Benefits
Open Season: Last chance to review for 2014 plan year
Employees who have not yet reviewed their FEHB coverage for the new year may want to look through the following quick summary of some of the things they should consider in making their decisions, based on recommendations from the Office of Personnel Management.
Benefits
Open Season: FSAs, HSAs and Health Reimbursement Arrangements
An important decision that employees have to make during the 2013 federal benefits “open season” is whether they want to enroll, or reenroll, in a Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) and a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA) for the 2014 plan year.
Benefits
Open Season: Selecting an FEHB plan: Don't focus solely on premiums—Part II
This second of two columns explaining medical, dental and vision insurance choices for employees discusses point-of-service (POS) plans, consumer driven health plans (CDHP) and high deductible health plans (HDHP).
Benefits
Open Season: Selecting an FEHB plan—Don't focus solely on premiums: Part I
Rising health insurance premiums are a reality for most individuals today and the FEHB program is no different. FEHB premiums will increase on average by 3.7 percent in 2014 over 2013 FEHB rates, slightly higher than the 2013 average increase of 3.4 percent. But when selecting a health insurance plan for 2014, employees should not focus solely on premiums as criteria for choosing the “best” FEHB plan.
Benefits
Bill would guarantee military death benefit during funding lapses
Two House lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill to ensure that government shutdowns would not prevent immediate payment of military death benefits.
Benefits
Open Season: Tackling this year's decisions
It's time again for that annual ritual: Federal benefits open season. From now through early December, Federal Daily will present a series of weekly, information-packed columns to help you sort through this year's health care and health savings options.
Benefits
New OPM guidance settles shutdown questions
The Office of Personnel Management this month released new post-shutdown guidance to agencies to help them resolve remaining pay and benefits questions in the wake of the government shutdown.
Benefits
DOL says feds must return unemployment compensation
The Department of Labor has issued guidance requiring states to recoup unemployment compensation they paid to furloughed federal employees during the 16-day government shutdown earlier this month.
Benefits
FMLA to cover feds with same-sex spouses
The Office of Personnel Management directed agency and department heads to make policy changes that will allow federal employees to use Family and Medical Leave Act leave to care for same-sex spouses.
Pay
OPM issues post-shutdown guidance on pay and benefits
The Office of Personnel Management in released new guidance to agencies to help them resolve pay and benefits questions in the wake of the government shutdown.
Benefits
Informed Investor: What is an 'insurable interest' for life insurance or survivor annuity purposes?
A life insurance company allows an “insurable interest” to be named as a life insurance policy beneficiary. The Office of Personnel Management also permits an insurable interest to be named as a CSRS or FERS survivor annuitant. This week’s column discusses who is a legitimate insurable interest for life insurance beneficiary and survivor annuity purposes.
Benefits
Pitfalls lurk in postal health proposal
A bill that would remove postal workers from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program could offer advantages as well as pose disadvantages, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
Benefits
Informed Investor: Are there viable alternatives to long-term care insurance?
Many employees have been advised by their financial advisors to buy long-term care (LTC) insurance in order to have a financially stable retirement. But LTC insurance may not be appropriate for some individuals. This week’s column presents some alternatives to buying LTC insurance, including a home equity line of credit, a refinanced mortgage, life insurance and annuities.
Benefits
Informed Investor: Evaluating life insurance coverage and needs, Part IV: Viatical settlements
This last of four columns during September discussing life insurance to mark “Life Insurance Awareness Month” examines what policyholders should know about viatical settlements. Rather than terminating a life insurance policy and losing all premiums previously paid, with a viatical settlement the policyholder receives a cash settlement.
Benefits
Informed Investor: Evaluating life insurance coverage and needs, Part III: Accelerated death benefit
This third of four columns during September discussing life insurance to mark “Life Insurance Awareness Month” examines the accelerated death benefit (ADB) rider—including what the ADB rider is, which policy owners qualify for it, what it can be used for, and how its use will affect policy beneficiaries.
Benefits
Bill gives domestic partners same benefits as same-sex spouses
A Senate bill, the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2013, would give same-sex domestic partners of federal employees the same benefits as legally married same-sex spouses.
Benefits
Informed Investor: Evaluating life insurance coverage and needs, Part II: Term insurance
This second of four columns on life insurance during “Life Insurance Awareness Month” examines term insurance—including the purpose of term insurance, the variation in term policies, and a comparison in premium amounts between some individual term policies and FEGLI, the group term policy available to federal employees.
Benefits
Army offers fix for those who exceeded furlough time
The Army will offer back pay to civilian workers who took more than six furlough days, provided an employee gives up the same amount of paid annual leave.
Benefits
Informed Investor: Deciding on survivor annuity benefits, Part V: Death in service (FERS)
This fifth of six columns discussing survivor annuity elections examines death benefits for a deceased FERS employee’s spouse, including the FERS survivor annuity and the basic employee death benefit. The column also looks at the effect on the spousal survivor annuity of the deceased employee’s deposit for non-deduction (temporary) and military service, and a redeposit.
Benefits