Retirement

• AFGE, NTEU try to stave off changes to retirement benefits

  The two employee unions say lawmakers shouldn't make up for sequestration cuts by forcing federal employees to contribute more to their retirement. House and Senate legislators are working on a small-scale budget deal that reportedly includes a provision to alter federal retirement benefits.

  Budget

  December 06, 2013
• Even as federal retirements continue declining, OPM processing nosedives

  The number of federal employees filing for retirement is on a downward swing. For the fifth month in a row, fewer federal employees than expected filed for retirement, according to new data from the Office of Personnel Management. However, OPM's efforts at processing federal-employee retirement applications also took a nosedive last month. OPM processed just 5,700 claims in November, less than half of what it predicted it would and nearly half the number of cases the agency cleared last month.

  Workforce

  December 05, 2013
• The problem and solution are the same thing: You!

  What do so many Washington-based politicians have in common with a firefighter with an arson problem? Both spend a lot of time solving problems they created, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

  Mike Causey

  December 05, 2013
• New bill aims to cancel sequestration for DoD at cost to feds’ pay and benefits

  Reps. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) and Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) introduced a bill Tuesday to cancel sequestration for the Defense Department for two years. The bill would offset this change by using a chained CPI to calculate COLAs for federal retirement programs along with other entitlement reforms.

  Budget

  December 03, 2013
• Will budget committee target feds’ retirement contributions?

  Even as mystery surrounds the work of the House-Senate budget committee negotiating over fiscal 2014 funding levels and possible alternatives to devastating across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration, there's consensus emerging about some of the potential bargaining chips the committee is likely to use. That includes requiring federal workers to contribute more of their salaries toward their pensions.

  Budget

  December 02, 2013
• Why increasing feds’ retirement contributions may not help cut the deficit

  Requiring federal employees to contribute more of their salary toward retirement is rumored to be among the proposals being considered by the House-Senate budget conference committee as an partial alternative to the sequestration budget cuts. The proposal, which the Congressional Budget Office has concluded would increase federal revenues by nearly $20 billion over 10 years, has criticism from federal-employee unions. But now, at least one think tank, known for its hawkish stance on reducing the deficit, says the proposal could end up not saving the government a dime.

  Benefits

  December 02, 2013
• Feds who took TSP withdrawals during shutdown locked out of contributing for next six months

  During the 16-day government shutdown last month, more than 14,000 Thrift Savings Plan participants withdrew money from their accounts, the highest number of hardship withdrawals in a single month ever. This may have helped participants weather the financial uncertainty of the shutdown. But, under TSP rules, it also means they'll be unable to contribute to their 401(k)-style retirement accounts for the next six months. Now, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which oversees the TSP, is concerned that not all those participants will take the initiative to restart their contributions when the penalty period expires next spring.

  Congress

  November 25, 2013
• Year-end retirees miss COLA boat

  Planning to retire soon to cash in on that 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment? Good plan, except for one problem, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. The good ship USS COLA has sailed!

  Mike Causey

  November 18, 2013
• Senate proposal lops off FERS pensions for new hires

  A new bill introduced by a trio of Republican senators would end the defined benefit portion of FERS coverage for new federal employees hired within six months of the bill's passage. Sponsors of the bill say the Public-Private Employee Retirement Parity Act would align federal retirement benefits more closely with those earned in the private sector.

  Congress

  November 15, 2013
• Winterizing your TSP lifeboat

  Did you bail out of the stock market prior to or during the shutdown? If so, have you looked at the TSP numbers lately? If not, maybe you should, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

  Mike Causey

  November 06, 2013
• Retirement backlog continues to drop as fewer feds file to retire

  For the fourth month in a row, fewer federal employees than expected put in for retirement, allowing the Office of Personnel Management to continue cutting away at a longstanding backlog of claims. About 1,000 fewer employees than expected filed for retirement, according to new OPM data. The backlog fell by more than 3,500 cases.

  Workforce

  November 05, 2013
• TSP investing and more

  CBS MoneyWatch columnist Allan Roth will share investment strategies for the TSP, and Federal Times senior writer Sean Reilly will discuss what's ahead for federal workers and retirees. October 30, 2013

  Mike Causey

  October 30, 2013
• 2014 COLA to rise 1.5 percent

  The Social Security Administration announced Wednesday morning that the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2014 will rise 1.5 percent.

  Benefits

  October 30, 2013
• How to prepare for the next government shutdown

  Financial planner Arthur Stein will discuss what you can do to protect your assets in the event of another government shutdown, and Sean Reilly will talk about the possibility of another shutdown, and what's ahead for feds. October 23, 2013

  Mike Causey

  October 23, 2013