BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN FORMER SPOISES OF MEMBERS OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE.

SEC. 204. BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN FORMER SPOISES OF MEMBERS OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE. (a) In General.— Subchapter I of chapter 8 (22 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.), as amended by section 202 of this title, is amended by inserting after section 830 the following: “SEC. 831. RETIREMENT BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN FORMER SPOUSES. “(a) Any individual who was a former spouse of a participant or former participant on February 14, 1981, shall be entitled, to the extent of available appropriations, and except to the extent such former spouse is disqualified under subsection (b), to benefits— “(1) if married to the participant throughout the creditable service of the participant, equal to 50 percent of the benefits of the participant; or “(2) if not married to the participant throughout such creditable service, equal to that former spouse’s pro rata share of 50 percent of such benefits. “(b) A former spouse shall not be entitled to benefits under this section if— “(1) the former spouse remarries before age 55; or “(2) the former spouse was not married to the participant at least 10 years during service of the participant which is creditable under this chapter with at least 5 years occurring while the participant was a member of the Foreign Service. “(c) (1) The entitlement of a former spouse to benefits under this section— “(A) shall commence on the later of— “(i) the day the participant upon whose service the benefits are based becomes entitled to benefits under this chapter; or “(ii) the first day of the month in which the divorce or annulment involved becomes final; and “(B) shall terminate on the earlier of— “(i) the last day of the month before the former spouse dies or remarries before 55 years of age; or “(ii) the date of the benefits of the participant terminates. “(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in the case of any former spouse of a disability annuitant— “(A) the benefits of the former spouse shall commence on the date the participant would qualify on the basis of his or her creditable service for benefits under this chapter (other than a disability annuity) or the date the disability annuity begins, whichever is later, and “(B) the amount of benefits of the former spouse shall be calculated on the basis of benefits for which the participant would otherwise so qualify. “(3) Benefits under this section shall be treated the same as an annuity under section 814(a)(7) for purposes of section 806(h) or any comparable provision of law. “(4) (A) Benefits under this section shall not be payable unless appropriate written application is provided to the Secretary, complete with any supporting documentation which the Secretary may by regulation require, within 30 months after the effective date of this section. The Secretary may waive the 30-month application 101 STAT. 1771requirement under this subparagraph in any case in which the Secretary determines that the circumstances so warrant. “(B) Upon approval of an application provided under subparagraph (A), the appropriate benefits shall be payable to the former spouse with respect to all periods before such approval during which the former spouse was entitled to such benefits under this section, but in no event shall benefits be payable under this section with respect to any period before the effective date of this section. “(d) For the purpose of this section, the term ‘benefits’ means— “(1) with respect to a participant or former participant subject to this subchapter, the annuity of the participant or former participant; and “(2) with respect to a participant or former participant subject to subchapter II, the benefits of the participant or former participant under that subchapter. “(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair, reduce, or otherwise affect the annuity or the entitlement to an annuity of a participant or former participant under this chapter. “SEC. 832. SURVIVOR BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN FORMER SPOUSES. “(a) Any individual who was a former spouse of a participant or former participant on February 14, 1981, shall be entitled, to the extent of available appropriations, and except to the extent such former spouse is disqualified under subsection (b), to a survivor annuity equal to 55 percent of the greater of— “(1) the full amount of the participant’s or former participant’s annuity, as computed under this chapter; or “(2) the full amount of what such annuity as so computed would be if the participant or former participant had not withdrawn a lump-sum portion of contributions made with respect to such annuity. “(b) If an election has been made with respect to such former spouse under section 2109 or 806(f), then the survivor annuity under subsection (a) of such former spouse shall be equal to the full amount of the participant’s or former participant’s annuity referred to in subsection (a) less the amount of such election. “(c) A former spouse shall not be entitled to a survivor annuity under this section if— “(1) the former spouse remarries before age 55; or “(2) the former spouse was not married to the participant at least 10 years during service of the participant which is creditable under this chapter with at least 5 years occurring while the participant was a member of the Foreign Service. “(d) (1) The entitlement of a former spouse to a survivor annuity under this section— “(A) shall commence— “(i) in the case of a former spouse of a participant or former participant who is deceased as of the effective date of this section, beginning on such date; and “(ii) in the case of any other former spouse, beginning on the later of— “(I) the date that the participant or former participant to whom the former spouse was married dies; or “(II) the effective date of this section; and “(B) shall terminate on the last day of the month before the former spouse’s death or remarriage before attaining the age 55. 