Federal workers gain decades of retroactive retirement credit

What it does

This bill removes a 1989 cutoff date that currently prevents federal employees and postal workers from counting temporary work performed after 1988 toward their retirement benefits under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). It allows those employees to retroactively credit that temporary service, potentially increasing their retirement pensions. The bill applies to current and future federal employees and requires the Office of Personnel Management to notify eligible workers and issue implementing regulations.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative mechanism is to expand the definition of creditable service under FERS by removing a temporal cutoff, thereby allowing federal and postal workers to count temporary employment toward retirement benefits. This is a straightforward benefit expansion for a defined public-sector workforce.

What the text implies

• Retroactive application may create significant unfunded liability for the federal government, as employees can now claim credit for decades of prior temporary service, increasing pension obligations without corresponding new contributions.
• The bill does not specify whether employees must make 'deposits' (employee contributions) for the retroactive service or whether the government absorbs the full cost, creating potential ambiguity in implementation.
• Postal Service employees are explicitly included, which may trigger separate accounting and funding implications for USPS, a quasi-independent agency with its own retirement funding structure.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Federal employees and postal workers gain the ability to count temporary service toward retirement benefits, increasing their pension eligibility and retirement security. This is a direct benefit to a defined group of public-sector workers with no apparent cost to the general public or other citizens.

Who stands to gain

• Federal employees (current and former)
• United States Postal Service employees (current and former)

Named in the bill

Office of Personnel Management (OPM), United States Postal Service (USPS), Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), 5 U.S.C. § 8411(3), 5 U.S.C. § 8401

Where it stands

157 cosponsors: 136 Democrats, 21 Republicans.

• Feb 24, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Feb 24, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

9 lobbying clients named this bill on 16 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $764,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 9 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 89% of bills with at least one filing.

Gerald Connolly, the sponsor, reported $160,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• National Association of Letter Carriers — $280,000 on 2 filings
• American Postal Workers Union AFL-CIO — $240,000 on 2 filings
• National Association of Letter Carriers — $100,000 on 2 filings
• American Postal Workers Union — $60,000 on 2 filings
• National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association — $40,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.