RETIREMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN CLASSIFIED CIVIL SERVICE.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 1917.

UNITED STATES SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON CIVIL SERVICE AND RETRENCHMENT,

Washington, D. C.

The committee met, pursuant to call, at 11.15 o'clock a. m. in room 266, Senate Office Building, Senator Kenneth D. McKellar presiding. Present: Senators McKellar (chairman), Johnson, and Wolcott. Also present: Mr. Robert H. Alcorn, Mr. Daniel Goldschmidt, Mr. Llewellyn Jordan, Mr. J. M. McConnell, Mr. Edward Murphy, Mr. Arthur E. Holder, and Mrs. Ruth De Havens.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. I was detained by a roll call of the Senate.

There are several bills pending in committees of both branches of Congress relating to the subject now under consideration. I shall incorporate in the record the three that have been so far introduced in the Senate (S. 157, 281, and 633), each of which are very similar. (The bills referred to above are here printed in full, as follows:)

S. 157. A BILL To provide for the retirement of employees in the civil service.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, beginning with the first day of July next following the passage of this act, all employees in the classified civil service shall be eligible for retirement as hereinafter provided.

SEC. 2. That any employee in the classified civil service who has served the United States for thirty years or more shall, upon his or her request, be retired from the service on an annuity of fifty per centum of his or her annual salary based upon the average annual salary, pay, or compensation he or she may have received for the five years next preceding retirement. Any employee in the classified civil service who has served the United States for a period of from twenty-five to thirty years shall, upon his or her request, be retired from the service on an annuity of forty-five per centum of his or her annual salary, based upon the average annual salary, pay, or compensation he or she may have received for the five years next preceding retirement. Any employee in the classified civil service who has served the United States for a period of from twenty to twenty-five years shall upon his or her request, be retired from the service on an annuity of forty per centum of his or her annual salary, based upon the average annual salary, pay, or compensation he or she may have received for the five years next preceding retirement.

SEC. 3. That no employee provided for in this act shall be retained in the service after arriving at the age of seventy years.

SEC. 4. That the payments provided for in this act shall be paid quarterly throughout the life of the employee.

SEC. 5. That any employee to whom this act applies who has served the United States for not less than five years, and who, by reason of accident or illness not due to vicious habits and without fault or delinquency on his or her part, has become disabled shall be retired from the service on certificate from the head of the department or independent office in which he or she is

5

employed to the Secretary of the Treasury setting forth such disabilities, and on the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury he or she shall receive an annuity, payable quarterly, of thirty per centum of his or her annual salary, based upon his or her average annual salary, pay, or compensation for the five years next preceding his or her retirement, for from five to ten years of service; forty per centum for from ten to twenty years of service; fifty per centum for from twenty-one years and over.

SEC. 6. That for the purposes of this act the period of service shall be computed from original employment, whether as a classified or unclassified employee, and shall include periods of service at different times, and service in one or more departments, branches, or independent offices of the Government, the Signal Corps prior to July first, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, and the general service in or under the War Department prior to May sixth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six.

SEC. 7. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and directed to pay, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, a sum sufficient to carry out the purposes of this act.

SEC. 8. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to perform, or cause to be performed, any and all acts and to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this act into full force and effect.

S. 281. A BILL For the retirement of employees in the classified civil service. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That beginning on the first day of July next following the passage of this act all employees in the classified civil service of the United States who have reached the age of seventy years shall be eligible for retirement on an annuity as hereinafter provided; on the succeeding first day of July the retirement age shall be sixty-nine years; on the next succeeding first day of July the retirement age shall be sixty-eight years; on the next succeeding first day of July the retirement age shall be sixty-seven years; on the next succeeding first day of July the retirement age shall be sixty-six years; on the next succeeding first day of July and thereafter the retirement age shall be sixty-five years: Provided, That mechanics, city and rural letter carriers, and railway mail clerks shall be eligible for retirement at sixty-two years of age: And provided further, That fourth-class postmasters shall not be included in the provisions of this act.

SEC. 2. That for the purpose of determining the amount of annuity which retired employees shall receive the following classifications and rates shall be established:

Class A shall include all employees to whom this act applies who have served the United States for a total period of thirty years or more.

