Federal Employees' Compensation Act: Analysis of Proposed Program Changes.

摘要

In 2010, the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) program paid $1.9 billion in cash benefits to federal workers who sustained injuries or illnesses while performing federal duties. The U.S. Department of Labor (Labor) administers FECA and bases FECA benefits on an employee's wages at time of injury and whether the employee has eligible dependents. In addition, consideration is given to the beneficiary's ability to work after the injury. Specifically, beneficiaries unable to return to work--total disability beneficiaries--who have an eligible dependent are compensated at 75 percent of gross wages at the time of injury and those without an eligible dependent are compensated at 66-2/3 percent. These benefits are adjusted for inflation and are not subject to age restrictions. Some policymakers are concerned about the level of FECA benefits, especially compared to the retirement benefits under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), which generally covers employees first hired in 1984 or later. A proposal by Labor to revise FECA includes the following changes to the benefits for future total and partial disability beneficiaries: (1) Set initial FECA benefits at a single rate (70 percent of applicable wages at time of injury), regardless of whether the beneficiary has eligible dependents. (2) Convert FECA benefits to 50 percent of applicable wages at time of injury--adjusted for inflation--once beneficiaries reach the full Social Security retirement age.