(a) The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will consider the factors listed below in determining normal cost percentages. To the extent data are available for the factor by specific category of employees, such data will be used. To the extent category specific data are not available, the most relevant available data will be used.

(1) Distributions of new entrants by age, sex, and service;

(2) Withdrawal rates;

(3) Merit salary increases;

(4) Voluntary retirement rates;

(5) Involuntary retirement rates;

(6) Disability retirement rates;

(7) Employee death rates;

(8) Military service rates;

(9) Family characteristics for employees;

(10) Death rates for non-disability annuitants;

(11) Death and recovery rates for disability annuitants;

(12) Child survivor termination and death rates;

(13) Family characteristics for annuitants; and

(14) Administrative expenses.

(b) Generally, each rate, ratio, or fraction must be separately considered to determine the rates for males and their survivors and the rates for females and their survivors, except those rates for child survivors and merit salary increases.