Increases in Medicare Costs for 2021 Announced
The 2021 Medicare Part B (physicians and related services) premium will be $148.50 a month for most enrollees, an increase …More
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Unions Seek Course Reversal on Bargaining, Grievances, Official Time
Federal employee organizations have said they expect relations to improve with a Biden White House compared with those they have …More
Vacancies Available for Biden in MSPB, FLRA, Impasses Panel
A change of administrations provides the White House with opportunities to replace several thousand political appointees—less than half of whom …More
Opponents of ‘Schedule F’ Order Eye Options to Block It
A coalition of federal employee organizations is looking to an upcoming spending bill as potential way to block the Trump …More
Open Season for FEHB, FEDVIP, FSAs Just Ahead
The federal benefits open season begins Monday (November 9) and runs through December 14, the annual opportunity to make changes …More
Get a Flu Shot, It’s Free under FEHB, OPM Says
OPM and HHS have asked federal agencies to encourage their employees to get the seasonal flu vaccine and to encourage …More
Sen. Seeking Detail on Programs Canceled Under Order on Diversity Training Ban
Federal agencies are “broadly discontinuing training sessions on diversity and inclusion in fear of violation” of the recent executive order …More
Is Your Federal Job a Good Match? MSPB Lists Factors
The MSPB has identified three ways for federal employees to measure how well they fit their jobs, adding that based …More
Indicator Set for 2022 Federal Employee Raise
An early marker has been set for the January 2022 (not 2021) federal employee pay raise, as the Labor Department …More
TSP Funds Spooked in Oct.; Bounce to Start Nov.
The international stock I fund and the large company stock C fund lost 3.97 and 2.66 percent respectively in October …More
Trump Orders Shift of Potentially 100K Policy-Related Jobs Out of Competitive Service
An unknown but probably large number of federal employees whose positions involve formulating and carrying out policy would move from …More
Switch to Excepted Service Would Affect Hiring, Job Protections
Moving federal employees in positions involved in making or carrying out policy from the competitive service to the excepted service, …More
Executive Order Stirs Concern of Politicizing Career Civil Service
President Trump’s order to shift potentially tens of thousands or more federal employees into the excepted service from the competitive …More
Head of Federal Salary Council Resigns over Executive Order “Smokescreen”
Ronald Sanders, a longtime federal HR professional, has resigned from the Federal Salary Council in opposition to the Trump administration’s …More
TSP Investment Limits to Be Unchanged for 2021
The standard dollar limit on investments in the TSP, the “elective deferral limit,” will be unchanged in 2021 at $19,500, …More
OGE Addresses Ethics Considerations of Helping Others with Government Forms
Federal employees can help others with submitting routine applications and other forms to government agencies but should be mindful of …More
Federal-Private Sector Pay Gap Narrows to 23 Percent
New figures from the Federal Salary Council show that the federal-private sector pay gap has fallen to 23.11 percent, continuing …More
OPM Issues Rules Giving Management a Stronger Hand
OPM has finalized, with few changes from the version proposed a year ago, a broad-ranging set of rules that will …More
Rules Set Standards for Discipline in Conduct Cases
Newly finalized rules from OPM emphasize discretion for management officials when taking disciplinary action against federal employees on charges of …More
Employees Guaranteed Only Minimum Chance to Improve Under New Rules
Final rules from OPM carrying out a 2018 executive order on disciplinary policies stress that agencies need not make more …More
Policies on Covid, Medicare Coordination Announced
Among the further details on the 2021 FEHB program newly announced are expanded coordination between some carriers and Medicare and …More
OPM Details Further FEHB Changes for 2021
OPM has issued further details on the FEHB program for 2021 beyond the announcement last week of premium rates, which …More
Average TSP Balances Fell By About 3K in September
Total TSP investments and average account sizes slipped in September along with the stock market, with the average balance for …More
2021 FEHB, FEDVIP Rates Posted; Average FEHB Premiums up 4.9 Percent
Update: OPM has released 2021 rates for the Federal Employee Health Benefits and Federal Employee Dental and Vision Insurance Programs. …More
Social Security Figures Increase with COLA Adjustment
Along with the COLA increase of 1.3 percent in Social Security benefits for January—the same COLA that will apply to …More
OPM Proposed Narrowing Back Pay Awards
OPM has proposed rules that would narrow the situations in which federal employees are eligible for back pay awards over …More
Bill Offered in Senate to Make Social Security Withholding Change Optional
A new bill in the Senate would make optional the so-far mandatory change in Social Security payroll withholding that is …More
Key Interest Rate Drops for Deposits, Redeposits
The interest rate will fall from the current 2.25 percent to 1.375 percent in 2021 on required deposits and redeposits …More
Expanded Guidance Issued on Accepting ‘Crowdsourced’ Support
The Office of Government Ethics has issued guidance on acceptance by federal employees of “crowdsourced” donations, expanding on interpretations it …More
Lawmakers: Feds Should be Able to Opt Out of Tax Withholding “Chaos”
The rollout of the temporary waiver of Social Security taxes for many federal employees has been “chaotic,” a bipartisan group …More
