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631126 RETIREMENT BENEFITS TO SECRETARIES

GOVERNMENI

Storage

OF FEDERAL JUDGES

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SE -2- IITTEE ON RETIREMENT, INSURANCE,

AND HEALTH BENEFITS

cj

-

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON

< OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE

ilv USE OF REPRESENTATIVES

EIGHTY-NINTH CONGRESS sMY

FIRST SESSION

ON

H.R. 7710

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‘'7

A BILL TO AMEND THE CIVIL SERVICE RETIR T ACT

AUTHORIZE THE PAYMENT OF AN ANNUITY TO A

OF A JUSTICE OR JUDGE OF THE UNITED STATES I HE

SAME BASIS AS AN ANNUITY TO A CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYEE

OR FORMER CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYEE

JUNE 30, 1965

Printed for the use of the

Committee on Post Office and Civil Service

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

50-215 WASHINGTON: 1965
efrdpo

t'APr

COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE

TOM MURRAY,

JAMES H. MORRISON, Louisiana

THADDEUS J. DULSKI, New York

DAVID N. HENDERSON, North Carolina

ARNOLD OLSEN, Montana

MORRIS K. UDALL, Arizona

DOMINICK V. DANIELS, New Jersey

LINDLEY BECKWORTH, Texas

HARLEY 0. STAGGERS, West Virginia

ROBERT N. C. NIX, Pennsylvania

JOE R. POOL, Texas

WILLIAM J. GREEN, Pennsylvania

SPARK M. MATSUNAGA, Hawaii

PAUL J. KREBS, New Jersey

RAYM I LEVENGER, Michigan

JA MX v.: , New York

J• sIV. TUNNK•California

Tennessee, Chairman

ROBERT J. CORBETT, Pennsylvania

H. R. GROSS, Iowa

GLENN CUNNINGHAM, Nebraska

EDWARD J. DERWINSKI, Illinois

ROBERT F. ELLSWORTH, Kansas

ALBERT W. JOHNSON, Pennsylvania

JOHN H. BUCHANAN, Ia., Alabama

JAMES T. BROYHILL, North Carolina

CHARLES E. JOHNSON, Staff Director

B. BENTON BRAY, Associate Staff Director

JOHN H. MARTINY, Counsel

WILLIAM A. IRVINE, Assistant Staff Director

A

AUBCOMMITTEE ON RETIREMENT, INSURANCE, AND HEALTH BENEFITS

s "" DOMINICK V. DANIELS, New Jersey, Chairman

LINDLEY BECKWORTH, Texas GLENN CUNNINGHAM, Nebraska

WILLIAM J. GREEN, Pennsylvania H. R. GROSS, Iowa

SPARK M. MATSUNAGA, Hawaii JOHN H. BUCHANAN, JR., Alabama

RAYMOND F. CLEVENGER, Michigan

JAMES M. HANLEY, New York

Ex Officio Voting Members

TOM MURRAY, Tennessee ROBERT J. CORBETT, Pennsylvania

II
CONTENTS

Fag*

Statement of Hon. Alexander Holtzoff, U.S. district judge for the District

of Columbia 2

RETIREMENT BENEFITS TO SECRETARIES OF

FEDERAL JUDGES

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1965

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON RETIREMENT, INSURANCE,

AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE COMMITTEE

ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE,

Washington, D.C.

The subcommittee met at 10 a.m. in room 219, Cannon House

Office Building, Hon. Dominick V. Daniels (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Mr. DANIELS. The subcommittee will come to order.

The Subcommittee on Retirement, Insurance, and Health Benefits

is meeting this morning to consider H.R. 7710, a bill to amend the

Civil Service Retirement Act to authorize the payment of an annuity

to a secretary of a justice or judge of the United States on the same

basis as an annuity to a congressional employee or former congressional employee.

Since they hold their positions, normally, only while the judge

whom they serve is in office, the secretaries frequently are not assured

the same tenure as other employees of the judiciary. Their services

are usually terminated immediately or shortly after a judge dies or

otherwise vacates his office. The successor judge usually brings with

him his own personal secretary.

Accordingly, the position of a secretary to a justice or judge has

inherent in it the same uncertainty of tenure of service as that of

congressional positions.

The purpose of H.R. 7710 is to extend to such judicial employees

the same favorable annuity formula that is now applicable to congressional employees.

Without objection, H.R. 7710 will be inserted in the record at this

point.

(H.R. 7710 follows:)

[H.R. 7710, 89th Cong., 1st seas.]

