Retirement

  • An amendment to a Senate bill aiming to restructure the U.S. Postal Service's financial framework would institute new agency reporting requirements for retiring federal workers in anticipation of a "deluge of retirees" from USPS. Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), introduced an amendment last week that requires the Office of Personnel Management to take new steps to chip away at the longstanding backlog of federal retirement claims.

    April 23, 2012
  • Recent data from the Office of Personnel Management suggests that the long-predicted retirement tsunami of federal employees may have started. As more and more baby boomers opt to retire, a vacuum of knowledge and experience is being left behind at many agencies. Some federal managers are now scrambling to figure out ways to ride out the wave.

    April 19, 2012
  • In a rare bipartisan move, the House oversight committee voted to bring a bill allowing phased retirements of federal employees to the floor for a general vote.

    April 19, 2012
  • It could be a long time before federal workers see another January pay raise. But for retirees, things are looking up.

    April 17, 2012
  • Economist Dave Redden tells For Your Benefit that young people just starting in the federal service stand to gain the most from tax-free funds in retirement.

    April 16, 2012
  • Congress returns to session this week with a few short months to reach a budget resolution for the new fiscal year starting Oct. 1 and agree on how to avoid the automatic spending cuts of $1.2 trillion over the next decade that will be triggered Jan. 2, 2013, under the Budget Control Act debt limit deal. But don't expect much to get accomplished before the election, say budget experts.

    April 16, 2012
  • The Roth option for the Thrift Savings Plan, which was announced earlier this week, will be delayed for employees in the Defense Department and other agencies. Originally set for a May 7 launch, members of the military may have to wait as late as October to choose the option.

    April 13, 2012
  • The combination of buyouts, a surge in baby boomer retirements and a hostile Congress may make this the worst year, maybe ever, to consider retiring, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

    April 13, 2012
  • This year and the next could set a new record for federal retirements. Senior correspondent Mike Causey says that's good news if you are stuck on your agency's promotion ladder, but not so good news if it means finding a cookbook for ways to prepare cat food.

    April 12, 2012
  • Allan Roth of CBS MoneyWatch and Federal Times reporters Andy Medici and Steve Losey join host Mike Causey on today's program. April 11, 2012

    April 11, 2012
  • The Roth option for the Thrift Savings Plan, which will allow federal employees to contribute after-tax dollars toward their retirement-savings accounts, will launch May 7, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board announced today. The board, which first began planning the Roth TSP in June 2009 when it was authorized, made the announcement at its quarterly meeting of TSP coordinators.

    April 11, 2012
  • The Office of Personnel Management has consistently made progress processing retirement claims since the start of the calendar year, even as federal employees continue to retire in higher-than-projected numbers. In each of the first three months of the year, OPM surpassed its processing goal, according to OPM data released last week.

    April 09, 2012
  • It seems like every week another agency is offering employee buyouts and early retirements. But they're not designed to make you rich. So how do you decide when a buyout is right for you? The Federal Drive spoke with registered employee-benefits consultant Ed Zurndorfer to get some answers.

    April 06, 2012
  • Billy Milton, chief human capital officer at the USDA, tells The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp about the Agriculture Department's successful approach to managing its workforce in tough budgetary times.

    April 06, 2012