NATCA Bookshelf

QUICK REFERENCE The Office of Personnel Management recently sent a letter to Speaker Ryan with a legislative proposal from the Administration that greatly affects federal employees' retirement, including air traffic controller retirement. It proposes to: (1) eliminate the Social Security annuity supplement; (2) increase federal employee FERS retirement contributions 1 percent per year until the contributions reach 7.25 percent; (3) reduce CSRS cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) by 0.5 percent each year and eliminate COLAs for FERS for all current and future retirees; and (4) modify the CSRS and FERS annuity calculations to be based upon a high-5 years rather than the current high-3 years. NATCA vigorously opposes these proposals and any legislation that would attack federal employee wages and benefits. Congress should not try to balance the federal budget on the backs of federal employees, including NATCA members, by making cuts to their wages and benefits. HOW THIS ISSUE AFFECTS NATCA MEMBERS: The vast majority of attacks on federal employees are Congress's attempts to balance the federal budget by cutting federal employees' pay and benefits. No matter what the issue — elimination of annuity supplements, increased retirement contributions, changes from "high three" to "high five" calculations, and elimination or reduction of cost-of-living-adjustments (COLAs) — all result in reduced take-home pay for federal employees and negatively affect workforce morale. Most significantly, the elimination of the Social Security annuity supplement could cause a large wave of unanticipated retirements that would cripple the National Airspace System (NAS) by exacerbating the current staffing crisis. Finally, efforts to limit or eliminate official time, if enacted, would harm NATCA representatives' ability to act effectively on behalf of its bargaining unit employees at the local, regional, and national levels. ISSUE: ANTI-FEDERAL EMPLOYEE ATTACKS NiW Today n a t c a . o r g / n i w 34

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