benefits

• Self-plus-one coverage: What’s in it for you?

  Lots of people inside government are excited about the pending self-plus-one health plan option, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. It will cost more than self-only, but less than the standard family plan. So who are the winners and losers?

  Mike Causey

  January 16, 2014
• Retirement ride: Will you be going 1st, 2nd or 3rd class?

  Thanks to some surgical budget-cutting by Congress and the White House, Uncle Sam now has a three-tiered retirement plan: First-, second- and third-class where the service is the same but the price tag is higher for some than others.

  Mike Causey

  January 14, 2014
• Despite what your significant other says, you’re worth more than you think!

  Thanks to a portion of the media and many politicians, a lot of federal and postal workers have a low opinion of themselves. But when you crunch the numbers, feds are significant players in the stock market and in the net worth department, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. Crunch your own numbers.

  Mike Causey

  January 13, 2014
• Senator sues OPM over health care regulations

  Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has filed a lawsuit against Katherine Archuleta, the head of the Office of Personnel Management, seeking to overturn an OPM regulation that allows lawmakers and their staffs to continue receiving government contribution toward their health insurance premiums. Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, lawmakers and their staffs were booted from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), under which the government typically kicks in about three-fourths of the cost of federal employees' premiums, and required to purchase health insurance on the federal exchange.

  Congress

  January 06, 2014
• OPM seeks changes to feds’ benefits, insurance opportunities

  The Office of Personnel Management recently filed two proposals to change how feds enroll in the Federal Employee Dental and Vision Insurance Program and to expand the regulations of the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance.

  Benefits

  January 02, 2014
• Will OPM allow flexible-spending rollovers?

  Under federal "use it or lose it" rules, any unspent money employees set aside last year to pay for out-of-pocket health costs, such as prescriptions or co-pays, is forfeited at the end of the year. But a group of senators from states surrounding the Washington, D.C., area, wants to change that. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) along with Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) wrote to Katherine Archuleta, the head of the Office of Personnel Management, requesting the agency implement new regulations that would allow federal employees to roll over as much as $500 in unused funds from year to year.

  Congress

  December 30, 2013
• VA benefits set to slightly increase in 2014

  When veterans and their families, who receive disability compensation and retirement benefits from the Veterans Affairs Department, receive their annual cost-of-living increase next month, for the first time ever, it won't be rounded down to the nearest dollar. Overall, the COLA for veterans benefits will increase 1.5 percent. Until this year, the COLA for veterans' benefits was rounded down to the nearest dollar. That will change with payments beginning in January.

  Defense

  December 04, 2013
• Plan B: You need 4 of them when shopping for insurance

  In most serious situations, it's good to have a fallback Plan B. When shopping for health insurance you need four of them, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

  Mike Causey

  December 02, 2013
• Sorry, your retirement date is extended 5 years!

  Suppose Congress passed a law requiring you to work an extra five years? You'd be furious, right? Suppose, because you are just plain cheap, you forced yourself to work an extra five years? Guess what? It happens every day, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

  Mike Causey

  November 27, 2013
• Feds who took TSP withdrawals during shutdown locked out of contributing for next six months

  During the 16-day government shutdown last month, more than 14,000 Thrift Savings Plan participants withdrew money from their accounts, the highest number of hardship withdrawals in a single month ever. This may have helped participants weather the financial uncertainty of the shutdown. But, under TSP rules, it also means they'll be unable to contribute to their 401(k)-style retirement accounts for the next six months. Now, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which oversees the TSP, is concerned that not all those participants will take the initiative to restart their contributions when the penalty period expires next spring.

  Congress

  November 25, 2013
• About those gaps … in your teeth

  Do you have a colleague who is always so upbeat, so happy that it gets on your nerves? If so, there is a sure-fire way to make him or her lose that grin, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

  Mike Causey

  November 07, 2013
• Young, immortal and uninsured!

  You work for Uncle Sam. You are young, healthy and immortal. Who needs health insurance? Well, you may be in for a surprise, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

  Mike Causey

  October 25, 2013
• Issa bill would open FEHBP to all Americans, but at what cost?

  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) introduced a bill that would open up the federal health program to all Americans, but one federal employee union has come out to oppose it and benefits experts question how much it would cost.

  Congress

  October 24, 2013
• Retiree COLAs: Is bigger always better?

  When it comes to cost-of-living adjustments for retirees, bigger is always better, right? Or is it? Either way, some changes may be coming in the way the government tracks inflation, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

  Mike Causey

  October 16, 2013