Border officers get retirement benefits boost

A measure that took effect on Sunday will grant more than 18,000 Customs and Border Protection officers enhanced retirement benefits.

The provision, passed by Congress late last year as part of a catchall spending bill, gives CBP officers law enforcement status, increasing their pension benefits and allowing them to retire earlier.

Federal employees classified as law enforcement officers can retire at age 50 after 20 years of service or at any age after 25 years of service, whereas other federal employees must put in 30 or more years of service and be at least 55 years old when they retire.

There is one caveat; the enhanced benefits are not retroactive. This means the new retirement eligibility criteria will apply only to officers hired after July 6. Other officers will still begin to receive the pension boost, however, and that is expected to translate to thousands of dollars in additional benefits annually when compounded.

The Bush administration opposes granting law enforcement status to CBP officers, and in his fiscal 2009 budget request, the president sought to repeal the program. The administration claims that CBP officers do not meet the definition of law enforcement officers and therefore should not qualify for the early retirement option.

But the House Appropriations Committee rejected Bush's proposal and in late June approved $217 million to continue the retirement program for CBP officers in fiscal 2009. The bill also provides funding for an additional 100 CBP agriculture specialists and 734 more CBP officers -- significantly more than the 539 proposed by President Bush.

In January, CBP Assistant Commissioner Robert Hosenfeld praised Congress' passage of the retirement program, noting that the enhanced benefits "will aid CBP's recruitment and retention of the best and brightest officers and build a vigorous workforce for the future."

The National Treasury Employees Union, which has led a years-long fight to secure enhanced benefits for CBP officers, praised the launch of the new retirement program, noting that the benefits are "long-delayed and unfairly denied."

"It has taken a long time, but it was the right thing to do from the beginning," NTEU President Colleen Kelley said. "These employees put their lives at risk for the rest of us every day. LEO status and benefits are well-deserved recognition for their efforts."