It’s been revoked for years, but Schedule F is still on the minds of many federal employees, especially as the nation nears a presidential election with former President Trump on the ballot. The Schedule F executive order tried to address what Trump officials saw as workforce accountability issues, by making certain career employees easier to fire and replace. Critics say Schedule F was the wrong approach to civil service reform. Now a new working group has laid out proposals for what members be...
May 30, 2024•25 min
For a certain portion of the federal retiree population, and some others from non-federal government, one of the most frustrating features of Social Security is what they don't get. The Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, WEP and GPO can be confusion for how they limit Social Security benefits for affected people. Federal News Network's Drew Friedman and I got a tutorial in WEP and GPO from certified Social Security advisor for the Association of Mature American Cit...
May 16, 2024•22 min
The government might employ some two million people. But no two federal employees are alike. That's why career and retirement planning can be complicated. For instance, what if you're old enough to retire but have less than 30 years in. For insight into what's known as MRA plus 10, I spoke with long time federal retirement expert Tammy Flanagan. Plus, agencies are well on their way to reaching the Biden administration’s in-office goals for federal employees. And the Office of Management and Budg...
May 08, 2024•21 min
Thrift Savings Plan participants than ever are contributing at least 5% of their pay to their TSP accounts. The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board always encourages more contributions, for stronger retirement savings. The board also got an update from BlackRock, one of the TSP fund managers. For more, Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman spoke with board's director of external affairs, Kim Weaver. Plus, an Army financial counselor will spend years in prison after his conviction on defrau...
May 08, 2024•27 min
It’s been a year since the Biden administration first called for agencies to ramp up in-person work. Now after coming back to their offices, many federal employees are asking, "why are we here"? Well, we asked too. Our Federal News Network survey found that more than half of feds don't think their agency leadership has really explained the return-to-office rationale. Federal News Network's Drew Friedman joins me with those survey results. Plus, hopefully in your career you won't need the Merit S...
Apr 25, 2024•24 min
The Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset have both been around for decades. The two provisions reduce and sometimes eliminate Social Security benefits for some federal retirees. But just in the last few months, a bill to repeal them has been gaining unprecedented traction. To go over the details, Federal News Network's Drew Friedman spoke with NARFE's staff vice president John Hatton. Plus, agencies and unions have a September deadline to finalize their plans for recreati...
Apr 17, 2024•24 min
The Thrift Savings Plan has been showing strong returns. And the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board has been making some updates and monitoring enrollment levels. Federal News Network's Drew Friedman went over all of it with the board's director of external affairs, Kim Weaver, including a way to access your account. Plus, we talk a lot about the Thrift Savings Plan and how to get to that million dollar savings level. But what does it actually do for you, since you don't want to spend th...
Apr 04, 2024•25 min
With the era of near-zero inflation over, retirement planning has taken on some new urgency. Simply because a fixed income and rising prices don't make a good combination. Here with some of the latest thinking, from RMG Advisors of Rockville, Maryland, Thiago Glieger. Plus, the spending agreement Congress passed for 2024 has some new deadlines for agencies on telework. Congress is calling for more details on returning federal employees to their offices. Lawmakers are also looking for information...
Mar 29, 2024•26 min
The Biden administration has opened the bid for next year’s federal pay raise. And it may not be met with a whole lot of enthusiasm. If enacted, feds would receive a 2% raise in 2025. It’s well below what feds received this year. Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman discussed the 2025 proposal in detail. Plus, that 2% raise the White House has proposed fell flat with the federal unions and many other groups. For more analysis, I spoke with the vice president for policy and programs, at the Natio...
Mar 20, 2024•21 min
More than a quarter of federal employees and managers say they’re burned out from work. That’s according to the results of a new survey from Gallup. But why are they burned out? And what can be done about it? For details, Federal News Network's Drew Friedman and I turn to the executive director of the Federal Government Initiative at Gallup. Plus, what's the old saying? Never a lender nor debtor be? For most of us, no problem not being a lender. But for buying a house or a car -- that entails ta...
