Retirement

  • Federal and postal investors are entitled to feel a little bit smug as they follow what could be a landmark pension management case involving one of the nation's biggest firms. Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says so can the people who set up and run the federal Thrift Savings Plan.

    December 16, 2014
  • Now that Congress has passed the Smart Savings Act, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board is programming a new savings default option for those who join the federal government late next year.

    December 15, 2014
  • Congress is capping the pensions of top military officials in 2015. As part of National Defense Authorization Act, pensions for generals and admirals will be trimmed to ensure they make no more in retirement than they did on active duty. That reverses a 2007 law designed to help retain officers during wartime. What effects, if any, will this have on the military's ability to retain its senior officers? Larry Korb is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and former assistant secretary of Defense for manpower and reserve affairs. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with a look at this measure.

    December 15, 2014
  • Congress has passed a bill that will automatically enroll new federal employees in the Thrift Savings Plan's Lifecycle Funds (L Funds), rather than the Government Securities Investment Fund (G Fund).

    December 12, 2014
  • Office of Personnel Management officials told the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Census about its plan to buy a case management system. The case management system will serve as the foundation for yet another attempt at modernizing the retirement system.

    December 11, 2014
  • The primary federal pensions plans -- CSRS and FERS --are the gold-standard compared to virtually any private-sector pension plan. But how safe are they? asks Senior Correspondent Mike Causey.

    December 11, 2014
  • After receiving 4,000 more retirement claims in October than it expected to, the Office of Personnel Management received 2,000 fewer than it expect to in the month of November.

    December 05, 2014
  • Every Thrift Savings Plan domestic fund showed growth in November, including the troubled I Fund, which had been in the negative for months.

    December 01, 2014
  • In a new report on reducing the federal deficit, the Congressional Budget Office suggests that cutting 70,000 government jobs over the next decade and changing the math used for civilian and military pensions could save $100 billion.

    November 26, 2014
  • Few of us are going to live into our 100s, but choosing the right health care plan for you may make getting older more comfortable and put money in your wallet too, says Senior Correspondent Mike Causey.

    November 21, 2014
  • Retirement benefits in the military have one thing in common with Social Security and Medicare: they're budget time bombs yet no one in Congress has the nerve to touch them. Still, numerous proposals for reforming military compensation have been put forth. One of the most comprehensive comes from the RAND Corporation. Beth Asch is a senior economist at RAND, and she joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on how to make military pay less costly and more equitable.

    November 19, 2014
  • Health insurance premiums for white-collar federal workers or government retirees will run anywhere from $1,200 to nearly $6,000 next year. Wouldn't it be nice to save $1,000? asks Senior Correspondent Mike Causey.

    November 19, 2014
  • Some new choices may be coming to your Thrift Savings Plan account, but you won't see those choices for a while. First, the TSP board wants to know the best way to offer those choices. Kim Weaver is director of external affairs at the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. On In Depth with Francis Rose, she explained what may become part of your TSP account.

    November 18, 2014
  • In a bid to keep more people participating in the Thrift Savings Plan even after they leave the government, members of the plan's oversight board have approved a million-dollar-plus study of new investment options, including mutual funds that focus on real estate, emerging markets and socially responsible companies.

    November 17, 2014