Pay & Benefits
Time for the fall deadlines
A checklist to help you prioritize as you sort through your federal retirement and insurance benefits.
Cost-of-living adjustments will decline for federal retirees again in 2025
For the second straight year, former federal workers will see a smaller increase to their defined-benefit annuities in January, with FERS retirees set for a 2% increase and CSRS annuitants a 2.5% bump.
A closer look at 2025 FEHB premiums
Open Season is just a few weeks away, and costs are increasing this year. What does that mean for federal employees?
OPM moves to standardize General Schedule, blue collar locality pay areas
For years, federal employee unions have bemoaned that the pay systems’ differing maps of high-cost regions created pay inequity within agency workforces.
Lawmakers consider making military leave more equitable for feds with non-traditional work schedules
Currently, the annual cap on paid leave available to federal employees associated with their service in the National Guard is 15 days, which advocates say works well for traditional weekday work schedules but not for employees who frequently work weekends.
End-of-year retirement planning for federal couples
Spouses who both work for the federal government can have some unique quandaries when it comes to planning for their retirement and health care benefits.
Labor Department sets 2025 federal contractor minimum wages
In a pair of filings in the Federal Register Monday, Labor Department officials set the range of minimum wages for contractors between $9.30 per hour for tipped workers to $17.75 per hour, depending on the job type.
OPM announces leave transfer program for feds affected by Helene
Federal employees will soon be able to donate unused leave to their colleagues who need time to recover after Hurricane Helene caused widespread destruction across the Southeast.
VA proposes grant program offering vets legal services to help obtain benefits
The department’s goal is to assist former service members who were discharged under other than honorable conditions but could still be eligible for VA benefits.
New bill eyes uniformed services benefits for public health corps reservists
The proposed legislation would provide reservists in a Health and Human Services component with health, education and leave benefits that are similar to other service members.
TSP continues upward trek for third straight month
Each portfolio within the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program saw modest gains in September.
Featured eBooks
Federal workers will see the largest increase to their health care premiums in recent memory next year
In a year where insurers have expanded coverage for multiple medical treatments, federal employees will see their Federal Employees Health Benefits Program premiums increase by an average of 13.5% in 2025.
The best dates to retire in 2025
Your annual guide to choosing an optimal day to start the next phase of your life.
Multiple FEHBP carriers will offer 'comprehensive' IVF coverage next year
Biden administration officials said that two nationwide insurers in the federal government’s employer-sponsored health care program will offer $25,000 worth of in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments.
House takes another stab at a bill reimbursing new veterans for emergency care
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., is hoping a reintroduced version of the RELIEVE Act will finally close the VA’s emergency care coverage loophole after Congress previously dropped the measure from the fiscal 2024 supplemental funding package.
Why do employees want to be feds? Benefits are a big reason
In a 2023 OPM survey, 90% or more of federal employees said that the availability of health and retirement benefits are important to them.
Lawmakers force a vote on eliminating the windfall elimination provision
Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Garrett Graves, R-La., have secured the 218 signatures needed to force a vote on legislation that would kill two controversial tax provisions affecting some feds’ retirement benefits.
Senate advances $3B VA supplemental bill one day before deadline
The chamber approved legislation by voice vote Thursday to provide the Veterans Affairs Department with an extra $3 billion to cover a surge in veterans benefits costs ahead of a potential service disruption.
Senators push to avert pay cliff looming over overseas Foreign Service officers in stopgap spending deal
Foreign Service officers stationed outside the U.S. could see an average pay cut of 22% if the provision undergirding legislation aimed at ensuring commensurate pay between overseas federal workers and their domestically located counterparts is not reauthorized.
Medicare quiz for federal retirees
Wondering why you need Medicare if you have lifetime health insurance coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program? This quiz may help.
