# § 2013. Participants in CIARDS system
**(a)** **Designation of participants** The Director may from time to time designate employees of the Agency who shall be entitled to participate in the system. Employees so designated who elect to participate in the system are referred to in this chapter as “participants”.
**(b)** **Qualifying service** Designation of employees under this section may be made only from among employees of the Agency who have completed at least 5 years of qualifying service. For purposes of this chapter, qualifying service is service performed by an Agency employee in carrying out duties that are determined by the Director—
**(1)** to be in support of intelligence activities abroad hazardous to life or health; or
**(2)** to be so specialized because of security requirements as to be clearly distinguishable from normal government employment.
**(c)** **Election of employee to be participant**
**(1)** **Permanence of election** An employee of the Agency who elects to accept designation as a participant in the system shall remain a participant of the system for the duration of that individual’s employment with the Agency.
**(2)** **Irrevocability of election** section 2151(d) of this title
Such an election shall be irrevocable except as and to the extent provided in .
**(3)** **Election not subject to approval** An election under this section is not subject to review or approval by the Director.
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**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 88–643, title II, § 203, as added Pub. L. 102–496, title VIII, § 802, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3202; amended Pub. L. 113–126, title II, § 202(a), July 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 1394.)
## Editorial Notes
### Prior Provisions
A prior , title II, , ; , , , related to participants in the system and was set out as a note under prior to the general amendment of by .
### Amendments
2014—Subsec. (b). , substituted “service performed by an Agency employee” for “service in the Agency performed” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (b)(1). , substituted “intelligence activities” for “Agency activities”.
## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
### Effective Date
Section effective on first day of fourth month beginning after , see , set out as a note under .
### Application of 2014 Amendment
> “The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall be applied to retired or deceased officers of the Central Intelligence Agency who were designated at any time under section 203 of the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement Act (
>
> ) prior to the date of the enactment of this Act [
>
> ].”
, , , provided that: