H.R. 491: Equal COLA Act
Sponsor
Gerald Connolly
Democrat · VA-11
FERS retirees should get the full inflation raise
Why it matters
When inflation runs above 2%, most FERS retirees get a smaller cost-of-living raise than CSRS retirees receive on the same year's inflation, often a full percentage point less. H.R. 491 would give FERS pensions the full increase every year, the same measure CSRS retirees already get.
Federal retirees are split across two pension systems. The older Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) covers most people hired before 1984. The Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) covers nearly everyone hired since, which makes it the system for most of today's federal workforce and a growing share of retirees.
The two systems handle inflation differently. CSRS pensions rise by the full measured increase in consumer prices each year. FERS pensions get the full increase only when inflation is 2% or less. Between 2% and 3%, the FERS raise is capped at 2%. Above 3%, it is inflation minus one percentage point.
The gap is easy to put in dollars. Take a $30,000 FERS pension in a year with 3.2% inflation: a CSRS-style raise adds $960, while the current FERS formula adds $660. That $300 difference carries into every later year, because each future raise builds on a smaller base.
H.R. 491, the Equal COLA Act, would give FERS pensions the full annual inflation increase — the same raise CSRS retirees get. It rewrites the FERS formula to match the full year-over-year change in the price index, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent, effective December 1 each year.
The change covers people already retired, people who retire later, and survivors drawing FERS annuities. It applies only to raises made after the bill becomes law; past COLAs would not be recalculated.
One existing rule stays in place. The bill leaves the rest of the FERS COLA law untouched, including the rule that most regular FERS retirees do not receive COLAs until age 62. Disability retirees, survivors, and special-category retirees such as law enforcement officers and firefighters follow separate timing rules that the bill does not change.
Bill Progress
Latest Action · Sep 16, 2025
ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Walkinshaw asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 491, a bill originally introduced by Representative Connolly, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.
H.R. 491 Bill Summary
What H.R. 491 actually does.
Your FERS raise matches inflation in full
The annual FERS cost-of-living adjustment would equal the full year-over-year change in the price index, rounded to the nearest 0.1%, replacing the formula that caps or trims raises when inflation tops 2%.
Same inflation raise as CSRS retirees
The bill's stated purpose is parity: FERS and CSRS pensions would rise by the same percentage in the same year.
People already retired are covered
The new formula applies to annuities that started before, on, or after enactment, so current FERS retirees and survivor annuitants would receive the larger raises going forward.
No back pay for past years
Only cost-of-living adjustments made after the bill becomes law use the new formula. Raises already paid are not recalculated.
Raises still arrive each December 1
The adjustment takes effect December 1 each year, and your annuity must have started by that date to receive that year's raise.
The age-62 rule stays
The bill leaves the existing FERS COLA exceptions in place, including the rule that most regular FERS retirees do not receive COLAs until age 62.
Who benefits from H.R. 491?
FERS retirees age 62 and older
If you draw a FERS pension, each year inflation tops 2% you would get the full raise instead of a trimmed one. On a $30,000 pension, a 3.2% inflation year would mean about $300 more in the first year alone.
Federal workers who will retire under FERS
Most of today's federal civilian workforce is covered by FERS. A pension that keeps pace with inflation matters more the longer you draw it, and a 25-year retirement leaves plenty of time for a small annual gap to compound.
Surviving spouses on FERS survivor annuities
Survivor annuities are covered by the new formula, so a widow or widower's monthly check would rise by the full inflation rate each year.
FERS disability retirees
Disability annuitants already receive COLAs under separate timing rules. Where they get a raise, it would be the full inflation increase.
Who is affected by H.R. 491?
CSRS retirees
Nothing changes for CSRS pensions. The bill uses the CSRS formula as the benchmark and brings FERS up to it.
FERS retirees under age 62
Most regular FERS retirees who leave before 62 still would not receive COLAs until they reach that age. The bill changes the size of the raise, not when it starts.
Office of Personnel Management
OPM calculates and pays federal retirement benefits and would apply the new formula each December.
Federal taxpayers and budget writers
Larger annual raises mean higher pension payments from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund every year going forward. The bill does not include an offset.
What Congress Is Saying
H.R. 491 has come up 28 times in the Congressional Record so far.
