United States Department of Agriculture

Office of the Chief Financial Officer

National Finance Center

P.O. Box 60000 New Orleans Louisiana 70160

This bulletin supersedes bulletin HRPAY 15-02, Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) for Dependent Children of Same-Sex Domestic Partners, dated January 15, 2015, to update the entry information on the Remarks section of the SF 2809, Health Benefits Election Form. All other information remains the same.

Effective Pay Period 01, 2015, the National Finance Center (NFC) implemented processing of Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) for the dependent children (who are not tax dependents) of same-sex domestic partners.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for this coverage, the dependent must be a child(ren) of an unmarried, same-sex domestic partner in a State where marriage between same-sex domestic partners is not legal. This child(ren) will be referred to as either a “newly eligible stepchild” or “newly eligible stepchildren.”

SF 2809, Health Benefits Election Form

Employees will have 60 days after submitting documentation (Declaration of Domestic Partnership FEHB/FEDVIP and Certification of Dependent Tax Status for Purposes of Coverage under FEHB and FEDVIP) to their Human Resources (HR) office to submit an SF 2809, Health Benefits Election Form. The HR office will store these documents on the permanent side in the employee's electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF). The number of stepchildren should be entered first in the Remarks section of the SF 2809.

As State laws change and same-sex marriages become legal in more States, and the couple does not marry, the employee must submit a cancellation SF 2809. The Agency should notify the employee of the change.

Note: The child(ren) will remain covered for the remainder of the calendar year (in a State that legalizes same-sex marriage). It is the responsibility of the Agency to notify employees when a State recognizes same-sex marriage, and that the coverage will be canceled after the calendar year.

Premium Conversion

Because the newly eligible stepchild(ren) is not a tax dependent, the newly eligible stepchild(ren) is not eligible for Premium Conversion. The Payroll/Personnel System (PPS) database field Health Benefit Use will be used to retrieve the newly eligible stepchild(ren) that was entered in the first three positions in the Remarks section of the SF 2809.

Values on Table Management System (TMGT) Table 012, Health Benefits Rates, will be used to calculate the amount of yearly imputed income for each newly eligible stepchild. The Payroll Computation System (PAYE) will compute the yearly fair market value for the newly eligible stepchild(ren). The Premium Conversion and No Premium Conversion fields are used for this purpose. The full premium is computed by adding the HB-Deduction-Amt and HB-Contribution-Amt fields on TMGT012 and multiplying them by the number of newly eligible stepchildren. This figure is compared with the amount in the HB-Month-Premium field. The lessor of these two amounts is divided by 26 to get the biweekly amount and added to the taxable gross.

NFC Payroll/Personnel Systems and Applications

The following NFC systems and applications will be modified to accommodate this change:

Table Management System (TMGT)

Two new database fields, Premium Conversion and No Premium Conversion, will be added to each FEHB carrier.

Information Research/Inquiry System (IRIS)

IRIS Program IR115, Health Benefits, will be modified to display the two-position numeric indicator in the Health Benefit Use field.

EmpowHR

The Health Benefits page - Elections tab will be modified to include the question, Is this SF 2809 adding or removing non-tax dependent stepchildren of a domestic partner? If the answer to this question is Yes, the Remarks link must be clicked and a remark must be entered.

Front-End System Interface (FESI)

FESI users should use the 180 Document with the Remarks field to enter this information.

Web-Based Entry, Processing, Inquiry, and Correction System (EPIC Web)

The Health Registration Form (SF-2809) page will be modified to include the question, Is this SF 2809 adding or removing non-tax dependent stepchildren of a domestic partner? to the Other tab. If the answer to this question is Yes, a remark must be entered in the Remark field. Additionally, on the Insurance tab, the Transaction Code must be 5 and the Event Code must be 2.

Payroll/Personnel Procedures

The procedure manuals for these applications, which are available online at the NFC Web site, are being updated to include the information in this bulletin. To view and/or print these procedures, go to the NFC Home Page and click the Publications link at the top of the page. At the Publications page's left-hand menu, select the applicable publication category to access the procedure manuals within that category.

Inquiries

For questions about NFC processing, authorized Servicing Personnel Office representatives should contact the NFC Contact Center at 1-855-NFC-4GOV (1-855-632-4468) or via the Internet using the Requester Console.

/s/
ANITA H. FINCHER, Director
Government Employees Services Division