You don't have to be popping 50-plus vitamins or checking out the early-bird dinner special to be excited by the government's new phased retirement program, Senior...
The new federal phased retirement program (PRP) isn’t just for feds who take vitamins or for seniors as they wait in line for the early bird (dinner at 4:30 p.m.) special.
Allowing feds to dip their toes in retirement, before completely taking the plunge, has the potential to open up the promotion ladder for younger and mid-career employees, to offset potential harm from a retirement-tsunami brain drain and make moving into the next phase of your life much easier. But first this note:
Did you ever wonder why when the private sector does things, it just does them? Whereas, in the federal government, it seems that just about anything, no matter how simple it appears, becomes a federal case?
Reason: The mostly career federal civil service is managed by a handful of elected and appointed political appointees, and its board of directors is made up of 535 members of Congress. Many are patriots. Some are self-seeking, self-promoting types whose goal, after getting elected, is to keep getting reelected.
As a result many things are done (or attempted) in the name of making government work better. Because of thousands of laws, and what must be millions of sometimes conflicting regulations, when Congress does something simple — with the civil service — it takes time to cross all the proverbial i’s and dot those pesky t’s.
Take the phased retirement program, please!
It was approved a long time ago but the final regulations have only just been approved. Because of merit system rules and laws, allowing somebody to work part-time, while also being retired part-time, is easier said than done. Yesterday’s Your Turn radio show was devoted to an update — by an expert — in the new program. Our Guest, Bob Braunstein, brought his own expertise to the program and answered more than a dozen key questions from listeners. Check it out, and alert a friend too. Regardless of your age, and time left in government, this could be important to you.
Meantime, here are some high-points on the program:
References:
Let The Confusion Begin! and Phased Retirement: The Bottom Line (GovExec columns by Tammy Flanagan)
NEARLY USELESS FACTOID
Compiled by Jack Moore
People are more creative when they’re unconsciously “primed” with thoughts of death, according to new research. Students who were unconsciously exposed to words, such as “pain” and “death” flashing for milliseconds on a computer screen, and then asked to write captions for New Yorker cartoons, were rated to have written more humorous captions.
(Source: Science Daily)
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Mike Causey is senior correspondent for Federal News Network and writes his daily Federal Report column on federal employees’ pay, benefits and retirement.
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