Federal Employees: Pay and Pension Increases Since 1969

Abstract

[From Summary] Pay increases for current federal employees and cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for retired federal employees often differ because they are based on changes in different economic variables. Increases in pay for civilian federal workers are indexed to wage and salary increases in the private-sector, as measured by the Employment Cost Index (ECI), whereas federal retirement and disability benefits are indexed to price increases as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Both the ECI and the CPI are calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.