Deferred Retirement Option Program Amendment Act of 2025

COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
OFFICE OF COUNCILMEMBER BROOKE PINTO
THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING
1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W., SUITE 106
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004

January 30, 2025

Nyasha Smith, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004

Dear Secretary Smith,

Today, along with Chairman Mendelson and Councilmembers Allen, McDuffie, Bonds, Nadeau,
Parker, Henderson, R. White , Frumin, and Lewis George, I am introducing the Deferred
Retirement Option Program Amendment Act of 2025. Please find enclosed a signed copy of the
legislation. I introduced an identical version of this legislation in Council Period 25, B25-928.

Over the last several years, maintaining appropriate staffing levels across the District’s public
safety agencies has been a challenge. Both the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
(“FEMS”) and the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) have struggled with short staffing
and significant overtime pressures in recent years . Staffing shortages within fire and police
departments has become a major issue across the Metropolitan area. While recruitment and
retention levels within MPD ha ve improved to about 3,200 officers in 2023, MPD Chief Smith
says an ideal staffing level would be closer to 4,000.

The Deferred Retirement Option Program Amendment Act of 2025 aims to address staffing issues
like these and, in particular, to improve retention of our most experienced firefighters and police
officers. The legislation will establish a deferred retirement option program (“DROP”) to allow
retirement-eligible FEMS and MPD members to continue working serving for up to three years
after their normal retirement date and accrue their supplemental retirement benefits in a separate
retirement account. At the conclusion of the DROP period, the member will separate from city
service and the money in the account and the earned interest will be distributed to them .

This system will help FEMS and MPD retain their most experienced members for longer , have
more certainty about when members will retire, and better anticipate future staffing needs. This is
crucial: continued support and investment from the government is needed to ensure the stability of
the Departments and their ability to retain experienced police officers and firefighters, and to allow
them to use their experience and expertise to train new officers and firefighters.

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Should you have any questions about this legislation, please contact Anaiah Mitchell, Legislative
Policy Advisor, at amitchell@dccouncil.gov.

Thank you,

Brooke Pinto
Councilmember, Ward 2
Chairwoman, Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety
Council of the District of Columbia

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Chairman Phil Mendelson Councilmember Brooke Pinto 4
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Councilmember Janeese Lewis George Councilmember Christina Henderson 8
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Councilmember Charles Allen Councilmember Zachary Parker 12
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Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. Councilmember Matthew Frumin 16
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Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau Councilmember Anita Bonds 20
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Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie 24
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A BILL 30
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 35
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To establish a deferred retirement option program to allow retirement-eligible FEMS and MPD 41
members to continue working for up to 3 years while collecting supplemental payments in 42
a separate retirement account. 43

