Senate studies delays in federal retirees’ annuity payments

[alp227]

The Senate plans to scrutinize a federal retirement system that can’t get annuitants their payments on time, just as a new report provides ammunition to critics who say the system is too generous for the times.

The name of Wednesday’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee hearing is “Federal Retirement Processing: Ensuring Proper and Timely Payments.” The focus, at least in part, is on why the Office of Personnel Management has been unable to do that after 20 years of failed attempts.

Not on the hearing’s agenda, but lurking in the background, is the Congressional Budget Office report released this week that looks at another aspect of federal retirement — the level of retirement benefits federal employees get compared with those in the private sector. The CBO estimated that “on average for workers at all levels of education, the cost of hourly benefits was 48 percent higher for federal civilian employees than for private-sector employees.”

The “most important factor” in that difference “is the defined-benefit pension plan that is available to most federal employees,” the report continued. “Such plans are becoming less common in the private sector.”

full： http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-studies-delays-in-federal-retirees-annuity-payments/2012/01/31/gIQAMg6AgQ_story.html

[TheMastersNemesis]

1. Federal Employees Are Entitled To What They Paid Into

The Federal employees are entitled to what they paid into. If the American people are too stupid to understand that then they can fight their own fires, police their own godamned neighborhoods, and paddle themselves out of danger. America you are just too F-ing stupid.

These politician bastards especially Republicans get extravagant pensions and health care while they mostly sit on their ass. Dumbass voters never say anything about them. American workers are just to stupid and cowardly to demand fair pay. As far as I am concerned American workers deserve to work for $1 a day. People who vote GOP have rocks in their head. Capitalism is a failure as it is being practiced.

The private sector argument is bullshit. The private sector should be required to offer defined benefit plans. The American business community is nothing but a bunch of selfish crooks. They are too greedy to even pay for Social Security.

Wake up America American business are a bunch of selfish bastards and we need to squeeze these CEO's in the right place until they scream.

[elleng]

2. Federal employee retirement system was changed 20+ years ago,

there are now 2 systems, old - CSRS, and new - FERS. Maybe changes made with FERS didn't solve or adequately address perceived issues at the time, but I think it was a big deal.

I'm a CSRS retiree, and don't recall undue wait to begin receiving annuity. Hope Fed. employee unions are keeping an eye on this; I expect they are.

I don't think this story is either well-written or clear; Washington Post should do much better.