Your Turn

Is there a buyout in your future?

The odds of you getting a $20,000-$40,000 buyout are slim so what can you do to build your retirement nest egg? Find out when federal benefits expert Tammy Fl...

September 26, 2017 5:16 pm

2 min read

Although buyouts are out there, the odds that you personally will get a $25,000 to $40,000 payment to leave are slim and none. You can wait, and hope, and maybe, just maybe get lucky. But the deck is stacked against you.

But it is possible for many long-service, retirement eligible feds to create their own buyout: a big chunk of change, in the tens of thousands of dollars, if they are careful with their vacation (annual leave time) and if they retire on the best date. Usually in late December or the first three days in January, depending on whether they are FERS, CSRS or under the CSRS Offset retirement program.

Folks who cover the federal beat say that the two most asked job-related questions are:

When eligible, should I take Medicare Part B?
What is the best date (or dates) to retire?

The answer is, like most simple questions, “it depends?”

Fortunately, we’ve got the person who knows the answers. Our guest today on our 10 a.m. EDT Your Turn radio show, the answer-lady, is Tammy Flanagan. She’s a long-time, been-there-done-that federal benefits expert and columnist for Government Executive. When Tammy speaks everybody listens. Or should.

On today’s show she’s going to be talking about a number of important things.

What are the benefit threats facing federal workers and retirees? What will they “save” the government, meaning what will they cost you both on the job and after you retire?
How likely is it that Congress will charge FERS workers more money — anywhere from 4.4 percent to 6 percent more — for their share of the retirement plan costs.
What happens to you, active or retired, if Congress reduces future cost-of-living adjustments for CSRS retirees and eliminates them completely for people under FERS? Can you imagine the financial impact of going 20 or 30 years in retirement without any protection from inflation?
How do I maximize the amount of annual leave I can carry over, and get paid for at a higher rate by picking the best date to retire? And get a tax break at the same time?

You can listen today on 1500 AM in the Washington metro area or streaming on the internet at Federal News Radio. Because all of the Your Turn shows are archived, you can click on and listen to any of them anytime. This is a particularly good one to tell friends and coworkers about.