H.R. 9654: National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 Technical Corrections Act of 2026

This bill would make several technical changes to retirement and survivor benefit rules connected to District of Columbia police officers, firefighters, teachers, and some judges.

What it changes

• Recognizes domestic partners for certain survivor benefits. For District retirement survivor benefits paid by the federal government, the bill would make domestic partnerships count the same way marriage is counted, to the same extent that the District of Columbia already treats domestic partnerships as equivalent to marriage for these benefits. In practical terms, this could affect whether a surviving domestic partner qualifies for ongoing benefit payments.
• Updates remarriage rules for surviving spouses. The bill would align the age rule for when a surviving spouse can remarry without losing survivor benefits with the rule used for federal employee survivor benefits. Under the new rule, benefits generally would not stop because of remarriage if the person remarries at age 55 or older. There is an exception: if the person remarried before turning 55, the benefit would still be preserved if the marriage to the deceased employee lasted at least 30 years.
• Makes a similar change for surviving spouses of judges. The bill would revise a District of Columbia rule for judge survivor benefits so that the same 55-year-age standard, with the same 30-year marriage exception, applies there as well.
• Allows certain District service to count toward federal retirement benefits if deposits are made. The bill would amend a prior law so that some qualifying District of Columbia service can be credited when calculating federal civil service retirement benefits, if the required deposit is paid. It also sets out how much the deposit would be, depending on the retirement system involved, and allows surviving beneficiaries in some cases to make the deposit for survivor annuity purposes.
• Makes related wording changes. The bill updates cross-references in the law so the new provisions are properly included.

Practical effect

The bill is mainly aimed at adjusting how survivor and retirement benefits are calculated for certain District of Columbia public employees and their survivors. It would potentially expand eligibility in some situations, update remarriage-related cutoff rules, and clarify how certain service time can be credited if a required payment is made.

Relevant Companies

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