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 45
act may be cited as the “Deferred Retirement Option Program Amendment Act of 2025”. 46
Sec. 2. The Policemen and Firemen’s Retirement and Disability Act, approved September 47
1, 1916 (39 Stat. 718; D.C. Official Code § 5-701 et seq.) is amended as follows: 48
(a) Section 12(a) (D.C. Official Code § 5-701) is amended by adding new paragraphs (21) 49
and (22) to read as follows: 50
“(21) “Deferred retirement option program” means the retirement program established in 51
section 12(h-1). 52
“(22) “Eligible member” means, for the purposes of the deferred retirement option program 53
established in section 12(h-1), an individual who: 54
“(A) Meets the qualifications for retirement in section 12(h); and 55
“(B) Is: 56
“(i) A sworn employee of the Metropolitan Police Department who, at the 57
time of entering the deferred retirement option program , was a member of the Fraternal Order of 58
Police Metropolitan Police Department bargaining unit; or 59
“(ii) A sworn employee of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services 60
Department who, at the time of entering the deferred retirement option program, was covered by 61
the collective bargaining agreement between the District of Co lumbia Fire and Emergency 62
Medical Services Department and the International Association of Firefighters Local 36.”. 63
(b) A new section 12(h-1) is added to read as follows: 64
“Sec. 12(h-1). Deferred retirement option program. 65
“(a) There is established a deferred retirement option program (“DROP”) available to 66
eligible members, to be administered by the District of Columbia Retirement Board. The District 67
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of Columbia Retirement Board shall create separate interest -bearing DROP accounts for 68
participating eligible members . The Board shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to 69
implement the DROP. 70
“(b) An eligible member shall be authorized to continue working and collecting his or her 71
salary while receiving monthly retirement benefits in his or her DROP account. 72
“(c)(1) Beginning 90 days after the effective date of this act, an eligible member may elect 73
to participate in the DROP by giving at least 60 days ’ written advance notice to his or her 74
department head of his or her intention to participate and the date on which he or she intends to 75
begin participating. 76
“(3) An e ligible member may participate in the DROP for up to 3 years. Upon 77
cessation of the eligible member’s participation, the eligible member shall permanently cease 78
employment with his or her employing department, except as provided in Section 2 of the Retired 79
Police Officer Redeployment Amendment Act of 1992, effective September 29, 1992 (D.C. Law 80
9-163; D.C. Official Code § 5- 761), Section 2a of the Retired Police Officer Redeployment 81
Amendment Act of 1992, effective March 1, 2024 ( D.C. Law 25 -131; D.C. Official Code § 5-82
761.01), and Section 2 of the Retired Police Officer Public Schools Security Personnel 83
Deployment Amendment Act of 1994 (D.C. Law 10-136; D.C. Official Code § 5-762). 84
“(d)(1) Payments made under this section shall be paid out of the District of Columbia 85
Police and Firefighters ’ Retirement Fund established by the District of Columbia Retirement 86
Regulations Adoption Act of 1982 (D.C. Law 4-123). 87
“(2) On a monthly basis, an amount shall be deposited in a participating eligible 88
member’s DROP account equal to the amount that would have been payable to that participating 89
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eligible member under section 12(h) of this subchapter had the participating eligible member 90
elected to retire pursuant to that section on the date he or she began participating in the DROP. 91
“(3) Any unused sick leave credited to a participating eligible member shall not be 92
used in computing the amount paid under paragraph (2) of this subsection and shall be carried 93
forward until the participating eligible member ceases participation. 94
“(4) Participating eligible members shall be eligible for the cost-of-living 95
adjustments determined by the District of Columbia Retirement Board in subsection 12(h)(i) of 96
this subchapter. 97
“(5) The District of Columbia Retirement Board shall set the applicable interest rate 98
as provided in subsection 12(h)(i) of this subchapter. 99
“(6) Participating eligible members entitled to medical leave pursuant to Section 100
623 of the Fire and Police Medical Leave and Limited Duty Amendment Act of 2004, effective 101
September 30, 2004 (D.C. Law 15- 194; D.C. Official Code § 5- 633) or Section 624 of the Fire 102
and Police Medical Leave and Limited Duty Amendment Act of 2004, effective September 30, 103
2004 (D.C. Law 15-194; D.C. Official Code § 5-634) shall cease participation in the DROP after 104
a period of 120 days on medical leave. 105
“(e)(1) A participating eligible member may cease participation at any time by providing 106
his or her department head with 60 days’ advance written notice . After ceasing participation, the 107
eligible member shall receive the distribution of the member’s DROP account balance, which may 108
be made in one of the following ways: 109
“(A) A lump sum distribution; 110
“(B) Rolled over to another qualified retirement plan or an IRA; 111
“(C) The purchase of an annuity; or 112
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“(D) Any other method of distribution provided by the District of Columbia 113
Retirement Board. 114
“(2) The annuity payable to a participating eligible member upon his or her 115
cessation of participation shall be computed to include any increase based on the participating 116
eligible member’s unused sick leave as of the date the participating member ceases participation. 117
“(f)(1) If a participating eligible member becomes eligible for benefits under section 12(f) 118
of this subchapter, the participating eligible member shall cease DROP participation and 119
commence distribution of his or her DROP account balance. The monthly pension benefit under 120
section 12(f) of this subchapter shall be equal to the benefits as of the day he or she commenced 121
participation in DROP, as increased by the cost -of-living adjustments that would have accrued if 122
the member had actually retired on that date, and subject to increases for accumulated sick leave. 123
“(2) If a participating eligible member becomes eligible for benefits under section 124
12(g) of this subchapter, he or she may choose to cease participation in the DROP and become 125
eligible for benefits as of the day he or she commenced participation in the DROP, as increased by 126
the cost-of-living adjustments that would have accrued if the member had actually retired on that 127
date, and subject to increases for accumulated sick leave. 128
“(3) If a participating eligible member is involuntarily terminated, he or she shall 129
receive the remainder of the participating eligible member’s DROP account balance and the 130
annuity that he or she would have received had the participating eligible member retired on the 131
date he or she began participating in the DROP, as increased by the cost-of-living adjustments that 132
would have accrued if the participating eligible member had actually retired on that date, and 133
subject to increases for accumulated sick leave.”. 134
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“(4) If a participating eligible member dies and his or her survivor is eligible for 135
benefits under section 12(k) of this subchapter , his or her survivor shall receive those benefits in 136
addition to the distribution of the participating eligible member’s DROP account balance. The 137
monthly pension shall be equal to the benefits as of the day he or she commenced participation in 138
DROP, as increased by the cost-of-living adjustments that would have accrued if the member had 139
actually retired on that date, and subject to increases for accumulated sick leave. 140
“(5) If a participating eligible member dies while participating in the DROP and his 141
or her survivor is not eligible for benefits under section 12(k) of this subchapter, the participating 142
eligible member’s survivor shall receive the remainder of the participating eligible member’s 143
DROP account balance and the annuity that the survivor would have received had the participating 144
eligible member retired on the date he or she began participating in the DROP, as increased by the 145
cost-of-living adjustments that would have accrued if the participating eligible member had 146
actually retired on that date, and subject to increases for accumulated sick leave. 147
“(g) No later than 2 years after the effective date of this act, and every 5 years thereafter, 148
the Office of the Chief Financial Officer shall submit a report to the Mayor and Council that 149
analyzes: 150
“(1) The fiscal impact of the DROP; 151
“(2) Eligible members’ participation; and 152
“(3) The effect of the DROP on the retention of eligible members.”. 153
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 154
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal impact 155
statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved 156
October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 157
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Sec. 4. Effective date. 158
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 159
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30- day period of congressional review as 160
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 161
1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code §1- 206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 162
Columbia Register. 163