Government affairs

Legislative Updates

H.R. 1230—another attempt to cut federal workers’ benefits

In another attempt to gut federal employees’ retirement benefits—letter carriers included—Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) has introduced H.R. 1230, The Government Employee Pension Reform Act.

Currently, federal employee retirement benefits are based on an employee’s highest three years of salary (better known as “a high-3”). But H.R. 1230 seeks to change the formula to the five highest years of salary.

Westerman claims this measure would save the federal government $3.1 billion over 10 years and, if implemented, would ensure “that the program employees of the federal government have paid into for their careers is available in retirement and sustainable for future generations.”

However, this is actually just another attempt to use federal employee benefits as a means of fixing financial problems that federal employees did not create.

Since 2011, Congress already has cut federal employee wages and benefits by $159 billion.

It’s time to stop using hard-working public servants’ benefits as a “piggy bank” to help solve America’s financial issues.

Letter carriers should urge their House of Representative member to oppose this legislation as well as any other legislation that calls for raiding their hard earned retirement benefits.

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