House Republicans on Monday unveiled a series of changes to a bevy of proposed cuts to federal workers’ retirement benefits aimed at making them more politically palatable following bipartisan backlash.
But Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said he and some other Republicans would not support the measure on the floor because some of the provisions amount to reducing the retirement benefits of federal workers who have already earned and are vested in their pension. The proposals have also provoked outcry among federal workers who agreed to participate in the deferred resignation program, Voluntary Early Retirement Authority or a combination of the two, as well as groups representing federal law enforcement officers.
According to the latest draft of the bill, published early Monday morning, Republicans have ditched the plan to effectively un-grandfather employees hired prior to 2014 into paying more of their paychecks toward their retirement benefits.
The implementation date, previously set on the date of the bill’s enactment, has been shifted to Jan. 1, 2028, and language now exists clarifying that federal employees may maintain eligibility for the supplement provided they are “entitled” to it prior to 2028.
The latest draft also delays the change in federal retirees’ annuity calculations from the high-3 to high-5 average salary model by one year, to Jan. 1, 2028.
