Title 50, War and National DefenseRelease 119-110
§3523 Intelligence Operations and Cover Enhancement Authority
Title 50 › CHAPTER 46 — CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY › § 3523
Summary
Gives the CIA Director power to protect secret work by creating special cover, pay, and benefit arrangements for employees who work under nonofficial cover. The Director may name any such worker a "designated employee." The CIA can pay salary, allowances, and other benefits that match the worker’s cover, even if those payments would not normally be allowed for Federal workers. The Director can set up separate retirement, health insurance, and life insurance plans for these employees and their families. A designated employee cannot be in both a cover plan and a regular Federal plan at the same time. If the Director decides cover is no longer needed, the employee can switch into the normal Federal retirement, health, or life plans. When they switch, their cover-time counts as creditable service. The CIA must send money to the Federal system to cover employee and agency contributions, with any required interest (including interest under section 8334(e) of title 5 if moving into FERS), and may move money into the Thrift Savings Fund when switching to subchapter III of chapter 84 of title 5. The CIA must also send the needed service records. The Director may exempt a designated employee from Federal rules if those rules would reveal the cover. The Director may let a designated employee file taxes as if they were not a Federal worker, when needed to protect cover. Designated employees still get Social Security based on contributions. The Director must write rules to run these programs and make sure the total pay and benefits do not greatly exceed what other Federal workers get, unless needed for cover. The Director’s decisions under this authority are final and not reviewable by courts. New laws passed later only change these rules if they name this authority specifically. Definitions: "designated employee" — an employee the Director names under this authority. "Federal retirement system" — includes the CIA Retirement and Disability System and the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (including the Thrift Savings Plan).
Full Legal Text
Title 50, §3523
War and National Defense, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Definitions
In this section
(1)
(2)the term “Federal retirement system” includes the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (including the Thrift Savings Plan).
(b)In general
(1)Authority
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency may exercise the authorities under this section in order to—
(A)protect from unauthorized disclosure—
(i)intelligence operations;
(ii)the identities of undercover intelligence officers;
(iii)intelligence sources and methods; or
(iv)intelligence cover mechanisms; or
(B)meet the special requirements of work related to collection of foreign intelligence or other authorized activities of the Agency.
(2)Designation of employees
The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency may designate any employee of the Agency who is under nonofficial cover to be an employee to whom this section applies. Such designation may be made with respect to any or all authorities exercised under this section.
(c)Compensation
The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency may pay a designated employee salary, allowances, and other benefits in an amount and in a manner consistent with the nonofficial cover of that employee, without regard to any limitation that is otherwise applicable to a Federal employee. A designated employee may accept, utilize, and, to the extent authorized by regulations prescribed under subsection (i), retain any salary, allowances, and other benefits provided under this section.
(d)Retirement benefits
(1)In general
The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency may establish and administer a nonofficial cover employee retirement system for designated employees (and the spouse, former spouses, and survivors of such designated employees). A designated employee may not participate in the retirement system established under this paragraph and another Federal retirement system at the same time.
(2)Conversion to other Federal retirement system
(A)In general
A designated employee participating in the retirement system established under paragraph (1) may convert to coverage under the Federal retirement system which would otherwise apply to that employee at any appropriate time determined by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (including at the time of separation of service by reason of retirement), if the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency determines that the employee’s participation in the retirement system established under this subsection is no longer necessary to protect from unauthorized disclosure—
(i)intelligence operations;
(ii)the identities of undercover intelligence officers;
(iii)intelligence sources and methods; or
(iv)intelligence cover mechanisms.
(B)Conversion treatment
Upon a conversion under this paragraph
(i)
(ii)the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall transmit an amount for deposit in any applicable fund of that Federal retirement system that—
(I)is necessary to cover all employee and agency contributions including—
(aa)interest as determined by the head of the agency administering the Federal retirement system into which the employee is converting; or
(bb)in the case of an employee converting into the Federal Employees’ Retirement System, interest as determined under section 8334(e) of title 5; and
(II)ensures that such conversion does not result in any unfunded liability to that fund; and
(iii)in the case of a designated employee who participated in an employee investment retirement system established under paragraph (1) and is converted to coverage under subchapter III of chapter 84 of title 5, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency may transmit any or all amounts of that designated employee in that employee investment retirement system (or similar part of that retirement system) to the Thrift Savings Fund.
(C)Transmitted amounts
(i)In general
Amounts described under subparagraph (B)(ii) shall be paid from the fund or appropriation used to pay the designated employee.
(ii)Offset
The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency may use amounts contributed by the designated employee to a retirement system established under paragraph (1) to offset amounts paid under clause (i).
(D)Records
The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall transmit all necessary records relating to a designated employee who converts to a Federal retirement system under this paragraph (including records relating to periods of service which are deemed to be periods of creditable service under subparagraph (B)) to the head of the agency administering that Federal retirement system.
