Pay & Benefits

  • Remember the buyouts of the 1990s? Maybe you were just starting out and it saved your job. Well that was then, and this is now. Forget everything you knew about buyouts and start all over again, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

    July 15, 2014
  • Making the call to turn your investment decisions over to a financial planner is a big decision for just about anybody, but there are several important factors that make that decision even more complicated for federal employees. Tammy Flanagan is Senior Benefits Director for the National Institute of Transition Planning. She's writing about some of the elements of that decision making process for soon-to-retire feds, and shared her thoughts on In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu.

    July 11, 2014
  • Thanks to summertime and the upcoming election, even the most anti-bureaucrat politicians have called a time out in their whack-a-fed agendas. But there are some real threats out there.

    July 11, 2014
  • In examining the viability of the Senior Executive Service, House members called out the Veterans Affairs' compensation program, with a pledge to introduce another piece of legislation to take back bonuses. The Senior Executives Association relayed concerns that talent is fleeing senior executive positions.

    July 11, 2014
  • The Transportation Security Administration has received approval to offer early retirements this calendar year.

    July 11, 2014
  • The mid-term elections are upon us, and some people are complaining about political fatigue and gridlock. But for federal and postal workers - and retirees - these may be the good old days, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

    July 11, 2014
  • A lot of people are saying that the relentless wave of retirements is a threat to the health of the federal workforce. But there's a problem on the other end of the age spectrum too -- OPM data shows there's been a sharp drop in the number of federal employees under the age of 30 over the last few years. As of last year, those younger workers made up just 8 percent of the workforce. Jeff Neal is senior vice president of ICF International and former chief human capital officer at the Department of Homeland Security. He explained the numbers behind the issue on In Depth with Francis Rose.

    July 10, 2014
  • While federal employees gave high marks on usefulness and importance to the Thrift Savings Plan, only a small percentage said they had flexible spending accounts because they saw little value in the program. The results are part of a survey that OPM has been doing since 2004 to gauge worker opinions on the health and wellness benefits it offers.

    July 10, 2014
  • What Golden Years? Today's guest column is from a retired fed who says he doesn't understand why retirees have to pay taxes to fund local public schools.

    July 10, 2014
  • Benefits expert John Elliott will discuss what you should be doing to prepare for retirement, and OPM Director Katherine Archuleta will talk about the status of phased retirement, the retirement-claims backlog and other civil service issues. July 9, 2014

    July 09, 2014
  • A new performance award strategy could rise from the ashes of a now-defunct pay system at the Defense Department. DoD tried to replace the General Schedule system with a National Security Personnel System back in the mid-2000s, but the White House repealed it two years ago. Bob Tobias is Director of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He was part of a Task Force that tried to improve the system back in 2009. He said one bright spot in the system could be the key to building a new performance culture across the federal government on In Depth with Francis Rose.

    July 09, 2014
  • On your last day of work, are you going to leave a surprise gift on somebody's desk? Today's guest columnist is soon pulling the plug after nearly 27 years with Uncle Sam. So what are his thoughts?

    July 09, 2014
  • A specially-formed commission tasked with modernizing military compensation released an interim report in anticipation of its full recommendations due in February. The document reviews massive changes that have occurred since the military switched to an all-volunteer force in 1973.

    July 08, 2014
  • Congress helps set the stage for a one percent pay raise for federal employees next year, despite recent historical trends. The House and Senate versions of a government spending bill don't guarantee a salary bump, but they don't stop the president from declaring one, either. And the House already approved a 1.8 percent pay raise for military service members in 2015. Katie Maddocks is the government affairs representative for the Federal Managers Association. She explained the chances of seeing a pay raise next year on In Depth with Francis Rose.

    July 08, 2014