Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news.
Benefits May 19, 2010
Federal Domestic Partner Benefits Could Cost $300M or More
May 19, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The federal government would have to spend more than $300 million over 10 years to fund the granting of the same benefits now given to employee spouses to employee domestic partners.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
That was the bottom line of a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study of the issue, according to govexec.com. In addition to $310 million in direct costs between 2010 and 2020, CBO calculates the 2009 Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act (SB 1102) would increase benefits-related discretionary spending by $394 million over the same period.
Providing health care to domestic partners would account for most of the increases in both direct and discretionary spending — $294 million and $355 million, respectively.
According to the govexec.com report, the CBO assumed the Senate bill will be enacted late in 2010 and about 0.33% of federal employees would choose to register a same-sex partnership if given the opportunity. CBO also estimated about 80% of individuals eligible under the proposal would move from single to family health coverage and 85% would elect a survivor benefit for a domestic partner.
Coverage provided for in the bill would include health insurance, survivor annuities, compensation for work-related injuries, and travel and relocation benefits to federal employees’ same-sex partners.
The CBO document is here.
« Employer not Required to do Emergency Withdrawal Disclosure