Pay & Benefits

  • Worried about a repeat of last year's government shutdown? Senior Correspondent Mike Causey tells us whether there's another October surprise in your future.

    July 29, 2014
  • The trustees who oversee Social Security have released a mixed report on the program's solvency. Retirement will be okay until 2034. The disability trust fund, however, has just two more years. But what about the Social Security Administration itself? As a large agency responsible for delivering hundreds of billions of dollars in benefits each year, it also has long term challenges. Those hurdles are detailed in a study by the National Academy of Public Administration. Project Director Roger Kodat joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss the major challenges at SSA over the next 10 years.

    July 28, 2014
  • With all the bad press the government, and government workers are getting nowadays, do you ever tell people you do something else---like maybe you are a travel agent or undertaker---for a living? If not, you may want to reconsider why not.

    July 28, 2014
  • Buying an annuity from the Social Security Administration is one way for federal employees to bolster their retirement income. And yes, you heard that right, you can buy a Social Security annuity. Tammy Flanagan is Senior Benefits Director for the National Institute of Transition Planning. She says on In Depth with Francis Rose the cost of the annuity depends on how patient you are.

    July 25, 2014
  • Living costs are on the rise. That puts federal retirees on track for a 1.9 percent cost of living adjustment in January. But that's only if lawmakers don't change the way inflation is measured. Congress and the White House both say the chained CPI would be a more accurate measure. But the chained CPI has lots of critics and foes. They say it's like switching your habits from eating steak for dinner to eating dog food. Web Editor Shefali Kapadia joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss federal employees' reaction online.

    July 25, 2014
  • What if Kim Kardashian took over at the IRS, or Brittany Spears' ex Kevin Federline succeeded John Kerry at the State Department. Would that get your attention?

    July 25, 2014
  • What's in those missing IRS tapes? The ones critics of the agency say would provide the smoking gun of evidence. Is there a lesson for your agency in record-keeping? Yes, but maybe not what you thought.

    July 24, 2014
  • NARFE Legislative Director Jessica Klement, and Federal Times Senior Writer Andy Medici will discuss chained CPI, pay raises, and other issues affecting feds. July 23, 2014

    July 23, 2014
  • The TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act of 2014, sponsored by Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), would no longer classify some Transportation Security Administration agents in the Office of Inspection as law enforcement officers.

    July 23, 2014
  • Despite higher prices at the pump, overall living costs rose only slightly last month. For federal-military-Social Security retirees, that points to a 1.9 percent cost of living adjustment in January.

    July 23, 2014
  • The Government Accountability Office is in the middle of an ongoing, multi-year study on the pay system, and taking its findings to Capitol Hill. A House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee looked at the General Schedule last week. Jessica Klement is legislative director of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. She shared her own ideas of how to reform the General Schedule on In Depth with Francis Rose.

    July 22, 2014
  • The military is shrinking, but the Pentagon's personnel costs keep growing. In fact, it pays about $125,000 per active-duty service member, including both salary and benefits. Two Washington think tanks are raising alarms. They say the Pentagon needs to do something now so it doesn't have to cut other critical parts of its budget later on. Steve Bell is senior director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. He joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss why the personnel cost has become expensive.

    July 22, 2014
  • Here's a sobering thought: Will the federal worker of the future be a hybridized version of his or her counterpart in the U.S. Postal Service?

    July 22, 2014
  • When your political bosses tell you to bend over and await further instructions, chances are you are about to be reformed. So if you've been there and done that, get ready for another exercise in excellence, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

    July 21, 2014