Federal Retiree Rehire Provision Survives Senate
Filibuster
July 27, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A measure allowing
federal agencies to rehire retirees without a cut in annuity
payments passed the U.S. Senate last week as part of the
Defense Authorization bill.
Govexec.com reports that after an amendment to the
Defense authorization bill that would have allowed federal
employees under the Federal Employees Retirement System
(FERS) to get credit in their pension calculation for
unused sick leave was withdrawn (see
Senate Shoots Down Fed Employee Sick Leave
Credit
), Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) offered the language
dealing with rehiring federal retirees as a separate
amendment, which was approved by voice vote.
According to the news report, under current Office of
Personnel Management regulations, federal retirees can
return to work part time, but in most cases their annuities
are reduced by the amount they earn on the job, unless they
receive a waiver from OPM. Agencies say this makes it
harder to bring back experienced staff, especially if
they're needed on short notice.
The bill now goes to a conference committee, but faces
opposition. The House version of the Defense authorization,
passed in late June, does not include the rehire language,
and the American Federation of Government Employees and
other federal labor unions have spoken out against changing
the policy on rehiring annuitants, saying it would put
current employees at a disadvantage and circumvent fair
hiring practices.
In response to union concerns, Govexec.com says,
the legislation includes several limitations on how long
rehired annuitants could work for the government, such as
a cap of 1,040 hours in a 12-month period. Also, the
number of rehired retirees could not exceed 2.5% of an
agency's workforce.
Rebecca Moore
editors@plansponsor.com