Federal Erroneous Retirement Coverage Corrections Act (FERCCA)

In January 2006, OPM reclaimed the duty of processing FERCCA election packages. At that time, there were 3760 left to be processed. Since that time we have mailed out over 2900 election packages, with approximately 860 remaining. The following table outlines the order of events and responsible parties for each step in the processing of a FERCCA case:

Action	Responsibility
(1) Process and mail election package	OPM
(2) Offer and provide counseling to aid employee in making an election decision	OPM
(3) Return form with retirement plan election	Employee
(4) Provide agency with employee's election and instructions on retirement plan correction (including any TSP implications)	OPM
(5) Make retirement plan corrections and updates files (including any make-up contribution schedules)	Agency

PLEASE NOTE: The process outlined above applies only to those in the OPM FERCCA database as of 8/1/2004. The agency is responsible for processing any cases identified as being affected under FERCCA after 8/1/2004.

The FERCCA Hotline, 888-689-3233, will continue to be available to answer any questions you may have regarding your FERCCA case. The hours of operation are Monday - Friday, 9 am - 5 pm EST.

FERCCA Legislation

The Federal Erroneous Retirement Coverage Corrections Act (FERCCA) legislation was signed in September 2000. It was designed to provide relief to Federal civilian employees who were placed in the wrong retirement system for at least 3 years of service after December 31, 1986.

FERCCA will give many employees and annuitants placed in the wrong retirement system an opportunity to choose between the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and the offset provisions of the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). FERCCA may also provide one or more of the following:

• Reimbursement for certain out-of-pocket expenses paid as a result of a coverage error;
• Ability to benefit from certain changes in the rules about how some Government service counts toward retirement; and
• Make-up contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan and receipt of lost earnings on those contributions.

The Senate approved H.R. 4040, the "Long-Term Care Security Act" and the "Federal Erroneous Retirement Coverage Corrections Act (FERCCA)", on July 25, 2000 and the House passed it on July 27, 2000. The President signed it on September 19, 2000

This legislation, which received bipartisan support, will bring fair and equitable relief to Federal employees and their families. It also required the Office of Personnel Management to issue regulations no later than 6-months after enactment. Any time lag between enactment and full implementation will not adversely affect the choices available.