No, it isn't. Under FERS, there are three separate retirement funds; TSP is one of them and is completely voluntary. The second leg is social security, the third leg is the actual government provided retirement plan that I pay a pittance into. That's the fund they're talking about increasing contributions for.
You’re right. It’s not the full pension deal that the CSRS people have full deal that the older ones have but it’s still something. Adding to the contributions there would make sense.