Federal Report
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When deciding to retire there is one day, but lots of different dates, that is best for you, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. How do you figure out the difference?
December 09, 2013 -
Is the upcoming weekend a time for dinner, dancing and romance or are you going to curl up with a batch of health-insurance brochures? The latter might the smarter choice, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
December 06, 2013 -
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.
December 05, 2013 -
Walton Francis, author of the Checkbook Guide to Federal Health Plans, will answer your calls and emails about open season. December 4, 2013
December 04, 2013 -
If you live a perfect lifestyle and your parents and grandparents celebrated their 85th anniversary in the Bridal Suite of your local Motel 6, you can skip today's column, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. Otherwise, listen up.
December 04, 2013 -
The 2014 white-collar pay raise is not for everybody. Feds at the top of their grades in some cities won't be getting anything at all, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
December 03, 2013 -
In most serious situations, it's good to have a fallback Plan B. When shopping for health insurance you need four of them, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
December 02, 2013 -
If you are like many federal workers -- and most retirees -- you won't do anything during the health-insurance Open Season, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. And that could be a very costly mistake, especially for workers and particularly retirees in the most popular plans: Blue Cross Standard option and Blue Cross Basic. Both are excellent but one costs nearly twice as much as the other.
November 29, 2013 -
This is one of those very special warm and fuzzy holidays, so today Senior Correspondent Mike Causey gets about as warm and fuzzy as you would like. And don't worry, it's OK if the kids see this column.
November 28, 2013 -
Suppose Congress passed a law requiring you to work an extra five years? You'd be furious, right? Suppose, because you are just plain cheap, you forced yourself to work an extra five years? Guess what? It happens every day, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
November 27, 2013 -
Should you and your significant other be in the same federal family health plan? Or should you each enroll in self-only plans? Think about it, because the health insurance hunting season closes Dec. 9, and picking the wrong plan could cost you big-time, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
November 26, 2013 -
What do government buyouts have in common with sex education back in the day? The short answer is that you couldn't get much birds-and-bees info then and you can't get much new information on buyouts now, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
November 25, 2013 -
Millions of federal workers are shopping online while they are at work. But don't get mad or hang your head in shame, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. This is a good thing that could save everybody -- especially the taxpayers -- a lot of money.
November 22, 2013 -
Buyouts were a big deal over the last couple of years, but now they seem to have gone away, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. Or gone underground. Are you hearing anything about buyouts?
November 21, 2013 -
Walton Francis, author of the Checkbook Guide to the Health Plan for Federal Employees, and NARFE's David Snell will answer your open season questions. November 20, 2013 (Encore presentation November 27, 2013)
November 20, 2013