FLEOA Wins Fight to Exempt Federal Officers From IRS 10% Penalty

Today, the Senate passed H.R. 2146 which will allow federal public safety officers to access their Thrift Savings Plan at age 50 without incurring the IRS 10% penalty. This puts federal officers on par with their state and local counterparts who may access their defined benefit plans, without penalty, at age 50. FLEOA submitted the draft proposal for this legislation to Congressman Reichert during the prior Congressional session, and the Congressman took the lead in reintroducing it this year.

"This bill was originally introduced at FLEOA's request, and we greatly appreciate Congressman Reichert and Senator Toomey's leadership in seeing it through," said Jon Adler, President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association. "We are pleased that our members and other federal public safety officers will have the ability to access these funds when necessary without a harsh IRS penalty."

The exemption from the IRS 10% penalty was first predicated on local and state law enforcement officers being eligible to retire at age 50 with a minimum of 20 years of service. Federal public safety officers have the same retirement eligibility and are now rightfully exempt from the penalty if they choose to access their savings at age 50.

"FLEOA has long supported this update to legislation to address a fundamental unfairness in the US tax code. When Congress passed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), it rightly included provisions to remove the 10% penalty for state and local public safety personnel. This addition will extend this option to the brave men and women who fill the ranks of federal law enforcement agencies, firefighters, and others who sacrifice themselves each and every day in carrying out their sworn duty to protect and serve their fellow citizens."

The bill will now head to the desk of the President to be signed into law.

About FLEOA

The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association ( www.fleoa.org ) is the largest nonprofit, nonpartisan professional association that exclusively represents over 28,000 active and retired federal law enforcement officers from over 65 Agencies.