Employees and retirees live in the same environments and are subject to the same increases in the cost of living, but the general, annual raise they get is different. The same is true of FERS and CSRS retirees – same cost increases but different raises. With this in mind, below is data for three hypothetical persons.
In December of 1999 each had the same annual compensation: $30,000. The active employee was in step 10 of his grade; for comparability purposes he stayed in the same geographical area and he was not promoted, for the entire time since then. The retirees, too, were receiving $30,000 per annum, with one being FERS and the other CSRS.
Retiree Increase (%) | Increased Compensation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Employee Increase (%) | FERS | CSRS | Employee | FERS Ret. | CSRS Ret. |
2000 | 3.8 | 2.0 | 2.5 | $31,140 | $30,600 | $30,750 |
2001 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 3.5 | $31,981 | $31,365 | $31,826 |
2002 | 4.6 | 2.0 | 2.6 | $33,452 | $31,992 | $32,653 |
2003 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 1.4 | $34,489 | $32,440 | $33,110 |
2004 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 2.1 | $35,420 | $33,089 | $33,805 |
2005 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.7 | $36,305 | $33,751 | $34,718 |
2006 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 4.1 | $37,067 | $34,797 | $36,141 |
2007 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 3.3 | $37,697 | $35,597 | $37,334 |
2008 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.3 | $38,639 | $36,309 | $38,193 |
2009 | 2.9 | 4.8 | 5.8 | $39,760 | $38,052 | $40,408 |
2010 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | $40,356 | $38,052 | $40,408 |
2011 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | $40,356 | $38,052 | $40,408 |
2012 | 0.0 | 2.6 | 3.6 | $40,356 | $39,041 | $41,862 |
Cumulative percent increase | 34.52 | 30.13 | 39.54 |
Note: if the FERS retiree had been less than 62 at retirement, he would have received less. FERS retirees under 62 do not receive COLA increases.