Class B shall include all employees to whom this act applies who have served the United States for a total period of twenty-five years or more, but less than thirty years.

Class C shall include all employees to whom this act applies who have served the United States for a total period of twenty years or more, but less than twenty-five years.

Class D shall include all employees to whom this act applies who have served the United States for a total period of fifteen years or more, but less than twenty years.

The annuity to a retired employee in class A shall equal fifty per centum of such employee's average annual salary, pay, or compensation from the United States for the ten years next preceding the date retirement is to begin: Provided, That in no case shall an annuity in this class exceed $600 per annum. The annuity to a retired employee in class B shall equal forty per centum of such employee's average annual salary, pay, or compensation from the United States for the ten years next preceding the date retirement is to begin: Provided, That in no case shall an annuity in this class exceed $540 per annum.

The annuity to a retired employee in class C shall equal thirty per centum of such employee's average annual salary, pay, or compensation from the United States for the ten years next preceding the date retirement is to begin: Provided, That in no case shall an annuity in this class exceed $480 per annum. The annuity to a retired employee in class D shall equal twenty-five per centum of such employee's average annual salary, pay, or compensation from the United States for the ten years next preceding the date retirement is to

begin: Provided, That in no case shall an annuity in this class exceed $420 per annum.

SEC. 3. That for the purpose of this act the period of service of an employee in the classified civil service shall be computed from original employment, whether as a classified or unclassified employee in the civil service of the United States, and shall include periods of service at different times and services in one or more departments, branches, or independent offices of the Government, and shall also include service performed under authority of the United States beyond seas, and honorable service in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States, either Regular or Volunteer: Provided, That in the case of an employee who is eligible for, and elects to receive, a pension on account of disability incurred in the line of duty, the period of his military or naval service shall not be included for the purpose of classification as defined in section two of this act.

SEC. 4. That the provisions of this act shall include employees of the Library of Congress and the Botanic Gardens, excepting such persons as may be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and may be extended by Executive order upon recommendation of the Civil Service Commission to include any employee or group of employees in the civil service of the United States not classified at the time of the passage of this act. The President shall have power, in his discretion, to exclude from the operation of this act any employee or group of employees whose tenure of office is intermittent or of uncertain duration.

SEC. 5. That any employee to whom this act applies who shall have served the United States for a total period of not less than fifteen years, and who, by reason of the exigencies of the service, or on account of accident or illness not due to vicious habits or intemperance, and without fault or delinquency on his or her part, has become disabled before reaching the retirement age as prescribed in section one of this act, so as not to be fitted for useful and efficient service to the Government, shall, upon his or her request, or upon the order of the head of the department, branch, or independent oflice of the Government in which such employee is employed, be retired on an annuity based on length of service and average salary, pay, or compensation as prescribed in section two of this act: Provided, however, That no employee to whom this act applies shall be retired under the provisions of this section until after he or she shall have been duly examined by a board of examining surgeons of the Bureau of Pensions and the applicant's case passed upon by the Commissioner of Pensions and by the head of the department, branch, or independent office of the Government in which such employee is employed. Each member of each examining board shall receive the sum of $3 for the examination of each applicant whenever five or a less number shall be examined on any one day, and $1 for the examination of each additional applicant on such day: Provided, That no fee shall be paid to any member of an examining board unless personally present and assisting in the examination of the applicant.

SEC. 6. That any person who shall have been retired on an annuity because of disability as defined in section five of this act, and who shall subsequently recover from such disability before the retirement age, may, upon application, be reinstated in the civil service of the United States upon certification by the Civil Service Commission without the formality of examination.

SEC. 7. That all employees to whom this act applies shall, on arriving at the age of retirement as defined in section one, be automatically separated from the service: Provided, That if not less than ninety days before the arrival of an employee at the age of retirement the head of the department, branch, or independent office of the Government in which he or she is employed certifies to the Civil Service Commission that by reason of his or her efficiency and his or her willingness to remain in the civil service of the United States the continuance of such employee therein would be advantageous to the public service, sucn employee may be retained for a term not exceeding two years upon certification by the Civil Service Commission; and at the end of the two years he or she may by similar certification be continued for an additional term of two years, and so on: Provided, however, That at the end of ten years after this act becomes effective no employee shall be continued in the civil service of the United States beyond the age of seventy years.