A BILL To amend the Civil Service Retirement Act to authorize the payment of an annuity to a secretary

of a justice or judge of the United States on the same basis as an annuity to a congressional employee

or former congressional employee

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of

America in Congress assembled, That section 9(b) of the Civil Service Retirement

Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 2259(b)), is amended to read as follows:

"(b) The annuity of a congressional employee, former congressional employee,

or secretary to a justice or judge of the United States, retiring under this Act

shall be computed as provided in subsection (a), except that with respect to so

much of his service as a congressional employee, a secretary of a justice or judge

of the United States, and his military service, as does not exceed a total of fifteen

years, and with respect to any Member service, the annuity shall be computed

1
2 RETIREMENT BENEFITS TO SECRETARIES OF FEDERAL JUDGES

by multiplying 24 per centum of the average salary by the years of such service:

Provided, That the annuity shall not exceed 80 per centum of the average salary.

This subsection shall not apply unless the congressional employee, former congressional employee, or secretary of a justice or judge of the United States, (1)

has had at least five years' service as a congressional employee, secretary of a

justice or judge of the United States, or Member, or any combination of such

service, and (2) has had deductions withheld from his salary or made deposit

covering his last five years of civilian service: Provided further, That the annuity

of a congressional employee or secretary of a justice or judge of the United States

retiring under section 7 shall be at least (1) 40 per centum of the average salary or

(2) the sum obtained under this subsection after increasing his service as a con -

gressional employee or a secretary of a justice or judge of the United States by

the period elapsing between the date of separation and the date he attains the age

of sixty years, whichever is the lesser, but this provision shall not increase the

annuity of any survivor."

SEC. 2. The provisions under the heading "Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund" in title I of the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1959 (72

Stat. 1064; Public Law 85-844), shall not apply with respect to benefits resulting

from the enactment of this Act.

Mr. DANIELS. Our first witness this morning is the Honorable

Alexander Holtzoff, U.S. district judge for the District of Columbia.

Judge, will you step forward to the witness table and be seated. We

are indeed honored by the presence of such a distinguished personage

as you to appear here this morning to testify in behalf of this legislation.

STATEMENT OF HON. ALEXANDER HOLTZOFF, U.S. DISTRICT

JUDGE FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Judge HOLTZOFF. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate your

courtesy and the privilege of appearing before this subcommittee.

I am going to be very brief because I realize the pressure on your

time. I think I have some idea of it anyway. Moreover, the bill

is very simple and of very limited scope. It affects only about 400

persons. It would provide that the retirement annuity of a secretary

to a Federal judge should be computed on the same basis as the

retirement annuity of a legislative employee. This base, as you well

know, of course, is more liberal to the employee than the base upon

which the annuity of other Government employees of the executive

branch and of the judicial branch are computed.

My understanding is that the reason why a more liberal compensation is accorded in calculating the retirement annuity of a legislative

employee is that the legislative employee does not have the same

permanency of tenure that civil service employees have because the

legislative employee is very much dependent upon the sponsorship

of a particular Member, and if the particular Member goes out, the

employee's tenure is gone unless someone else sponsors him.

The same applies to secretaries of Federal judges. It does not

apply to the clerks of the court because they are permanent no matter

who the judge is. But the secretary of a Federal judge is dependent

for her tenure upon the tenure of the judge for whom she works and

by whom she is appointed. If the judge dies or retires or resigns, her

job is gone because the judge's successor will appoint someone else,

naturally. So we submit that the same principle, the same theory

which supports a more liberal retirement annuity system for legislative

employees, is equally applicable to secretaries of the Federal judges.

As I said at the opening of my remarks, this is only a group of about

400 individuals, so the scope is a very narrow one. It includes this

very small group.
RETIREMENT BENEFITS TO SECRETARIES OF FEDERAL JUDGES 8

The Judicial Conference of the United States has approved this

legislation, and we earnestly hope that it will receive favorable action

by the Congress.

I do not think there is anything more. In the prepared statement

which I am filing we have shown some examples by mathematical

calculation as to the effects of the bill on actual annuities of judges'

secretaries. I do not want to bore you by going through the figures

here, but it might make a difference of almost a thousand dollars to

some secretaries in their annuities, some less, some possibly more, depending on the length of service. To them it is a very substantial

matter

'

and we hope very strongly it will receive favorable action.

Mr. DANIELS. Judge, this bill would apply to the nine Justices of

the U.S. Supreme Court as well as the circuit court judges and all of

the judges of the U.S. district court?

Judge HOLTZOFF. Yes; it is limited to that small group that you

mention. ,

Mr. DANIELS. And all told, there are approximately 400.7aFft061,

„.. taries involved?

Judge HOLTZOFF. Yes.

Mr. DANIELS. Judge Holtzoff, are you appearing here as the,

official witness for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts?

Judge HOLTZOFF. Yes; I am appearing officially, not in my per..7 sonal capacity. I was designated by the chief judge 'of our court ,A

appear, and the Judicial Conference of the United States, al t stetoer

before, has approved this legislation. So I am not appoaring-iif cny

personal capacity, but I personally also am strongly in favor of the

bill.

