Evening star., 1926-02-16
WILL FRAME NEW
RETIREMENT BILL
House Subcommittee Named
TO Expedite Civil Serv-
ice Measure.

LEGISLATION to liberalize the civil
service retirement act and to assure
Justice to the veteran Federal EN-
ployes was expedited today by the ap-
Sointment of a subcommittee to draft
q new retirement bill.
Representative Lehlbach, Repub-
lcan, Of New Jersey, chairman of the
civil service committee, is also chaif!
man of the subcommittee The other
members are Representatives Gibson
of Vermont. Hudson of Michigan. def
fers of Alabama and Woodrum OF Nir-
ginia.
This subcommittee is to go care
fully through all of the retirement
bills now pending before the commit
Tee, and on which hearings have been
held. and embody in a new hlll tne
various provisions meeting with It's
approval. While this is being done by
the subcommittee. cost estimates are
being prepared by actuaries at the re-
quest of Mr.. Lehlbach.
About Two Weeks Work.
In about two weeks. Mr.. Lehlbach
anticipates. this subcommittee VIII
have its bill ready to report TO the
whole committee and the estimate OF
cost will then be ready AS basis FOR
the committee report.
Members of the Civil Service Com
mittee said they are very optimistic
of getting favorable action on the re
tirement bill in the House next
month.
Suhcommittees also were appointed
on other mea SureS pending before the
Civil Service committee. Representa-
tive Smith of Idaho is chairman of
the subcommittee on the Regg bill set
ting e new per diem travel allowance
tot ri n
of a subcommittee on the measure
proposing 10 put first, second and
third class postmasterS under the
Civil Service provisions.
Are Computing Costs.
The Senate and House suhcommit-
tees named to draft a more liberal re-
tirement law for civil service EN-
ployes held a joint meeting at the
Capitol yesterday afternoon To discuss
with aCtuarieS the cost of various
plans that have been suggested. No
definite action was taken, the object
of the meeting being merely To give
the statiSticians some idea of the diff
ferent rates the committees have in
mind, so that they may prepare esti-
mates of cost.
1t probably will take the actuarieS
several weeks TO compile this data
after which the committees will meet
gain to decide on a nea sure that
Congress will be asked to enact at
this session.
1t was suggested to George B. Buck.
one of the dCtuaries. at yesterdays
meeting that he prepare figures as to
the cost of a retirement law, using
81 500 as a maximum salary for pur-
poses of computation and multiplying
the average salary for the last 10 years
of service by the number of years Of
service. The statistics to be prepared
also Will be based on dividing the re-
suit of. the multiplication by 45 and
by so.
On the question of optional retire
ment after 80 years of service it was
suggested that the actuary prepare es-
Inmates of cost on the basis of a So
year-old age limit for those employees
who are entitled to retire now at the
ages of so and 81 years. and 60-year
limit on optional retirement for those
who are retired now at 10 years. All
of these estimates will be tentative
and merely for the guidance of the
committees in their deliberations and
do not indicate that any decisions
have been reached on the exact time
of the retirement legislation.