Pension Issue for Part Time VA Nurses
May 12, 2001
Prior to 1986 VA Central Office made a management decision regarding retirement as an incentive to encourage part time nurses to work unpopular tours of duty: nights and weekends. This incentive prevented nursing shortages and aided in the recruitment and retention of RNs. Specifically, part time nurses were given credit for working 40 hours a week for retirement purposes, even if they worked less. Thus, if a registered nurse (RN) were hired to work three shifts a week and if these tours were unpopular shifts (as determined by VA management), the nurse would be credited with 40 hours of work for retirement calculations.
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of that year proposed that all Title 5 and Title 38 employees in the federal government work force be given full time credit towards retirement for all part time work before 1986. Title 38 employees only work in the VA, and are physicians, registered nurses, and dentists.
At the time the 1986 COBRA was being debated in Congress, the VA asked Congress to exclude all Title 38 employees from the provision of giving full time retirement credit for part time work. The VA made this request because many VA physicians worked part time for the VA and had substantial outside work, such as private practices or teaching. Congress granted the VA's request and retroactively excluded ALL Title 38 employees from this part time work equals full time retirement credit incentive (P.L. 99-509, Sec. 7003, 1986 COBRA.)
Currently pensions for VA RNs are prorated. They are covered by P.L. 96-330, Sec. 114, Veterans Administration Health-Care Amendments of 1980. Pensions for Title 5 part time employees have full credit for retirement for part time work before 1986.
VA registered nurses who worked part time before 1986, and were promised full time retirement credit for their work, should get what the VA promised. This would require amending the 1986 COBRA law.
Deborah McKown RNC
Acton MA