Among the package’s provisions, it would raise FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System) employee contribution requirements, up to a higher, new rate of 4.4% of an employee’s salary.
But a particular objection for Turner is a provision that would alter the calculation for an employee’s pension payout from three years of that employee’s highest annual salary to five years.
The idea there would be to effectively cut federal pension benefit spending by basing a retiree’s annuity payment on their average highest five earning years.
“The goal of reconciliation should be to reduce overall government spending by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse and reducing needless and unnecessary spending,” Turner said in his new statement.
“I oppose any and all efforts to reduce federal spending by taking money from the hard-earned pensions of federal workers,” the Dayton Republican added. “These pensions are not giveaways — they are promises to federal workers in exchange for their dedicated service."
Turner, a member of the Oversight Committee, added that he will not vote for the current draft proposal.
“I am hopeful that the House Oversight Committee will reconsider this proposal,” the congressman added.
The Oversight Committee has not passed the measure. There may be a committee vote on it Wednesday. If passed at that level, it would go to the House Budget committee for possible inclusion in a final reconciliation package.
About 83,500 workers in Ohio were employed by the federal government at the end of 2024, which equates to about 1.5% of the state’s nonfarm payrolls, says survey data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base alone has 38,000 civilian and military employees, making it the largest center of employment in one location in the state of Ohio.
About one in 20 workers in the Dayton region were employed by the federal government at the end of last year (5% of the total workforce), or about 20,000 civilians, federal survey data show.
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