Looking for a sometimes-rewarding job with thrills, chills and a hint (sometimes more) of danger?

How would you like to go to the “office” every day knowing that danger could be lurking anywhere, in many forms? If so, pick your profession. Would you choose to be:

• An ice road trucker.
• Professional alligator wrestler.
• Bungee cord tester.
• Personal hair-stylist to actor Charlie Sheen. Or, the person assigned to actually keep up with the Kardashians. Or,
• A typical federal worker. Just a guy or a gal at the IRS, the VA . Maybe the Defense Department.

If you picked any of the above, odds are you like to walk on the wild side. A lot.

For most of the trades and professions, the dangers are real and obvious. For feds the are more subtle, yet still very real. And nerve- wracking.

Take Congress.

Please.

For the past 30 plus years Congress — sometimes with lots of help from both Democratic and Republican presidents — has been trying “reform” federal pay and benefits. Pay freezes and furloughs aside, they have been largely unsuccessful.

Year after year, politicians have come after the federal benefits package — specifically the jewel-in-the-crown retirement programs, CSRS and FERS. The few changes that have been made were prospective. Contributions were raised for future workers over the last two years. But current employees weren’t touched. Your benefits, whether under CSRS or FERS, haven’t been changed, and the amount you pay toward them remains the same as when you were hired.

Earlier this year, Congress (specifically the House) made another run at the pension program. It proposed raising — to roughly 6 percent — the amount of money current workers would be required to kick into their retirement plan. That would have meant a permanent cut in take-home pay. There was also a serious proposal to reduce the government share of your health premiums. Over time, feds and retirees would pay a bigger share of the premiums. Government would pay less.

Jessica Klement, legislative director of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees, said the proposed change would mean future feds and retirees would pay tens of thousands of dollars more in premiums.

Fortunately for feds, postals and retirees, the more drastic proposals (for 2015) seem to have fallen by the wayside. Again. But it could have gone the other way. And the proposals will be back again next year. And the year after.

On Tuesday, Senate-House budget negotiators reached agreement on a toned-down-threat budget package for feds. The House had proposed $280.9 billion in cuts from employee-related benefits, according to the Federal Managers Association. The final compromise “assumes” cuts of about $194 billion but leaves it up to negotiators to decide where (if) they will be made.

Yesterday on our Your Turn radio show, NARFE’s legislative chief ran down the list explaining what is likely to happen and what won’t happen as a result of the compromise. We’ll carry that rundown later, but if you want to hear the show now (or at your convenience) click here.

And congratulations, again, for another close escape. Until next time!

NEARLY USELESS FACTOID

By Michael O’Connell

The final annual count for fatal work injuries in 2013 in the U.S. was 4,585. That’s the second lowest annual total since 1992, when the fatal injury census was first conducted.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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