Well, not the entire Senate, yet. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) recently introduced a bill called the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) which would give federal employees a 3.3 percent pay raise in 2015. The proposed pay raise is welcomed news for Federal employees. Federal employees have endured a lot over theRead… Read more »
It seems to be the general concensus that a Last Will and Testament is an essential part of a good estate plan but Living Trusts are not as widely used nor understood. Although many may think that probate is a negative of the Last Will and Testament, a great many individuals remain comfortable with it.Read… Read more »
http://www.psretirement.com/pension-survivor-benefit-options/ Both CSRS and FERS have an option when they retire to choose a Survivor Benefit option which allows their spouse continued partial pension payments in the event of your death. For CSRS, the Survivor Benefit option would provide a 55% annuity payout. For FERS, the Survivor Benefit has two options: a 25% or 50%Read… Read more »
http://www.psretirement.com/social-security-fers-employees-todd-carmack/ I am often asked by clients “When should I start taking my Social Security payments?”. There is no single right answer to that question because everyone designs their retirement differently. This added income can make a difference on when you decide to retire and how much of a benefit you are willing to accept.Read… Read more »
http://www.psretirement.com/older-people-and-work Do older people work to survive or because they want to stay in the game? I believe the answer is YES to both. In our society we segment people often without giving it much thought. There are older people in the Congress, even in the White House just moments away from the most powerfulRead… Read more »
http://www.psretirement.com/applying-for-benefits/ When a federal employee dies family members or representatives must apply for benefits. Benefits are not automatically distributed. The forms differ depending on the retirement system your deceased family member was a part of. Standard Form (SF) 2800 is used for those individuals who were covered under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). StandardRead… Read more »
http://www.psretirement.com/getting-ready-for-federal-retirement/ Getting ready for retirement means putting plans in place for perhaps one of the biggest transitions you will make in your life. Some things you should consider if you are planning to retire in 5 years. • Have a Federal Employee Benefit Analysis performed. • Ask your employer exactly what they can do inRead… Read more »
I just read that many Federal employees are waiting to retire because they believe Congress is going to approve a buy-out. Is that you too? If it is, perhaps you should rethink your plans. Sequestration, furloughs and frozen salaries are all the rage these days. Add to that the fact that we have a deadlockedRead… Read more »
The White House just announced their fiscal 2013 budget request. Some good recap from GovExec & Washington Post A couple big pay updates: 1) Pay raise -Bump of .5% pay raise in 2013 for civilians, 1.7 for military 2) Increase retirement contribution – Increase the percentage feds pay into their retirement by 1.2 (.4 percentRead… Read more »
If you’re a Federal employee who’s covered under the FERS Retirement System, did you know that one-third of your retirement income will depend on your Social Security benefits! The other two-thirds is determined by what you have emassed in your TSP account and by the pension determination made by OPM based on your average “HighRead… Read more »