SEC. 8. That each employee who may become eligible for retirement as provided in this act shall, not less than sixty days before reaching the retirement age, file with the Commissioner of Pensions, in such form as he may prescribe, an application for annuity, and said application shall be supported by a

certificate from the Civil Service Commission, or from the head of the department, branch, or independent office of the Government in which the applicant has been employed, stating the age and period or periods of service of the applicant and salary, pay, or compensation received, as shown by the official records: Provided, however, That in the case of an employee who is to be continued in the service of the United States beyond the retirement age as provided in section seven of this act no application for retirement and annuity as herein prescribed shall be filed with the Commissioner of Pensions: And provided further, That failure to apply for retirement and annuity within sixty days of reaching the retirement age because of the pendency of an application for retention in the civil service shall not be construed to deprive any person of retirement and annuity.

Upon receipt of satisfactory evidence the Commissioner of Pensions shall forthwith adjudicate the claim of the applicant, and, if title to an annuity is established, a proper certificate shall be issued to the annuitant under the seal of the Department of the Interior, and such certificate shall become evidence of the right of the annuitant to the annuity as therein defined.

SEC. 9. That every employee to whom this act applies who shall continue in the civil service after the passage of this act, as well as every person to whom this act applies who may hereafter be appointed to a position or place, shall be deemed to consent and agree to the deductions made and provided for hereinafter, and payment with such deductions shall be a full and complete discharge and acquittance of all claims and demands whatsoever for all regular services rendered by such person during the period covered by such payment, except his or her claim for the benefits to which he or she may be entitled under the provisions of this act, notwithstanding the provisions of sections one hundred and sixty-seven, one hundred and sixty-eight, and one hundred and sixtynine of the Revised Statutes of the United States, and of any other law, rule, or regulation affecting the salary, pay, or compensation of any person or persons employed in the civil service to whom this act applies.

The

SEC. 10. That, beginning on the first day of the second month after the month in which this act is approved, there shall be deducted and withheld from the salary, pay, or compensation of each person to whom this act applies a sum equal to two per centum of such person's salary, pay, or compensation: Provided, That not more than $50 shall be so withheld and deducted from the salary, pay, or compensation of any individual in any one fiscal year. Secretary of the Treasury shall cause to be deducted from all specific appropriations for salaries or compensation of such employees and from all allotments out of lump-sum appropriations for payments of salaries or compensation of such employees a sum equal to two per centum of such salaries or compensation, but not more than $50 on account of any position for any fiscal year, and said sums shall be transferred on the books of the Treasury Department to the credit of a special fund to be known as "the civil-service retirement and disability fund," which fund is hereby appropriated for the payment of annuities, refunds, and allowances as provided in this act. There is also appropriated, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, a sum which, when added to the two per centum transferred from other appropriations under the provisions of this act, shall be sufficient to make payments provided by this act.

SEC. 11. That annuities as herein provided shall be paid monthly, and checks shall be issued and mailed to the last known address of the annuitant on the first business day of the month succeeding the month in which the annuity becomes due: Provided, That where an annuitant is laboring under legal disabilities the annuity in such cases may be paid to the duly appointed guardian. SEC. 12. That the payment of annuities, as provided in this act shall cease and determine upon the death of the annuitant, excepting that any amount of annuity which had accrued up to the time of the annuitant's death shall be paid to his or her legal representatives upon the establishment of a valid claim therefor.

SEC. 13. That in the case of an employee in the classified civil service of the United States who is transferred to an unclassified position, and in the case of any employee to whom this act applies who becomes absolutely separated from the service before reaching the retirement age the total amount of deductions of salary, pay, or compensation shall, upon application, be returned to such employee; and in case the death of an employee occurs before reaching the retirement age, or before establishing a valid claim for annuity, the total amount of deductions may be paid to the legal representatives of such employee.