Fedweek

The House budget plan often further calls for certain additional savings and contains suggested ways, although not specific language, to achieve them. Those commonly have included reducing the workforce by 10 percent by attrition, with exceptions for national security functions; capping the increase in the government’s share of FEHB premiums to general inflation, which is typically below the rate of increase in premiums; and ending the FERS special retirement supplement, a benefit add-on paid to many who retire before age 62. Last year’s House measure further listed limiting government contributions toward FEHB premiums for retirees who had relatively short working careers and reducing the rate of return in the TSP’s government securities G fund and thus the interest cost to the government. The House GOP group likely will propose its own budget that in the past has contained similar provisions as well as others. Those have included linking COLAs in federal retirement and certain other programs to a different inflation measure that would produce smaller increases; basing new annuities on the highest five salary years rather than the current “high-3”; and restrictions on performance awards, administrative leave and official time.