Budget Plans Call for Substantial Cuts for Federal Workers

If the budget plan currently being debated in Congress is passed, federal workers can expect dramatic reductions in benefits. According to some experts, the total cuts for federal workers could approach $200 billion, although the reductions would take place over a 10 year period.

The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, a nonprofit organization that fights for the rights of federal employees and retirees, says that the likely place for reductions will be federal pension and health benefits programs. A budget resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives in March called for increasing the employee pension contribution by six percent, with an equal reduction in the contribution by the federal government. Legislators believe that could save nearly $130 billion over the next decade.

Another provision in the budget proposal would mandate that federal employees pay a larger portion of their health insurance premiums.

Democrats have promised to fight for the rights of federal workers, and union representatives have complained that federal employees have been unfairly saddled with too much of the burden of reducing the federal deficit. Noting that the federal workforce has already made more than $100 billion in concessions since 2010, one union official told reporters that the United States had “the greatest civil service in the world,” but that that reputation will suffer irreparable harm if “Congress continues to use their pay and benefits as a piggy bank to fund other things.”

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For an appointment with an experienced New Jersey federal workers’ compensation lawyer, contact us online or call our office at (856) 310-9002. We meet with clients weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. We offer a free consultation for injured workers.