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A Guide to Chapter 261 - Separate Maintenance Allowance

The Department of State, Office of Allowances, provides the following guidance to administrative, financial management and personnel officers in applying chapter 260 of the DSSR and the Department of State's Foreign Affairs Manual (agency's implementing guidelines).

DSSR 261.1 Definitions

DSSR 261.2 Scope

SMA is intended to assist in offsetting the additional expense incurred by an employee who, for compelling reasons, must maintain family members elsewhere than at the employee's post of assignment.

An employee who is receiving SMA on behalf of a family member is not eligible for other allowances or benefits (provided for in the standardized regulations) on behalf of that family member except as provided under DSSR 242.7, 252.8, 262.3b and 267.2.

Family member, means an individual as defined in DSSR section 040m (1) through (4), except that to be considered a family member for separate maintenance allowance: parents, sisters and brothers must have resided with the employee in a foreign area for a period of at least one year immediately prior to the date of separation.

The one year foreign residency requirement may be waived only when transportation to the post was generally withheld for all family members of all employees and, in the judgment of the head of agency, the parents, sisters and brothers would have resided with the employee at the post except for the following reasons:

• when an agency determines that adverse, dangerous, or notably unhealthy conditions warrant the exclusion of family members from the area (DSSR 262.1); or
   
• when the agency determines a need to exclude family members from accompanying an employee overseas (DSSR 264.1).

If the employee initiates a request for involuntary SMA based on medical reasons, supporting data must include a statement from the attending physician and a ruling by the ranking medical officer attached to the agency or by such other person or group as the head of agency may designate.

 An employee may request voluntary SMA for special needs or hardship prior to or after arrival at post for reasons including but not limited to career, health, educational or family considerations for the spouse, children or other family members. For voluntary SMA, children, including sisters and brothers, unless attending secondary school must be under age 18 or incapable of self-support.  Only one change of status of voluntary SMA for each family member will be permitted for a single tour of duty--see exception following termination of an authorized/ordered departure--DSSR 264.2. No change of status is allowed during the first or last ninety days of such tour except for circumstances described in DSSR 262.3a.

Employees should review the following guidelines when considering opting for SMA versus taking eligible family members to post:

• the decision to take eligible family members to post or to opt for SMA constitutes the initial election.
• a decision to change this status during the tour constitutes the one change of status.
• if the employee has elected to take eligible family members to post, the decision to put dependents on SMA during the tour, traveling at U.S. Government expense, would be the one change of status and no further changes could be made during that tour.
• SMA is automatically suspended when the eligible family members visit post for more than 30 days (see DSSR 266). Should the eligible family members remain at post until the employee departs on reassignment, they may not travel to the U.S. on the employee's travel orders, having already returned to the U.S. under SMA orders. However, eligible family members may travel on employee's orders to the next post of assignment on a cost constructive basis using the SMA point as the basis for such travel.
• if the original decision was to opt for SMA, the employee could decide during the tour to terminate the SMA and bring the dependents to post at government expense. This decision would constitute the one change of status and additional changes would not be allowed during the tour. Under these circumstances, the eligible family members would be authorized travel from post on the employee's travel orders at the end of the tour.

Post management is encouraged to adopt the following language for certification by the employee that he/she fully understands the voluntary SMA "one change of status rule":

Separate maintenance allowance confirmation of understanding of the voluntary SMA "one change of status rule"

I hereby confirm that I have read and understand section 260 of the DSSR , titled "separate maintenance allowance" particularly subsection 264.2, paragraph (2) which states:
 
At the time of assignment an employee must elect (1) to have a dependent included on the employee's travel orders or (2) not placed on the travel orders and instead be placed on SMA (voluntary). After this initial election, the employee may request that SMA (voluntary) either Commence/terminate, depending on the initial election, only once for each member of family during a tour. However, this change cannot occur during the employee's first or last 90 days at post (for exceptions, see 262.3a.)"
 
I also confirm that I understand that section 264.2 (2) above means that if, after first electing to put my family on orders and take them to post, I voluntarily place a family member on SMA during an assignment to a foreign area, that constitutes the "one change" allowed under the section above, and that I will not be able to have the family member put back on my orders and transported to post at USG expense, nor will the family member(s) be entitled to any allowances (including education allowance, education travel, visitation travel, home leave travel, travel of children of separated parents, rest and recuperation travel, housing, access to the post medical facilities/personnel, etc.) at post if I bring the family member(s) back to post at my own expense.

