Congressman Proposes Reduction in Federal Pension

U.S. Representative Bruce Westerman, R-Arkansas, introduced legislation (H.R. 1230) that would adjust the calculation of federal civilian pensions.

“This bill would simply change the formula for determining pension benefits for civilian federal employees from the best-earning three years to the best-earning five years of service,” Westerman says. “The bill ensures that the program employees of the federal government have paid into for their careers is available in retirement and sustainable for future generations.”

According to Westerman’s website, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that H.R. 1230’s formula change would save taxpayers a total of $3.1 billion over 10 years. The change would go into effect January 1, 2017.

As a part of the proposal, all federal civilian employees—including members of Congress and their staffs—would be impacted by the change. The only exemption to the proposed legislative action is active duty and retired military personnel.