GOP lawmakers advance proposals to reduce federal benefits, gut civil service protections

House Republicans have advanced a series of proposals attempting to cut costs by reducing the value of federal retirement annuities, increasing contributions into the government’s retirement system, and requiring federal employees to decide between taking a reduced paycheck or keeping their civil service protections.

In a Wednesday markup of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Republicans voted to push forward with six proposals to be included in the GOP’s budget reconciliation package. If adopted into the final version of the legislation, the proposals would make the following changes:

• Raise the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) contribution rate to 4.4% across the board
• Eliminate the FERS annuity supplement for all federal employees, except those in occupations subject to mandatory early retirement
• Change the FERS annuity calculation from “high-3” to “high-5” of an employee’s salary
• Make all new federal employees “at-will” unless they accept an additional 5% FERS contribution
• Charge federal employees a $350 fee to file an appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board
• Require an eligibility audit of all Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) enrollees and remove any ineligible participants from the program

GOP lawmakers advance proposals to reduce federal benefits, gut civil service protections