Legislation To Amend the Comptroller General's Retirement System

H.R. 12196 would provide for cost-of-living adjustments to a retired Comptroller General's annuity by a formula identical to that provided for annuitants under the civil service retirement system. In 1953, a separate retirement system was enacted for the Comptroller General. The office was considered similar in character, tenure, and independence to the office of a Federal judge. While both the Comptroller General and a Federal judge retire at full salary, a retired judge's annuity is adjusted by the same increase and at the same time that an active judge's salary is increased. Under existing law, a retired Comptroller General receives no adjustment. In 1976, the program for providing annuities to survivors of Federal judges was updated, including the authorization of a cost-of-living adjustment. No adjustment of any kind in a Comptroller General's survivor's annuity is now authorized. The proposed legislation would authorize a cost-of-living adjustment for the Comptroller General's survivors. Like Federal judges, he would be required to contribute 4.5 percent of his annual salary and retirement pay for that purpose. The legislation would also make other amendments to the Comptroller General survivorship law similar to those that judges received under the 1976 amendment to the survivorship law.