(e)Health insurance benefits
(1)In general
The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency may establish and administer a nonofficial cover employee health insurance program for designated employees (and the family of such designated employees). A designated employee may not participate in the health insurance program established under this paragraph and the program under chapter 89 of title 5 at the same time.
(2)Conversion to Federal employees health benefits program
(A)In general
A designated employee participating in the health insurance program established under paragraph (1) may convert to coverage under the program under chapter 89 of title 5 at any appropriate time determined by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (including at the time of separation of service by reason of retirement), if the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency determines that the employee’s participation in the health insurance program established under this subsection is no longer necessary to protect from unauthorized disclosure—
(i)intelligence operations;
(ii)the identities of undercover intelligence officers;
(iii)intelligence sources and methods; or
(iv)intelligence cover mechanisms.
(B)Conversion treatment
Upon a conversion under this paragraph
(i)
(ii)any requirement of prior enrollment in a health benefits plan under chapter 89 of that title for continuation of coverage purposes shall not apply;
(iii)the employee shall be deemed to have had coverage under chapter 89 of that title from the first opportunity to enroll for purposes of continuing coverage as an annuitant; and
(iv)the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall transmit an amount for deposit in the Employees’ Health Benefits Fund that is necessary to cover any costs of such conversion.
(C)Transmitted amounts
Any amount described under subparagraph (B)(iv) shall be paid from the fund or appropriation used to pay the designated employee.
(f)Life insurance benefits
(1)In general
The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency may establish and administer a nonofficial cover employee life insurance program for designated employees (and the family of such designated employees). A designated employee may not participate in the life insurance program established under this paragraph and the program under chapter 87 of title 5 at the same time.
(2)Conversion to Federal employees group life insurance program
(A)In general
A designated employee participating in the life insurance program established under paragraph (1) may convert to coverage under the program under chapter 87 of title 5 at any appropriate time determined by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (including at the time of separation of service by reason of retirement), if the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency determines that the employee’s participation in the life insurance program established under this subsection is no longer necessary to protect from unauthorized disclosure—
(i)intelligence operations;
(ii)the identities of undercover intelligence officers;
(iii)intelligence sources and methods; or
(iv)intelligence cover mechanisms.
(B)Conversion treatment
Upon a conversion under this paragraph
(i)
(ii)any requirement of prior enrollment in a life insurance program under chapter 87 of that title for continuation of coverage purposes shall not apply;
(iii)the employee shall be deemed to have had coverage under chapter 87 of that title for the full period of service during which the employee would have been entitled to be insured for purposes of continuing coverage as an annuitant; and
(iv)the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall transmit an amount for deposit in the Employees’ Life Insurance Fund that is necessary to cover any costs of such conversion.
(C)Transmitted amounts
Any amount described under subparagraph (B)(iv) shall be paid from the fund or appropriation used to pay the designated employee.
(g)Exemption from certain requirements
The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency may exempt a designated employee from mandatory compliance with any Federal regulation, rule, standardized administrative policy, process, or procedure that the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency determines—
(1)would be inconsistent with the nonofficial cover of that employee; and
(2)could expose that employee to detection as a Federal employee.
(h)Taxation and social security
(1)In general
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a designated employee—
(A)shall file a Federal or State tax return as if that employee is not a Federal employee and may claim and receive the benefit of any exclusion, deduction, tax credit, or other tax treatment that would otherwise apply if that employee was not a Federal employee, if the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency determines that taking any action under this paragraph is necessary to—
(i)protect from unauthorized disclosure—
(I)intelligence operations;
(II)the identities of undercover intelligence officers;
(III)intelligence sources and methods; or
(IV)intelligence cover mechanisms; and
(ii)meet the special requirements of work related to collection of foreign intelligence or other authorized activities of the Agency; and
(B)shall receive social security benefits based on the social security contributions made.
(2)Internal Revenue Service review
The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall establish procedures to carry out this subsection. The procedures shall be subject to periodic review by the Internal Revenue Service.
(i)Regulations
The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section. The regulations shall ensure that the combination of salary, allowances, and benefits that an employee designated under this section may retain does not significantly exceed, except to the extent determined by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency to be necessary to exercise the authority in subsection (b), the combination of salary, allowances, and benefits otherwise received by Federal employees not designated under this section.
(j)Finality of decisions
Any determinations authorized by this section to be made by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency or the Director’s designee shall be final and conclusive and shall not be subject to review by any court.
(k)Subsequently enacted laws
No law enacted after the effective date of this section shall affect the authorities and provisions of this section unless such law specifically refers to this section.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The
Effective Date
of this section, referred to in subsec. (k), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 108–487, which was approved December 23, 2004. See section 801 of Pub. L. 108–487, set out as an
Effective Date
of 2004
Amendments
note under section 2656f of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 403w of this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
50 U.S.C. § 3523
Title 50, War and National Defense
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110