{
  "id": "RL30903",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30903",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 100340,
      "date": "2001-03-19",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:26:29.813941",
      "title": "Military Technicians: Proposals to Improve Their Retirement Options",
      "summary": "Military technicians are federal civilian employees who provide support primarily to wartime\ndeployable units of the Selected Reserve. Unlike regular civilian employees, however, military\ntechnicians are generally required to maintain membership in the Selected Reserve as a condition of\ntheir employment. As members of the federal civil service, technicians can earn an entitlement to an\nannuity under either the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or under the Federal Employee\nRetirement System (FERS) in the same manner as most other civil servants. \n  The civil service retirement options for military technicians are nearly identical to those available\nto most other civil servants. However, there are certain categories of civil servants -- federal law\nenforcement officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers and nuclear materials couriers -- who have\nbeen granted more generous retirement options in recognition of the exceptionally rigorous demands\nof their professions. Compared to most other federal employees, these \"special category\" federal\nemployees are allowed to retire voluntarily with a lower combination of age and years of service, and\ntheir pensions are computed using a more generous formula. \"Special category\" employees are also\nsubject to mandatory retirement and usually contribute a higher percentage of their pay to CSRS or\nFERS than do other federal employees.\n  Representatives of various military technician associations argue that the military technicians\nshould have the same retirement options as those enjoyed by the \"special category\" federal\nemployees. The work conditions of military technicians, they argue, are exceptionally demanding\nand similar in rigor to those of law enforcement officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers, and\nnuclear materials couriers. Opponents of this proposal argue that the  civilian  duties\nperformed by\nmilitary technicians are not as arduous as those performed by \"special category\" employees and are\ncommensurate with those performed by federal employees generally. While conceding that most\nmilitary technicians must meet strict physical fitness requirements in order to retain their reserve\nmembership and are occasionally deployed in the event of war or national emergency, opponents\nargue that technicians are compensated for these  military  duties through the military\nretirement\nsystem. Therefore, opponents argue, military technicians do not deserve the more generous\nretirement options enjoyed by \"special category\" federal civilian employees.\n  In the 106th Congress, two bills were introduced to improve the civil service retirement options\nof military technicians. So far in the 107th Congress, one such bill has been introduced. This report\nprovides background information on the military technician program and the retirement options for\nvarious categories of federal employees, including military technicians. It also compares the\nretirement benefits available to military technicians with those available to other federal employees,\nand presents arguments for and against modifying the retirement benefits for military technicians. \nFinally, it outlines and analyzes several bills introduced during the 106th and 107th Congresses which\nseek to provide military technicians with more generous retirement options.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}