September gave back much of August’s rally: the G Fund edged higher, while the F Fund and the stock funds all slipped and every Lifecycle Fund finished lower. See monthly, year-to-date, 12-month and annualized returns for all TSP funds, plus what changed in the rankings.
2027 FERS / CSRS COLA: Estimate Narrows Ahead of October Announcement
The 2027 cost-of-living adjustment is one inflation report away from becoming official. With two of the three months that count toward the calculation already in hand, see where the major forecasters stand, what September’s CPI-W report still has to answer, and when the Social Security Administration is expected to announce the final number — plus what it means for FERS retirees under the reduced “diet COLA” formula.
2027 Federal Pay Freeze Fight Continues: Lawmakers Rally at Podium
Lawmakers who oppose the 2027 civilian pay freeze followed up their letter with a Capitol Hill press conference this week. Here’s their strategy for the months ahead, and what history shows about Congress overriding a presidential pay freeze — it’s happened twice before, in 2008 and 2019.
Keeping FEHB in Retirement: The 5-Year Rule and Waiver
Miss the 5-year rule for keeping the Federal Employees Health Benefits program in retirement and the coverage gap could cost $12,000 a year. Here’s the rule, the waiver, and how to protect your eligibility.
Where to Park Your Cash After the Fed’s September Rate Hike
The Federal Reserve’s September rate hike widened the gap between what a typical bank pays on savings and what’s actually available. This guide compares savings accounts, CDs, Treasury bills, and money market funds, explains why locking up cash in a five-year CD deserves more scrutiny right now, and lays out a tiered approach for keeping cash flexible as rates continue to move.
What a Higher Prime Interest Rate Costs You in Retirement
The prime interest rate just rose to 7%. Here’s what that means for debt carried into retirement, and how it stacks up against a federal retiree’s cost-of-living adjustment.
Federal Employee Pay Raises vs. Retiree COLAs: How Each Is Determined
The federal employee pay raise and the retiree cost-of-living adjustment are determined differently and rarely land on the same number — here’s why, and what it means for retirement income planning.
House Republicans Push OPM to Review Federal Law Enforcement Retirement Classification
A group of House Republicans has asked OPM to reconsider how it classifies certain federal police forces for retirement purposes, arguing that officers at agencies like VA Police and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency perform law-enforcement-level duties without qualifying for enhanced retirement coverage. The push draws on a recent GAO report documenting the same disparity across 17 agencies, including higher attrition among officers without enhanced benefits. Nothing has changed yet for affected employees, but the story is worth tracking given the retirement formula differences at stake.
The TSP Rule That Can Drain Your Nest Egg During a Downturn
When the market drops, many federal retirees count on a G Fund allocation to protect their nest egg — so withdrawals come from that safe cushion instead of digging into savings while they’re down. But the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) doesn’t let participants choose where a withdrawal comes from. Every payment is pulled proportionally, no matter what the market is doing, which can quietly drain the very savings a retiree was trying to protect. Using real TSP data from the 2008 financial crisis and the 2009 recovery that followed, this article shows exactly what that can cost, and walks through two practical ways to keep a downturn from working against a retirement nest egg.
OPM Eases Approval for $25,000 Federal Employee Awards
The Office of Personnel Management has delegated to agency heads the authority to approve individual federal employee cash and performance awards above $10,000 and up to $25,000, a review step that previously required OPM’s own sign-off. Agencies can now approve these awards in-house, or pass that authority down to a Chief of Staff, Chief Human Capital Officer, or bureau/component head. This guide includes a FAQs that clears up some common points of confusion about how the change affects employees and retirement planning