Board of Contract Appeals General Services Administration Washington, D.C. 20405 _______________________ December 28, 1999 ________________________ GSBCA 15124-RELO In the Matter of HENRY W. GRESHAM Henry W. Gresham, Louisville, KY, Claimant. Robert W. Schultz, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration, Office of Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, appearing for Department of Veterans Affairs. PARKER, Board Judge. Henry W. Gresham is a career appointee to the Senior Executive Service (SES) employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). On June 12, 1994, Mr. Gresham received a Notification of Personnel Action (Form SF50-B) reassigning him from a position in Los Angeles, California, to one in Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Gresham was reassigned because of budget difficulties and was given flexibility on his reporting date. On July 15, 1994, Mr. Gresham completed twenty-five years of government service and became eligible for a discontinued service annuity.1 He reported for duty in Louisville on July 18, 1994. In 1999, Mr. Gresham decided to retire from the Government and requested that VA pay for his "last move home" pursuant to section 302-1.103 of the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR). VA informally denied Mr. Gresham s request but has asked the Board, pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3529 (1994 & Supp. III 1997), whether Mr. Gresham qualifies for payment of these expenses. As discussed ____________________ 1A discontinued service annuity is available to, among others, an employee who has completed twenty-five years of service and who is separated voluntarily, where the Office of Personnel Management determines that the employee s agency is undergoing a major reorganization or major transfer of function and a significant percent of the employees will be separated or downgraded. 5 U.S.C. 8336(d), 8414(b) (1994). Both parties agree that Mr. Gresham was eligible for such an annuity on July 15, 1994. below, we find that he does qualify for the last move home benefit. Discussion The eligibility of an SES career appointee to receive the so-called "last move home" benefit is governed by 5 U.S.C. 5724(a)(3) (1994 & Supp. IV 1998), which provides that upon separation from federal service, the agency shall, upon its authorization or approval, pay: the travel expenses of [the SES employee], the transportation expenses of the immediate family of such individual, and the expenses of moving . . . the household goods of such individual and personal effects . . . to the place where the individual will reside . . . if such individual- (A) during or after the five years preceding eligibility to receive an annuity under subchapter III of chapter 83, or of chapter 84 of this title, has been transferred in the interest of the Government from one official station to another for permanent duty as a career appointee in the Senior Executive Service . . . ; and (B) is eligible to receive an annuity upon such separation . . . under the provisions of subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of this title. The statute is implemented by Part 302-1, Subpart B, of the FTR, 41 CFR 302-1.100 to 1.107 (1998): A covered individual as defined in 302-1.100(a) of this subpart is eligible, upon separation from Federal service for retirement, for those travel and transportation allowances specified in 302- 1.103 of this subpart, if such individual meets the following criteria: (a) Was transferred or reassigned geographically at any time in the interest of the Government and at Government expense from one official station to another for permanent duty in a position described in 302-1.100(a) of this subpart, including a transfer or reassignment: (1) From an SES career appointment to another SES career appointment; [and] . . . (b) At the time of the transfer or reassignment: (1) Was eligible to receive an annuity for optional retirement under section 8336(a), (b), (e), (f), or (j) of subchapter III of chapter 83 . . . or under section 8412 of subchapter II of chapter 84 . . . of title 5, U.S.C.; or (2) Was within 5 years of eligibility to receive an annuity for optional retirement under one of the authorities in subparagraph (b)(1) of this section; or (3) Was eligible to receive an annuity based on discontinued service retirement, or early voluntary retirement under an OPM authorization, under section 8336(d) of subchapter III of chapter 83 (CSRS) or under section 8414(b) of subchapter II of chapter 84 (FERS) of title 5, U.S.C., including an annuity based on optional retirement, discontinued service retirement, early voluntary retirement under an OPM authorization, or disability retirement[.] 41 CFR 302-1.101. Thus, under the regulations, although an employee may receive the last move home benefit if he or she is transferred or reassigned within five years of becoming eligible for a regular retirement, the employee must actually have been eligible at the time of transfer or reassignment if a discontinued service retirement is the basis for receiving the benefit. This is because age and length of service are only two of the factors affecting eligibility for a discontinued service retirement. On the date an employee is transferred or reassigned, it is not possible to determine what future event might serve as the basis for the discontinued service retirement. See 56 Fed. Reg. 15,049 (1991). Mr. Gresham became eligible for a discontinued service retirement on July 15, 1994. He maintains that he is entitled to the last move home benefit because he was eligible for a discontinued service retirement at the time of his transfer or reassignment, which he asserts is July 18, 1994, the date he reported for duty at the new station. VA contends that June 12, 1994, the date Mr. Gresham received the Notification of Personnel Action, which was prior to his eligibility for retirement, is the date of transfer or reassignment. As discussed below, we find that Mr. Gresham s interpretation of the term transfer or assignment is the correct one. First, the statute on which the FTR provision is based, 5 U.S.C. 5724(a)(3), talks about eligibility for retirement in relation to the time of the employee s transfer in the interest of the Government, not his transfer or reassignment. The word "transfer" means "to carry or take from one person or place to another" or "to move or send to a different location esp. for business, vocational, or military purposes." Webster's Third New International Dictionary 2426-27 (3d ed. 1986). Thus, looking at the words of the statute alone, Mr. Gresham would appear to have been transferred, or moved from one place to another, on July 18, 1994, after he became eligible for a discontinued service annuity. The FTR provision should be interpreted similarly. Again, looking just at the words of the regulation, eligibility for the last move home benefit is based on the employee s status at the time of "transfer or reassignment." 41 CFR 302-1.101(b) (emphasis added). In this case, Mr. Gresham appears to have been reassigned from Los Angeles to Louisville by the Notification of Personnel Action but not actually transferred until July 18, 1994, when he reported for duty in Louisville. Since the regulation describes eligibility for discontinued service retirement at either the time of transfer or reassignment, Mr. Gresham s situation would appear to fit within the definition. Finally, although the FTR does not define the term "transfer or reassignment," it does define the term transfer or appointment. The effective date of an employee s "transfer or appointment," which is used to fix the date on which certain time periods begin to run, is "[t]he date on which an employee or new appointee reports for duty at his/her new or first official station." 41 CFR 302-1.4(l). We think that transfer or reassignment means the same thing as transfer or appointment. Decision Mr. Gresham is eligible for payment of the last move home benefit. __________________________ ROBERT W. PARKER Board Judge