AFGE President Blasts Proposal to Strip Military Retirees of Pensions

Pentagon proposal would deny retirement benefits to military retirees who join civil service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. today expressed outrage at a Pentagon proposal that would strip military retirees of their pensions if they return to work for the government as civilian employees.

"The Pentagon is full of draconian proposals for slashing the wages, benefits and jobs of its own employees, but this proposal stoops to a new low," Cox said. "To deny basic retirement benefits to retired military members who continue to serve their country as civilian employees is a slap in the face to every man and woman who has ever worn the uniform."

More than 134,000 military retirees currently work for the Department of Defense as civilian employees. This proposal would single out those employees by denying them the same retirement benefits afforded to other civil servants.

"If a private-sector employer refused to offer retirement benefits to a new employee just because he or she used to be in the military, we would rightly call that discrimination. Yet the Pentagon sees it as just another way to cut spending on the backs of its own employees," Cox said.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

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SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees

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