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NARFE Applauds House Approval of Provision to Extend Agency Authority to Rehire Annuitants Without Salary Offset

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Contact: Jessica Klement
May 22, 2014 703-838-7760
  jklement@narfe.org

Alexandria, VA – The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) applauds House passage of a provision that would extend, for another five years, the authority of federal agency heads to rehire federal annuitants without a salary offset. The extension was included as an amendment to H.R. 4435, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, which passed the House today. The amendment was offered by Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D-VA, and was approved by the House by voice vote on May 21.

NARFE President Joseph A. Beaudoin thanked House members for approving the amendment. “This authority is important for the successful recruitment, retention and mentorship of our federal civil servants,” Beaudoin said. “Prior to the enactment of this waiver authority in 2009, an agency rehiring an annuitant needed to request a waiver from the Office of Personnel Management to ensure the employee’s pay was not offset by his or her annuity. Those case-by-case waivers often were not approved in a timely manner and were reserved only for emergency or unusual circumstances.”

Beaudoin continued: “This authority helps mitigate the loss of federal employees in the current retirement tsunami and ensures that the government can function effectively, while also filling critical gaps and helping train the next generation of federal managers. In its five years of use, the waiver authority has proven to be a valuable tool for agency leaders.”

Agency heads supported an extension of the waiver authority, which was provided in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 but expires this October. The special waiver authority only applies on a limited and part-time basis, in response to concerns that it could be used to supplant rather than supplement the current workforce. Without a waiver, the salary of re-employed annuitants generally is offset by the amount of their annuity.

The Connolly amendment was passed by voice vote as part of a set of amendments considered en bloc (No. 4).

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The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) one of America’s oldest and largest associations, was founded in 1921 with the mission of protecting the earned rights and benefits of America’s active and retired federal workers. The largest federal employee/retiree organization, NARFE represents the interests of nearly five million current and future federal annuitants, spouses and survivors.