Mar 14, 2024•22 min
December seems like a long way off, but next year's Federal Employee Health Benefits Plans are already coming into view. That's from the Office of Personnel Management's recent annual call letter to health insurance carriers. Federal News Network's Drew Friedman and I got insight when we spoke with the editor of the Checkbook Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees, Kevin Moss. Plus, for a couple of decades, the For Your Benefit show has aired here on Federal News Network. It was regular lis...
Mar 07, 2024•23 min
Few things can sink an individual investor than buying or selling on emotion. That can lead to tries at market timing, which rarely works out, especially when things are high or low. My first guest cautions time is more important than timing. Thiago Glieger is a private wealth advisor at RMG Advisors of Rockville, Maryland. Plus, as this year's black history month comes to a conclusion, we wanted to check how things look today for black managers in the federal government. For some perspective on...
Feb 28, 2024•23 min
Fresh off a five percent pay raise, federal employees can look forward to some other enhancements coming their way. Like the possibility of another hefty pay raise next year. For more on this and a few other matters, I spoke with the vice president for policy and programs at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, John Hatton. Plus, agency managers seem to engage in an endless tug of war with employees over telework. Now some members of Congress have asked for more data. F...
Feb 22, 2024•24 min
People entering the workforce, say, joining the government at young age, hear the advice. Start saving now for retirement. Make sure you max out your Thrift Savings Plan contributions and get the full government match. It's sound advice as far as it goes. But my next guest cautions: Don't plow every possible dollar into the TSP to the neglect of other important financial obligations. Certified financial planner Art Stein of Arthur Stein Financial joins me now. Plus, it's not every day the Vetera...
Feb 15, 2024•22 min
Retirement, every federal employee is going to get there some day. For most, the goal is you don't work any more. Or work only because you want to. Your main question is how much income is enough for you to retire. For some insight, federal retiree Abe Grungold of AB Financial Services. Plus, improper payments, fraud in nearly every major federal program, contracting irregularities and false claims. These problems roll on and on, year after year. Whistleblowers who point these and other problems...
Feb 07, 2024•24 min
For the Thrift Savings Plan, you might say things are up. Enrollments, fund performance, even the number of people with at least a million dollars in their accounts. Federal News Network's Drew Friedman and I discussed the latest trends with the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board's director of external affairs, Kim Weaver. Plus, with a lapse in funding still a distinct possibility, I checked in with Pamela Richards, the national president of Federally Employed Women, or FEW. See Privacy ...
Feb 01, 2024•23 min
If the 2023 stock market showed anything, it's that you can't predict the stock market. Instead, you need a strategy you can stick with. Nearly every federal employee has a Thrift Savings Plan account. For how to think about it, I spoke with Art Stein of Arthur Stein Financial . Plus, the Office of Personnel Management had a relatively successful year chipping away at a large retirement inventory. But now OPM must bracing for a surge in federal retirement claims, at the same time its working on ...
Jan 24, 2024•24 min
Federal employees are mostly sideline observers of the Congressional budget deliberations. And yet, you have the greatest interest in what's going on because it affects your professional life rather profoundly. Although there's sort of a topline number, no one know what individual departments, agencies or programs will actually get. From the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, John Hatton weighs in. Plus, as federal employees open their first paychecks of the new year, mos...
Jan 11, 2024•24 min
Other than your salary, the most important element of your financial life is probably your Thrift Savings Plan account. Just before 2023 expired, for an update, we caught up with Kim Weaver, director of external affairs at the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. And, the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) scores came out just before Christmas. Results generally seem to be pointed in the right direction. Jason Briefel, partner and director of government and public affairs at Shaw, B...
Jan 03, 2024•24 min
The Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision have for decades limited Social Security payments available to certain federal employees. Mainly those under the old Civil Service Retirement System, and anyone else who receives a pension from earnings that were not taxed by Social Security. A bill to repeal GPO and WEP had a congressional hearing last month — a field hearing in Louisiana. John Hatton, NARFE's vice president for policy and programs John Hatton, offers some ana...
Dec 20, 2023•24 min
Even in today's inflationary times, the word millionaire has a certain meaning. With a little self discipline and the power of compound interest, millionaire status is available to federal employees who make wise use of the Thrift Savings Plan. Retired federal manager Abe Grungold shares some advice. And although we might well be in the midst of the season to be jolly, military service members and veterans often experience a spike in depression or post traumatic stress disorder. Even suicide. Fo...
