An initial draft of the Senate Republicans’ version of the budget reconciliation package does away with several provisions that would have reduced federal workers’ retirement benefits but significantly increases the burden on new hires.
On Thursday night, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee published its portion of the budget reconciliation bill, which aims to cut federal spending to partially pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and increased immigration enforcement.
Gone from the bill are House-passed provisions that would require all federal workers to contribute 4.4% of their basic pay toward the Federal Employees Retirement System, reduce their FERS benefit calculation from the average highest three years of salary to the highest five years, and eliminate the FERS supplement for employees who retire before Social Security kicks in at age 62.
