VA Simplifies Disability and Appeals Requests
April 13, 2015
The VA is making it easier for veterans to request disability benefits and appeal eligibility decisions. The agency has developed a standardized claim form and a standardized appeal form to guide veterans through the process. “This change will help VA provide faster and more accurate decisions to our veterans, their families and survivors,” VA Under […]
Thinking of Retirement? Consider Your Options First.
April 13, 2015
The federal workforce is bracing for a bit of upheaval as more workers approach retirement eligibility. According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office study, nearly 31 percent of career employees (non-postal service) will be eligible for retirement in September 2017. The numbers are astounding: Nearly 600,000 workers of the 1.96 million permanent career employees, as […]
Will I Ever Be Able to Take a Phased Retirement?
April 10, 2015
You waited a long time for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to draw up the rules governing phased retirement. It took almost two years for OPM to devise the regulations, which allows federal employees to work part-time and collect a portion of their pension so that they still receive, in effect, full-time pay. Whether […]
A Review of Proposed Legislation that Could Alter Your Pay and Benefits
April 10, 2015
In the past year, we’ve written about plenty of proposed laws that may have a positive or negative impact on your pay and benefits, and most importantly, your retirement. Since there are many bills being proposed in Washington that could affect your financial future, we decided to highlight a few of the major proposals in […]
Severe Federal Worker Pay and Benefit Cuts Pass House and Senate
April 3, 2015
It’s not just talk, or the usual song and dance lawmakers put on about austerity in front of the cameras to make the folks in their congressional district’s believe they are doing their jobs in Washington. It doesn’t look like a dog-and-pony show this time around: Congress seems genuinely determined to cut federal worker pay […]
Your Federal Government Annuity: Your Questions, Answered
March 30, 2015
To Retire, or Not to Retire –That is the Question Retirement is not an easy decision, especially if you work for the federal government. First, you need to evaluate whether your retirement income from your U.S. government benefits will offset the generous salary you made on the job. As a federal employee, you are entitled […]
Boss Man, It’s Time For A Raise
March 25, 2015
American Federation of Government Employees President J. David Cox Sr. delivered a succinct message to President Barack Obama about federal worker pay at an event commemorating a watershed moment in U.S. civil rights history in Selma, Alabama. The AFGE was the only union officially invited to join the president and civil rights leaders for a […]
OPM Revises Hiring and Mentoring Practices
March 23, 2015
The federal government is retooling how it recruits new talent and mentors new employees. This month, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released its recruiting “roadmap” that lays out new standards to give managers additional tools to seek out job candidates. Ultimately, OPM is emphasizing a data-driven strategy to “attract, develop, and retain a talented, […]
Budget Plans Offer Some Insight into 2016 Spending Priorities
March 23, 2015
Congress and the White House are giving some indications about how they want to spend revenues next fiscal year. Albeit, we must note that nowadays budget plans from Congress and the White House are just that: plans. And often these plans are merely a set of idealistic and ideological principles rather than a true accounting […]
Your Retirement is a Chip on Washington’s Roulette Wheel
March 18, 2015
Uncle Sam is gambling with your retirement money again. Here’s the story, which unfortunately serves as yet another reminder why you can’t rely on Washington to guarantee you will have a safe and secure retirement. On March 16, the U.S. government hit its debt limit of $18.1 trillion. In order prevent a major default on […]
