Imagine starting your federal career in a temporary appointment. You worked beside permanent employees, handled the same responsibilities, and built valuable experience. A few years later, you converted to a career position and stayed for decades.
Then, while preparing for retirement, you discover those early years may not count toward your FERS service credit.
That is the gap targeted by the Federal Retirement Fairness Act (H.R. 1522). The bill would create a way for certain temporary federal service performed after 1988 to count toward FERS retirement eligibility and annuity calculations after the employee makes a deposit.
But there is an important distinction: H.R. 1522 is not law. As of September 2026, it remains pending in committee. Nothing changes for federal employees unless and until Congress passes the bill and it is signed into law.
What is the Federal Retirement Fairness Act?
The Federal Retirement Fairness Act is a longstanding proposal to amend Section 8411(3) of Title 5, United States Code.
H.R. 1522 was introduced on February 24, 2025, by Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA-11). It received bipartisan support from original cosponsors, including Reps. David Valadao (R-CA), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), and Don Bacon (R-NE). The bill has roughly 150 Democratic and Republican cosponsors.
The proposal was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. As of September 2026:
- It remains pending in committee.
- No House or Senate floor vote has been recorded.
- It has not passed either chamber.
- It has not been signed into law.
- No federal employee can currently claim post-1988 temporary service under H.R. 1522.
If you would like to discuss how your temporary or term service fits into your broader retirement plan, you can schedule a federal benefits review.
The temporary federal service and FERS gap
Under FERS, retirement deductions are generally withheld from the pay of covered career and career-conditional employees. Those deductions help fund the employee’s future retirement benefit.
Many temporary employees, however, did not have FERS retirement deductions withheld from their pay. This is known as nondeduction service.
The issue is not necessarily that the work was unimportant. A temporary employee may have performed the same duties as a permanent employee, worked the same schedule, and later continued a long federal career. The difference was the appointment type and whether retirement contributions were taken from the paycheck.
Under current rules, nondeduction civilian service is generally creditable under FERS only if it was performed before 1989, subject to specific exceptions.
That means an employee who worked temporarily in 1987 may have an existing path to make a deposit, while someone who performed a similar temporary appointment in 1992 may not.
What would H.R. 1522 change?
The bill would remove the phrase limiting creditable nondeduction service to service “performed before January 1, 1989.”
In plain English, that change would allow certain civilian temporary service performed after December 31, 1988 to become creditable under FERS if the employee paid the required deposit.
Under the proposal, covered individuals would include:
- Federal employees defined under 5 U.S.C. § 8401(11).
- Temporary employees of the United States Postal Service.
- Members of Congress defined under 5 U.S.C. § 8401(20).
- Eligible individuals employed on or after the date of enactment.
The bill would also require the Office of Personnel Management to notify agency Chief Human Capital Officers and other appropriate officials. OPM would issue regulations explaining how eligible employees could make deposits and receive credit.
Those procedures do not exist under H.R. 1522 today. They would only be created if the bill becomes law and OPM implements it.
Who does the current rule help, and who does it leave out?
Current FERS rules already recognize certain periods of nondeduction service, particularly temporary federal service performed before January 1, 1989, when the employee makes a deposit.
There are also limited exceptions for certain categories of service. OPM’s current guidance lists examples involving specific foreign service, Peace Corps or VISTA service, certain congressional employees, and other narrowly defined situations.
But for many federal employees, the general rule is straightforward:
> Post-1988 temporary service usually cannot be purchased under current FERS rules.
That is the group H.R. 1522 would potentially reach.
This could be especially relevant to:
- USPS temporary employees.
- Employees who began as holiday, casual, term, or other temporary workers.
- VA, DOD, DOL, SSA, and other agency employees who later converted to career status.
- Long-service employees who assumed all federal service would automatically count toward retirement.
The appointment records matter. A job title or personal memory is not enough to establish creditable service.
Why additional service credit could matter financially
If enacted and properly documented, added service credit could affect both federal retirement eligibility and the FERS annuity calculation.
Generally, a FERS annuity is based on:
High-3 average pay × years of creditable service × the applicable FERS multiplier
For many retirees, the standard multiplier is 1%. A 1.1% multiplier may apply in certain cases when an employee retires at age 62 or later with at least 20 years of service.
Creditable temporary service could potentially help in several ways:
Increasing the annuity calculation
If an employee adds qualifying service, the number of years in the calculation could increase. That could produce a larger gross annuity, depending on the employee’s High-3 salary, multiplier, retirement date, and other rules.
This is not a promise of a specific dollar amount. The actual result would depend on the employee’s verified service history and the final rules issued if the bill passes.
Helping reach a vesting requirement
FERS employees generally need at least five years of creditable civilian service to qualify for a deferred retirement benefit.
For someone with a fragmented federal career, a few years of temporary service could be significant. However, whether particular temporary appointments would count would need to be determined under the enacted law and OPM regulations.
