as determined by the appropriate administrative authority with the concurrence of the Office) direct contact with these individuals in their detention, direction, supervision, inspection, training, employment, care, transportation, or rehabilitation;

(21)

“firefighter” means an employee, the duties of whose position are primarily to perform work directly connected with the control and extinguishment of fires or the maintenance and use of firefighting apparatus and equipment, including an employee engaged in this activity who is transferred to a supervisory or administrative position;

(22)

“bankruptcy judge” means an individual—

(A)

who is appointed under section 34 of the Bankruptcy Act (11 U.S.C. 62) or under section 404(d) of the Act of November 6, 1978 (Public Law 95–598; 92 Stat. 2549), and—

(i)

who is serving as a United States bankruptcy judge on March 31, 1984; or

(ii)

whose service as a United States bankruptcy judge at any time in the period beginning on October 1, 1979, and ending on July 10, 1984, is terminated by reason of death or disability; or

(B)

who is appointed as a bankruptcy judge under section 152 of title 28;

(23)

“former spouse” means a former spouse of an individual—

(A)

if such individual performed at least 18 months of civilian service covered under this subchapter as an employee or Member, and

(B)

if the former spouse was married to such individual for at least 9 months;

(24)

“Indian court” means an Indian court as defined by section 201(3) of the Act entitled “An Act to prescribe penalties for certain acts of violence or intimidation, and for other purposes”, approved April 11, 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1301(3); 82 Stat. 77);

(25)

“magistrate judge” or “United States magistrate judge” means an individual appointed under section 631 of title 28;

(26)

“Court of Federal Claims judge” means a judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims who is appointed under chapter 7 of title 28 or who has served under section 167 of the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982;

(27)

“Nuclear materials courier”—

(A)

means an employee of the Department of Energy, the duties of whose position are primarily to transport, and provide armed escort and protection during transit of, nuclear weapons, nuclear weapon components, strategic quantities of special nuclear materials or other materials related to national security; and

(B)

includes an employee who is transferred directly to a supervisory or administrative position within the same Department of Energy organization, after performing duties referred to in subparagraph (A) for at least 3 years;

(28)

“Government physician” has the meaning given that term under section 5948;

(29)

“dynamic assumptions” means economic assumptions that are used in determining actuarial costs and liabilities of a retirement system and in anticipating the effects of long-term future—

(A)

investment yields;

(B)

increases in rates of basic pay; and

(C)

rates of price inflation;

(30)

the term “air traffic controller” or “controller” means—

(A)

a controller within the meaning of section 2109(1); and

(B)

a civilian employee of the Department of Transportation or the Department of Defense who is the immediate supervisor of a person described in section 2109(1)(B);

(31)

“customs and border protection officer” means an employee in the Department of Homeland Security (A) who holds a position within the GS–1895 job series (determined applying the criteria in effect as of September 1, 2007) or any successor position, and (B) whose duties include activities relating to the arrival and departure of persons, conveyances, and merchandise at ports of entry, including any such employee who is transferred directly to a supervisory or administrative position in the Department of Homeland Security after performing such duties (as described in subparagraph (B)) in 1 or more positions (as described in subparagraph (A)) for at least 3 years;

(32)

“Director” means the Director of the Office of Personnel Management; and

(33)

“representative payee” means a person (including an organization) designated under section 8345(e)(1) to receive payments on behalf of a minor or an individual mentally incompetent or under other legal disability.

(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 564; Pub. L. 89–737, § 1(2), Nov. 2, 1966, 80 Stat. 1164; Pub. L. 90–83, § 1(72), Sept. 11, 1967, 81 Stat. 213; Pub. L. 90–623, § 1(21), Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1313; Pub. L. 91–93, title I, § 101, title II, § 201(a), Oct. 20, 1969, 83 Stat. 136, 138; Pub. L. 92–352, title I, § 105(a), July 13, 1972, 86 Stat. 490; Pub. L. 93–350, § 2, July 12, 1974, 88 Stat. 355; Pub. L. 94–183, § 2(38), Dec. 31, 1975, 89 Stat. 1058; Pub. L. 95–454, title IX, § 906(a)(2), (3), Oct. 13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1224; Pub. L. 95–598, title III, § 338(e), Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2681; Pub. L. 96–54, § 2(a)(47), Aug. 14, 1979, 93 Stat. 384; Pub. L. 96–499, title IV, § 403(b), Dec. 5, 1980, 94 Stat. 2606; Pub. L. 97–253, title III, § 306(a), Sept. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 795; Pub. L. 98–249, § 3(b), Mar. 31, 1984, 98 Stat. 117; Pub. L. 98–271, § 3(b), Apr. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 163; Pub. L. 98–299, § 3(b), May 25, 1984, 98 Stat. 214; Pub. L. 98–325, § 3(b), June 20, 1984, 98 Stat. 268; Pub. L. 98–353, title I, §§ 116(a), 121(g), July 10, 1984, 98 Stat. 343, 346; Pub. L. 98–531, § 2(a), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2704; Pub. L. 98–615, § 2(1), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3195; Pub. L. 99–335, title II, §§ 202, 207(f), June 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 591, 595; Pub. L. 100–53, § 2(a), June 18, 1987, 101 Stat. 367; Pub. L. 100–238, title I, §§ 112, 123, Jan. 8, 1988, 101 Stat. 1750, 1754; Pub. L. 100–679, § 13(a)(1), Nov. 17, 1988, 102 Stat. 4071; Pub. L. 101–474, § 5(m), Oct. 30, 1990, 104 Stat. 1100; Pub. L. 101–508, title VII, § 7202(j)(1), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–337; Pub. L. 101–650, title III, §§ 306(c)(1), 321, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5110, 5117; Pub. L. 102–378, § 2(57), Oct. 2, 1992, 106 Stat. 1354; Pub. L. 102–572, title IX, § 902(b), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4516; Pub. L. 103–66, title XIII, § 13812(a), Aug. 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 670; Pub. L. 103–353, § 5(a), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3173; Pub. L. 105–261, div. C, title XXXI, § 3154(b), Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 2254; Pub. L. 105–277, div. A, § 101(h) [title VI, § 628(d)], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–480, 2681–521; Pub. L. 106–571, § 3(a), (b)(2), Dec. 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 3054, 3055; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 105(c),

cite as: 5 USC 8331