In the instance of a family member who began the tour on separate maintenance--I understand that if I now have my family member(s) added to my orders and brought to post, that constitutes the "one change" authorized under subsection 264.2 of the DSSR, and that my family member(s) will not be able to return to voluntary SMA status during this tour of duty.

 Employee signature  ________________________    Date of signature _____________

Post management is also requested to have the employee certify in the remarks section of the SF-1190 the following supplemental statement when requesting SMA (DSSR 264.2):

I certify that the circumstances of special need or hardship (voluntary SMA) included in box 26 of the SF-1190 application do not: (a) include legal separation (as described in DSSR 263.3) from my spouse or separation occurring through a divorce decree, whether limited, interlocutory, or final; or  (b) involve a child whose legal custody is vested wholly, or in part, in a person other than me or my current spouse, or (c) involve a child for whom I have joint legal custody and who will be residing with his/her other parent; or (d) include a child, brother or sister, 18 years of age or over (see section DSSR 262.2). If the child will be attending secondary school beyond age 18, I certify that SMA will be terminated within three months from the day the child leaves the secondary school.

The original SF-1190 certification should be transmitted to the agency authorizing officer. A copy of the certified SF-1190 should be kept in the post's personnel file.
 

Q:  At what age must voluntary SMA terminate for a dependent child?

A: Voluntary SMA must be terminated on a child's 18th birthday, unless the child is attending secondary school or is determined to be incapable of self-support (due to physical or mental impairment). See 264.2(1)c.

Q:  At what age must involuntary SMA terminate for a dependent child?

A: Involuntary SMA must be terminated on a child's 21st birthday, unless the child is determined to be incapable of self-support (due to physical or mental impairment). A child who is in post secondary school/college and not currently working is not considered to be incapable of self-support.

Q:  If an eligible family member on SMA travels to the post at personal expense, will the department assume any responsibility in the case of emergency?

A:  When an eligible family member travels to the employee's post at his/her personal expense, the family member is considered to be a private citizen visiting the country. As such, that family member is not eligible for any allowances or benefits paid on behalf of family members of USG civilian employees, including any medical emergency evacuation travel. However, if the employee has not previously used the one change of option per tour, he/she might be permitted to do so once an emergency arises.

Q:  As a follow up to the above question, I brought my dependent child to post on USG travel orders. Due to adjustment problems, I elected to send him back to the U.S. under SMA orders so that he could stay with his grandparents and attend public school. Now my son has decided that he wants to return to post and attend the American international school. The post's finance officer informed me that the government will not pay for his return transportation to post, nor will it pay his tuition at the international school. Is this correct?

A:  Yes. It is important that employees carefully consider their options before applying for SMA. When you took your son to post on government orders, this action constituted the initial election. When you elected to place your son on SMA during the tour, this action represented the one change of status and no further changes can be made during the tour. You can elect to return your son to post at your own personal expense. The tuition at the international school would be at your personal expense as well.

Q:   What constitutes a tour of duty?

A:  The Department of State considers the length of service at a post to be a tour of duty. An extension of duty at the same post does not confer on the employee a new set of SMA options. Note: employees from other agencies should consult with their agency headquarters for guidance on this issue.
 

Q: My spouse is a foreign service officer. She is currently assigned to the Department and I am assigned overseas. Can I claim SMA for my spouse in the United States?

A:  Per DSSR 263.2 married couple employees are ineligible for SMA when the spouse of an employee is either a member of the military services or is a USG civilian employee subject to worldwide assignment availability. However, if the civilian spouse (career or probationary career employee) is in leave without pay status (LWOP), they would be considered a dependent and therefore eligible for SMA.

Q:  Are there limitations on where family members on SMA choose to live?

A:  Family members cannot reside in the same country or within 300 miles (one way road mileage) from the employee under voluntary SMA. Family members who personally elect to reside in a foreign area are considered under the DSSR to be officially residing in the United States.
 

Q:  An employee's eligible family members recently returned to the U.S. Under SMA orders. The employee is now asking if she can ship part of her household effects (HHE) and airfreight back to the U.S. for her dependents' use. Is shipment of HHE allowable under this circumstance?

