The Latest Updates On The House Bill and More

The Latest Updates On The House Bill and More
On July 12, 2022, the House passed a bill aimed at transforming the retirement process for several Federal first responders who get wounded or harmed during service and are thus required to seek other Federal jobs.

The previous retirement program catered to federal employees such as law enforcers and firefighters. They are required to pay more for their pension benefits with every monthly paycheck in order to receive a fixed annuity after they have completed 20 years of service and reached the age of 50.

Presently, when a federal first responder gets injured during service to the extent that they cannot continue the job, they are no longer considered as part of the retirement program. In addition, they do not receive a refund for their payments for the annuity as well.

The First Responder Fair RETIRE Act would enable federal first responders who underwent an injury and had to find other employment options to continue their payments for the retirement programs. The retirement criteria would still be 20 years and age 50.

The new bill further promises a refund for all previous payments if they choose to leave the federal service before the completion of the annuity. This move was made to increase federal first responders’ incentive to participate in services to the nation. Connolly stood for these first responders on the House Floor, stating that they should not be punished for a generous act like protecting the communities of their nation. She backed up the passing of the bill as a reward for the federal first responders to get what they deserve.

The bill has been passed to the Senate for further consideration.

TSP Transition Prompts Lawmaker to Call For Investigation
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton has requested an independent investigation to inspect the transition in the 401(k) style retirement plan of the federal government.

Ever since the transition of the Thrift Saving Plan to a new service provider for their recordkeeping, the TSP website has become nothing but a hassle for all its users. While the TSP officials had expected there to be some queries resulting from the changes, the actual number of calls that came to the Thrift Line was enormous. The call center company had not foreseen this calamity and was therefore short-staffed to cater to every call. This resulted in increased wait times reaching several hours.

Norton had been trying to unveil the problem ever since it occurred. She even secured a promise from the TSP Executive Director on weekly briefings about the matter. Recently, Norton requested an investigation through the Government Accountability Office to oversee the transition. Moreover, she also appointed an inspector general to overlook the operations of the Thrift Investment Board. She aims to create a new Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to oversee the accountability mechanism and to find a quick solution to all the complaints. To solve this widespread problem, she has requested the GAO to create a report that would back up the claim of introducing an inspector general at the FRTIB.