This IRS online tool is a convenient way to check the status of your federal income tax refund. Here’s what you need to know more…
2027 Federal Pay Freeze More Likely
The likelihood of a 2027 pay freeze for civilian federal employees continued after the House Appropriations Committee approved a government spending bill on Wednesday that makes no mention of a pay increase in January more…
OPM Wants Access to Federal Employees’ & Retirees’ Medical Records; Lawmakers Say No
Democratic senators Monday warned the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to withdraw its plan to collect personally identifiable health data from millions of federal employees and retirees — including medical visits, prescriptions, and treatment histories. more…
2027 COLA Estimate and Proposed Cap on Social Security Benefits to $50,000 per Person
Analysts give a projection of the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment for retirees, and comment on a new proposal to cap benefits to $50,000 per person in order to address the program’s projected financial shortfall more…
Former Federal Employees Navigating Job Market Are Finding It Looks Different
Many former federal employees are navigating the job market for the first time in years, only to find that the rules around hiring and networking have shifted….{from FederalNewsNetwork] more…
House Democrats Demand Answers from OPM on Retirement Delays
The lawmakers warned the delays are due to workforce reduction policies and that the Office of Personnel Management has provided only a partial response — while federal retirees are still experiencing significant delays and communication failures regarding their retirement applications more…
The Barbell: A Strategy for Managing the Thrift Savings Plan in Retirement
A popular free annual publication has been released by well-known CPA and federal retiree, Chris Barfield which explains the TSP investment options and how one might allocate their funds when they are in retirement. It also illustrates the “Thrift Savings barbell strategy” by using a fictional character who retired from federal service — tracking his TSP account in real-time using actual TSP returns. more…
2027 CSRS / FERS COLA Watch for Federal Retirees
Follow the trend for the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment for those under the Civil Service Retirement System, the Federal Employees Retirement System and Social Security more…
USPS Suspends Retirement Contributions to FERS to Avoid Running Out of Cash
The United States Postal Service is temporarily suspending payments to the Federal Employees Retirement System on April 10 after warning Congress in March it will run of cash in less then 12 months. A FAQ on the action is available more…
OPM Retirement Application Backlog Still Above 55,000
The monthly average processing time for March was 69 days. While processing digital retirement applications is faster, many paper claims are still coming in from federal agencies as the government transitions to the digital system. more…