---
kind: "section"
citation: "5 C.F.R. § 870.303"
title: "5"
number: "870.303"
heading: "Eligibility of foster children under Option C."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/5/870.303"
---

# §870.303. Eligibility of foster children under Option C.

- (a) Effective October 30, 1998, foster children are eligible for coverage as family members under Option C.
- (b) To qualify for coverage as a foster child, the child must meet the following requirements:
  - (1) The child must live with the insured employee, annuitant, or compensationer;
  - (2) The parent-child relationship (as defined in [§ 870.101](/cfr/5/870.101.md)) must be with the insured employee, annuitant, or compensationer, not the biological parent;
  - (3) The employee, annuitant, or compensationer must be the primary source of financial support for the child; and
  - (4) The employee, annuitant, or compensationer must expect to raise the child to adulthood.
- (c) A child placed in an insured individual's home by a welfare or social service agency under an agreement by which the agency retains control of the child or pays for maintenance does not qualify as a foster child.
- (d)
  - (1) An insured individual wishing to cover a foster child must sign a certification stating that the child meets all the requirements and that he/she will notify the employing office or retirement system if the child marries, moves out of the home, or stops being financially dependent on the employee, annuitant, or compensationer.
  - (2) The employing office or retirement system must keep the signed certification in the insured individual's file, along with other life insurance forms.
- (e) A foster child who moves out of the insured individual's home to live with a biological parent loses eligibility and cannot again be covered as a foster child unless:
  - (1) The biological parent dies;
  - (2) The biological parent is imprisoned;
  - (3) The biological parent becomes unable to care for the child due to a disability; or
  - (4) The employee, annuitant, or compensationer obtains a court order taking parental responsibility away from the biological parent.

## Notes

### Amendments

[64 FR 72461, Dec. 28, 1999]

### Authority

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8716; Sec. 870.106 also issued under section 1110(b) of Pub. L. 116-92, 133 Stat. 1198 (5 U.S.C. 8702 note); Sec. 870.302(a)(3) also issued under sections 11202(f), 11232(e), and 11246(b) and (c) of Pub. L. 105-33, 111 Stat. 251, section 7(e) of Pub. L. 105-274, 112 Stat. 2419, and section 145 of Pub. L. 106-522, 114 Stat. 2472; Sec. 870.302(a)(3)(ii) also issued under section 153 of Pub. L. 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321; Secs. 870.302(b)(8), 870.601(a), and 870.602(b) also issued under Pub. L. 110-279, 122 Stat. 2604 (2 U.S.C. 2051); Subpart E also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8702(c); Sec. 870.601(d)(3) also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8706(d); Sec. 870.510 also issued under section 1622(b) of Pub. L. 104-106, 110 Stat. 521 (36 U.S.C. 5522); Sec. 870.703(e)(1) also issued under section 502 of Pub. L. 110-177, 121 Stat. 2542 (5 U.S.C. 8701 note); Sec. 870.705 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8714b(c) and 8714c(c); and Subpart J also issued under section 599C of Pub. L. 101-513, 104 Stat. 2064 (5 U.S.C. 5561 note), as amended.

### Source

Source: 62 FR 48731, Sept. 17, 1997, unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[64 FR 72461, Dec. 28, 1999]