Federal Retirement Plans: Frequently Asked Questions

"This report answers common questions related to federal retirement plans. The vast majority of the civilian federal workforce is covered by either the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS), depending on date of entrance into federal service. Most civilian federal employees hired before 1984 are covered by CSRS; most civilian federal employees hired in 1984 or later are covered by FERS. This FAQ focuses on policy issues related to CSRS and FERS while also identifying additional retirement plans that provide benefits to specific populations of civilian federal employees. It provides the legislative history of CSRS and FERS as well as information on benefits and financing.

For additional information on CSRS and FERS benefits, see CRS Report 98-810, Federal Employees’ Retirement System: Benefits and Financing.

For additional information on CSRS and FERS funding, see CRS Report RL30023, Federal Employees’ Retirement System: Budget and Trust Fund Issues..."
Federal retirement plans 

Federal Workforce Statistics Sources: OPM and OMB

"This report describes online tools, reports, and data compilations created by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that contain statistics about federal employees and the federal workforce.

The report also describes key characteristics of each resource and briefly discusses selected methodological differences, with the intention of facilitating the selection of appropriate data for specific purposes. This report is not intended to be a definitive list of all information on the federal workforce. It describes significant and recurring products that contain specific data often requested by Members or congressional staff..."
Federal workforce stats

The Vacancies Act: A Legal Overview

"The Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (Vacancies Act) generally provides the exclusive means by which a government employee may temporarily perform the nondelegable functions and duties of a vacant advice and consent position in an executive agency. Unless an acting officer is serving in compliance with the requirements of the Vacancies Act, any attempt to perform the functions and duties of that office will have no force or effect.

The Vacancies Act limits a government employee’s ability to serve as an acting officer in two primary ways. First, the Vacancies Act provides that only three classes of people may serve temporarily in an advice and consent position. As a default rule, the first assistant to a position automatically becomes the acting officer. Alternatively, the President may direct either a senior official of that agency or a person serving in any other advice and consent position to serve as the acting officer. Second, the Vacancies Act limits the length of time a person may serve as acting officer: a person may serve either (1) for a limited time period running from the date that the vacancy occurred or (2) during the pendency of a nomination to that office. The Vacancies Act is primarily enforced when a person who has been injured by an agency’s action challenges the action based on the theory that it was taken in contravention of the Act..."
Vacancies Act

Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: An Overview

"The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program provides health insurance to federal employees, retirees, and their dependents. This report provides a general overview of FEHB. It describes the structure of FEHB, including eligibility for the program and coverage options available to enrollees, as well as premiums, benefits and cost sharing, and general financing of FEHB. The report also describes the role of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in administering the program..."
Federal employees

The Federal Cybersecurity Workforce: Background and Congressional Oversight Issues for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security

"The federal cybersecurity workforce is responsible for protecting U.S. government systems and networks against cyber threats and attacks. Federal agencies, however, have reported difficulty in assessing the size and capabilities of their cybersecurity workforces. DOD and DHS, which play prominent roles in the nation’s cybersecurity posture, have also noted certain obstacles affecting the recruitment and retention of qualified cybersecurity professionals to fulfill their departments’ cybersecurity missions.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is constructing a dataset to catalog all federal cybersecurity positions in the executive branch. The dataset had not been released to Congress or the public. In addition, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed agencies to identify their top five cyber talent gaps by December 31, 2015. Congress has also authorized hiring and pay flexibilities that can be used to fill cybersecurity positions at DOD and DHS. The flexibilities aim to enhance the recruitment and retention of cybersecurity professionals by expediting the federal hiring process and providing such professionals with monetary incentives that are not available to all federal employees. OPM has also established temporary hiring flexibilities for certain DOD and DHS cybersecurity positions..."
Federal Cybersecurity

Appointment and Confirmation of Executive Branch Leadership: An Overview

"The Constitution divides the responsibility for populating the top positions in the executive branch of the federal government between the President and the Senate. Article II, Section 2 empowers the President to nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint the principal officers of the United States, as well as some subordinate officers.
These positions are generally filled through the advice and consent process, which can be divided into three stages:
• First, the White House selects and clears a prospective appointee before sending a formal nomination to the Senate.
• Second, the Senate determines whether to confirm a nomination. For most nominations, much of this process occurs at the committee level.
 • Third, the confirmed nominee is given a commission and sworn into office, after which he or she has full authority to carry out the duties of the office.
Executive branch appointments

Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: An Overview

"The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program provides health insurance to federal employees, retirees, and their dependents. This report provides a general overview of FEHB. It describes the structure of FEHB, including eligibility for the program and coverage options available to enrollees, as well as premiums, benefits and cost sharing, and general financing of FEHB. The report also describes the role of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in administering the program.."

