22 CFR §19.6-2

1. (a)To be valid for purposes of this section, a court order must be found to be “qualified” by PER/ER/RET acting for the Secretary of State. A qualifying court order must—
   1. (1)Be consistent with the terms of the Act and applicable regulations;
   2. (2)Not direct payment of an amount in excess of the maximum amount authorized to be paid by the relevant regulation;
   3. (3)Direct that payments be made to an eligible beneficiary from a principal's Foreign Service retirement benefit or survivor benefit. If a court directs or implies that a principal, rather than the Secretary of State or the Government, make the payments, the order will not be considered qualified unless the principal does not object during the 30-day notice period provided under § 19.6-6;
   4. (4)Define the amount to be paid to a beneficiary in way so that it can be readily calculated from information in the normal files of the Department;
   5. (5)Not make payment contingent upon events other than those on which other payments from the Fund are based such as age, marital status and school attendance; and
   6. (6)Not be in conflict with any previously issued court order which remains valid.
2. (b)No apportionment of annuity to a beneficiary under § 19.6-1(a) (1) or (6) shall exceed the net annuity of the principal. The net annuity is computed by excluding from the gross annuity the amounts which are:
   1. (1)Owed by the individual to the United States;
   2. (2)Deducted for health benefits premiums pursuant to section 8906 of Title 5, United States Code;
   3. (3)Deducted for life insurance premiums under the Government Life Insurance Program;
   4. (4)Owed due to overpayment of annuity;
   5. (5)Properly withheld for Federal income tax purposes, if amounts withheld are not greater than they would be if the individual claimed all dependents to which he/she was entitled.