Pay & Benefits

Best Dates to Retire 2024

Looking forward to moving on next year? Here’s a calendar showing optimal dates.

Process and payment questions are always paramount in shutdowns

How and when contractors get paid if the government shuts down are among many questions contractors have. Here is a glimpse at some answers.

Large federal unions endorse the auto worker strike action. A scholar explains why

“They know their job security depends on not just protecting their own rights, but a strong private sector,” says John P. Beck, of Michigan State University.

Your guide to pay and benefits during a shutdown

Congress is on a collision course with yet another lapse of appropriations, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struggles to corral the Republican caucus.

With wildfires looming, Congress must act to prevent an exodus of firefighters

COMMENTARY | Firefighters protect communities and people, asking for little in return: equipment to do our jobs safely, benefits that recognize the inherent dangers of our work, and pay that is sufficient to take care of our families, writes one advocate.

A Question of Survival

Two questions, actually, from readers about survivor benefits. 

Union warns at least one-third of federal wildland firefighters could walk if Congress walks off ‘pay cliff’

Officials with the National Federation of Federal Employees said Wednesday that competitors like Cal Fire and Pacific Gas and Electric are already looking to recruit federal firefighters fed up with their pay uncertainty.

Come again? Political scientist sees shutdown as 'likely'— and feds need to get ready

With days left until funding for the federal government expires, some political experts foresee not only a shutdown, but possibly a long one, with an interruption in pay likely 

GOP lawmakers tap Holman Rule to slash the salaries of agency heads

If House conservatives get their way, multiple federal officials will open fiscal 2024 with $1 annual salaries.

Pay compression: One expert says a current bill would help, but deeper changes are still needed

“The relatively low pay for very skilled, very experienced workers is a serious problem,” says James L. Perry, professor emeritus of public administration at the University of Indiana.

Most TSP portfolios stumbled in August

The only fund in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program that finished last month in the black was the G Fund, which increases at a statutorily mandated rate each month.

Biden formally announces 5.2% average pay raise for feds in 2024

The annual declaration of a national emergency preventing large automatic raises from taking effect solidifies that 0.5% of the total pay increase figure will go toward an average boost in locality pay.

Working and retiring in tandem

Married feds have some unique issues to consider.

IRS announces two-year delay to TSP catch-up contribution changes

New rules requiring high-income 401(k) participants to make catch-up contributions only to Roth accounts will not take effect until 2026.

TSP contribution limits will increase again next year, consultants predict

This would mark the third straight year that the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings plan and similar private sector programs see a boost in their annual contribution limits.