Dec 13, 2023•22 min
Golly, the year went by. Now we find ourselves in the middle of the holiday season, lots of distractions. One thing you should not be distracted from doing: End of year financial planning. To help you get pointed in that direction and figure out your investment strategy, I spoke with Thiago Glieger, a wealth adviser with RMG Advisers of Rockville, Maryland, a firm that specializes in federal employees. Plus, continuing with today's theme of short term and long term planning, Federal News Network...
Dec 06, 2023•24 min
There's less than two weeks left in this year's Open Season. Now's the time to make health care enrollment changes in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program for 2024. Federal News Network's Tom Temin and reporter Drew Friedman recently spoke with Kevin Moss, a director at Consumers' Checkbook, about what federal retirees should keep in mind this year. Plus, participants in the Thrift Savings Plan will see some changes to their investments starting in 2024. The TSP’s international o...
Nov 29, 2023•24 min
Drew Friedman fills in for Tom this week. As of Monday, Open Season for the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program is officially underway. Tom Temin and she recently spoke with Kevin Moss, a director at Consumers' Checkbook, about what federal employees should keep an eye out for over the next month. Plus, Congress has just a few days to pass a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the week. Drew spoke with John Hatton, a vice president at the National Acti...
Nov 15, 2023•26 min
Lots of people put a neatly tied ending to their federal careers by retiring on December 31. Next year New Year's Day is a Monday, so you could wake up and have a mimosa. But in the next 60 days, you've got some serious final planning to do. Details now from a happy federal retiree, Abe Grungold. Plus, job satisfaction across the federal government appears headed in the right direction. At least it's not getting any worse. No huge jumps, but figures the Office of Personnel Management released th...
Nov 08, 2023•21 min
Whether its the war in Ukraine, the war in Israel, the House speaker race or any of a zillion controversial topics, everyone has an opinion. As a federal employee, can you express *your* opinions out loud and not get fired for it? I asked about this and a few other matters when I spoke with federal employment attorney John Mahoney. Plus, lawmakers are once again proposing changes to telework and remote work for federal employees. The newly introduced Senate bill, Telework Reform Act, would among...
Oct 25, 2023•23 min
We start out this week with something that's crucial to every federal employee's well-being, and wallet. Namely, the cost of Federal Employee Health Benefit Plans. Prices are on the rise for the year ahead, so you better start doing some homework ahead of open season next month. Federal News Network's Drew Friedman joined me with the details. Plus, recent analysis from the Congressional Budget Office found that on average, "enlisted personnel receive cash compensation that is higher than that re...
Oct 04, 2023•24 min
Federal News Network reporter Drew Friedman fills in for Tom this week. Congress has just a few days to pass appropriations or a continuing resolution. and if there is a government shutdown at the end of the week, it'll take some planning and a little knowledge of what to expect. Former Postal Service manager Abe Grungold has been through more than one lapse in government appropriations. He recently spoke with Tom Temin to offer some advice. Plus, “are we headed to a government shutdown?” Is the...
Sep 28, 2023•25 min
In many ways, retirement after a federal career is all about the numbers. Do you have enough saved that, together with your annuity, you won't run out of money. In some ways, retirement is not about numbers at all. There's also the danger of being bored to death. Here with some non-monetary retirement advice, federal retiree and AG Financial Services owner Abe Grungold. Plus, federal employees haven't been able to purchase long term care insurance for the past couple of months. That's because th...
Sep 13, 2023•21 min
Today we introduce a new guest we'll be hearing from time to time. Thiago Glieger is a wealth advisor with RMG Advisors of Rockville, Maryland. The firm specializes in federal employees. Tiago joins me in studio with a look at this coming autumn, and what feds should be thinking about financially as 2024 draws closer. Plus, the Thrift Savings Plan, according to our next guest, is neither structured nor staffed in order to get the best returns for investors. And he's got ideas to reform it. For o...
Sep 06, 2023•25 min
