Nobody is Safe in the Federal Workforce from Reductions in Pay and Benefits

Nobody is safe in the federal workforce from reductions in pay and benefits these days.

Even active duty personnel and retirees with the U.S. military are under the federal cost-cutting microscope.

That is why we encourage all federal employees, whether military or civilian, to do a one-on-one consultation with us so that we can take a close look at your pay and benefits and determine the prospects of your financial future.

We never know what will happen on Capitol Hill.

The Congressional Budget Office recently issued a startling report that outlined several ways the Department of Defense can cut costs to comply with Congress’ austere sequestration mandates that call for deep military spending cuts.

The CBO says the DoD needs to immediately cut spending, or over the next decade, it could be roughly $500 billion in the hole under its current budget authority and expense projections.

To save money, the CBO set its sights on labor and benefit costs.

The report suggests that the DoD could substantially reduce expenses if it caps increases in basic pay for military service members (resulting in a savings of $25 billion from 2014 to 2023) and increase Tricare cost sharing for retirees (amounting to an estimated savings of $20 billion to $71 billion from 2014 to 2023).

Tricare is the military’s healthcare system, which also benefits active duty personnel.

Capping pay increases could have a profoundly negative affect on pension payments.

The CBO also suggested that the DoD could save $108 billion between 2014-23 if it cut retirement pay for veterans who are already getting disability payments from the VA. Further, the agency could save billions of dollars if it replaced some military personnel with civilian employees.

The bottom line: Whether you are a civilian, active duty military or even a retiree, the pay and benefits of today may not be the pay and benefits of tomorrow.

We recommend a consultation with one of our representatives, so that you clearly understand your financial outlook. We’ll take a close look at your benefits to see where you stand. It’s just common sense, especially with all the rumblings about pay and benefits in Congress these days.