Pay & Benefits
Navigating the Pay.gov maze for federal retirement deposits
Don't let missing service credits or opaque OPM billing notices shrink your monthly annuity. Here is what you need to know before clicking submit.
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers again raise alarm over OPM’s health records collection plan
The Office of Personnel Management’s plan to collect claims-level health information about federal workers and their family members and store it for 30 years could open feds up to a potential security breach, Senate Democrats said.
Pay & Benefits
What 9/11 can teach federal families about benefits
The federal workers’ compensation program can provide critical support after a work-related injury, illness or death, but families need to know what to document and which benefits to claim.
Pay & Benefits
GSA announces per diem increases for feds this fall
Beginning in October, the amount federal agencies reimburse employees for daily lodging associated with official travel will increase by at least $3.
Pay & Benefits
Air traffic controllers are still waiting on 2.8% of their congressionally approved pay raise
Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford says the agency needs to improve how it uses its existing workforce before he will release the rest of the increase.
Pay & Benefits
Reliable rules for your retirement recordkeeping
Pro-tip: Don’t let messy files stall your federal exit.
Pay & Benefits
TSP funds were back in the black in August
After two months of stock market slowdowns, the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program saw each of its offerings increase in value again.
Pay & Benefits
Trump’s 2027 pay freeze has unions warning of recruitment, retention problems
Critics of President Trump’s plan to keep most federal employees’, save for federal law enforcement officers and military service members, pay at 2026 levels say it picks winners and losers.
Pay & Benefits
Trump formally proposes pay freeze for most federal workers, 3.8% increase for law enforcement
In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, the president claimed that denying the federal workforce a pay raise will not hurt agency recruitment and retention efforts.
Pay & Benefits
Want to retire at the end of 2026? Start planning now
OPM is still working through a sizable retirement backlog, and year-end retirees have plenty to sort out before they leave federal service.
Pay & Benefits
Life happened. Now what about your retirement benefits?
From reemployment to remarriage, life after federal service can bring changes that affect your annuity, insurance and survivor benefits.
Pay & Benefits
Bill expanding paid leave for feds is pared back in Senate
The upper chamber’s version of legislation extending 12 weeks of paid family leave each year to federal workers removes provisions allowing it to be used in connection with helping a family member who has been the victim of sexual assault, domestic violence or stalking.
Pay & Benefits
Lawsuit seeks to enforce 2025 SCOTUS decision improving pay for feds called to active duty
In the 15 months since the Supreme Court ruled that federal workers who also serve as military reservists do not need to prove that an active duty deployment is “substantially connected” to a national emergency, OPM has yet to issue new guidance reflecting the new precedent.
Pay & Benefits
Before you take money out of your TSP, weigh these trade-offs
A withdrawal can affect everything from your tax bill and Medicare premiums to how long your savings last and what your heirs receive.
Pay & Benefits
The state of play around the 2027 pay raise, or lack thereof
Thus far, neither chamber of Congress has put forth a plan that would override President Trump’s planned pay freeze for next year.
Pay & Benefits
Former feds have a new way to find their personnel files
OPM’s new online service helps separated employees access records they may need years after leaving government.
Pay & Benefits
TSP investments continued to tumble in July
Nearly all of the portfolios in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program lost value last month.
Pay & Benefits
LGBTQ+ feds sue to restore FEHB coverage of gender affirming care
A class action lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s campaign to block gender affirming care coverage under federal agencies’ employer-sponsored health insurance program said the move is “akin to denying continuing insulin treatment for someone with diabetes.”
Pay & Benefits
Why time, not timing, is the biggest retirement advantage for federal employees
A look at decades of market shifts and TSP data shows the biggest driver of retirement wealth isn't picking the right stock. It's starting early, contributing consistently and letting compounding do its work.
Pay & Benefits