GAO'S POSITION ON FEDERAL RETIREMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90B01370R001601990004-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 24, 2008
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: November 30, 1984
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 2008/10/24: CIA-RDP90BO1370R001601990004-2
OLL 84-4619
30 November 1984
MEMORANDUM FOR: See Distribution
VIA: Chief, Liaison Division/OLL
Liaison Division OLL
SUBJECT: GAO's Position on Federal Retirement
1. On 30 October and 29 November I spoke with Tom Eickmayer,
a GAO Group Chief who is drafting a comprehensive study of
Federal retirement options. The study, for Senator Ted Steven's
Subcommittee on Civil Service, Post Office and general Services
(Senate Government Affairs Committee) will be published in late
December.
2. Of particular interest is a chapter on, "Federal
Employees Eligible to Retire at Age 50 or Earlier with 20 Years
of Service." In addition to intelligence officers, this category
includes five other groups. Listed below are the groups, their
average age at retirement and their average years of service:
Employee group
Average age
Average years
at Retirement
of service
1.
Park Police
48
23.4
2.
Secret Service
uniform division
46
25
3.
Air traffic
controllers
51.7
30.7
4.
Central Intelli-
gence officer
52.8
29.3
5.
Law enforcement
officer/firefighters
54.1
26.4
6.
Foreign service
officers
55.7
27.0
Regular civil service
employees
60.9
28.6
Approved For Release 2008/10/24: CIA-RDP90BO137OR001601990004-2
 Approved For Release 2008/10/24: CIA-RDP90B01370R001601990004-2
3. The options that GAO plans to recommend for this category
of Federal employee are:
- Treat same as regular civil service employees.
- Provide special benefits--
A. Regular civil service benefits but no reduction
for age
B. Higher accrual rate.
C. Supplemental payments to age 62.
D. More generous 401k plan.
This list of options was developed late last summer when
Eickmayer met with representatives from the six other groups; at
the time, it did not occur to GAO that CIA employees under CIARDS
came under this category as well. According to Eickmayer, the
Department of State prefers the option that would provide a more
generous 401k plan.
4. The GAO study will stress (as the Senate retirement
proposal likely will) a thrift plan similar to the 401k benefit
available in the private sector. In fact, Eickmayer and other
GAO analysts tried to implement a 401k-type plan in the GAO but
the GAO lawyers blocked the attempt claiming that Federal law
first would have to be changed. Eickmayer says that Federal
employees are the only class of people who do not have the
tax-deferred thrift plan as a retirement option.
5. Insofar as changes to the existing Civil Service
Retirement System, the GAO predicts only two, if any changes are
made: the high three will return to a high five; and, there will
be an adjustment to the COLA formula, if the supplemental plan
for new hires has something other than full indexing. He suggest
a third change might be to raise the age to 62 for full benefits,
with reductions down to 55.
Approved For Release 2008/10/24: CIA-RDP90B01370R001601990004-2
 Approved For Release 2008/10/24: CIA-RDP90B01370R001601990004-2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
D/OP ~att
DD/EBS OP w/o
DD/PA&E/OP W/o
DDA w/o att
D/OLL w/o att
DD/OLL w/o att
C/LD w/o att
C/SL w/o att
att
att
OLL Record w/att
OLL Chrono w/o att
ubj. w/att
rono w/o att
0 Nov 84)
Approved For Release 2008/10/24: CIA-RDP90B01370R001601990004-2