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Washington, D.C.-NTEU secured two important legislative gains for federal employees last night affecting retirement rights for those placed in the wrong retirement system and providing employees and retirees with the ability to buy long-term care insurance at group rates. The improvements were contained in H.R. 4040 which was approved by both the House and Senate. The measure now heads to the White House and is expected to be signed by President Clinton.

President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which had vigorously pursued both measures for some time, applauded both the retirement action, which will allow federal agencies to take steps to correct the retirement placements for those employees in the wrong retirement system, and the significant step forward in helping provide long-term care insurance at group discount rates.

"Both of these are important bills," Kelley said. "The retirement correction legislation is a matter of fairness for federal workers mistakenly placed in the wrong retirement system. And the availability of long-term care insurance at group rates will be a tremendous benefit for federal employees and is one more tool to help the government recruit and retain the skilled workers it needs."

The retirement error correction part of the legislation will allow federal employees improperly placed by their agencies in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to elect either to switch to the CSRS-Offset program or to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). CSRS-Offset is a program that includes features of both CSRS and FERS.

Those employees who choose FERS will be given a period of time in which to make up back contributions to the federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), which is an integral part of the newer FERS system. Those funds would generate matching government contributions to their TSP accounts, as well as back earnings on both.

"These employees were placed in the wrong retirement system through no fault of their own," Kelley said, "and it is only right that they now be given this choice."

As to the long-term care program, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) would negotiate premiums and benefits with one or more insurance carriers under long-term contracts and then provide information to federal employees for them to choose whether or not to purchase the coverage.

The hope is that the discounts under the group rate structure would be as much as 20 percent below commercial rates for older workers. Under the legislation, federal employees would be able to participate in the program in fiscal 2002. It would extend coverage to federal civilian and military employees and retirees and their families.