Retirement Annuity Supplement Clarity Act
- Bill Number
- S. 4290
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 2
- Policy Area
- Government Operations and Politics
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-04-14: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Last Updated
- 2026-04-27T22:09:19Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
The Retirement Annuity Supplement Clarity Act (S. 4290) aims to clarify how annuity supplement payments—extra payments for certain federal retirees under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) until they reach Social Security age—are treated in court orders dividing retirement benefits during divorce or similar proceedings.
Key Provisions
- New Rule for Court Orders (amends 5 U.S.C. § 8467):
- Adds subsection (c): When a court decree, order, or agreement divides a FERS annuity, the annuity supplement must be included in the division unless the order expressly excludes it.
- Technical Change (amends 5 U.S.C. § 8421): Removes subsection (c), which is no longer needed.
- Applicability:
- Applies to all annuity supplements starting on or after the date of enactment.
- Retroactive Relief:
- One-time payment (no interest) from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund to "covered annuitants" (retirees whose supplements were wrongly added to past court-ordered divisions by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) between June 30, 2016, and enactment). Covers amounts deducted from their annuities.
- Waives repayment of any overpayments made to these annuitants or their former spouses when the supplement was previously excluded.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Shifts from ambiguity (where OPM sometimes included supplements even if court orders were silent or excluded them) to a clear requirement: inclusion is default unless expressly excluded.
- Eliminates conflicting prior language in § 8421(c).
- Introduces targeted refunds and waivers to correct OPM's past recomputations, preventing financial harm from historical errors.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: OPM must update processes for computing divisions and issue one-time payments/waivers, drawing from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (fiscal burden is limited to retroactive cases).
- Citizens: Provides fairness for divorced FERS retirees and former spouses by refunding improper deductions and forgiving overpayments; reduces future litigation over unclear orders.
- No notable international relations impact.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- FERS retirees/annuitants (especially those divorced, with supplements affected post-2016).
- Former spouses receiving court-ordered shares of annuities.
- OPM (handles administration and payments).
- Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (funds retroactive relief).
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Enhances predictability in family law cases involving federal benefits, reducing disputes over "silent" court orders; retroactive waivers limit liability for past OPM actions.
- Constitutional: None apparent; aligns with due process by clarifying property division rules.
- Political: Bipartisan (sponsors: Sens. Lankford (R) and Fetterman (D)); addresses administrative errors without broad spending, focusing on equity for federal workers.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (1)
Recent Actions
- 2026-04-14: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- 2026-04-14: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- Retirement Annuity Supplement Clarity Act — issued 2026-04-14 — PDF (4 pages)