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Pay, COLAs and Your 2009 Paycheck

No raise for Postal

Analyst
US Postal Service
Wed Nov 5, 2008 9:46 AM

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I'm sure you're aware, but may not address it in your column because USPS readership is a small percentage of your audience, that the Postal Service does NOT get the same annual pay increases, NOR locality pay that other agencies receive. We are on a "pay for performance" program that replaced a more traditional "merit" system. The merit system had a minimum increase of 2% or 2.5%. PFP has NO minimum, and in many cases equates to 0.0% increase. Officers and PCES executives have voluntarily agreed to forego any increase this year. EAS (management) including Postmasters rejected that request (but some may get 0.0% anyway, based on how their PFP is calculated.

pay raise vs cola

Chief, Training Development Element
USAF/ AETC
Wed Nov 5, 2008 10:22 AM

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I will retire 9 Jan 2009 (FERS) which will I get pay raise or COLA??

Re: pay raise vs cola

soon-to-be-retired
DoD
Wed Nov 5, 2008 10:45 AM
You (and I) won't get a COLA until Jan 2010. We have to be retired to start 'earning' a COLA. Pay raise? How much annual leave do you have accumulated? If you go into retirement with 30 days of annual leave, it will be paid out as if you were still employed - thus if the pay raise is effective on 4 January, the entire 30 days of annual leave will be paid out at that increased rate. If you do not have any annual leave when you retire, you won't see any raise at all - you won't be an employee by any stretch of the imagination.

Re: pay raise vs cola

Safety Inspector
FAA
Wed Nov 5, 2008 11:23 AM
You might want to reconsider your plans. If you retire anytime after December 31, that is anytime in January, you won't receive a retirement check for Feburary. So you first retirement check will be for March. And if past history is any gauge you won't receive your March retirement until April.
Think about it - retire January 9 and not see any money until April.

Re: pay raise vs cola

Retired (and working a new career)
DoD
Wed Nov 5, 2008 7:26 PM
For goodness sake, sit down with your HR people and have them show you the good days to retire. It is something they are very good at and the ones I have met have always been helpful to the people planning to retire.

Pay Raise, COLA

Training Specialist
DOD
Wed Nov 5, 2008 1:44 PM

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You may want to add that NSPS employees DO NOT even get an annual pay raise. The only raise that they get is based upon their performance and if they are meeting the objectives, they may get a small raise. NSPS employees can even have their pay decreased for not meeting the "3" standard.

Increase for overseas workers

Safety Specialist
US Army
Wed Nov 5, 2008 5:51 PM

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How would this play out for those Americans that work overseas, (South Korea)? Will they get the 3.9 plus Cola since they don't get Locality pay.

Excellent Discussion

Director, Mission Planning
Department of Energy
Thu Nov 6, 2008 8:22 PM

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I have a number of "new" Federal employees, and this article provides a very clear description of the system.

Thanks

Your benefits are too RICH

BULL
All
Fri Nov 7, 2008 3:10 PM

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The entire Private Sector works to support the RICH benefits ONLY Civl Servants (including Federal employees) get. Not more than 1% of Private Sector retirees get COLAS !

It is wrong to tax people (Private Sector workers) who make market wages in order to subsidize people (Civil Servants) who, by virtue of their union clout, have been able to negotiate wages and benefits well above the prevailing market.

Civil Servants are the energizer bunny's of greed and the self-serving, vote-selling, contribution-soliciting, politicians are their enablers.

unfair cola

retired DOT
dot
Wed Nov 12, 2008 7:07 AM

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Why are people that have just retired getting a prorated COLA? I will be prorated for 2 months, so I will get only 2/12 of 5.8% = .96%.
??????

This is much less than 3.9% employees are getting and much more les than 5.8% retirees sre getting?

Who wrote this law????

FIRE EM NOW...

Are you sure this is correct Fedsmith?

Re: unfair cola

editor
FedSmith.com
Wed Nov 12, 2008 7:51 AM
For the skeptical readers, we included a link within the column to the OPM website that outlines how the COLA works. If you missed this linke the first time around, it is still there and still on the OPM site at:
http://www.opm.gov/retire/faq/post/faq18.asp
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