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Federal Paychecks, TSP Services Continue Functioning In Face of Hurricane

By Ralph Smith

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

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When Hurricane Katrina hit the New Orleans and Gulf Coast area yesterday, some of the first questions that started popping up from some federal employees on "blog" sites  was whether the severe weather would disrupt regular paycheck distribution.

The hurricane's devastation has resulted in the loss of life, thousands of homes and billions of dollars in damage for residents.

As you can see from the questions and comments on the blogging  link above, the question about federal paychecks is a logical one, and perhaps urgent, for the majority of employees who do not live in the area that has been severely impacted by the hurricane.

The National Finance Center is located near New Orleans, Louisiana and one of the areas obviously devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The Center has functioned during major problems before and will apparently continue to do so this time. According to published reports, federal paychecks and most services of the Thrift Savings Plan will not be impacted by this natural disaster. Here's why.

For the Thrift Savings Plan, a new call center has been put into a facility in Clintwood, Virginia. A call center has also been located in Maryland.

An emergency plan is also in effect under which employees of the NFC move to facilities in Philadelphia and Dallas and processing of payroll information for the current pay period was finished on Sunday.

Any mail that has been sent to the National Finance Center will be delayed as the facility is closed and the Post Office services in the area are closed as well.

FedSmith.com has a personal connection to this disaster as our primary location is on Florida's Gulf Coast. For those who are fortunate to receive a regular paycheck during this disaster, you can help those whose lives have been devasted. Readers can contact one of the charities listed in this article. Donations can be made to the charities through the Network for Good website.

Tens of thousands of federal and military personnel have also been seriously impacted by this disaster. The Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund is also accepting donations to help civilian federal and postal employees. Donations can be made online through the FEEA website or by calling FEEA at 1-800-323-4140. Requests for assistance can also be made on the form available through the FEEA site.

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Readers' Comments

  • Here's a message we received from our Region regarding TSP transactions. I don't know if it will help, you should also check the TSP website for information (www.TSP.gov) -----Original Message----- ALL: I attend the TSP Quarterly meeting yesterday - information sharing - Most of the proc...
    Posted: September 29, 2005 8:34 AM
  • As with all things we hear the negative first and loudest. I have faith that most men/woman of civil service are above that....
    Posted: September 14, 2005 9:55 AM
  • I would like to submitt my paperwork for an Age-Base Withdraw; if anyone know where to mail it, please post an address....
    Posted: September 7, 2005 6:33 AM

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