Washington, D.C. -- President Clinton has signed the Federal Erroneous Retirement Coverage Corrections Act (FERCCA) to solve a long-standing problem for federal employees who have been unintentionally enrolled in the wrong retirement plan.

"I am delighted with this legislation, which received bipartisan support, because it will bring fair and equitable relief to thousands of federal employees and their families, said U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director (OPM) Janice R. Lachance.

Most of the errors occurred in the mid-1980s when the federal government created the Federal Employees Retirement System for newly-hired employees, while leaving the older Civil Service Retirement System in effect for current employees. The two plans and a smaller, hybrid plan created at the same time cover more than 2.6 million employees, only a small fraction of which ended up in the wrong system. The new law will allow OPM to remedy these errors and ensure that employees who were placed in the wrong system for three years or more will not be harmed. In most cases, affected employees will have a choice and can decide which retirement plan will best meet their needs.

OPM has been hard at work preparing for quick implementation of the law, and we will issue regulations as quickly as possible, Lachance said. OPM will assure that affected employees are identified and fully counseled about the effect of the bill on them and the options they will have. In addition, special arrangements will be made to work with individuals and agencies to assist eligible employees who wish to retire immediately and to ensure that other employees will not be adversely impacted by the time needed to complete the governmentwide implementation.

OPM has an email list, open to anyone who wants to sign up and stay up to date about implementation of the FERCCA. Further information is available on the OPM website at http://www.opm.gov/benefits/correction/index.htm.

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.