US Federal Senate Bill SB4290

US Federal 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 4/14/26
• Refer: 4/14/26

Caption

Retirement Annuity Supplement Clarity Act

Summary

The Retirement Annuity Supplement Clarity Act would amend federal retirement law to clarify how a Civil Service Retirement annuity supplement is treated when a court decree, court order, or similar agreement divides a federal employee’s annuity. Under the bill, if a court order expressly divides the annuity, the annuity supplement would be included in that division unless the order expressly excludes it. The measure also makes a technical conforming change to remove outdated language in the annuity supplement statute. The bill applies prospectively to annuity supplement payments beginning on or after enactment, and it also creates a retroactive remedy for certain retirees whose annuity supplements were recomputed by the Office of Personnel Management between June 30, 2016, and enactment. For those covered annuitants, OPM would make a one-time payment from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund equal to amounts previously deducted because the supplement had been included in a court-ordered division. The bill further waives repayment of certain overpayments made before enactment that resulted from excluding the supplement in the division calculation.

Impact

The bill would amend title 5 of the U.S. Code, specifically sections 8467 and 8421, to resolve ambiguity in how annuity supplements are handled in divorce-related or similar court-ordered divisions of federal retirement benefits. It would affect federal retirees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System and the Office of Personnel Management’s administration of annuity computations, including both future cases and a limited set of past cases. The legislation also shifts financial consequences by authorizing one-time payments from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund and waiving certain repayment obligations.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and available context, the measure appears to be a targeted technical correction rather than a controversial policy change. The bipartisan sponsorship by Senators Lankford and Fetterman suggests an intent to fix an administrative or legal ambiguity affecting retirees and former spouses. No committee debate or recorded votes are available in the provided materials, so there is no evidence of opposition or broad controversy in the available record.

Contention

The main issue addressed by the bill is whether an annuity supplement should be included in a court-ordered division of a federal annuity when the order is silent or ambiguous. The bill resolves that ambiguity in favor of inclusion unless the order expressly excludes the supplement, which could matter to both retirees and former spouses receiving a share of retirement benefits. The retroactive payment and waiver provisions may also be a point of concern because they require OPM to make corrective payments and forgive certain overpayments, but no specific objections or competing positions are documented in the provided context.