Pay & Benefits

TSP portfolios end 2023 on a high note

Each of the funds in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program finished December in the black.

Pay & Benefits

End of the year retirement: Now what?

As OPM readies for its influx of new retirement applications, here are some insights on the early ins and outs of the retirement process.

Pay & Benefits

MSPB finally rules on OPM apportioning the Retiree Annuity Supplement

Starting in 2016, an OPM rule change allowed the divorced spouses of federal retirees to claim a portion of their annuity supplement. Now, after having a quorum for the first time in five years, the MSPB has stepped in to address the rule.

Pay & Benefits

OPM retirement backlog hits six-year low for third time this year

The number of pending federal employee retirement claims fell under 16,000 for the second time since 2017 in November.

Pay & Benefits

TSP portfolios rebounded in November

After three straight months where nearly every fund in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program lost value, all funds finished last month in the black.

Pay & Benefits

Open Season: Medicare Advantage or Disadvantage?

Medicare Advantage options have only been offered through Federal Employees Health Benefits Program carriers since 2021 and may provide benefits that are not covered under traditional Medicare.

Pay & Benefits

TSP board OKs new international fund index, this time without China

A previous effort to move the I Fund to a broader benchmark index, which included investments in Chinese corporations, met opposition from the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers.

Pay & Benefits

Answers to some of your common questions about CSRS and FERS

Federal retirement expert Tammy Flanagan says “the devil is in the details.”

Pay & Benefits

Senate version of bill to standardize retiree COLAs emerges

The reintroduction of the Equal COLA Act by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., comes just weeks after the 2024 cost of living adjustment announcement revived complaints about how the government calculates annual increases across retirement systems.

Pay & Benefits

OPM begins prep for annual retirement surge

The federal government’s centralized HR office is urging federal agencies to be proactive in ensuring federal workers’ retirement applications are submitted without errors to streamline processing during the annual spike in claims.

Pay & Benefits

Medicare Part D is coming to an FEHB plan near you

The prescription drug benefit is being automatically added to many of the FEHB program options for the 2024 plan year.

Pay & Benefits

TSP funds’ tumble continues into October

Once again, only one portfolio in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program finished last month in the black.

Pay & Benefits

TSP: SECURE 2.0 Act contribution limit changes coming in 2026

The federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program will use the entire two-year “transition period” to implement new rules governing how older workers can make catch-up contributions as they approach retirement.

Pay & Benefits

Time for the fall deadlines

A checklist to help you prioritize as you sort through your federal retirement and insurance benefits.

Pay & Benefits

Lawmakers revive bill to let ex-temps make catch-up retirement contributions

Currently, Federal Employees Retirement System employees who began their careers as temporary or seasonal workers must work longer to receive their full retirement benefits.

Pay & Benefits

Survivor Benefit confusion: part one

Choosing a survivor benefit should be a very simple decision, but often it can be complicated.

Pay & Benefits

COLA adjustments will slim for federal retirees in 2024

The annual announcement that some retired federal workers will receive a 3.2% increase in their annuity payments, while others will get only a 2.2% boost, has revived calls to standardize annual adjustments across retirement systems.

Pay & Benefits

The federal retirement backlog just hit another recent record low

The Office of Personnel Management’s inventory of pending retirement claims from former federal workers reached its lowest level since 2017 for the second time this year.

Pay & Benefits

TSP funds continued to fall in September

For the second straight month, the vast majority of the portfolios in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program declined in value.