Sponsors (3)
The bill extends DoD-style retirement coverage and clarifies inclusion for additional uniformed-service officers (benefiting NOAA and PHS personnel) but creates new pension liabilities and administrative complexity that could increase costs for taxpayers and shift fiscal burdens across generations.
NOAA and Public Health Service (PHS) commissioned officers will gain coverage under the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund, giving those uniformed-service members access to DoD-style retirement benefits.
Replacing 'armed forces' with 'uniformed services' and explicitly naming Space Force clarifies eligibility so all uniformed-service personnel (including Space Force and relevant civilian/uniformed groups) are included under the statute.
Requires the Board of Actuaries to calculate the NOAA/PHS unfunded liability and establish an amortization schedule by Jan 1, 2027, creating a defined plan and timeline for funding the newly-covered benefits.
Adding NOAA and PHS officers to the Military Retirement Fund creates a new unfunded liability that will likely raise federal retirement costs and could lead to higher contributions or budgetary pressures borne by taxpayers.
If the Board sets long amortization periods to fund past service, current taxpayers (including younger generations) may shoulder costs for benefits earned in prior years, shifting the fiscal burden across generations.
Expanding covered populations and contributors increases administrative complexity and could complicate interagency coordination for benefit payments and contribution determinations.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds NOAA and Public Health Service commissioned corps to the DoD Military Retirement Fund, broadens statutory coverage to 'uniformed services,' and requires an actuarial valuation and amortization schedule for prior liabilities.
Official title: To amend title 10, United States Code, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002, and the Public Health Service Act, to pay retired pay from the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund to retired members of the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and of the Public Health Service, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 11, 2026 by Jamie Ben Raskin · Last progress May 11, 2026
Amends federal retirement law to expand which personnel and agencies are covered by the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund by replacing narrower terms like “armed forces” and “Department of Defense and the Coast Guard” with “uniformed services,” and by explicitly adding the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and the U.S. Public Health Service commissioned corps. It directs the Board of Actuaries to calculate the present value of NOAA and PHS pre-existing (pre-enactment) liabilities by January 1, 2027, establish an amortization schedule, and require contributions to liquidate that unfunded liability under the Fund's contribution rules. The changes alter statutory definitions across several U.S. Code provisions, extend Fund payment/responsibility roles to additional federal departments, and create a required actuarial valuation and repayment plan for benefits earned before inclusion. The bill expands who is treated as covered service under the Military Retirement Fund and sets a timeline and mechanism for funding the added liability rather than leaving it as open-ended debt.