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Pay & Benefits
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Planning to retire soon to cash in on that 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment? Good plan, except for one problem, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. The good ship USS COLA has sailed!
November 18, 2013 -
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A new bill introduced by a trio of Republican senators would end the defined benefit portion of FERS coverage for new federal employees hired within six months of the bill's passage. Sponsors of the bill say the Public-Private Employee Retirement Parity Act would align federal retirement benefits more closely with those earned in the private sector.
November 15, 2013 -
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A new Congressional Budget Office analysis of proposed deficit-reduction efforts contained half a dozen proposals affecting federal employees, including reducing annual pay raises, requiring federal employees to contribute more toward their pensions and reducing the size of the federal workforce through attrition. All told, such proposals would reduce federal outlays or increase revenues by $308 billion, according to CBO estimates.
November 15, 2013 -
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Most people know of Harry Truman's famous "the buck stops here" quote, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. But that was in the 1940s. What, if anything, does it mean in 2013 Washington?
November 15, 2013 -
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Being single has its advantages. Especially when you are shopping for a health plan or a new doctor, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. So, just how good is the single life?
November 14, 2013 -
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Walton Francis, editor of the Consumers' Checkbook Guide to Federal Health Plans, will answer your calls and emails about open season. November 13, 2013
November 13, 2013 -
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You may be the healthiest person in the IRS or the most organic couple with the EPA, but that doesn't let you off the hook when it comes time to hunt for a health plan, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
November 13, 2013 -
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Just a week into the job and confronted with signs of the sagging morale of the federal workforce, new Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta said she wants to take steps to make sure federal employees feel engaged in their work. Tuesday's annual public meeting of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council focused on ways to improve employee engagement and morale. OPM released its annual Employee Viewpoint Survey last week, revealing continuing declines in federal employees' overall job satisfaction and a sharp drop in satisfaction with their pay.
November 12, 2013 -
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Crushing medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy. But you can avoid that by choosing one of the many federal health plans, and picking one that limits your maximum out-of-pocket costs, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
November 12, 2013 -
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Veterans Day is one of those odd holidays which, for many people, has almost lost its meaning. Lots of people are actually working today and for many, whether its a holiday or just another workday for them, the fact that it is not a Monday holiday is a mystery. Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says the key to the mystery is the numbers 11/11/11.
November 11, 2013 -
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Open Season, the time when federal employees and retirees can comb through more than 250 plans of the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program and make changes, kicks off today and runs through Dec. 9. Find some key pieces of information for the current Open Season and links to more information. Plus, benefits experts offer their three most important tips for Open Season.
November 09, 2013 -
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Frustrations over federal pay, budget cuts and uncertain agency funding have weakened federal-employee satisfaction, according to the Office of Personnel Management's Federal Employee Viewpoint survey released Friday. For the second year in a row, overall employee satisfaction scores fell, dipping below 60 percent this year. Meanwhile, less than half of federal employees said they believe they have sufficient resources — such as material, staff and funding — to do their jobs effectively.
November 08, 2013 -
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A coalition of more than two dozen federal-employee unions and advocacy groups is calling on budget negotiators to come up with a way to undo the across-the-board sequestration budget cuts that are poised to slash agency spending by billions more this year. But following three years of a pay freeze and the recent 16-day government shutdown, the groups are equally adamant that changes to federal employees' pay and benefits should be off the table.
November 08, 2013 -
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If Charles Dickens had written about the government's bonus program he might have called his novel "Bleak House," or maybe "Not So Great Expectations," Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
November 08, 2013
