On May 4, Office of Personnel Management Director Jeff Pon wrote a letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) proposing several changes to federal employee retirement benefits. All of the proposals would negatively affect employees, including those represented by PASS, if enacted by Congress. The changes would include a significant increase in employee contributions to retirement and would have the effect of cutting employee take-home pay. The proposed legislation would also change the method for determining the retirement annuity amount from a “high 3” to a “high 5.” This would reduce an employee’s retirement income. Finally, the proposed legislation would reduce or eliminate any cost of living adjustment, meaning an employee’s retirement pay would remain at the same amount despite increases in inflation.
These proposals are not new and PASS has successfully kept them from becoming law in the past. The union will continue to fight these changes and has signed on to several letters with its allies, outlining PASS’s opposition. These proposals will be monitored and PASS members will be updated when it is determined whether they have any meaningful support in Congress.
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