Congressional Research Service Reports - 318 Matching Results
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- Social Security: The Cost-of-Living Adjustment in January 2003
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Concurrent Receipt of Military Retirement and VA Disability Benefits: Budgetary Issues
- House and Senate conferees on the FY2003 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4546) are currently considering provisions that would lift the longstanding prohibition on concurrent receipt (simultaneous payment) of Department of Defense (DoD) retired pay and Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) disability benefits. The House-passed bill would phase in partial concurrent receipt by providing both retirement and VA benefits for those with disabilities of 60 percent or above by FY2007. The Senate-passed bill provides full concurrent receipt for military retirees with any disability rating in FY2003.
- COLAs for Military Retirees: Summary of Congressional and Executive Branch Action, 1982-2002 (FY1983-FY2003)
- The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1982 (which applied to FY1983 budget issues) suspended previously existing permanent law pertaining to cost-of-living adjustments(COLAs) for federal civilian and military retirees, and changed the COLA calculation formulas to postpone and/or reduce future COLAs for military retirees during 1983-1985 (FY1984-FY1986).This report examines executive and congressional COLA-related initiatives associated with each of the fiscal year budgeting processes from calendar year 1982 (FY1983) through calendar year 2000 (FY2001).
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Retirement Savings and Household Wealth in 2000: Analysis of Census Bureau Data
- This report examines recent trends in retirement saving and the policy implications. The aging of the American population and the impending retirement of the "baby boom" will place significant strains over the next several decades on both Social Security and on retirees' own financial resources. With continued increases in average life expectancies, retirees in the 21st century will have to stretch their savings and other assets over longer periods of retirement than were experienced by their parents and grandparents.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Funding Postal Service Obligations to the Civil Service Retirement System
- This report provides background on the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) funding of its retirement obligations, describes and analyzes the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recalculation, and discusses considerations Congress may bring to bear on the draft legislation.
- Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs): Issues and Proposed Expansion
- No Description Available.
- Employer Stock in Retirement Plans: Investment Risk and Retirement Security
- This CRS Report begins by describing the shift from traditional defined benefit pensions to defined contribution plans – like the 401(k) – that has occurred over the last 20 to 25 years. It then summarizes recent research findings on the extent to which employees’ retirement savings are invested in employer stock. The third section of the report outlines the provisions of federal law that define an employer’s duty to manage its retirement plan in the best interest of the plan’s participants. The report concludes with a summary of pension reform legislation passed by the House of Representatives in April 2002 and a description of several pension reform bills that have been introduced in the Senate in 2002.
- Pension Reform: The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Social Security: The Government Pension Offset
- This report discusses the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision, which reduces Social Security benefits that a person receives as a spouse if he or she also has a government pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to replicate Social Security’s “dual entitlement” rule, which requires that a Social Security benefit earned as a worker be subtracted from any Social Security spousal benefit to which the worker is eligible. Its intent is to remove an advantage these workers would otherwise receive if they could receive both a government pension and full Social Security spousal benefits. Opponents contend that the provision is basically inaccurate and often unfair. Five bills have been introduced in the 108th Congress that would modify or repeal the provision.
- Retirement Plans with Individual Accounts: Federal Rules and Limits
- No Description Available.
- Social Security Notch Issue: A Summary
- This report discusses recent attempts at legislative action regarding changes to the computation of benefits under Social Security Amendments of 1977 (P.L. 95-216), which directly affected retirees born in the 5- to 15-year period after 1916. These persons fall in the "notch" between previous Social Security legislation and those affected by the amendments.
- Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs): Issues and Proposed Expansion
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Funding Postal Service Obligations to the Civil Service Retirement System
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Federal Employees' Retirement Benefits: Bills in the 108th Congress
- This report describes the bills introduced in the 108th Congress that would affect participants in either CSRS or FERS. It begins by summarizing laws enacted during the 107th Congress that affected CSRS or FERS.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs): Legislative History
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Federal Employees' Retirement Benefits: Bills in the 108th Congress
- This report describes the bills introduced in the 108th Congress that would affect participants in either CSRS or FERS. It begins by summarizing laws enacted during the 107th Congress that affected CSRS or FERS.
