Some financial planners believe that a survivor annuity is a good choice, while others may encourage you to forgo a survivor annuity and to purchase life insurance with the money you “saved” by not electing a survivor annuity. Here are several considerations.
Federal agencies have the authority to hire retired federal employees without a reduction in their federal pension benefit. There are requirements that must be met by agencies and restrictions on the hiring authority.
Memo from OPM notifying agencies they may begin using newly enacted legislation to begin hiring retired federal employees and outlining the requirements for using this authority.
As we near or enter retirement, another aspect of retirement that may become part of your agenda is caring for aging parents.
Health care has been in the forefront of the news recently despite having to compete with an economic recession and military conflicts overseas. The good news: Federal employees and retirees have been spared from bearing some of the initial cost of reforming the health care system in one of the health care proposals still floating around.
The price paid for the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978’s merit pay, senior executive service and performance based removals was Federal employee labor relations being controlled by a law instead of an executive order. It was a lousy trade in the view of some. So as we approach the next great civil service reform, what’s on the table?
On many occasions participants in seminars for federal employees have asked if they should purchase insurance that would cover the costs of defending themselves from lawsuits brought against them. Here are a few considerations when you make your decision.
Writing is a single-task activity. Study after study has shown that multi-tasking is a myth. Our brains can be devoted to only so many mental tasks at once. Try singing a song while adding a couple of two-digit numbers in your head. Or better yet, notice how someone turns down the car stereo when looking for an address.
In the past, many CSRS employees have been excluded from contributing to a Roth due to their income level. Here is information about a program that provides a way for CSRS and CSRS-Offset employees to get large sums into a Roth IRA.
Should you elect a survivor benefit for your spouse? You must pay for survivor benefits out of your annuity. Here are the costs and some of the considerations when you make this decision.
