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Show Notes
During the week of June 29 to July 5, 2025, major federal legislative developments preserved key benefits for current and retired federal employees. The Senate version of H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” removed all proposed cuts to pensions and health benefits previously included in the House version, including elimination of the FERS supplement and shifting annuity calculations to a “high-5” salary basis. NARFE declared this a victory for federal workers and retirees. Additionally, the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), which repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), has increased Social Security benefits for over 2.8 million affected retirees, with back payments issued to January 2024.
On the workforce front, job changes slowed, a DoD pay freeze affected 60,000 blue-collar workers due to suspended wage panels, and controversial hiring questions were dropped from applications. A court also blocked an executive order aiming to strip union rights from federal employees. The Federal Retirement Fairness Act (H.R. 1522) was reintroduced to allow service credit purchases for prior noncareer work. For retirees, no changes were made to FEHBP or survivor benefits, and OPM’s digital retirement system, launching mid-July, aims to reduce processing delays.