[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2479 Referred in House (RFH)]
2d Session
S. 2479
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 19, 2004
Referred to the Committee on Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, to provide for
Federal employees to make elections to make, modify, and terminate
contributions to the Thrift Savings Fund at any time, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ELECTIONS FOR THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN CONTRIBUTIONS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Thrift Savings
Plan Open Elections Act of 2004''.
(b) In General.--Section 8432(b)(1)(A) of title 5, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in the first sentence--
(A) by inserting ``(i)'' before ``The Executive
Director''; and
(B) by striking ``shall be afforded a reasonable
period every 6 months to elect to'' and inserting
``may'';
(2) by striking the second sentence; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(ii) An election to make contributions under this paragraph--
``(I) may be made at any time;
``(II) shall take effect on the earliest date after the
election that is administratively feasible; and
``(III) shall remain in effect until modified or
terminated.''.
(c) Continuation of Not Making Immediate Agency Contributions.--
Section 8432(b)(4)(C) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(i)'' after ``(C)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(ii) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) or (B),
contributions under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (c)
shall not begin to be made with respect to an employee or
Member described under paragraph (2)(A) or (B) until the date
that such contributions would have begun to be made in
accordance with this paragraph as administered on the date
preceding the date of enactment of the Thrift Savings Plan Open
Elections Act of 2004.''.
(d) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Civil service retirement system participation.--Section
8351(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by
striking ``only during a period'' and inserting ``as''.
(2) Contributions by previously ineligible employees.--
Section 8432(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``second
period'' and inserting ``date'';
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``second
period'' and inserting ``date''; and
(C) in subparagraph (D) by striking ``other than
during a period afforded'' and inserting ``as
provided''.
(3) Provision of information.--Section 8439(c)(2) of title
5, United States Code, is amended by striking ``at least 30
calendar days before the beginning of each election period
under section 8432(b)(1)(A) of this title'' and inserting ``on
a regular basis''.
(4) Justices and judges.--Section 8440a(a)(2) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended by striking ``only during a
period'' and inserting ``as''.
(5) Bankruptcy judges and magistrate judges.--Section
8440b(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by
striking ``only during a period'' and inserting ``as''.
(6) Court of federal claims judges.--Section 8440c(a)(2) of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ``only
during a period'' and inserting ``as''.
(7) Judges of the united states court of appeals for
veterans claims.--Section 8440d(a)(2) of title 5, United States
Code, is amended by striking ``only during a period'' and
inserting ``as''.
(8) Members of the uniformed services.--Section
8440e(b)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(A) by striking ``only during a period'' and
inserting ``as''; and
(B) by striking all after section ``8432(b)'' and
inserting a period.
SEC. 2. ENHANCING FINANCIAL LITERACY.
(a) In General.--The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (in
this section referred to as the ``Board'') shall periodically evaluate
whether the tools available to participants provide the information
needed to understand, evaluate, and compare financial products,
services, and opportunities offered through the Thrift Savings Plan.
The Board shall use these evaluations to improve its existing education
program for Thrift Savings Plan participants.
(b) Report on Financial Literacy Efforts.--The Board shall annually
report to the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives on its
Thrift Savings Plan education efforts on behalf of plan participants.
(c) Strategy.--As part of the retirement training offered by Office
of Personnel Management under section 8350 of title 5, United States
Code, the Office, in consultation with the Board, shall--
(1) not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of
this Act, develop and implement a retirement financial literacy
and education strategy for Federal employees that--
(A) shall educate Federal employees on the need for
retirement savings and investment; and
(B) provide information related to how Federal
employees can receive additional information on how to
plan for retirement and calculate what their retirement
investment should be in order to meet their retirement
goals; and
(2) submit a report to the Committee on Governmental
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Government Reform of
the House of Representatives on the strategy described under
paragraph (1).
Passed the Senate July 16, 2004.
Attest:
EMILY J. REYNOLDS,
Secretary.