§8423 Government contributions

Summary

Agencies must pay money into the retirement Fund based on who they employ and how much those people are paid. The payment equals two parts: one part uses a normal-cost rate for regular employees multiplied by the total basic pay for those employees, and the other part uses a normal-cost rate for Members and several special groups (like certain Congressional employees, Capitol Police, law enforcement, Supreme Court Police, firefighters, nuclear couriers, customs and border protection officers, air traffic controllers, military reserve technicians, and some CIA staff) multiplied by the total basic pay for those people. When setting the normal-cost rate, amounts under section 8422 are included. For years after December 31, 2013, the rate is figured as if section 401(b) of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 had not happened; any extra payments because of that rule must go to cut the Civil Service Retirement System’s unfunded liability until it is gone. The Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory Commission are treated differently for that part. Payments must come from the right appropriation or fund for each type of worker, and the Comptroller General sets how the money is deposited. The Office must also work out any supplemental liability for non‑postal and postal workers and spread each amount over 30 equal yearly payments using the interest rate from the most recent system valuation. At year end the Office tells the Treasury how much the government must add for non‑postal workers and tells the Postmaster General how much the Postal Service must pay for postal workers. The Treasury credits the Fund from available money, and the Postal Service pays its notified amount. The Office can use the Board of Actuaries for the math and may rely on the Board’s latest valuations. An agency head can ask for a review of the amount owed; the Board of Actuaries will check the calculations and can change them, and its decision is final.