[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 5, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 5CFR1639.28]

[Page 263-264]
 
                    TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
 
         CHAPTER VI--FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD
 
PART 1639_CLAIMS COLLECTION--Table of Contents
 
                         Subpart B_Salary Offset
 
Sec. 1639.28  Coordinating salary offset with other agencies.

    (a) Responsibility of the Board as the creditor agency. (1) The 
Board will coordinate debt collections with other agencies and will, as 
appropriate:
    (i) Arrange for a hearing or special review upon proper petitioning 
by the debtor; and
    (ii) Prescribe, upon consultation with the General Counsel, the 
additional practices and procedures that may be necessary to carry out 
the intent of this subpart.
    (2) The Board will ensure:
    (i) That each notice of intent to offset is consistent with the 
requirements of Sec. 1639.22;
    (ii) That each certification of debt that is sent to a paying agency 
is consistent with the requirements of Sec. 1639.24; and
    (iii) That hearings are properly scheduled.
    (3) Requesting recovery from current paying agency. Upon completion 
of the procedures established in these regulations and pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 5514, the Board will provide the paying agency with a 
certification as provided in Sec. 1639.24.
    (4) If the employee is in the process of separating and has not 
received a final salary check or other final payment(s) from the paying 
agency, the Board must submit a debt claim to the paying agency for 
collection under 31 U.S.C. 3716. The paying agency must certify the 
total amount of its collection on the debt and notify the employee and 
the Board. If the paying agency's collection does not fully satisfy the 
debt, and the paying agency is aware that the debtor is entitled to 
payments from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund or other 
similar payments that may be due the debtor employee from other Federal 
Government sources, the paying agency will provide written notice of the 
outstanding debt to the agency responsible for making the other payments 
to the debtor employee. The written notice will state that the employee 
owes a debt, the amount of the debt, and that the provisions of this 
section have been fully complied with. The Board must submit a properly 
certified claim to the agency responsible for making the payments before 
the collection can be made.

[[Page 264]]

    (5) Separated employee. If the employee is already separated and all 
payments due from his or her former paying agency have been paid, the 
Board may request, unless otherwise prohibited, that money due and 
payable to the employee from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability 
Fund (5 CFR part 831, subpart R, or 5 CFR part 845, subpart D) or other 
similar funds, be administratively offset to collect the debt.
    (6) Employee transfer. When an employee transfers from one paying 
agency to another paying agency, the Board will not repeat the due 
process procedures described in 5 U.S.C. 5514 and this subpart to resume 
the collection. The Board will submit a properly certified claim to the 
new paying agency and will subsequently review the debt to make sure the 
collection is resumed by the new paying agency.
    (b) Responsibility of the Board as the paying agency--(1) Complete 
claim. When the Board receives a certified claim from a creditor agency, 
deductions should be scheduled to begin within three officially 
established pay intervals. Before deductions can begin, the employee 
will receive a written notice from the Board including:
    (i) A statement that the Board has received a certified debt claim 
from the creditor agency;
    (ii) The amount of the debt claim;
    (iii) The date salary offset deductions will begin, and
    (iv) The amount of such deductions.
    (2) Incomplete claim. When the Board receives an incomplete 
certification of debt from a creditor agency, the Board will return the 
debt claim with a notice that procedures under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR 
part 550, subpart K, must be followed and a properly certified debt 
claim received before action will be taken to collect from the 
employee's current pay account.
    (3) Review. The Board is not authorized to review the merits of the 
creditor agency's determination with respect to the amount or validity 
of the debt certified by the creditor agency.
    (4) Employees who transfer from one paying agency to another. If, 
after the creditor agency has submitted the debt claim to the Board, the 
employee transfers from the Board to a different paying agency before 
the debt is collected in full, the Board will certify the total amount 
collected on the debt and notify the employee and the creditor agency in 
writing. The notification to the creditor agency will include 
information on the employee's transfer.