Federal workers get emergency access to retirement savings during shutdowns
H.R. 5674 — Emergency Relief for Federal Workers Act of 2025 · Filed by Donald Beyer (D-VA) · 38 cosponsors · Introduced Oct 3, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill allows federal employees who are furloughed or working without pay during a government shutdown to withdraw up to $30,000 from their Thrift Savings Plan (federal retirement account) without the usual 10% early-withdrawal tax penalty, and to take loans against their retirement savings without normal restrictions. It also allows them to repay those withdrawals within 120 days after the shutdown ends without tax consequences.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is straightforward: it creates a temporary tax exemption and borrowing flexibility for federal workers during shutdowns. This is a targeted relief measure, not a broader policy reform or industry carve-out.
What the text implies
- The 120-day window to repay withdrawn funds may create cash-flow pressure for employees who do not recover financially quickly after a shutdown ends.
- Agencies are required to submit employee lists (names and SSNs) to the Thrift Savings Board during shutdowns, creating a data-collection obligation that may have privacy or administrative overhead implications.
- The bill does not address whether employees working without pay during shutdowns will receive retroactive compensation, leaving a gap in the relief framework.
Who it affects
Federal employees facing financial hardship during shutdowns gain meaningful liquidity relief and tax-advantaged access to their own savings. The $30,000 cap and inflation adjustment protect the long-term integrity of retirement accounts while providing emergency relief during periods of involuntary income loss.
Named in the bill
Federal employees, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), Internal Revenue Code Section 72, Title 5 USC (Federal Employee Retirement), Thrift Savings Board, Executive Director (TSP)
Where it stands
38 cosponsors: 38 Democrats.
- Oct 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Oct 3, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Mar 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $0 in lobbying spend. A filing names 32 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 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Donald Beyer, the sponsor, reported $633,099 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Federal Managers Association — $0 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 7, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jun 8, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Mar 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 7, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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