Memorandum Establishing a Cabinet Committee on Federal Staff Retirement Systems.

[ Released February 6, 1965. Dated February 1, 1965 ]

Memorandum for the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Postmaster General, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission:

The Federal Government pays an important part of the compensation of its employees in the form of benefits under staff retirement plans. Such plans are provided for civilian employees of the executive departments and agencies, and for members of the uniformed services. The patterns and amounts of these payments must be effective for their purpose. The payments must be properly related to the personal service upon which they are based, and to similar retirement benefit programs elsewhere in the economy.

The retirement policies of the Federal Government, as employer, and the programs and methods by which these policies are made effective were last examined in the reports of the Committee on Retirement Policy made in 1954. Since then numerous adjustments have been made in these Federal programs.

In order to establish up-to-date guides for use in the executive branch in considering proposed changes and further improvements in retirement plans, I request that the whole structure of our retirement policies be reviewed as to objectives, coverage of both civilian and uniformed personnel, benefit patterns, financial soundness, and overall consistency. I also request that survivor benefits available under the various retirement plans be examined in relationship to similar survivor benefits provided under social security, Government life insurance, and other disability, death, and survivorship programs.

Accordingly, I appoint you to serve on a temporary Cabinet Committee on Federal Staff Retirement Systems under the chairmanship of the Director of the Bureau of the Budget. The Committee is authorized to conduct such studies as it deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this memorandum. The Committee should submit its final report to me by December 1, 1965, and include in the report recommendations for any adjustments which the Committee deems necessary to make the retirement systems fully effective and more equitable.

Each member of the Committee will designate an alternate to represent him when he is unable to attend Committee meetings. Members will furnish such assistance to the Committee as may be required in conformity with the provisions of section 14 of the Act of May 3, 1945 (59 Stat. 134, 31 USC 691). Such assistance may include detailing of employees to the Committee, one of whom may be designated by the Chairman to serve as its executive secretary and staff director, to perform such functions as the Committee may assign. The Bureau of the Budget and the Civil Service Commission will provide administrative services to the Committee.

The Committee may request information from the executive departments and agencies pertaining to its work, and may invite the head of any Federal agency to participate in the Committee's meetings when matters of special interest to such agency are to be considered.

To the extent it deems appropriate, the Committee should consult with representatives of employee organizations and obtain advice from technical experts on retirement matters both within and outside the Federal Government. In arriving at its conclusions, the Committee should take account of the views of all who have an interest in the study and the competence to make a contribution to it.

This memorandum will be published in the Federal Register.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON