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States Code, commencing on or after the date of the

enactment of this Act.

3 SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.

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(a) IN GENERAL.-Except as provided in section

5 1(e)(3), this Act and the amendments made by this Act

(1) shall take effect as of the first day of the

first month beginning after the end of the 6-month

period which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act; and

(2) shall apply with respect to

(A) any individual first appointed on or after that date as a special agent; and

(B) any individual making an election

under subsection (b) or (c), subject to the provisions of such subsection.

(b) ELECTION FOR CURRENT PARTICIPANTS.—

(1) ELIGIBILITY.-An election under this subsection may be made by any individual who is serving as a special agent at the time of making such election.

(2) EFFECT OF AN ELECTION.

(A) IN GENERAL.-If an individual makes

an election under this subsection, the amend

ments made by this Act shall become applicable

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with respect to such individual, subject to sub

paragraph (B).

(B) TREATMENT OF PRIOR SERVICE.—

(i) SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION.—An individual may, at the time of making the election under this subsection, make a spe

cial contribution up to the full amount of the difference between the contributions

actually deducted from pay for prior service and the deductions that would have been required if the amendments made by

this Act had then been in effect. Any spe

cial contribution under this clause shall be

computed under regulations based on section 805(d) of the Foreign Service Act of

1980 (as amended by section 1), including provisions relating to the computation of interest.

(ii) ACTUARIAL REDUCTION.—

(I) RULE IF THE SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION IS PAID. If the full amount of the special contribution

under clause (i) is paid, no reduction

under this clause shall apply.

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(II) RULE IF LESS THAN THE ENTIRE AMOUNT IS PAID.—If no spe

cial contribution under clause (i) is

paid, or if less than the entire amount

of such special contribution is paid, the recomputed annuity shall be reduced by an amount sufficient to make up the actuarial present value of the shortfall.

(c) ELECTION FOR CERTAIN RETIREES.

(1) ELIGIBILITY.-An election under this subsection may be made by any individual who—

(A) separates from service, as a special agent, on or after January 1, 1997;

(B) as of the date of such election, is entitled to an immediate annuity under chapter 8

of the Foreign Service Act of 1980; and

(C) would have satisfied the age and service requirements for an annuity under section 806(a)(C) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 if the amendments made by this Act had been ap

plied with respect to such individual since the time such individual commenced service as a

special agent.

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(2) EFFECT OF AN ELECTION.—An individual who makes an election under this subsection is enti

tled to a recomputed annuity, determined as if the amendments made by this Act had been applied with

respect to such individual since the time such individual commenced service as a special agent. The

provisions of subsection (b)(2)(B) shall apply with respect to any recomputed annuity under this subsection.

(3) EARLIER PAYMENTS.-Any change in an annuity resulting from a recomputation under paragraph (2) shall be effective with respect to payments

accruing since the commencement date of the annuity. However, the amount payable to make up for

any shortfall in payments for periods preceding the

effective date of any such recomputation shall be determined without interest.

(d) REGULATIONS AND NOTICE.-Not later than 6 19 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

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(1) shall promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this Act, including provisions under which an election under this section may be

made by a survivor; and

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(2) shall take measures reasonably designed to provide notice to participants and former partici

pants as to any rights they might have under this Act, including provisions for determining the date as

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of which such notice shall be considered for purposes

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of subsection (e) to have been provided.

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(e) ELECTION DEADLINE.-An election under sub

8 section (b) or (c) shall not be effective unless it is made 9 within 90 days after the date on which the relevant notice 10 under subsection (d)(2) is provided.

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(f) DEFINITION.-For purposes of this section, the 12 term "special agent" has the meaning given such term 13 under section 804(15) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 14 (22 U.S.C. 4044(15)), as amended by section 1(a).