Congress Moves to Gut Postal and Federal Pensions — APWU Calls for Immediate Action!

On April 30, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform approved a number of significant cuts to the retirement benefits of postal and federal workers. Passed by a slim margin of 22-21, this measure will now be included in the full reconciliation package which Republican leadership is aiming to hold a full House vote on sometime this month. The retirement cuts would have devastating implications for APWU members, including:

• Eliminating the FERS Social Security supplement, which allows workers who have earned their retirement the ability to retire before their Social Security benefits begin;
• Increasing the FERS annuity contribution rates for all active employees to 4.4%;
• Replacing the High-3 FERS annuity calculation with a High-5 calculation, resulting in a reduction in annuity payments.

Also included in the passed were egregious attacks on federal employees, such as:

• Charging a filing fee for Merit Systems Protection Board Claims and Appeals, and
• Forcing new hires in the federal workforce to choose between at-will employment or paying an increased FERS contribution rate of 9.4%. While this specific proposal does not currently apply to postal workers, it is a dangerous change to eliminate job security and protections from government service.

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