WASHINGTON — Some 43,000 federal workers in Hawaii, Alaska and the territories will see a bump in their retirement checks down the road as part of a measure signed into law today by President Barack Obama.

The provision, contained in the nearly $700 billion 2010 Defense Authorization Bill, changes the retirement pay structure of federal employees who work outside the Mainland so it incorporates into their retirement equation the extra pay they get for working in high cost of living areas.
Prior to the change Obama signed, which Rep. Neil Abercrombie wrote into the authorization bill, federal workers outside the Mainland would not get the extra money once they retired.
The measure affects only those workers who retire after this year.