Federal employees and Health benefits

Post-Employment, “Revolving Door,” Laws for Federal Personnel

"Federal personnel may be subject to certain conflict of interest restrictions on private employment

activities even after they leave service for the United States government. These restrictions—

applicable when one enters private employment after having left federal government service—are

often referred to as “revolving door” laws. For the most part, other than the narrow restrictions

specific to procurement officials or bank examiners, these laws restrict only certain

representational types of activities for private employers, such as lobbying or advocacy directed

to, and which attempt to influence, current federal officials..."

Revolving door employment

Federal Employees’ Retirement System: Benefits and Financing

"Most civilian federal employees who were hired before 1984 are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Federal employees hired in 1984 or later are covered by the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS). Both CSRS and FERS require participants to contribute toward the cost of their pensions through a payroll tax..."
Federal employee retirement

Federal Employees Health Benefit Program(FEHBP):Available Health Insurance Options

"FEHBP is generally available to employees, annuitants, and dependents. Eligible individuals may elect coverage in an approved health benefits plan for either individual or family coverage. For the 2013 plan year, there are about 230 different plan choices, including all regionally available options. As a practical matter, an individual's choice of plans is ofter limited to 10 to 15 different plans, depending on where the individual resides. While enrollees have a range of choices, they typically decide which option best match their needs, the amount of their wages they will contribute to health insurance, and how risk-averse they are to potential out-of-pocket costs..."
Federal Employees Health Benefit Program

Federal Employees’ Retirement System: Benefits and Financing

"Most civilian federal employees who were hired before 1984 are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Federal employees hired in 1984 or later are covered by the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS). Both CSRS and FERS require participants to contribute toward the cost of their pensions through a payroll tax. Employees who are covered by CSRS contribute 7.0% of pay to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF). They do not pay Social Security taxes or earn Social Security benefits. Employees enrolled in FERS contribute 0.8% of their pay to the CSRDF. They pay 6.2% of wages up to the Social Security taxable wage base to the Social Security trust fund under permanent law..."

Fact Sheet: Cutting the Deficit by Freezing Federal Employee Pay
"Because of the irresponsibility of the past decade, the President inherited a $1.3 trillion projected deficit upon taking office and an economic crisis that threatened to put the nation into a second Great Depression. He moved quickly to get the economy moving again. Now, the economy is growing, and we have gained private sector jobs for the past 10 months. But families and businesses are still hurting, and our top priority is making sure that we are doing everything we can to help boost economic growth and spur job creation.

Now, we need to turn our attention to addressing the massive deficits we inherited and the unsustainable fiscal course that we are on. Doing so will take some very tough choices. Just as families and businesses around the nation have tightened their belts so must their government. That must be done in a targeted way that focuses our investments in what works and in what will lay the foundation for job creation and economic growth for years to come while cutting back elsewhere in our budget.

That is why the President has decided to propose a freeze in civilian pay for federal employees for two years, 2011 and 2012..."

Federal Employees’ Retirement System: Legislation Enacted in the 111th Congress
"... On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law H.R. 2647, the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (P.L. 111-84). Title XI and Title XIX of P.L. 111-
84 contain provisions that affect the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the
Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS). P.L. 111-84:
• allows federal agencies to appoint individuals receiving annuities under CSRS or
FERS to temporary, part-time positions within the federal government without
reducing the individual’s salary by the amount of the annuity, as is usually
required under title 5 of the United States Code.
• requires the computation of an annuity under the Federal Employees’ Retirement
System to include an employee’s unused sick leave in his or her length of service;
• allows certain redeposits to the Civil Service Retirement System for periods of
service between October 1990 and February 1991 to exclude interest payments;
• requires CSRS annuities for employees whose careers include part-time service
to be computed under the same rules that apply to part-time annuities under
FERS;
• allows former employees who withdrew contributions to the FERS at the time of
separation from federal service to redeposit those contributions, plus interest, to
the FERS in the event that they are re-employed by the federal government; and
• allows certain service performed as an employee of the District of Columbia to
be credited as federal service for purposes of determining retirement benefits."