Union Leaders Blast Congressional Republicans' Plan to Cut Federal Pensions

Federal unions are raising the alarm that Republicans in Congress are seeking to cut pensions for federal workers in order to give huge tax cuts to the wealthy. On April 30, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform voted 22-21 to approve a number of significant and devastating cuts to federal pensions.

“This will amount to thousands of dollars difference in our retirement money. It will require us to put much more money into our retirement and we’ll be getting much less,” said Scott Adams, President of APWU Local 458, which represents postal workers in Southern Maine.

The measure will be included in the full budget reconciliation package that the US House is expected to vote on in the coming weeks.

The proposed pension cuts include:

• Eliminating the Federal Employee Retirement Systems (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 percent;
• Replacing the High-3 FERS annuity calculation with a High-5 calculation, resulting in a reduction in annuity payments.

“This is essentially giving employees a pay cut by requiring them to pay more into retirement and taking more money out of their pockets,” said Alana Schaeffer, President of the Metal Trades Council at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. “These are blue collar workers and many of them are already barely making ends meet. It’s really unfair to our workers who chose careers in the federal service with the understanding of what they’re retirement would look like.”

The primary goal of the Budget Reconciliation bill is to give massive tax cuts to the richest Americans. Estimates are that the proposed pension changes would "save" nearly $51 billion over the next decade.  To be clear, Republican politicians in DC are  raiding federal workers pensions to pay for tax cuts for the rich.

Call the Legislative Hotline (1-844-402-1001) now to speak to your House Representative and urge them to OPPOSE any cuts to federal and postal pensions!