The CLEAN Public Service Act would terminate future retirement coverage for Members of Congress under both major federal retirement systems (CSRS and FERS). Effective 90 days after enactment, Members would no longer be subject to ongoing retirement contributions or future benefit accruals for any time after that date. Rights and benefits earned prior to enactment would remain intact, and Members would still be eligible to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) under existing rules. The bill explicitly excludes the Vice President from these changes. It applies differently to current Members (those who joined before enactment) and future Members (those who join on or after enactment), and includes provisions to handle lump-sum credits for Members with less than five years of civilian service as of enactment.
Key Points
- 1Effective date: 90 days after enactment, to terminate future retirement coverage for Members of Congress in both CSRS and FERS.
- 2CSRS change: Create new Sec. 8335a guaranteeing that, after the effective date, Members are no longer subject to CSRS for future service and no further government contributions or deductions will be made to the CSRS Fund for them; prior rights remain unaffected.
- 3FERS change: Create new Sec. 8425a with identical timing and effect for FERS; distinguishes between Members who first became a Member before enactment (still no future coverage/deductions after enactment) and those who first become a Member on or after enactment (no coverage under FERS from the date they become Members).
- 4Exclusions and preserved rights: Vice President is excluded from these changes; rights earned prior to enactment remain; Thrift Savings Plan participation is not affected.
- 5Regulations and refunds: Regulatory authority split between the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Executive Director for TSP matters; for Members with less than five years of civilian service as of enactment, regulations may provide lump-sum credit refunds as if the Member had met certain service requirements (8424(a)) as of enactment.
- 6Clerical amendments: The bill adds new sections 8335a and 8425a to the appropriate chapters in Title 5.