Government Executive - Pay & Benefits

VA's failure to use its new authority to boost pay for doctors draws bipartisan criticism

Eric Katz — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:29:48 -0400

Doctors at the Veterans Affairs Department have yet to receive a pay bump despite a recent law authorizing the increases, which has drawn bipartisan criticism from lawmakers.

Currently, VA doctors are capped at earning $400,000 per year, a restriction that has been in place for years. A measure with broad, bipartisan support—known as the Dole Act—that President Biden signed into law shortly before leaving office allowed VA to issue 300 waivers to that cap to recruit or retain staff in critical health care roles. It also allowed VA to retroactively pay employees who previously earned extra compensation but were unable to collect it because they had hit the statutory limit.

VA has yet to put forward guidance to implement the provisions, despite it taking effect last July. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., the top Democrats on the Senate and House Veterans Affairs Committees, respectively, spearheaded a letter this week to VA Secretary Doug Collins calling the delay in implementation "unacceptable" and requesting detailed information about physician pay, current staffing levels, recruitment efforts and where things stand with the Dole Act.

In a House hearing earlier this year, Collins requested authority to pay some doctors more than the $400,000 cap, despite the law already providing it. The lawmakers said VA has provided updates to committee staff stating the delay stemmed from internal disagreements over how to distribute the waivers.

“We would welcome the opportunity to work with you to ensure maximum utilization of the authorities provided to you in this effort,” the Democratic lawmakers said. “However, we request that you genuinely prioritize recruitment and retention of VA’s workforce by discontinuing your attacks on the VA workforce and effectively and expeditiously making use of the various tools Congress has provided.”

The department has seen a net loss of medical officers since Trump took office last January, according to data maintained by the Office of Personnel Management. Around 3,300 physicians left VA in the last 15 months, while just 2,200 have joined. Collins last year spearheaded an effort to push out a total of 30,000 VA employees, which followed longstanding efforts to grow the workforce commensurate with a growth in the number of veterans eligible for department care.

“Your continuous complaints during congressional hearings about this singular barrier to recruitment only attempt to deflect accountability for your apathy and ineptitude in implementing a solution to this issue and shift blame away from your misguided policies that have doctors and health care professionals leaving the department in droves,” the Democrats said.

Quinn Slaven, a VA spokesperson, said the department is still looking to put the Dole Act provisions into practice.

“VA is working to implement this provision of the Dole Act in a way that benefits as many Veterans as possible and will respond to the lawmakers’ letter directly,” Slaven said.

The lack of implementation has also sparked concern among Republicans. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Utah, and Rep. Max MIller, R-Ohio, wrote a similar letter to Collins in November, urging the secretary to issue regulations that would enable VA to institute the higher pay caps and unwind staffing cuts. Collins originally put forward a proposal to cut 80,000 VA employees through layoffs and various incentives, but pared back the plan after it received bipartisan pushback.

“The waivers authorized under this provision will give your department the ability to not just stem the flow of physician departures from VA medical centers, but also to reverse that flow by attracting high-quality physicians from the private sector that want to answer the call to care for America’s veterans,” the lawmakers said.

The caps previously drew bipartisan attention and Biden administration officials said lifting them was a “top priority.” President Biden signed the PACT Act into law in 2022, which enabled VA to raise pay caps for nurses which led to 10,000 workers receiving a raise.

Collins has rejected the notion that VA needs more staff, recently telling Congress that “throwing employees” at the department’s problems creates “more bureaucracy, more overhead” that leads to “slowing down and actually removes folks from actually supporting our veterans.”

After boasting of its efforts to shed 30,000 employees and installing new caps on staffing levels across the country, however, the Veterans Affairs Department said in its recently released budget that it is looking to add 9,000 employees in fiscal 2027, a growth of 2%. