Social Security is an agency in some crisis as labor relations are strained with ongoing uncertainty over their contracts.
While the raises and COLAs are important to individuals, the community and the nation, the actual amounts are often a mystery to both workers and retirees. Especially when the amounts vary greatly.
The WEP/Offset battle is up and running again, with renewed vigor. Since it's important to so many, Mike Causey will be taking a look at both sides of the argument.
In most cases there are a number of “best dates” each year to retire. Even more importantly is picking the actual year itself. What’s best for you may not work for a colleague with the same service time and salary level. So how do you find that magic moment?
The backlog in federal retirement claims continued to climb in February as OPM decreases the monthly average processing time from 94 to 89 days.
One long-time fed said I had made unfair (and unjustified) editorial comments about the impact and the need for the WEP and GPO.
After a month of disappointing returns in January, Thrift Savings Plan funds closed out February trending positive. Performance is still negative over the past year.
TSP participation rates for the Federal Employees Retirement System and active duty uniformed services were at all-time highs in January: 94.9% and 81.3%, respectively.
What can people do — either by working longer or delaying their Social Security — that will boost and maintain their standard of living when they do decide to retire?
For many feds, the money they have in their Thrift Savings Plan will provide anywhere from one-third to one-half of their income. Most know that knowing when to buy and when to sell is a crap shoot, at best.
If you had your choice, would you prefer a pay raise based on political and fiscal considerations or a cost of living adjustment based on the actual rate of inflation?
Congress may be on the way to changing two laws that offset or eliminate benefits to public employees and their survivors.
If you choose the invest-for-the-long haul course you may, as 112,000 rank-and-file federal and postal workers have done, become a TSP millionaire. But the keys are long-term investing and doing what the proven winners have already done.
The backlog of retirement claims has finally broken 30,000, or 31,307 in January, to be precise. The Office of Personnel Management reported 4,577 more claims awaiting processing last month compared to December, or a 17% increase.
While probate can be a mystifying and grim subject, it is one you should be up on. Learn how to avoid probate, or navigate through it if that is the only option.