SPECIAL GUIDE: Retirement Open Season To Switch or Not to Switch

The Retirement Open Season is fast approaching, and you're probably wondering just what changes to make, how to go about making them and what effect your choice will have on your future. There are many resources available to help you with your decision, so we at GovExec.com have compiled this special guide that provides all the information you need for one-stop retirement open season planning.

THE FACTS

WHAT: Retirement Open Season

WHO: About 1 million federal employees covered under the Civil Service Retirement System

WHEN: July 1-December 31, 1998

HOW:You must complete an election form, SF 3109, Election of Coverage, and return it to your servicing personnel office. An election to transfer to FERS is effective at the beginning of the next pay period after your agency receives the completed form. WHY: To secure your retirement. THE BACKGROUND

Clinton used his line-item veto power last year to cancel the CSRS-FERS switch after it was included in an appropriations measure. Administration officials had estimated the proposal would cost agencies $854 million over five years. The National Treasury Employees Union filed suit, claiming both that the line-item veto law is unconstitutional and that Clinton exceeded his statutory authority in vetoing the retirement measure.

A federal judge later approved an agreement between NTEU and the Justice Department to rescind President Clinton's line-item veto. The administration then asked Congress to rescind the open season in its fiscal 1999 budget proposal, but Senators and Representatives showed no interest in undoing the legislation.

Office of Personnel Management Guidance

OPM has created a site for people considering switching to the Federal Employees Retirement System during the open season. At www.opm.gov/fers_election, employees can learn more about the open season, calculate future benefits under both FERS and the Civil Service Retirement System, and review the FERS transfer handbook.

On June 24, OPM will hold a satellite broadcast from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EST that will compare and contrast FERS and CSRS benefits, discuss Social Security benefits that some employees might gain by transferring to FERS, and cover Thrift Savings Plan issues of interest to people with the opportunity to transfer. Viewers will be able to call in questions to experts from OPM, the Social Security Administration, and the Federal Thrift Retirement Investment Board, which runs the Thrift Savings Plan.

For more information see GovExec.com's extensive coverage of the open season:

OPM Provides Retirement Open Season Info (May 29)
Legislators Urge Open Season (March 16)
Open Season Up in Air (Jan. 7)
Retirement Open Season On Way (Jan. 2)
Clinton Reverses on Retirement (Dec. 22)
Retirement Switch Idea Still Alive(Nov. 6)
Union Challenges Line-Item Veto (Oct. 17)
Retirement Window Shut (Oct. 16)