[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 4, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E979]]


            LEGISLATION AMENDING THE SPOUSAL PROTECTION ACT

                                 ______


                       HON. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 4, 1996

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation to 
amend the Spousal Protection Act so a former spouse's right to a 
Federal worker's pension is relinquished if the former spouse remarries 
before the age of 55.
  Current law allows a former spouse to receive a portion of the 
Federal worker's pension even if the former spouse remarries. On the 
other hand, a survivor annuity stops permanently if the former spouse 
remarries before age 55. It cannot be restored, even if the new 
marriage fails.
  A Federal worker whose spouse remarries could have a meager pension 
to live on. This occurs because the former spouse does not have to 
relinquish his/her right to the Federal worker's pension even if he/she 
remarries. The law should not be structured so one individual enjoys 
his/her golden years at the expense of another.
  This legislation will not take money from a former spouse who needs 
and deserves it; it will provide equity to Federal workers who may find 
themselves in a desperate financial situation in retirement because 
they are still paying a portion of their pension to a remarried former 
spouse. Current law leaves the retired Federal employee--and any new 
spouse they may have--with their pension diminished to protect someone 
who no longer requires such protection. In 1986, the Congress 
recognized the survivor annuity inequity caused by the 1984 Spousal 
Protection Act and voted to rescind the rights of a former spouse in 
regards to the survivor annuity in the event that the former spouse 
remarries before age 55. Nothing has been done to protect the 
employee's pension in the same circumstances.
  There is a precedent for this legislation. Former spouses of Foreign 
Service employees are not entitled to an annuity under 22 U.S.C. 4054 
if before the commencement of that annuity the former spouse remarries 
before becoming 60 years of age.
  In this period of Federal downsizing, this legislation would also 
affect the number of Federal workers taking early-outs or regular 
optional retirements. These Federal workers are more likely to continue 
working to receive their higher salaries and increase their pensions. 
Because of these workers staying in the Federal workforce, younger 
workers with lower salaries may find themselves more likely to be 
RIF'd.
  I have a constituent who is a Federal employee approaching retirement 
age. Although his former spouse has remarried a retired business 
executive with a generous pension, he will be forced to pay his former 
spouse a portion of his pension. As a result, this employee and his new 
spouse will need to extend their careers to make up the difference.
  Mr. Speaker, I support the Spousal Protection Act, but we need to 
rethink what the results are for retirees whose former spouses remarry, 
and that is what this legislation does.

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