QUESTION:
Are White House employees guaranteed retirement benefits for life?
ANSWER:
No, only under certain criteria.
SOURCES:
Office of Personnel Management
PROCESS:
We all remember how short of a time former communications director Anthony Scaramucci was in the White House. Gone – after just 10 days. Now, with all the departures in the Trump administration, we’re hearing rumors that White House employees are guaranteed benefits for life. To get answers, our the WUSA9 Verify team reached out to the Office of Personnel Management that handles retirement benefits for the federal government.
Here's what we found out. If an employee leaves federal service before retiring, they can receive retirement benefits only if they have put in at least five years of creditable civilian service work.
So no it’s not as easy as just working in the White House for any amount of time equals instant retirement benefits for life. Also, the Office of Personnel Management lists a chart on their site that details instances you must reach the Minimum Retirement Age to receive retirement benefit.
And under discontinued service retirement-- let separation against the will and without employee's consent-- federal workers are eligible for retirement benefits if they’re given at least 20 years of service including 5 years or civilian work AND are fifty years or older. Creditable service under the Federal Employees Retirement System qualifies as:
- Part-time, Intermittent, Temporary "PIT" service performed abroad after December 31, 1988, and before May 24, 1998, under a temporary part-time or intermittent appointment pursuant to sections 309 and 311 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980.
- Service performed under the Foreign Service Pension System
- Service as a Senate Employee Child Care Center worker
- Service as a volunteer or volunteer leader in the Peace Corps
- Service as a VISTA volunteer
- Service before 12/31/1990 with either the Democratic or Republican Senatorial Campaign or National Congressional Committees
- Service before 12/21/2000 with the Library of Congress Child Development Center
- Service as a Senior Official
- Congressional Employees that do no elect program coverage and are subject to the Social Security Amendments of 1983
- Service performed under a Federal Reserve Bank Plan
- Non-appropriated fund instrumentality (NAF) service under P.L. 107-107 that can be used for title to an annuity under the FERS, but not in the computation
- CSRS refund service that flips to FERS
