What's New

Members of the Federal Physicians Association who want more information on any of these developments should send an email to the office using the questions section below.

February 13, 2012,

1. The FY2013 budget unveiled by President Obama on Feb. 13 proposes to increase the federal employee contribution towards retirement by 1.2% over three years beginning in 2013. The budget also proposes to eliminate the FERS annuity supplement for new employees. The estimated savings of these proposals are $27 billion over 10 years. The proposals mirror those President Obama proposed last September in a plan to the deficit reduction super committee. Now that the White House is again advancing them, it potentially could bring some of them closer to becoming reality.

2. Obama's budget plan would increase federal civilian pay by 0.5 percent, a modest bump that would end a two-year cost-of-living pay freeze. (Uniformed military personnel would receive a 1.7 percent increase in pay in 2013, the full increase allowed by law.) Obama's proposed federal employee raise would be the smallest pay raise in the General Schedule's history, but it would break the current pay-scale freeze federal employees have been under for the past two years.

3. The specific terms of the retirement benefit cuts proposed by the Administration are these:

• The employee contribution toward accruing retirement costs would increase by a total of 1.2 percent (0.4 percent a year over three years beginning in 2013), but the employee's total pension would remain unchanged. This would increase FERS employees' contributions from 0.8 percent to 2 percent, and CSRS contributions from 7.0 percent to 8.2 percent. The stated purpose of the proposed change is to "make reasonable changes to federal worker retirement while maintaining the ability to attract and retain highly qualified individuals [to the federal workforce]."
• Eliminate the FERS Annuity Supplement for most new employees who retire before age 62. That payment, worth about $8,000 annually on average according to a congressional estimate, replicates the portion of the Social Security benefit earned during federal employment. It is paid until those retirees are eligible to begin drawing Social Security benefits. The change would apply only to those hired after enactment of the budget and would exempt occupations subject to mandatory retirement before age 62, such as law enforcement. The administration's proposal, first made last fall, differs from a House Republican plan that would eliminate the benefit for most retiring after this year.

February 2, 2012, On February 2, Senate Republicans introduced legislation that would freeze federal pay for two more years and reduce the number of federal employees by 5% through Attrition

January 30, 2012, the average federal worker earns about 2 percent more than a private sector worker in a comparable profession, though the government's generous pension system means that overall compensation is significantly higher, a government study released today said. Once pension and health benefits are factored in, the average federal worker reaps 16 percent more in total compensation than do private sector workers.

January 27, 2012, Legislation, H.R. 3835, introduced to extend the pay freeze on federal employees and members of Congress until December 31, 2013.

January 24, 2012,The Office of Personnel Management is expanding its annual Employee Viewpoint Survey to cover virtually the entire federal workforce this year. In a memo to agency heads, OPM Director John Berry said this will mark the first time since the survey was launched in 2002 that it will go out to all permanent employees, both full- and part-time. The agency plans to poll 1.8 million workers, triple the number who were surveyed in 2011.

January 6, 2012, the Administration confirms that the FY 2013 budget will include a 0.5 percent increase for federal employees.

January 4, 2012, the Office of Personnel Management releases details of a new performance management system for members of the Senior Executive Service.

January 1, 2012,  the elective deferral limit on regular before-tax contributions is $17,000. The limit on catch-up contributions (for employees age 50 and older is $5,500. This is a separate limit from the regular contributions. Employees can increase their TSP contributions by completing Form TSP-1; or through Catch-up contribution elections are submitted using form TSP-1C. Both types of contributions can also be made through their agency electronic enrollment process.

Since there is no pay raise in 2012, FERS employees who want to contribute the maximum $17,000 should make sure they don't reach the limit before their final paycheck in 2012; if they they will miss out on the agency match for the balance of 2012.

December 20, 2011, President Obama signed the Civilian Service Recognition Act authorizes the heads of federal agencies to present a flag to the next of kin of federal employees who are killed in the line of duty.

November 20, 2011, the House passed the Federal Workers' Compensation Modernization and Improvement Act which will (1) permit physician assistants and advanced practice nurses to certify disability for traumatic injuries during an initial time period, (2) streamline the claims process for workers who sustain a traumatic injury in a designated zone of armed conflict, (3) allow the Labor Department to cross-check a federal worker's earnings with information at the Social Security Administration, (4) amend the program so that injuries or illnesses sustained as a result of terrorism are covered as a war-risk hazard, and (5) increases amounts for funeral expenses (up to $6,000) and for injuries that lead to facial disfigurement (up to $50,000).