NARFE Applauds Introduction of Legislation to Provide FERS Retirees with a Full COLA

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (February 14, 2019) – With current federal law treating Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) retirees unfairly when it comes to annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) today applauds the introduction of the Equal COLA Act by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-VA. NARFE National President Ken Thomas issued the following statement:

“Nearly 800,000 FERS retirees are paying the price for a flawed law dating back to the 1980s that capped their COLA at 2 percent when consumer prices increase between 2 and 3 percent per year. The Equal COLA Act is common sense legislation that would change this unfair policy to ensure FERS retirees receive a full COLA each year, and as a result, create parity between the FERS COLA and the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) COLA.

“Federal retirees are not asking to be made better off than they were last year; they simply want to maintain the value of what they have rightfully earned through careers in public service. NARFE appreciates the opportunity to work with Congressman Connolly to provide FERS retirees a full COLA based on the actual measured change in consumer prices, and we thank him for recognizing the value and contributions of the federal workforce.”

Background

Each year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) measures the change in consumer prices, which determines the COLA for federal annuities and Social Security benefits. Under current law, the FERS COLA is limited to 2 percent when consumer prices increase between 2 and 3 percent, and it is reduced by 1 percent when consumer prices increase by 3 percent or more. For 2019, the CSRS and Social Security COLA is at 2.8 percent, while the FERS COLA is at 2 percent.

Without adequate COLAs, FERS retirees will see inflation erode the value of their earned retirement income year after year; yet, that is exactly what COLAs are designed to prevent.

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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 5 million current and future federal annuitants, spouses and survivors.

CONTACT:
Jill Talley
NARFE Deputy Director, Public Relations
jtalley@narfe.org
(703)838-7760