101 STAT. 1772 “(2) (A) A survivor annuity under this section shall not be payable unless appropriate written application is provided to the Secretary, complete with any supporting documentation which the Secretary may by regulation require, within 30 months after the effective date of this section. The Secretary may waive the 30-month application requirement under this subparagraph in any case in which the Secretary determines that the circumstances so warrant. “(B) Upon approval of an application provided under subparagraph (A), the appropriate survivor annuity shall be payable to the former spouse with respect to all periods before such approval during which the former spouse was entitled to such annuity under this section, but in no event shall a survivor annuity be payable under this section with respect to any period before the effective date of this section. “(e) The Secretary shall— “(1) as soon as possible, but not later than 60 days after the effective date of this section, issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section; and “(2) to the extent practicable, and as soon as possible, inform each individual who was a former spouse of a participant or former participant on February 14, 1981, of any rights which such individual may have under this section. “(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair, reduce, or otherwise affect the annuity or the entitlement to an annuity of a participant or former participant under this chapter. “SEC. 833. HEALTH BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN FORMER SPOUSES. “(a) Except as provided in subsection (c)(1), any individual— “(1) formerly married to an employee or former employee of the Foreign Service, whose marriage was dissolved by divorce or annulment before May 7, 1985; “(2) who, at any time during the 18-month period before the divorce or annulment became final, was covered under a health benefits plan as a member of the family of such employee or former employee; and “(3) who was married to such employee for not less than 10 years during periods of government service by such employee, is eligible for coverage under a health benefits plan in accordance with the provisions of this section. “(b) (1) Any individual eligible for coverage under subsection (a) may enroll in a health benefits plan for self alone or for self and family if, before the expiration of the 6-month period beginning on the effective date of this section, and in accordance with such procedures as the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall by regulation prescribe, such individual— “(A) files an election for such enrollment; and “(B) arranges to pay currently into the Employees Health Benefits Fund under section 8909 of title 5, United States Code, an amount equal to the sum of the employee and agency contributions payable in the case of an employee enrolled under chapter 89 of such title in the same health benefits plan and with the same level of benefits. “(2) The Secretary shall, as soon as possible, take all steps practicable— “(A) to determine the identity and current address of each former spouse eligible for coverage under subsection (a); and 101 STAT. 1773 “(B) to notify each such former spouse of that individual’s rights under this section. “(3) The Secretary shall waive the 6-month limitation set forth in paragraph (1) in any case in which the Secretary determines that the circumstances so warrant. “(c) (1) Any former spouse who remarries before age 55 is not eligible to make an election under subsection (b)(1). “(2) Any former spouse enrolled in a health benefits plan pursuant to an election under subsection (b)(1) may continue the enrollment under the conditions of eligibility which the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall by regulation prescribe, except that any former spouse who remarries before age 55 shall not be eligible for continued enrollment under this section after the end of the 31-day period beginning on the date of remarriage. “(d) No individual may be covered by a health benefits plan under this section during any period in which such individual is enrolled in a health benefits plan under any other authority, nor may any individual be covered under more than one enrollment under this section. “(e) For purposes of this section the term ‘health benefits plan’ means an approved health benefits plan under chapter 89 of title 5, United States Code.”. (b) Conforming Amendment.— The table of contents in section 2 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 830 the following: “Sec. 831. Retirement benefits for certain former spouses. “Sec. 832. Survivor benefits for certain former spouses. “Sec. 833. Health benefits for certain former spouses.”.