It’s official: President Joe Biden signed a bill that will allow federal first responders injured in the line of duty to receive full retirement benefits.

The First Responder Fair RETIRE Act, which became law on Dec. 9 after the Senate passed it unanimously in November, gives tens of thousands of Customs and Border patrol officials, firefighters, law enforcement officers and other public safety officials the ability to keep benefitting from the retirement system they’ve been paying into, even if they pivot to a different federal job after getting hurt.

It also clears the way for these employees to receive a refund of their contributions if they separate from service before reaching their annuity.

Before the legislation passed with much support from federal unions and employee organizations, federal policy prevented a public safety employee from retiring under the same specialty system if they could no longer continue working due to an a work-related disability.

That upended “years of service to this nation and responsible planning for the future,” said Ken Thomas, national president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, in a statement.

A recent report from the Government Accountability Office about recruitment for federal firefighters found this was a significant problem facing the workforce. Some firefighters are not just unable, but unwilling, to return to their original job post-injury and would therefore lose their special retirement...

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