Federal employees and retirees will face a series of difficult decisions over the next month as they think about funding their benefit contributions in the midst of rising costs.
The “self plus one” option under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program has proven to be quite costly. The author looks at how high some of the premiums are and the possible cause.
The author explains Medicare’s four parts and how they overlap with the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program.
The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association has sharply criticized plans by the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform to require postal retirees, their spouses and survivors to enroll in Medicare Part B or forfeit their coverage in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
The Social Security Board of Trustees has released its latest report on the health of Social Security. The report says that the trust funds should enable paying scheduled benefits until 2034, but the author notes it doesn’t actually say the trust fund will last until then.
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 author describes a technique known as the “The Back Door Roth TSP Withdrawal” federal employees can use to accelerate their tax benefits in retirement.
A House Committee hearing last week looked at reforming the health benefits for postal employees in an effort to deal with the Postal Service’s massive and ongoing financial losses. Could moving postal workers to Medicare ultimately force other federal employees onto this system as well?
What are the prospects for a cost of living adjustment (COLA) in 2017 and what are the implications for federal retirees? The author looks at the current situation.
The House Budget Committee has released its FY 2017 budget proposal. Unlike past budgets, this one lacks some of the direct targeting of federal employees through proposed cuts, but it still includes some proposals that are applicable to federal workers. Here is a summary of these proposals.
