# Plain Language Summary: Denying Pensions to Convicted Child Molesters Act of 2023

This bill would strip federal retirement pensions from federal employees and retirees who are convicted of child sexual abuse crimes. If someone who works or worked for the federal government is convicted of specific child sex offenses—including child rape, sexual abuse of minors, or sexual exploitation of children—they would lose their pension benefits entirely. This applies to the convicted person themselves and also prevents their family members or beneficiaries from receiving survivor benefits based on that person's federal service.

The law would apply to convictions for crimes committed after the bill becomes law, and it covers both convictions in U.S. courts and convictions in foreign countries (as long as the foreign court followed fair procedures similar to American courts). The bill also includes a provision that if someone is indicted for these crimes and deliberately stays outside the United States for more than a year to avoid prosecution, their pension payments would be suspended during that time. However, if the person is later found not guilty, the charges are dropped, or they receive a presidential pardon, their pension rights would be restored.

An important feature of this bill is that any forfeited pension money could be redirected to victims of the crime. If a court orders the convicted person to pay restitution or compensation to their victims, the government could use the withheld pension funds to satisfy those court orders. This means victims could potentially recover money from the perpetrator's pension rather than trying to collect from the person directly. The bill also prevents the convicted person from getting refunds of their own contributions to the pension system to the extent those funds are paid to victims.

Denying Pensions to Convicted Child Molesters Act of 2023

Ogles, Andrew

Denying Pensions to Convicted Child Molesters Act of 2023 This bill denies federal retirement benefits to individuals convicted of child sex abuse. Specifically, an individual, or a survivor or beneficiary of an individual, may not be paid annuity or retired pay on the basis of the individual's service that is creditable toward the annuity or retired pay (with exceptions) following conviction of (1) aggravated sexual abuse of a child, (2) abusive sexual conduct, or (3) specified related offenses resulting in death. Further, the bill denies benefits where the individual is under indictment for such an offense and willfully remains outside of the United States for more than one year to avoid prosecution. Finally, the bill provides for payments to the victims of of sexual abuse from amounts that would otherwise be payable from the annuity or retired pay of offenders.