Q: The congressional supercommittee proposed eliminating the FERS supplement. The committee failed to reach agreement, but I can’t help but think these proposals will surface again. Had they been successful, would this elimination have applied to all employees retiring under FERS after enaction of their proposals? Or would it only have applied to new hires with less than five years of service? What if an employee retired under early out provisions before enaction? I’m 53 with 30 years of service and won’t be eligible for the FERS supplement until October of 2014. If the proposed action would have passed or has potential to pass in the future, do you know if I would be affected, or would still be eligible for the supplement if I took the early out before it’s enacted?
A: You want what you can’t have, a prediction of future events. You’ll just have to wait to see what changes, if any, occur and, if they do, how they will be applied.
