UDPATE -- Congress’s Assault on Federal Retirement and Compensation is an Assault on the Critical Government Services Americans Count On
UPDATE 2: On Sunday, May 18, the House Budget Committee assembled the text of a budget reconciliation bill from proposals from various committees, including the package of proposals from the House Oversight Committee that include cuts to the Federal Employees Retirement System and politicizes the federal civil service by making new hires choose between being "an “at will” employee or paying 5% of pay to have civil service protections.
This budget reconciliation text has some good news for federal workers: the provision to increase the FERS contribution rate to 4.4% for federal employees paying below that percentage (those hired before 2014) has been removed from the text. Also, the elimination of the FERS supplement will not take effect immediately, as drafted in the House Oversight-passed text, but takes effect in 2028, allowing those who took the deferred resignation offer or other voluntary separation offers to qualify for the supplement in the next two years
THESE CHANGES TO PROTECT FERS COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY. However, other troubling provisions should still be removed and we continue to ask you, your family, and friends — especially those in Republican Congressional Districts - to contract you Representative and urge them to remove all of these provisions. The House Rules Committee is expected to start considering advancing a Budget Reconciliation text on Wednesday, May 21 at 1:00 am EDT — in the middle of the night. Make sure the progress on removing the 4.4% FERS contribution increase stays out of the bill and other provisions are also removed.
UPDATE 1: On Wednesday, April 30, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee advanced their “Committee Print” that cuts $51 billion over the next ten years from the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) and makes changes that undermine our nonpartisan civil service. Congress will be considering passing these spending cuts in a budget reconciliation bill that will include between $1.5 to $2 trillion in spending cuts to offset a portion of $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy and for corporations (the $2.5 to 3 billion in tax cuts that aren’t offset will result in a significant increase to the federal deficit). The Committee voted along party lines, with 22 Republicans supporting the proposals and 21 Democrats and one Republican, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), opposing it. The budget reconciliation bill still has some hurdles to clear before it can be passed by a simple majority in the House and Senate. Read the Committee Print legislative text [PDF] advanced by the House Oversight Committee here and watch the Committee’s debate and consideration of these proposals here.
SEND LETTERS TO CONGRESS TO OPPOSE CUTS TO Federal Employee Retirement Benefits and Reductions in Take-Home Pay
IFPTE continues to urge Congress not to cut federal employee retirement benefits and gut civil service protections for newly hired federal workers. These cuts will not only harm federal workers and result in a mass exodus out of the federal workforce, it will also diminish the federal services Americans and our economy counts on – Social Security, Medicare, the US Postal Service, the VA, defense and national security, and all the federal functions that protect consumers and ensure food, water, and drug safety.
While $51 billion is a small percentage of the $2 trillion in spending cut target or the $4.5 trillion of tax cuts, these cuts to federal retirement benefits will have a big impact on federal workers’ compensation and benefits by reducing the take-home pay of federal workers, reducing the income of federal workers who choose to or are forced to retire early, and reducing the retirement income that future retirees receive.
The proposals also go after civil service protections by making any newly hired federal workers choose between “at will” employment and paying a lower FERS contribution rate or retaining merit system rights and paying a higher FERS contribution rate. At-will means these federal workers can be fired at any time for no reason and will not have the merit system rights to appeal their firing. Merit system rights are not merely protections for federal workers, they protect Americans by providing accountable and professional management of government that works for the American public, not partisan causes and not corrupt private interests.
Here are the provisions attacking federal employee retirement and civil service protections:
Raises the FERS retirement contribution rate for all federal and postal employees to 4.4% of their salary. [REMOVED in Sunday, May 19 House Budget Committee budget reconciliation text]
Eliminates the FERS supplement payment for federal employees retiring before age 62 (federal occupations with retirement required before age 62 are exempted). [NOTE — The May 19 House Budget Committee budget reconciliation text now implements this provision in 2028, allowing those who retire early before 2028 to qualify for the supplement]
Bases a federal retiree’s annuity payment on their average highest five earning years, instead of the current highest three earning years.
Makes new federal employee hires choose to be “at will” employees without merit system protections or choose to maintain merit system protections and pay an additional 5% FERS contribution rate, totaling 9.4% of pay, which is effectively a 5% pay cut.
Charges federal employees a fee for Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) filings equivalent to the fee for filing a civil lawsuit in federal district court, which is $350.
The special rules for budget reconciliation bills allow the legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority and exclude any filibuster or 60-vote threshold to advance the bill to a final vote. This budget reconciliation bill is being crafted by the majority party in the House and Senate and can pass and be enacted with only Republican votes in both chambers of Congress.
Federal employees are already facing a Trump Administration that is dismantling government agencies and laying off federal workers who perform critical functions and provide important services. So many IFPTE members in the federal workforce are already taking a pay cut to work for the federal government and serve the public. Slashing retirement benefits and reducing the take-home pay of federal workers will trigger an exodus of experienced and skilled federal workers and hollow out agencies that provide essential services and functions. Congress needs to hear from everyday Americans that lawmakers should be preserving the government’s ability to recruit and retain the best talent America has to offer to address the challenges our nation faces, support our national security and economic prosperity, provide the American people with high-quality services, and keep our communities safe.