Senior Correspondent Mike Causey has stepped away from the keyboard for a much-needed break. While he catches up on his anime watching, we present “The Most Popular Federal Reports”. This column was originally published on October 13, 2009. Bear in mind some details may have changed since then. sk

Under a phase-in plan okayed by Congress, FERS employees who want to get full credit for unused sick leave will have to wait until January 1, 2014 to retire. They can leave earlier than that, but if they do, they will get only partial credit toward retirement under the phase-in rules.

The change, which will give FERS employees the same incentive to save sick leave that has long been enjoyed by CSRS employees, is part of the compromise Defense Authorization bill heading for the White House.

Between 70 and 80 percent of all federal workers (mostly people hired after the mid-1980s) are under the FERS plan. Congress set it up to succeed the old Civil Service Retirement System. CSRS was great for lifers. But fewer than 30 percent of all feds work long enough to be eligible for government retirement benefits. So Congress setup the FERS program in the mid-1980s with a very generous 401k plan option and Social Security. Both of them are “portable” in the sense that they can be transferred to another job in the private sector.

In going from CSRS to FERS Congress made some trade-offs.

FERS workers get a tax-deferred government match of up to 5 percent to their Thrift Savings Plan accounts. CSRS employees don’t.

FERS workers contribute less to the civil service retirement fund but do pay for and earn Social Security credits.

CSRS employees get a full cost of living adjustment each year, regardless of their age at retirement. FERS employees get a diet-COLA (1 percentage point less than the rise in inflation) and only after they reach age 62.

Right now that’s a moot point since there will not be a (was no) January cost of living adjustment for Federal retirees, military retirees or people who get Social Security benefits.

After years of lobbying, groups representing federal workers, managers and retirees finally convinced Congress to give FERS employees the same incentive to save sick leave it gave, years ago, to CSRS workers. It works like this: When you are otherwise eligible to retire you can credit unused sick leave toward your service time. Adding one year of sick leave (2080 hours) to service time will boost a CSRS annuity about 2 percent. Adding the same time to a FERS annuity will increase it about 1 percent.

But the change for FERS employees isn’t immediate.

Here’s a summary of the new FERS sick leave credit, courtesy of the Federal Managers Association:

• “The conference committee approved a measure which would credit FERS employees for unused sick leave at the time of retirement. Due to concerns over the cost of the provision, lawmakers approved language that would phase in the credit over four years.

“During this time period, FERS employees would receive a 50 percent credit for unused sick leave; FERS employees who retire after January 1, 2014 will receive full credit for their unused sick leave, placing them on par with their Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) counterparts. The FERS sick leave phase-in marks a compromise over legislation approved in the House-passed version of the FY10 Defense Authorization Act.”

To reach Mike: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com

Nearly Useless Factoid
by Suzanne Kubota

According to MentalFloss’s 5 Forgotten Founding Fathers, Carter Braxton of Virginia, who signed the Declaration of Independence, “sired 18 children-surely qualifying him as a founding father by anyone’s standards”.

Today on Your Turn
Mike Causey is out this week, so we bring you an encore presentation of a recent program. He talks with Dan Adcock, legislative director of the National Active Retired Federal Employees, about where legislation is in the House that would allow you to move unused annual leave into your TSP after leaving federal service. Then, Randy Erwin of the National Federation of Federal Employees talks about why some in Congress are keen on freezing federal pay and benefits. Read more and listen here.

ADDITIONAL PAY AND BENEFITS NEWS ON FEDERAL NEWS RADIO
Defense furlough fears heat up
Without a supplemental spending bill by July 4th, Sec. Gates has said Defense will be unable to pay active-duty military and have to start furloughing civilian workers. We talk with Gen. Charles Wald of Deloitte about the bill and the concerns. Read more here.

DoD calls on industry to help it save money
The Defense Department is taking its efficiency initiative to its contractors. About a month after DoD Deputy Secretary William Lynn announced the department’s pledge to tighten its own belt, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Ashton Carter says it will boost the productivity and efficiency of the companies that contract with DoD for goods and services. Read more here.

ALSO ON FEDERAL NEWS RADIO
Wednesday Morning Federal Newscast
Some of the headlines this morning include: Wartime supplemental House vote expected this week, Arlington Cemetery contractors investigated, VA hospital may have infected 1,800 veterans with HIV. Read more here.

TSA’s Secure Flight program faces some challenges
After longstanding recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, the Transportation Security Administration is now checking every airline passenger against terrorist watchlists. Under the Secure Flight program, TSA is pre-screening every passenger’s name, date of birth and gender against terrorist lists compiled by the FBI. But there are some challenges. Read more here.

Dorobek Must Reads
Worried you’ll have no idea what people are talking about around the watercooler this morning? Each day, the DorobekInsider team collects a group of stories that we’re reading to stay in the know. On Tuesday, we looked at how the Pentagon will trim $100 billion, and what the GAO is saying about how Veteran Affairs has mismanaged IT. Read more here.

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