Alex Parker's Pay & Benefits Watch column highlights several pieces of legislation affecting federal employees that Congress left unresolved at the end of July. Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., on Wednesday sent a letter to House conferees participating in negotiations regarding the fiscal 2010 Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 2647), urging them to retain the federal employee provisions included in the House-passed version of the bill.
Specifically, the provisions would provide annuity credit for unused sick leave for employees in the Federal Employees Retirement System, bringing the system's benefits in line with the older Civil Service Retirement System. The legislation also would change how retirement annuities are calculated for Civil Service Retirement System employees to make part-time work a more attractive option for those nearing retirement, authorize the re-deposit of retirement funds under the FERS system for employees who return to federal service and give civilian employees outside the continental United States locality pay rather than annual cost-of-living increases.
Passage of these provisions would introduce fairly drastic reforms to the federal retirement system, and would continue to give the government a competitive edge over private sector retirement plans, including those at major technology companies. The provisions also would help the government retain the knowledge of workers who are at or near retirement age, an issue deemed critical as large number of federal workers inch closer to retirement.
On the flipside, though, how do these benefits score in recruiting and retaining the younger workforce, much of which values nontraditional benefits over traditional benefits like retirement?
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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