Remember Carry-Over Policy in Health Care FSA Accounts
Toward the end of the year, many employees become concerned about losing money in their health care flexible spending accounts …More
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MSPB Sees Appeals Backlog Building
The MSPB has warned that it will take time for it to get back on track as a result of …More
Holiday Reminder for Gifts Among Colleagues
In general, under federal ethics rules, a federal employee may not give, or solicit a contribution for, a gift to …More
DoD Bill Doesn’t Extend Higher Buyout Amount
House and Senate members have finished a conference on the fiscal 2018 DoD authorization bill (HR-2810), backing an extension of …More
Higher Military Raise Spurs Calls for Pay Parity
Congress is set to vote on the final version of the annual DoD authorization bill (HR-2810) providing for a 2.4 …More
DoD Bill Continues Focus on Whistleblower Protections
The annual DoD authorization bill (HR-2810) that is up for final voting in Congress would continue an emphasis on protections …More
Pay Raise, Shutdown Issues Still to Be Decided
With only two working weeks left after this week until the expiration of a temporary government funding measure, Congress has …More
OPM Underscores Limits on Dental, Vision Coverage in FEHB
Among the materials that OPM is making available in the open season is one underscoring that only limited dental and …More
FEHB and FEDVIP Involve Separate Decisions
There seems to be some continuing misunderstanding regarding the relationship between the FEHB and FEDVIP programs, an issue that often …More
Retiree FEHB Premium Reminder
Federal employees planning to retire around the turn of the year–there always is a surge of retirements in that period–should …More
Expanded TSP Withdrawal Options Clear Congress
The Senate has joined the House in passing a bill (HR-3031) to widen the withdrawal options in the TSP, sending …More
Average FEHB Premiums Up but Many Choices Available in Open Season
The annual federal benefits open season starts Monday (November 13) and runs through December 11, the annual opportunity for federal …More
Some Plans Dropping Out of FEHB, but Others Joining
As happens nearly every year, there will be some FEHB plan dropouts and restrictions on coverage areas for 2018–changes that …More
Impact of Potential New FEHB Plan Designs Unclear, Says GAO
GAO has found no “clear consensus” about the potential effects of widening the range of choice in the FEHB program, …More
OPM Drops Planned Change in Premium Payments Due to Unpaid Status
OPM has dropped rules it proposed last year that would have required employees who enter unpaid status in certain situations …More
TSP Loosens Hardship Withdrawal Policies Due to Wildfires
The TSP has temporarily loosed policies regarding financial hardship withdrawals for federal employees who have incurred financial losses due to …More
Filling of Key Posts Progresses, Slowly
As the end of the administration’s first year approaches, only some steps have been taken toward filling positions of primary …More
One Budgetary Threat Eased, Another Still Out There
By joining the Senate in passing a stripped-down version of a budget outline for the current fiscal year, the House …More
Uncertainty Remains on Buyout Offers, Shutdown Threat
With a temporary extension of agency funding authority set to expire December 8, there is much uncertainty over agency budgets …More
Buyout Amount, TSP Withdrawals, Defense Workforce Issues Before Congress
While Congress likely will spend much of its attention on tax policy in the time immediately ahead, it could also …More
New Law Requires Discipline for Whistleblower Reprisal
President Trump has signed into law (P.L. 115-73) a bill that passed Congress recently requiring disciplinary action against those who …More
Indicator Set for 2019 Raise
An early marker has been set for the January 2019 (not 2018) general schedule pay raise, as the Labor Department …More
Emergency Leave Transfer Authority Expanded
OPM has authorized creation of an emergency leave transfer program for federal employees affected, personally or through family members, by …More
October TSP Returns all Treats, No Tricks
All TSP funds posted gains in October, led by the large company stock C fund, up 2.33 percent, followed by …More
Effort to Cut Retirement Benefits May Be Sidetracked
A budgetary maneuver on Capitol Hill could sidetrack, at least for an undetermined time, an effort to reduce the value …More
More Consistency in Federal Employee Discipline Sought
Federal agencies are inconsistent in the way they discipline employees for misconduct, says a House report that focused on sexual …More
TSP Investors Happy With Program Overall
TSP account holders overall are happy with the program, with 90 percent saying they are satisfied or extremely satisfied with …More
Many Not Taking Full, or Any, Advantage of TSP, Report Finds
The recent TSP investor survey showed that significant percentages of federal employees are not taking full–or in many cases, any–advantage …More
One TSP Investment Limit Rising, the Other Not
The investment limit on tax-favored retirement savings plans such as the TSP will increase from $18,000 to $18,500 in 2018, …More
Time to Check Pay Statements Regarding FEGLI
This is a good time for those who made FEGLI elections during the open season last September to check their …More
