No USDA Furloughs
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Making Government 'Simpler'
No More Tax-Cheating Feds, Senators Say
Video: The Daily Show on Apple's Taxes
AUTHOR ARCHIVES
Tammy Flanagan
Tammy Flanagan is the senior benefits director for the National Institute of Transition Planning Inc., which conducts federal retirement planning workshops and seminars. She has spent 25 years helping federal employees take charge of their retirement by understanding their benefits.
For more retirement planning help, tune in to "For Your Benefit," presented by the National Institute of Transition Planning Inc. live on Mondays at 10 a.m. EDT on Federalnewsradio.com, or on WFED AM 1500 in the Washington-metro area.
The Great Claims Processing Pileup
May 17, 2013 Last week, the House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the Census met to hear testimony on the following question: "Is the Office of Personnel Management Processing Federal Worker Pension Claims on Time?" Last month, I addressed the issue of the retirement backlog in a column. Dozens of people ...
Picking the Very Best Date to Retire
May 9, 2013 At a class I taught this week, an employee covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System shared two retirement estimates he had requested for dates at the end of this year and early next year -- specifically, Dec. 31, 2013 and Jan. 31, 2014. Those are both good dates for ...
Best Dates to Retire 2014
May 2, 2013 Download the Calendar: Best Dates to Retire 2014 It’s that time of year again. Are you thinking about retiring next year? This column is designed to help you find the most advantageous date for your departure. (If you’re planning to retire sometime this year, check out my Best Dates to ...
Pre-Retirement To-Do List
April 26, 2013 Are you one of the growing number of federal employees who are preparing to retire in the near future? If so, here’s a list of things that you should do to get ready: Attend any pre-retirement training that is available from your agency. This will be an opportunity to gain ...
About That Backlog…
April 19, 2013 As most federal employees have heard, especially those who are near retirement, there’s a substantial backlog of retirement claims at the Office of Personnel Management that haven’t been fully processed and are awaiting review. As of the end of March, the backlog stood at 36,603 claims. That’s a lot less ...
Required Payouts
April 12, 2013 Last week’s column, Understanding Your TSP Options, left at least one commenter wanting to know more about the issue of required minimum distributions from the Thrift Savings Plan: I would like to hear more about payout options because I don't think it's wise to leave money in the TSP past ...
Understanding Your TSP Options
April 5, 2013 Since April is Financial Literacy Month, I’ve decided to devote this week’s column to helping you gain a better understanding of your Thrift Savings Plan investment choices. At the end of 2012, TSP plan assets stood at $330 billion, with 4.6 million participants. This translates to an average participant balance ...
Preparing in Advance
March 29, 2013 This week’s column is inspired by a pamphlet prepared by the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association for its members. The publication is called “Be Prepared for Life’s Events.” NARFE formed in 1921, the year after Congress passed the law creating the Civil Service Retirement System. It represents the ...
Thinking About Insurance, Part Two
March 22, 2013 Last week, we began looking at how the need for various types of insurance changes as you progress through your career, focusing on the first two stages of the typical working life: early- and mid-career. This week, let’s look at the latter two stages: pre-retirement and retirement. Pre-Retirement Health Insurance: ...
Don't Cancel Your Health Insurance if You're Furloughed
March 21, 2013 Federal employees across government are concerned these days about the possibility of widespread furloughs. Some are clearly beginning to plan for the prospect of losing a portion of their income -- but maybe not in the best way. According to the Office of Personnel Management, some employees are calling the ...
