Yeah, CSRS retirement more closely resembled the sweetheart deals that still exist in a few state and local governments today.
This is true for many government institutions.
In my state, there are three pension plans, 1, 2, and 3.
Plan 1 is the sweetest and has been
closed since the late 1970's. Plan 2 is a DB plan, but, IIRC, the benefits take longer to earn and early retirement is not nearly as easy. Plan 3 is a hybrid, half DB, half DC.
This leads to confusion among the general population since
Plan 1 is the plan that
most current retirees are on, so many people
assume that ALL public employees get the same deal. The reality is that most of the current workers, even many of the baby boomers are either on Plan 2 or 3, both of which are OK, but not as good as #1.
That said, I continue to maintain that pensions must be viewed as part of the entire compensation plan, and that makes the comparisons tough.
If I was a millennial or younger I would prefer to get my 'retirement benefits' as money that I can invest and control myself, 100%, nobody else can touch it. No politician, employer or corporate raider would be able to touch it.