Pay & Benefits

  • 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
  • How much cash would it take for you to accept a buyout at your agency? Is there a magic number you're looking for? Web Manager Julia Ziegler joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss what people are saying online.

    July 18, 2014
  • Remember the fable of the rabbit, trapped by a hungry fox, who begs to be punished by being thrown into the briar patch? Think of yourself as that rascally rabbit, and Congress as the hungry but not so bright fox, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. We're talking about the shutdown showdown.

    July 18, 2014
  • The Office of Personnel Management just issued a final rule that lets a subset of federal employees enroll in or switch dental and vision plans outside of the open enrollment periods. The amendment goes into effect next month.

    July 17, 2014
  • If you live and work in the Washington area, are you less happy and more nervous in the civil service than your identical twin who's a fed in Indianapolis or Denver? Maybe there's a good reason, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

    July 17, 2014
  • NITP Senior Benefits Director Tammy Flanagan will answer your retirement questions. July 16, 2014

    July 16, 2014
  • The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Senate's postal reform plan would save just under $17 billion. Changes to the agency would include maintaining increased postal rates and cutting delivery to five days per week.

    July 16, 2014
  • Back in the day, when the draft was still around, kids used to ask, "What did you do during the war, Daddy?" Today, in major federal centers, they want to know what you were up to this time nine months ago?

    July 16, 2014
  • There's growing consensus on Capitol Hill and from the Obama administration that the pay and personnel system used by the federal government since 1949 and infrequently updated is showing its age — and due for a major facelift. Lawmakers probed the General Schedule system Tuesday during a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and the Census.

    July 15, 2014
  • The Smart Savings Act would make the Lifecycle Funds the default investment option in the Thrift Savings Plan for new federal employees.

    July 15, 2014
  • The Air Force will offer early retirement and buyouts to civilian personnel, in order to eliminate nearly 3,500 positions, officials announced Monday. The service estimates the cuts will save the Air Force $1.6 billion over the next five years.

    July 15, 2014
  • About 1.5 million white collar federal employees get paid according to the General Schedule. But the system predates the personal computing era. Today, a Congressional panel dares to raise the question: Is the general schedule viable in 2014? John Palguta is the vice president for policy at the Partnership for Public Service. He joined Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss why the current system is not viable.

    July 15, 2014
  • 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