A Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed a 2016 challenge to the 2016 changes to the functioning of the FERS pension on divorce, the “Special Retirement Allowance” (also known simply as the “Pension”).
The OPM at the time stated that a divorce court order granting a portion of a FERS retiree’s pension benefits to the former spouse would automatically apply to the supplement as well as the basic pension if the retiree is eligible. I judged. This overturned the long-standing policy that a divorce decree does not reduce supplements unless it specifically mentions dividing the profits.
This supplement, which approximates the value of Social Security benefits earned during the period covered by Social Security as a federal employee, is available to persons retiring before age 62 until reaching age 62, when regular Social Security benefits begin. be paid. Those most commonly receiving it are law enforcement officers and others under special provisions that generally mandate early retirement.
In its lawsuit, the Federal Association of Law Enforcement Officials argued that the policy change was the result of OPM’s internal review only and had not undergone a rule-making process of notice and comment, and was therefore invalid.
District Court Finds Disputes Concerning Federal Interests Must Be Carried Through MSPB to Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit However, the judge subsequently ruled in OPM’s favor, saying the change did not require a formal rulemaking process.
A federal appeals court for the District of Columbia ruled that the district court did not even have jurisdiction to consider the case. The Civil Service Reform Act states that any challenge to the calculation of retirement benefits must go through the MSPB Federal Circuit process.
This ruling is the latest to test the limits of that statute’s provision, which generally requires federal employment-related disputes to go through administrative proceedings rather than directly to federal courts. This is the point of contention over the Trump administration’s executive order on unions and disciplinary action, in which the same circuit court has likewise overturned a district court decision.
Similar issues relate to a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccination orders for federal employees, which is pending in another federal appeals court. Despite that, I haven’t made a decision yet.
