Bill Details
View committees (1)
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill fixes a retirement benefits problem for certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. It says that some officers who got job offers before July 6, 2008, but did not actually start work until on or after that date, should be treated as if they had been serving on July 6, 2008. That change would let them receive the higher retirement benefits they were meant to get, including the minimum annuity amount and an exception from the normal mandatory retirement rule. The bill also requires the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Personnel Management to identify the affected officers, correct their retirement payments, and make retroactive adjustments for people who already retired. It also calls for a review of CBP hiring and benefit practices so similar mistakes can be better prevented in the future.
- The people covered are those who received a tentative CBP officer job offer before July 6, 2008, but did not begin duty until on or after that date because of that offer.
- Covered officers must be treated as if they were already serving on July 6, 2008, for retirement benefit purposes. That means they can qualify for the enhanced annuity and are exempt from the usual mandatory retirement requirement.
- Within 120 days, the Secretary of Homeland Security must create a list of eligible officers, notify them, and send the needed information to the Office of Personnel Management so the retirement corrections can be made.
- The Office of Personnel Management must then fix the annuities, including retroactive payment changes for anyone who retired before the bill became law. The bill also allows Homeland Security to waive the maximum entry age rule if needed and directs the Government Accountability Office to review CBP hiring and benefit practices and report back within 18 months.
Official Summaries
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Retirement Technical Corrections Act
This bill modifies the calculation of retirement benefits for certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.
Under current law, effective July 6, 2008, CBP officers are entitled to an enhanced retirement benefit, subject to certain mandatory retirement requirements. CBP officers who were employed as of July 6, 2008, are entitled to a transitional enhanced retirement benefit without the corresponding mandatory retirement requirements (i.e., proportional annuity).
The bill specifies that CBP officers who received a tentative offer of employment before July 6, 2008, and who started work on or after that date, are entitled to this proportional annuity. The Office of Personnel Management must correct annuity calculations for these officers, including retroactively, based on a list compiled by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS may also retroactively waive mandatory retirement requirements for these officers so that they may receive the proportional annuity.
The Government Accountability Office must report on CBP's policies and procedures related to enhanced retirement benefits.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 727 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 727
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To correct the inequitable denial of enhanced retirement and annuity
benefits to certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Officer Retirement Technical Corrections Act''.
SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT RELATED TO TRANSITION RULES.
(a) Defined Term.--In this section the term ``Eligible Individual''
means any individual who--
(1) received a tentative offer of employment as a U.S.
Customs and Border Protection Officer before July 6, 2008; and
(2) entered into duty as a U.S. Customs and Border
Protection officer on or after July 6, 2008, as a result of an
offer described in paragraph (1).
(b) Treatment of Eligible Individuals.--Eligible Individuals--
(1) are considered to be individuals serving as U.S.
Customs and Border Protection Officers on July 6, 2008, for
purposes of section 535(e) of the Department of Homeland
Security Appropriations Act, 2008 (division E of Public Law
110-161; 121 Stat. 1844); and
(2) are entitled to--
(A) the minimum annuity amount required under
section 535(e)(2)(C) of such Act; and
(B) an exemption from mandatory retirement
otherwise required under section 8425(b)(1) of title 5,
United States Code.
(c) Implementation.--
(1) Submission of information.--Not later than 120 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall--
(A) create a list of all Eligible Individuals;
(B) notify each Eligible Individual of the annuity
correction described in subsection (b); and
(C) provide the Director of the Office of Personnel
Management with all of the information that is
necessary for making annuity corrections with respect
to Eligible Individuals.
(2) Completion of annuity correction.--After receiving the
information described in paragraph (1)(C), the Director of the
Office of Personnel Management shall make the annuity
correction described in subsection (b) with respect to each
Eligible Individual, including a retroactive annuity adjustment
for Eligible Individuals who retired before the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(d) Waivers and Guidance.--
(1) Waivers.--The Secretary of Homeland Security may
retroactively waive the maximum entry age requirement under
3307(g) of title 5, United States Code, to the extent
necessary, to ensure that each Eligible Individual is eligible
for immediate retirement with the annuity correction described
in subsection (b).
(2) Guidance.--The Director of the Office of Personnel
Management, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland
Security, shall issue appropriate guidance to assist in the
implementation of the annuity correction described in
subsection (b).
(e) Government Accountability Office.--The Comptroller General of
the United States--
(1) shall review U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(referred to in this subsection as ``CBP'') hiring practices,
policies, and procedures related to eligibility for enhanced
retirement benefits referred to in this section by assessing--
(A) the process for determining whether an employee
qualifies for such benefits, including considering any
potential factors that would make an employee
ineligible for such enhanced retirement benefits;
(B) the internal controls used by CBP to ensure
that all eligible employees, and only eligible
employees, receive such enhanced retirement benefits;
(C) the policies regarding the use of employees'
personnel files to ensure compliance with current laws
governing retirement benefits; and
(D) the adequacy of the training provided to CBP
senior executives regarding human resources and hiring
practices at CBP; and
(2) not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, shall submit a report that describes the
results of the review conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) to--
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House
of Representatives; and
(C) the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform of the House of Representatives.
Passed the Senate December 16, 2025.
Attest:
Secretary.
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 727
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To correct the inequitable denial of enhanced retirement and annuity
benefits to certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers.