2016 Federal Pay Raise Becoming More Likely
September 21, 2015
A 2016 pay raise for federal workers cleared another key hurdle recently. A powerful and influential Senate appropriations committee declined to insert any language addressing federal workers’ pay into a major government spending bill for next fiscal year. That means Senate lawmakers have taken a pass at denying President Obama’s stated intention to raise fed […]
TSP Wants to Compete More with IRAs
August 12, 2015
The agency that administers the Thrift Savings Plan is hoping Congress goes along with its plan to lift multiple withdrawal restrictions imposed on TSP investors and to increase the number of investment options offered beyond the current limited number of TSP investment funds. The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board has asked Congress to pass legislation […]
Federal Employees Association Calls Out Congress: “TSP Belongs to Plan’s Participants”
July 27, 2015
An association that represents active and retired federal workers has admonished Congress for a plan that would divert money from a Thrift Savings Plan investment fund to pay for the government’s Highway Trust Fund. The Highway Trust Fund is projected to exhaust most of its reserve cash by September following this summer’s highway construction season. […]
Proposed Rule Would Loosen Overtime Exemptions
July 27, 2015
Some federal workers will have the opportunity to collect overtime if a proposed U.S. Department of Labor rule is implemented. The Obama Administration is supporting the measure, with the president suggesting he will use his executive authority to loosen overtime exemptions that prevented hundreds of thousands of federal workers from being able to collect overtime. […]
Phased Retirement? Good Luck With That
July 20, 2015
It was cheered by Congress, hailed as an incredible opportunity for federal workers who wanted to dip one toe into retirement while giving them time to wrap up at the job and get their affairs in order. It gave agencies a tool to train a new generation of workers because veteran employees could serve as […]
U.S. Army Will Eliminate Civilian and Soldier Positions
July 20, 2015
The U.S. Army will reduce its civilian workforce and the regular Army because of federal military budget constraints, a move that will impact nearly every Army installation in the continental U.S. and internationally. The Army will eliminate 17,000 civilian and 40,000 soldier positions. Currently, the Army has about 490,000 soldiers. That will drop to 450,000 […]
Postal Workers Union Exposes Secret USPS Privatization Plan
July 17, 2015
The United States Postal Service is seeking to accelerate its plans to use non-union private sector workers to expand its market reach, according to documents obtained by the American Postal Workers Union through a Freedom of Information Act request. The USPS has come under fire for a “pilot” program deal inked with Staples that allowed […]
Don’t Roll the Dice on Your Retirement
July 16, 2015
Are you overestimating your chances of securing the retirement you desire? If we take off our rose-colored glasses and look at the cold, hard numbers, the answer to that question is more than likely, yes, you are. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, studies have found that anywhere from 1/3 to 2/3 of American […]
US Office of Personnel Management Data Hack Raises More Questions than Answers
July 15, 2015
Multiple data breaches of OPM records has federal employees wondering just what might happen to their personal information, what actions they can take to protect themselves, and what policymakers will do to ensure this never happens again. The agency is facing a major management upheaval following the resignation of its director, Katherine Archuleta, on July […]
Social Security is No Longer a Guaranteed Safe Investment
July 14, 2015
Is Social Security a secure investment? The answer to that question is tricky. But the looming insolvency of the fund could lead to significant changes in payouts for retirees and how much workers are taxed to prop up the fund. No doubt, we are all tired of the thousands of predictions made by pundits and […]
