Home Media Center News Releases

Washington, D.C.—A new era begins on Sunday, July 6, for thousands of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers (CBPOs) who—thanks to the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)—will begin receiving an enhanced law enforcement officer (LEO) retirement benefit.

On Sunday, the new enhanced LEO retirement benefit program won by NTEU gets underway. The long-sought program recognizes the dangerous nature of their jobs and provides CBPOs with a higher pension formula.

“This is a cause for celebration both for employees and CBP,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. “This new program recognizes these men and women for the law enforcement work they do every day, and it will provide the agency with an important new recruiting and retention tool that I hope it will use effectively.”

Under the legislation—which NTEU had to fight to retain after the White House proposed its repeal and then declined to propose funding the LEO program—some 18,000 CBPOs are immediately eligible for an enhanced retirement benefit beginning Sunday and lasting until the end of their career.

CBPOs form the first line of defense at the nation’s 327 land, air and sea ports of entry, and have dual missions of providing security and helping facilitate trade that is crucial to U.S. economic health.

NTEU led the years-long fight in Congress for the LEO enhanced retirement benefit for this dedicated group of federal employees. “It has taken a long time,” President Kelley said, “but it was the right thing to do from the beginning. These employees put their lives at risk for the rest of us every day. LEO retirement benefits are well-deserved recognition for their efforts.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments, including nearly 22,000 in CBP.