Stay informed with the latest federal employee retirement news, including updates on FERS and CSRS, retirement eligibility rules, OPM retirement processing, and TSP performance as it relates to long‑term retirement planning. This category covers annual COLA updates, TSP news, survivor benefits, military service credit, retirement application guidance, and major OPM policy changes or federal legislation that could affect federal retirement benefits. Find clear, timely information to help current and former federal employees navigate retirement planning, benefit calculations, and post‑retirement considerations.
The House version of a postal reform bill in Congress is better than the Senate version according to NARFE, although it thinks neither is ideal. What effect do these bills have on enrollment options in Medicare, and which federal retirees would be impacted?
The TSP is a major component of the federal retirement system, but too often, the author says that it becomes the only factor for would be retirees. He explains why striving for some sort of “magic number” in your TSP account can be a bottleneck in reaching your retirement goals.
Would TSP investors abandon the G fund if they had to pay to store their money there?
The author says that under CSRS, a do-it-yourself approach to retirement was more practical for federal employees, but those under FERS may face bigger obstacles trying to go it alone.
The Social Security earnings test will affect any Social Security recipient from the age of 62 until they reach their Social Security Full Retirement Age (FRA). For every dollar earned above the earnings test amount, there is a reduction to an individual’s FERS Supplement or Social Security.
Some TSP investors make investment decisions based on recent stock market trends. Over time, during the ongoing bear market, investors have moved more money into the C fund and out of the G fund. Some missed substantial gains in the market.
The author says that the discussion of Social Security has degenerated into a battle over the control of the meaning of words in which one person’s myth is the next person’s fact.
Will there be a COLA for federal retirees in 2017? It is too early to know, but the current situation is not positive. Here are the factors that will impact any adjustment for retirees in January.
The Office of Personnel Management received roughly the same number of new retirement claims in May as it did in April, however, because fewer were processed, the backlog of outstanding claims remained relatively unchanged.
The author describes a technique known as the “The Back Door Roth TSP Withdrawal” federal employees can use to accelerate their tax benefits in retirement.
