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It’s human nature to wonder what others are thinking and doing when preparing for retirement. This quiz will give you a glimpse into federal employees’ thoughts, along with testing your knowledge of some statistics about federal retirement. Some of the answers (which are at the bottom of the page) might surprise you.
1. In the 2019 Office of Personnel Management Federal Employee Benefits Survey Report, what percentage of federal employees said they were fully confident or mostly confident that they knew how much money they would need to live a comfortable life in retirement?
a. 25%
b. 85%
c. 55%
d. 10%
2. What percentage of those surveyed understood how their retirement payments would be calculated?
a. 12%
b. 46%
c. 32%
d. 93%
3. What were the four benefit programs that 90% or more of those surveyed felt were important or extremely important?
a. Life insurance, employee health insurance, flexible spending accounts and retirement annuity
b. Dental insurance, vision insurance, health insurance and long term care insurance
c. Thrift Savings Plan, long term care insurance, health insurance, and retiree health insurance
d. Thrift Savings Plan, retirement annuity, retiree health insurance, and employee health insurance
4. What percentage of participants said the availability of a retirement annuity played a key role in their decision to take a job with the federal government?
a. 29%
b. 99%
c. 79%
d. 11%
5. What percentage of participants felt that the availability of a retirement annuity played a key role in their decision to remain in a job with the federal government?
a. 89%
b. 29%
c. 59%
d. 19%
6. According to OPM’s Federal Executive Branch Characteristics report for fiscal years 2010-2018, how much did the average salary for a federal employee increase over that time period?
a. $65,210 to $95,310
b. $76,586 to $86,051
c. $28,990 to $55, 310
d. $41,673 to $52,145
7. In the same report, which of the following groups of states (and one district) had the most federal employees:
a. Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia and New York
b. California, District of Columbia, Virginia, and Texas
c. California, District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland
d. Vermont, Wyoming, North Dakota and Delaware
8. The average length of service for federal employees working in the executive branch in 2018 was:
a. 28.6 years
b. 5.9 years
c. 32.4 years
d. 13.4 years
9. In another OPM report, Executive Branch Retirement Statistics: Fiscal Years 2008-2017, what were the three most popular months to retire in that time period?
a. November, December and January
b. July, August and December
c. December, January and September
d. December, January and June
10. How many employees in the Civil Service Retirement System retired in fiscal years 2010-2017 and what was their average age and length of service?
a. 98,702 employees with an average age of 71.1 and an average length of service of 40.9 years
b. 266,035 employees with an average age of 60.7 and an average length of service of 34.8 years
c. 143,000 employees with an average age of 55.7 and an average length of service of 39.2 years
d. 552,397 employees with an average age of 66.8 and an average length of service of 38.8 years
11. How many employees in the Federal Employees Retirement System retired in fiscal years 2010-2017 and what was their average age and average length of service?
a. 552,397 employees with an average age of 66.8 and an average length of service of 28.8 years
b. 143,000 employees with an average age of 55.7 and an average length of service of 19.2 years
c. 348,999 employees with an average age of 61.2 and an average length of service of 21.2 years
d. 55,497 employees with an average age of 56.8 and an average length of service of 18.2 years
Answers
1. c
2. b
3. d
4. c
5. a
6. b
7. b
8. d
9. d
10. b
11. c