Bill Would Expand Definition of Federal Law Enforcement for Retirement Purposes

A bipartisan bill reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would expand retirement benefits for federal employees by recognizing more jobs as law enforcement positions.

The legislation, introduced on Wednesday by Representative Andrew Garbarino, R-New York, and co-sponsored by Gerald Connolly, D-Virginia, and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania, would define various federal personnel, currently excluded, as “law enforcement officers” for retirement purposes.

The legislation would extend additional retirement benefits to employees whose roles include: those who investigate or apprehend criminal suspects; IRS officers collecting delinquent taxes; postal inspectors; Veterans Affairs police officers; and certain customs and border protection staff. Under current law, these workers do not qualify for the same early-retirement and pension benefits granted to traditional law enforcement roles.

The bill also includes provisions for current employees—referred to as “incumbents”—to retroactively receive credit for prior service, provided they make an election within five years of the bill’s enactment.

Employees—and the federal agencies for which they work—would be required to make catch-up contributions to the federal retirement system for any eligible past service years, though the bill allows flexibility in the timing of payment.

The previous version of the bill, introduced in 2023, did not advance from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The reintroduced legislation will again be referred to the Oversight Committee, the same committee that last week advanced legislation to cut federal employee pensions. That approval was part of the ongoing effort to reduce the size of the federal budget, as Congress continues to work out its tax and spending reconciliation package to renew President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and add some of the cuts he promised during last year’s campaign for president.