No USDA Furloughs
Is It Too Hard to Fire Misbehaving Feds?
Americans Still Like the Postal Service
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.
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 ...
Thinking About Insurance Early
March 15, 2013 Your working life can be divided into four stages: early career, when your adult life is beginning to take shape; mid-career, where you may have a growing family and increasing financial responsibilities; pre-retirement, when the kids may be grown and you have an empty nest; and retirement years, with more ...
Cliff Divers, Worker Bees and Retirees in Training
March 8, 2013 I recently received an email with this unusual question: “Should I stop/reduce contributing to my Thrift Savings Plan because I am 65?” The emailer referred to a recent column in the Wall Street Journal by Carolyn T. Geer, entitled “How to Get to Retirement? Practice!,” noting that in it an ...
Retirement Resources
March 1, 2013 If you are planning to retire between today and June 30 (which is one of the best dates to retire if you’re under the Federal Employees Retirement System) or July 3 (an optimum day for those under the Civil Service Retirement System), then it is time to begin to figure ...
What You Need to Know During a Furlough
February 22, 2013 For some (though not all) federal employees, the threat of furloughs as a result of looming budget sequestration is real, and agencies are beginning to prepare for the possibility. Here are some things you should be aware of and resources you might want to have at your disposal if the ...
Give the Gift of Cash
February 15, 2013 According to Giving USA, Americans gave almost $300 billion to their favorite causes in 2011. Charitable bequests by individuals totaled more than $24 billion, which represented 8 percent of the total. In my experience, the topic of charitable giving rarely comes up at federal retirement planning seminars. So why talk ...
A Tax To-Do List
February 8, 2013 Last week, I wrote about things new retirees need to be aware of as they make the transition into this new phase of life. This week, I want to focus on tax issues, and for that I’ve called on my associate, Bob Leins, CPA, for help. But before I get ...
A New Retiree’s To-Do List
February 1, 2013 Don’t you hate it when you get an email or other correspondence that starts out, “This is a friendly reminder…”? It usually means you’re close to your credit limit or your payment hasn’t arrived on time. If you are a recent retiree, you may wish you could send the Office ...
More on the FERS Supplement
January 25, 2013 Last week, I wrote about the Federal Employees Retirement System Annuity Supplement. Some people refer to this benefit as the Social Security supplement rather than the FERS supplement, since the purpose of this benefit is to bridge the time between employees’ retirement under FERS and their eligibility for Social Security ...
A Little Extra Under FERS
January 18, 2013 Almost half of all employees who retire under the Federal Employees Retirement System are entitled to receive the FERS Supplement. The supplement is a temporary boost to the basic retirement benefit designed to take the place of the Social Security tier of FERS when an employee retires at an age ...
