Beginning in May, the IRS will begin mailing checks worth $600 to $1,200 to tens of millions of Americans. Odds are you will get one.

The idea behind the bipartisan economic stimulus is simple: It either will, might, may, could, or we hope and pray, head off a recession, minimize the impact of a recession and/or shorten the recession. Or none of the above.

So if you are confused about the purpose or wisdom of the stimulus package, welcome to the club. By the same token if you are confused about who gets a check (and for how much) a double welcome to the club. It means you havebeen paying attention.

Like most simple solutions this one is very complicated.

Federal retirees, and people who didn’t pay taxes in 2007, often ask what about them? As you can see from the letter below, they aren’t even getting help from their congressional offices. So first the question from a reader/listener, then the answer from the answer man.

Question:

I have been trying to determine if federal civil service retirees, both CSRS and FERS, are eligible to receive the tax rebate contained in the economic stimulus package approved by President Bush.

I have called several Congressional offices and although they all agree that FERS retirees, who also get Social Security benefits, will be eligible, I can not get a definite answer to the question of CSRS recipients or FERS beneficiaries who are not yet eligible for Social Security.

If you could secure the answer and publish it, I know a lot of people would be most appreciative. James Armet

Answer from Dan Adcock, National Active and Retired Federal Employees:

The new law allows Americans to receive a tax rebate through two options:

First, workers, retirees and others who paid federal income taxes in 2007 will receive a check up to $600 per person or $1,200 per couple allowed for those without dependent children. (Taxpayers with children will receive an additional $300 per child). The rebates begin to phase out at $75,000 and $150,000 adjusted gross income (AGI) for single and joint filers, respectively, with the rebate effectively eliminated for taxpayers without dependent children at $87,000 and $186,000 AGI for single and joint filers, respectively.

        Read more: Mike Causey

Second, workers, retirees and others who paid little or no income taxes, but earned wages, Social Security benefits or disabled veteran benefits would qualify for payments of $300 for individuals or $600 for couples filing joint returns.

The key to qualifying for a check is to file a 2007 return, even if you normally don’t file. As one irreverent nonexpert put it, “if you file a return and you are breathing you will probably get a check.”

For more on who qualifies, click here.

Pay Raises

It could be months before white collar federal workers know what their 2009 national pay raise will be. And it could be even longer before they know the final amount once locality pay is factored into the process. Best bet is that the national (pre-locality pay) adjustment will range from 2.9 percent to 3.4 percent for feds outside of pay-for-performance plans like the NSPS. For more on how that works, click here.

Retiree Raise

With seven months to go in the cost of living adjustment countdown, retired feds, military retirees and people who get Social Security are now due a January 2009 raise of at least 1.8 percent. That will go up if living costs rise between now and September.

Postal Pay Hike

Letter carriers will be getting their second COLA raise of the 2006-2011 contract on April 4. The $468 per year raise was effective last Saturday.

Postal clerks and members of the Mail Handlers craft will get a COLA of $479. Although all three union contracts use the same formula the slight dollar difference is the result of different base months. The actual difference after rounding is about a penny an hour.

Nearly Useless Factoid

As we approach the vernal equinox, or as snopes.com calls it the “Infernal Egguinox“, no doubt someone will mention the ol’ You-Can-Stand-an-Egg-on-End trick. As legend has it, there are one or two magical days a year right around the vernal equinox when eggs can be balanced on end. True enough, but the timeframe’s a bit tight. You can do it any day, if you’re sure enough of hand.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com

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