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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release October 1, 1993

FEDERAL WORKFORCE RESTRUCTURING ACT OF 1993

Federal workers deserve to have the best training available. They need to be better trained and more prepared in today's multiskilled workforce. And, they should be trained to meet the mission and performance goals of their agency or department, not just told to perform "official" duties. That's why the President, following the recommendations of the National Performance Review, has directed the federal government to change and improve the way employees are trained.

The federal government can be more efficient and cost-effective. The National Performance Review recommends streamlining the federal bureaucracy by 12 percent. To help meet this goal, the Federal Workforce Restructuring Act will allow a time-limited buyout program for eligible employees. Executive Branch agencies will be authorized to pay a voluntary separation incentive to employees who retire or resign during a three-month "window." The amount of the voluntary separation incentive is the amount the employee would be entitled to receive as severance pay, or $25,000, whichever is less.

To remedy a long-standing problem for the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), the "underfunding" of early retirements, the Act also provides for a change in annuity. Effective at the same time as the voluntary separation incentive program, agencies will now be required to pay an extra 9 percent of the CSRS-covered employee's final annual salary for each early retirement. The proposal will apply to all early retirements, not just those resulting from voluntary separation incentive programs. As a result, federal workers will be guaranteed to have full retirement benefits.

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