- Employment Benefits in Bankruptcy
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Social Security Notch Issue: A Summary
- This report discusses recent attempts at legislative action regarding changes to the computation of benefits under Social Security Amendments of 1977 (P.L. 95-216), which directly affected retirees born in the 5- to 15-year period after 1916. These persons fall in the "notch" between previous Social Security legislation and those affected by the amendments.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Pensions and Retirement Saving Plans: Comparison of H.R. 1776 with Current Law
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- This report discusses various proposed changes to the military retirement system, which includes benefits for retirement after an active or reserve military career, disability retirement, and survivor benefits for eligible survivors of deceased retirees. Major issues include whether some or all military retirees should be allowed to receive both military retired pay and any VA disability compensation to which they are otherwise entitled -- referred to as "concurrent receipt" -- whether some military personnel should be entitled to military retired pay with less than 20 years of service, and whether many more personnel should serve well past the 20-year point before retiring.
- Former Presidents: Federal Pension and Retirement Benefits
- This report provides information about the Federal Pension and Retirement Benefits on Former Presidents. The GSA is authorized by the FPA to provide office staff and suitable office space at a location in the United States.
- COLAs for Military Retirees: Summary of Congressional and Executive Branch Action, 1982-2003 (FY1983-FY2004)
- The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1982 (which applied to FY1983 budget issues) suspended previously existing permanent law pertaining to cost-of-living adjustments(COLAs) for federal civilian and military retirees, and changed the COLA calculation formulas to postpone and/or reduce future COLAs for military retirees during 1983-1985 (FY1984-FY1986).This report examines executive and congressional COLA-related initiatives associated with each of the fiscal year budgeting processes from calendar year 1982 (FY1983) through calendar year 2000 (FY2001).
- Social Security: The Government Pension Offset
- No Description Available.
- Brief Facts About Congressional Pensions
- This report contains a table that lists the number of retired Members of Congress and the average amount of congressional pension they receive in retirement.
- Regulating Private Pensions: A Brief Summary of ERISA
- This report briefly discusses the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and how it protects the interests of participants and beneficiaries in private-sector employee benefit plans. ERISA covers a number of fringe benefits provided by employers, but most of its provisions deal with pension plans. Pension plans sponsored by the federal, state, and local governments, or by churches generally are exempt from ERISA.
- The Retirement Savings Tax Credit: A Fact Sheet
- This report discusses the saver's tax credit, under which eligible individuals receive a non-refundable tax credit of up to $1,000 for contributing to a traditional IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement plan that is qualified under §401, §403 or §457 of the Internal Revenue Code. The credit was first available in 2002 but will expire after 2006 unless extended by Congress.
- The Retirement Savings Tax Credit: A Fact Sheet
- No Description Available.
- Federal Employee Retirement Programs: Budget and Trust Fund Issues
- Retirement annuities for civilian federal employees are provided mainly through two programs: the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). These annuities are financed through a combination of employee contributions and payments made by the federal government to the civil service retirement trust fund. This report discusses the two programs, how they work, and how they are financed.
- Retirement Savings and Household Wealth: A Summary of Recent Data
- No Description Available.
- Social Security: The Government Pension Offset (GPO)
- This report discusses the social security benefits and the spousal benefits of individuals who are not financially dependent on their spouses because they receive benefits based on their own work records.
- The Effect of State-Legalized Same-Sex Marriage on Social Security Benefits and Pensions
- No Description Available.
- Congressional Salaries and Allowances
- This report provides basic information on congressional salaries and allowances. First, the report briefly summarizes the current salary of Members of Congress, limits on their outside earned income and honoraria, and applicable health insurance and retirement benefits. Second, it provides information on allowances available to Representatives and Senators to support them in their official and representational duties as Members. Third, it provides the salaries and allowances available to the Speaker of the House and the Vice President, as President of the Senate, and lists the salaries of congressional officers and officials and committee staff.
- Pension Sponsorship and Participation: Summary of Recent Trends
- No Description Available.
- Automatic Enrollment in Section 401(k) Plans
- This report discusses enrollment practices for 401k retirement plans. Historically, most employers that have sponsored retirement savings plans under §401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) have required employees to decide whether to enroll in the plan. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued rulings to inform employers that current law allows them to enroll employees automatically, provided that the employee is notified in advance and is permitted to leave the plan.
- Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Federal Civil Service Annuities
- Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) are based on the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). COLAs for both CSRS and FERS are determined by the average monthly CPI-W during the third quarter (July to September) of the current calendar year and the third quarter of the previous year.
- Social Security: The Cost-of-Living Adjustment in January 2005
- This report discusses how the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits are determined. The 2.7% COLA payable in January 2005 was triggered by the rise in the CPI-W (Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers) from the third quarter of 2003 to the third quarter of 2004. This COLA triggers identical percentage increases in Supplemental Security Income (SSI), veterans' pensions, and railroad retirement benefits, and causes other changes in the Social Security program.