H.R. 491 also appeared in 1 more House floor reference and 27 routine cosponsor filings.
HR491 Legislative Journey
House: Introduced
Sep 16, 2025
ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Walkinshaw asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 491, a bill originally introduced by Representative Connolly, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.
House: Committee Action
Jan 16, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
About the Sponsor
Gerald Connolly
Democrat, Virginia's 11th congressional district · 16 years in Congress
Committees: Foreign Affairs, Oversight and Government Reform
View full profile →
Cosponsors (90)
This bill has 90 cosponsors: 87 Democrats, 3 Republicans. Cosponsors represent 31 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, and 28 more.
Kevin Mullin
Democrat · CA
Rashida Tlaib
Democrat · MI
Julia Brownley
Democrat · CA
Brendan Boyle
Democrat · PA
Emanuel Cleaver
Democrat · MO
Donald Davis
Democrat · NC
Lucy McBath
Democrat · GA
Suzan DelBene
Democrat · WA
Maxwell Frost
Democrat · FL
Steve Cohen
Democrat · TN
Teresa Leger Fernandez
Democrat · NM
Frank Mrvan
Democrat · IN
Committee Sponsors
Oversight and Government Reform Committee
11 of 47 committee members cosponsored
10 Democrats across this committee haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
H.R. 491 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Oversight and Government Reform
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Government Operations and Politics
- Introduced
- Jan 16, 2025
ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Walkinshaw asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 491, a bill originally introduced by Representative Connolly, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.
Sep 16, 2025
Official Sources
Official bill text, status, cosponsors, and actions for the Equal COLA Act.
The FERS COLA statute whose formula H.R. 491 rewrites to pay the full inflation increase.
OPM explains the current FERS formula side by side with CSRS: full CPI up to 2%, capped at 2% between 2% and 3%, and CPI minus one point above 3%.
OPM lists this year’s COLAs by system, showing the gap the bill targets: 2.8% for CSRS retirees versus 2.0% for FERS in 2026.
OPM’s FERS computation rules, including the age-62 COLA eligibility rule that the bill leaves in place.
OPM’s overview of the Federal Employees Retirement System, the pension system whose raises the bill changes.
OPM’s overview of the Civil Service Retirement System, the benchmark the bill uses for COLA parity.
The Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index, the inflation measure that drives every federal retirement COLA.
H.R. 491 Common Questions
What does H.R. 491 change about FERS COLAs?
It replaces the current FERS formula with a full inflation raise. Each December 1, FERS pensions would rise by the full year-over-year change in consumer prices, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent.
Why do FERS retirees get a smaller COLA than CSRS?
The FERS formula pays the full increase only when inflation is 2% or less. From 2% to 3%, the raise is capped at 2%. Above 3%, it is inflation minus one point. CSRS pensions get the full increase regardless.
How much more would I get under the Equal COLA Act?
It depends on your pension and the year's inflation. On a $30,000 FERS pension with 3.2% inflation, the full raise is $960 versus $660 under today's formula, about $300 more in the first year, and the gap carries forward.
Would current FERS retirees get the full COLA?
Yes. The new formula applies to annuities that started before or after the bill becomes law, so people already retired and survivor annuitants would receive the larger raises going forward.
Would H.R. 491 pay back COLAs I already lost?
No. Only raises made after the bill becomes law use the new formula. Past COLAs are not recalculated.
Does H.R. 491 give COLAs to FERS retirees under 62?
No. The bill leaves the existing age rule alone, so most regular FERS retirees still would not receive COLAs until age 62. Disability, survivor, and special-category retirees keep their current timing rules.
Who is sponsoring the Equal COLA Act now?
Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA) introduced it in January 2025 and died that May. Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA), who succeeded him, became lead sponsor in September 2025.
What is the status of H.R. 491?
It is in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee with 88 cosponsors, 85 Democrats and 3 Republicans. No committee vote or cost estimate has been published.
Based on H.R. 491 bill text
H.R. 491 Bill Text
“To amend title 5, United States Code, to achieve parity between the cost-of-living adjustment with respect to an annuity under the Federal Employees Retirement System and an annuity under the Civil Service Retirement System, and for other purposes.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Walkinshaw asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 492, a bill originally introduced by Representative Connolly, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.
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