Your Federal Life

Today we introduce a new guest we'll be hearing from time to time. Thiago Glieger is a wealth advisor with RMG Advisors of Rockville, Maryland. The firm specializes in federal employees. Tiago joins me in studio with a look at this coming autumn, and what feds should be thinking about financially as 2024 draws closer. Plus, the Thrift Savings Plan, according to our next guest, is neither structure...

This week Federal News Network reporter Drew Friedman joins me for a couple of conversations. First, we want to tell you about a significant new benefit coming to Federal Employee Health Benefit Plans in 2024, infertility treatment benefits. But the way the Office of Personnel Management had defined infertility doesn't go far enough for some Democrats in Congress. Plus, pay compression, it’s a phe...

This week we start with a look at something the Thrift Savings Plan has been struggling with. Namely, mutual funds. In the belief that federal employees and retires might want a wider range of investment options, the TSP board instituted the so-called mutual fund window. Few people have actually used it. Now there's a gambit in Congress to bar sales of funds with a strategy relying on ESG, environ...

The Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program are now available to thousands more federal employees. The Office of Personnel Management has made that eligibility final. The change affects certain temporary, part-time and seasonal employees, as well as Postal Service employees. For details, Federal News Network's Drew Friedman and I spoke with Kevin Moss, editor of Consumers’ Checkbook...

Everyone with a Thrift Savings Plan account remembers the launch of the new customer web site last year. But a year on, the site operates a lot better. But everything is not perfect. For one expert analysis, I spoke with retired federal manager and the owner of AG Financial Services, Abe Grungold. We started with a brief review. Plus, it took years of back-and-forth. But Transportation Security Ad...

On today's episode, the Office of Personnel Management wants agencies to review their employee assistance plans, programs that offer psychological and substance abuse treatments. For details, Federal News Network's Drew Friedman spoke with OPM research psychologist Jorday Taswell. Plus, a recent Supreme Court case dealt with a piece of the law concerning qui tam False Claims Act claims. Qui tam is...

A coalition of federal manager advocacy groups has been urging the White House and Congress to fix what they say is a systemic problem with federal pay. It's called compression. It mainly affects those at the upper ranks of federal career employees. An old provision in federal employment law means they aren't allowed to earn more than presidential appointees, and Congress has stubbornly held off g...

On today's episode, it's hard to believe the calendar year more than half over. It's a good time to review your financial life. For people in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plans, open season isn't far off. Financial advisor Abe Grungold spoke with Federal News Network's Tom Temin about a few of the housekeeping tips to keep in mind at this mid-year point. Plus, difficult budget negotiations...

In today's episode of Fed Life, Drew Friedman and Tom Temin talk about two issues affecting federal employees, locality pay and developments in the Thrift Savings Plan and its web site. The Office of Personnel Management announced plans to establish four new locality pay areas. Its proposed rule also included plenty of other pay recommendations from the Federal Salary Council. See Privacy Policy a...

This week we'll hear about one way, not often used, for retirees, especially on the older end of the age spectrum, to keep some guaranteed income. I spoke with certified financial planner Art Stein about the pros and cons of fixed income annuities, not to be confused with your federal pension. Plus, Federal Executive Boards, known as FEB's, do lots of things to keep the federal machinery working i...

For today's episode, we'll hear about one group of federal employees who earn a third less than their colleagues at the same GS level. And about half of what their state and local government counterparts earn. There's a legislative effort to fix all of that. But first, from financial advisor Abe Grungold, why you should give careful thought about retiring, even if the job does seem like a grind. P...

On today's episode of Fed Life, the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency brought some changes for enrollees in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. And that’s not all. Expect more long-term changes for FEHB participants too. To break it all down, Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman and Tom Temin are joined in studio by Kevin Moss, editor of Consumers’ Checkbook Guide to Health Pl...

It's been one year since the Thrift Savings Plan underwent a major technology update. The changes offered TSP participants more virtual options, better cybersecurity and an entirely new My Account website. But the changes initially brought confusion and frustration for participants. They got mired in technical glitches, trouble navigating the new layout, and, hours-long hold times when trying to g...

Starting June 27, government and private sector employees will be able to request reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions. That's thanks to a new law, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. All employers have new requirements, but federal employees may face a unique approach to how agencies implement the law. Our Drew Friedman got details from Sharyn Tejani, associat...

Today we focus on two possibilities, both unlikely, but that would have big effect on federal employees. One, of course, is the prospect of a debt default. We'll talk about that with financial planner Art Stein. But first, a bill from Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida would make federal executive branch employees, at-will. You could be fired for any reason short of a prohibited personnel pr...

Federal News Network reporter Drew Friedman fills in again for Tom this week. Most federal employees see retirement as a three-legged stool, you have the FERS annuity, the Thrift Savings Plan and Social Security. But could a fourth leg make for an even sturdier retirement? Savings Bonds are yet another tool federal employees can use, to boost their personal savings. I spoke with retired federal ma...

In this week's episode, Federal News Network reporter Drew Friedman fills in for Tom Temin. If you've been teleworking for the past few years, you may be asking yourself, is that about to change? And if you are wondering that, you're not alone. A recent memo from the White House is creating more questions than answers for federal employees. Federal News Network surveyed close to 5,000 feds on what...

It's an old story, but an enduring one. Thousands of retired federal employees from the Civil Service Retirement System days feel they are being unfairly denied benefits. That's because of the Social Security provisions known as the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). A recent survey conducted by Virginia Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger's office showed just h...

We start with a review of the Thrift Savings Plan's first quarter results. Investments can change seemingly as fast as the weather. Something plan holders have learned, or re-learned, pretty dramatically over the last couple of years. But things are looking up generally, as I discussed earlier with certified financial planner Art Stein. Plus, Congress in 2020 repealed something known as the Surviv...

Welcome to the show. The past few days have seen positive developments on several matters affecting federal employees, including health benefits for Postal Service people and gathering support for restoration of Social Security benefits to older federal retirees. I got the rundown from the vice president for policy and programs at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, John...

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regularly issues results of studies on workplace trends related to discrimination claims and other matters. One recent report concerned the federal workforce. Specifically, use of alternate dispute resolution. Federal News Network's Drew Friedman and I discussed the highlights and what it could mean if you ever face what you suspect is unlawful discrimin...

This week we look at what had been promising about the economy as it relates to your retirement. And then the financial whirlwind still swirling around that's sort of flattened near-term expectations. We start with one organization that has a good pulse on the federal workforce and what its concerns are, The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, known as NARFE. We covered a lo...

The IRS has had a Senate-confirmed commissioner for a few weeks now. Danny Werfel has a lot to do. He'll need every employee in the agency to get anything significant done. One crucial group sometimes doesn't get the respect it should, namely the ranks of IRS middle managers. For what that very group hopes for from the new commissioner, I spoke with the president of the IRS-based Federal Managers...

In today's episode, we spoke with Kevin Moss, editor of health plans for Consumers' Checkbook about changes in Medicare Part D, and how they might affect federal employees' health plans. Plus, an excerpt from and interview I had with Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Mary.) on the federal pay hike proposals now before Congress. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notic...

You may have heard that the Government Accountability Office is looking into the project leading to the new web site for the Thrift Savings Plan. We won't know what GAO comes up with until next year. In the meantime the contractor Accenture was called in before the TSB board at its last meeting to discuss continuing issues with the site. I got an update from the TSP external affairs director, Kim...