 
A:  Yes. 6 FAM 163.4 was recently revised as follows: "when SMA is approved during a tour of duty at a foreign post, HHE may be shipped from post to the authorized SMA location. Weight of effects shipped to the SMA location and at the end of the tour may not exceed the employee's shipment allowance for that post of assignment." In other words, if your post is a limited shipment post (7,200 lbs.), then the amount shipped out under SMA and the amount the employee ships at the end of the assignment, cannot exceed 7,200 lbs.

Q:  What happens when an employee receiving SMA is transferred to another post?

A:  When an employee is transferred, SMA must be terminated. The employee must then elect to apply for SMA at the new post or have family members included on the travel orders (if an accompanied post).
 

Q:  Three months after an employee's wife departed post under SMA orders, the employee informed post management that his spouse initiated divorce action shortly after returning to the U.S. The employee requested continuation of SMA because the interlocutory judgment ordered payment of separate maintenance to his wife. Is this proper?

A: No. Post management should terminate SMA payments and seek full reimbursement from the employee. When the employee completed box 15 of the SF-1190, he/she certified in their statement that the request for SMA was not the result of voluntary legal separation or divorce decree, whether limited, interlocutory, or final. A legal separation is deemed to exist at such time as either the employee or spouse initiated action affecting the status of the marriage such as a separate maintenance action, or separation from bed and board short of application for divorce.

Q:  Please provide the titles of the officials who are authorized to approve or disapprove an employee's SMA request.

A:  The following officials are authorized to approve SMA requests for their respective agencies:

State Department--Executive Director of a regional bureau or Executive Director of the Bureau of International Organizations

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)--See HB 26, chapter 13, Sec. 13F10 and 13D

United States Information Agency (USIA)--Chief, Foreign Service Personnel Division (M/PF or B/PF), or Foreign Personnel Advisor (VOA/PF)

USDA--Foreign Agriculture Service Director, Management Services Division, APHIS--Director, Resource Management Support Staff

Department of Commerce--Director, Office of Foreign Service Personnel (OFSP)

Only the following officials can disapprove SMA applications for their respective agencies:

State Department--Deputy Assistant Secretary for Personnel (M/DGP)

USAID--See HB 26m, Chapter 13, Sec. 13d2

USIA--Director, Office of Personnel (M/P or B/P)

USDA--FAS, Assistant Administrator, Management, APHIS--Deputy Administrator

Department of Commerce--the Director General for Personnel or Appropriate Secretarial/Officer.
 

Q:  My family is currently on SMA and they are scheduled to visit post during the holiday period. Will my SMA payments terminate while they are at post?

 A: SMA payments may continue during the family members' visit to post when the visit is for thirty days or less. However, the family members must be en route to the SMA point by the 31st day. (SMA payments shall be suspended on the day that the family member arrives at post when the stay is or will be in excess of 30 days. SMA payments may be resumed effective the day the employee's family members depart post en route to the SMA point).
 

Q:   The Department of State has just terminated the authorized/ordered departure for my post. Employees and dependents have been advised to return to post. My family was originally evacuated to the U.S. and my daughter was enrolled in kindergarten. Can I leave my family in the U.S. until the end of the school year and request SMA for them?

A: Yes. DSSR 264.2(2) provides the following guidance: following termination of an authorized/ordered departure an employee may elect voluntary SMA at the official safehaven for family members previously eligible for sea payments under chapter 600 and for whom round-trip travel expenses have already been authorized. The employee may be permitted to then terminate this voluntary SMA at the end of the school year and these family members may be permitted to return to post provided return travel to post does not occur during the employee's last 90 days at a post of assignment.
 

Q: Ok, I finally understand the SMA regulations. I have signed the SF-1190 and the required certification statements. Is there anything else that I need to sign before submitting the documents for processing?

A: Yes. Before any obligation of government funds is incurred for SMA travel, the employee must execute a repayment agreement in accordance with the format in 6 FAM 126 exhibit 126.1-4. The original and one copy should be forwarded to the Department of State or USIA by memorandum, subject: APER.  For USAID, forward to M/PM, USAID/W as an attachment to a memorandum. Employees should review 6 FAM 126.1-5 for repayment requirements. Employees from other agencies should contact their headquarters for guidance.

Return to A Guide to Overseas Allowances and Differentials.