Reaching a retirement milestone
Additional service could also matter for someone approaching milestones such as:
- 30 years of service.
- Minimum Retirement Age plus 30 years.
- Other age-and-service combinations.
- Certain special-category thresholds.
Law enforcement officers, firefighters, and air traffic controllers have separate retirement rules. Qualifying temporary service would not automatically receive special-category treatment simply because the employee later worked in a covered position. The type of service and applicable eligibility rules would have to be verified.
What would a FERS deposit involve?
A deposit is generally a payment for a period of employment during which retirement deductions were not withheld.
If H.R. 1522 becomes law, an eligible employee would likely need to pay a deposit for qualifying post-1988 temporary service. The bill’s exact procedures could change through amendments or regulations.
In general, the deposit process would involve:
- Verifying the service. The agency or OPM would need documentation showing the appointment dates, type of service, and pay.
- Calculating the amount. The amount would be based on pay during the temporary service and the contribution rate established under the applicable rules.
- Accounting for interest. Interest may apply depending on the timing and the final implementation rules.
- Submitting payment. Payment would generally be made to the employing agency or OPM, depending on the employee’s situation.
- Reviewing the retirement impact. The employee would compare the cost today with the potential increase in future benefits.
Existing FERS deposits are generally paid with after-tax money. The resulting retirement annuity is generally taxable, subject to the employee’s circumstances and applicable tax rules.
Do not estimate the amount from memory. A few years of temporary work from decades ago can involve different pay rates, breaks in service, part-time schedules, and missing records. Request an official calculation before making any decision.
For help organizing your service history and retirement questions, you can book a benefits review.
A deposit would not automatically be worth it for everyone
Buying additional service credit can sound attractive, but the decision involves a trade-off: pay money now for the possibility of receiving a larger annuity later.
The right answer may depend on:
- Your age and expected retirement date.
- Your health and life expectancy.
- Whether you expect to complete a full federal career.
- The size of the deposit.
- Whether the service helps you cross an important eligibility threshold.
- Your High-3 salary and projected FERS benefit.
- Whether paying the deposit would reduce emergency savings or other retirement assets.
- Whether survivor benefits or other retirement elections affect the calculation.
For one employee, a deposit might help unlock eligibility. For another, it might increase the annuity but take many years to recover the upfront cost.
The decision should be based on an official service record and a personalized comparison, not on headlines about the bill.
What can you do now while the bill is pending?
Because H.R. 1522 is not law, employees cannot currently make the proposed post-1988 temporary-service deposit under this bill.
You can still prepare:
- Request your Official Personnel Folder and full service history.
- Review SF-50s and other personnel records for temporary, term, casual, or holiday appointments.
- List every agency and location where you worked, including USPS facilities and short-term assignments.
- Check whether you already have unfunded or nondeduction service that may be eligible under current rules.
- Review existing deposit options, such as military service deposits available under current rules.
- Keep copies of appointment letters, pay records, SF-50s, and agency correspondence.
- Ask your agency benefits office or OPM about current service-credit rules.
What this could mean for USPS employees
USPS employees are specifically relevant because the bill would include temporary employees of the United States Postal Service within its proposed coverage.
Many postal careers begin with noncareer, casual, holiday, or temporary work before an employee converts to a career appointment. That early work may feel like the beginning of one continuous career, even when the retirement system treats the appointments differently.
If you worked temporary postal assignments before becoming a career employee, gather the records now. H.R. 1522 may be worth watching, but it is not a current benefit and should not be included in your retirement projections today.
The legislative path: worth watching, not banking on
A committee referral is an early step. It does not mean a bill is close to becoming law.
For H.R. 1522 to take effect, it would generally need to:
- Advance out of committee.
- Pass the House.
- Pass the Senate in identical form.
- Be signed by the President.
- Be implemented through OPM regulations and agency procedures.
Versions of the Federal Retirement Fairness Act have been introduced repeatedly over multiple Congresses, including efforts led by former Rep. Derek Kilmer. Those versions have consistently failed to advance out of committee.
That history does not determine what will happen next, but it is important context. The proposal may be meaningful to many employees, yet there is no guarantee it will become law.
How to verify the current status and rules
For the latest legislative information, check the official Congress.gov page for H.R. 1522, including its actions, cosponsors, and bill text.
For current rules, not proposed rules, review OPM’s guidance on FERS creditable service. OPM explains existing deposits, nondeduction service, military service credit, and the process for requesting a current service-credit payment.
As of September 2026, the bottom line is clear: H.R. 1522 remains pending and has not changed FERS. Nothing changes unless and until Congress passes the bill and it is signed into law.
This article is for educational purposes only. It is not legal, tax, or individualized benefits advice. The bill’s terms could change through amendments, and any final law would require OPM implementation. Verify current deposit and service-credit rules with OPM or your employing agency before making a retirement decision.
If you want help reviewing your federal service history and broader retirement picture, request an appointment with Federal Benefits Service.
