Congress Finally Fixes Retirement Flaw that Penalized Disabled Law Enforcement
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The prompt for this round of the FEDforum is Better Late Than Never. This week, hear from the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA).
For several congresses, FLEOA has been fighting to amend a flaw in the federal retirement system that penalized federal law enforcement who were permanently disabled on the job. Finally, in November, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Fair RETIRE Act into law. This bill amends this flaw in the retirement system to ensure disabled law enforcement are entitled to the full benefits they have earned.
When a federal law enforcement officer or agent was injured on the job and could no longer serve in law enforcement, the federal benefits system would deny the officer access to a law enforcement pension. This effectively penalized law enforcement officer for their injuries.
Federal law enforcement officers serve on the front lines of combatting transnational criminal organizations, drug cartels, and terrorist affiliates. Just last month, smugglers off the coast of Puerto Rico engaged in a shootout with Customs and Border Protection Air & Marine Operations Agents, resulting in one agent’s death and critical injuries to two others. Across all levels of government, more than 17,000 officers sustained serious injuries in 2019, and attacks on law enforcement have only increased since then.
It is unconscionable that our federal government would request officers and agents put themselves in harm’s way on behalf of their nation, only to undermine their financial security as a result.
FLEOA worked closely with bipartisan lawmakers in both the House and Senate to draft the Fair RETIRE Act to amend the federal retirement system to address this issue. Under this law, federal law enforcement officers who sustain permanent injuries on the job can transfer into a civilian position within their agency and retain their law enforcement pension.
This bill is both commonsense and compassionate. Federal law enforcement officers are valuable assets even after their injuries. They have significant expertise, skills, and dedication that agencies need, even if the officer cannot remain on the front line. By encouraging injured officers to remain with their agency, we recognize the asset the officer continues to be.
Finally, this law is just the right thing to do. Officers should never be punished for putting their life on the line. We owe them an eternal debt of gratitude and the least our nation can do is retain their law enforcement pension.
FLEOA fought for this bill for many years. We are incredibly glad it finally moved through Congress with unanimous agreement in both the House and Senate. Our only regret, is that it took so long to make such a simple, impactful change.
This column from the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) is part of the FEDforum, an initiative to unite voices across the federal community. The FEDforum is a space for federal employee and law enforcement groups to share their organizations’ initiatives and activities with the FEDagent audience.
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