Mr. DANIELS. This legislation is a recommendation of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts?

Judge HOLTZOFF. Yes; it is recommended by the Administrative

Office of the Judicial Conference. As you know, the Judicial Conference of the United States consists of the Chief Justice of the United

States, the 11 chief judges of the circuits, as well as representatives of

the district courts.

Mr. DANIELS. Thank you.

Mr. Hanley, do you have any questions?

Mr. HANLEY. Judge, can you tell us what the cost of this bill is?

Judge HOLTZOFF. I am not sure, but I figure this way: this affects

about 400 people, and the difference in everyone's annuity would be

about $1,000 or less, so there is between $30,000 or $40,000 probably

allowed.

Mr. HANLEY. $30,000 or $40,000?

Judge HOLTZOFF. I think so. The Administrative Office has

computed it at about $30,000.

Mr. HANLEY. Thank you. I have no further questions.

Judge HOLTZOFF. Of course, you realize the retirement system is a

contributory system, every member in the system makes a contribution.

Mr. HANLEY. Yes; I am aware of this. Thank you.

Mr. DANIELS. The Chair will ask the U.S. Civil Service Commissioner for a report which will also include cost estimates on this

legislation

I would like to submit for the record a statement of the judge who

just testified with regard to this legislation. Without objection, it

will be included in the record.
7

4 RETIREMENT BENEFITS TO SECRETARIES OF FEDERAL JUDGES

• '

(Judge Holtzoff's prepared statement follows)

PREPARED STATEMENT OF ALEXANDER HOLTZOFF, U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

The purpose of H.R. 7710 is to extend to secretaries to Federal judges the

benefit of the same retirement annuities as are accorded to employees of the legislative branch of the Government. The latter enjoy a more liberal retirement

system in that their retirement annuities accumulate much more rapidly and are

larger than those of other Government employees serving the same length of time.

Secretaries to Federal judges, unlike other supporting personnel of the courts,

have no certainty of tenure. Each is appointed by the judge for whom she works,

and her length of service is entirely dependent on his tenure. In this respect,

they are in the same position as legislative employees, who are also dependent

solely on the individual Member of Congress who secures their appointment.

The Congress has taken this uncertainty of tenure into consideration and for

this reason has bestowed upon its employees a much more liberal retirement plan

than the judicial employees enjoy. The method of computing retirement pay

for (a) a judicial employee; and (b) a legislative employee, at the same salary, for

the •• • • h of service, is demonstrated by a computation attached thereto.

1111 A, • H.R. 7710, I should like to point out that this legislation will

if r 11 group of employees, inasmuch as there are only 395 authorized

ederal judge' ,f, s-308 district judges (including the territorial judges, Guam,

the Canal Zon• Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands); 78 circuit judges, and 9

Supre Court fees. The number of persons to be covered by the act would

be in t e neichborl d of 400.

If this Arm approved by the committee and passed by the Congress, it would

ot mean an incr se of the budget for the courts, although it would add immeasurly to the co • ;rt and security of the judges' secretaries.

lei has been approved by the Judicial Conference of the United

of Proceedings, September 19-20, 1962, page 39.

EXAMPLE

The following example illustrates the difference in the manner of computing

the retirement annuity of legislative employees and judicial employees.

In all cases, the law provides that the basis for the computation shall be the

average annual salary received by the employee for the most favorable 5-year

period from her standpoint. The retirement annuity is then arrived at by taking

specified percentages of this average salary and multiplying it by the number

of years of the employee's service.

In the example here adduced, $8,000 is taken as a typical average 5-year salary,

since $7,900 is the entrance salary of grade 10, the highest grade to which a

judge's secretary may be promoted. The example takes 20 years' service as a

sample.

(a) Judicial employee, 5 U.S.C. 2259(a):

The law provides for 14 percent of the average salary for the

1st 5 years of service ($8,000 X 0.015= $120 X 5 years)___ $600. 00

The law provides for 1% percent of the average salary for the

next 5 years of service ($8,000 X 0.0175= $140 X 5 years)_ 700. 00

The law provides for 2 percent of the average salary for the

next 10 years of service ($8,000 X 0.02 percent= $160 X 10

years) 1, 600. 00

Total 2, 900. 00

(b) Legislative employee, 5 U.S.C. 2259(b):

The law provides for *4 percent for each of the 1st 15 years of

service ($8,000 X 0.0*4 percent= $200 X 15) 3, 000. 00

The law provides for 2 percent for each of the 5 succeeding years

of service ($8,000 X 0.02 percent=$160 X 5 years) 800. po

Total 3, 800. 00

Mr. DANIELS. That being all the witnesses, the subcommittee

stands adjourned.

(Whereupon, at 10:30 a.m., the subcommittee adjourned, subject

to the call of the Chair.)