Guess who’s coming to dinner?

What if your son, daughter or someone you loved, cherished and wished well brought a surprise date home for dinner.  And you could see sparks flying.  Could a mixed marriage be in the offing?

Then, to your surprise, you find out that he, or she, the date, is a federal government worker.  Maybe a civilian with the Army, Navy or the Air Force.  Or the Interior Department.  Or, gasp,  the Internal Revenue Service.   Or the Office of Personnel Management, which you’ve maybe never heard of.

Could a mixed marriage be in the offing!

Could you handle it?  Would you be polite, but disappointed?  Or would you barely be able to suppress your horror at the thought the two, your loved one and the G-man or woman, might become one?

Mixed marriages, between feds and nonfeds, are very common in the Washington area.   But they also happen if you live in Ogden, Utah; Huntsville, Alabama; San Antonio, Texas or Martinsburg, West Virginia.  Or in a score of other places where Uncle Sam is a (if not THE) primary employer.  A number of towns exist because a VA hospital, a federal prison or a military base is nearby. Sometimes all three.

If you live in a fed-invested area, odds are good somebody in the family will wind up marrying a fed.  Which maybe isn’t so bad after all.In fact the September issue of NARFE magazine makes a great case for mixed marriages.

Author Tammy Flanagan (who frequently guest hosts our Your Turn radio show) makes no bones about it.

“The next best thing to being a federal employee is being married to one!  Being the spouse of a federal employee or retiree provides valuable insurance benefits, a stable retirement and protection from unforeseen and costly life events,” she writes.

She then lists the top 10 reasons spouses (and potential mates of feds) should know about federal benefits.

Number one, the Retirement Program program.  It’s considered the best “company” plan in the nation.  Annuities are based on salary and service time. And benefits are indexed to inflation.

Second, the Death Benefit, which is much more generous that most private plans.

Also in order, what happens if you divorce a  fed (you can still get a share of their retirement and qualify for health and survivor benefits), then she points out the importance of Social Security to the spouse.  Other perks of marrying a fed include the Thrift Savings Plan; Health Insurance; Life Insurance; Long Term Care insurance; Medicare and finally Beneficiary designations.  All of which make feds quite attractive.

The NARFE magazine is available to members of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees.  But this is of such wide interest to so many people — members and nonmembers alike — NARFE has agreed to make Tammy Flanagan’s 10 reasons-to-love-a-fed article  available to readers of this column.  Click here to read it in full.

Nearly Useless Factoid

By Michael O’Connell

The glasses actor Spencer Tracy wears throughout the 1967 film “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” have no lenses.

Source: IMDB

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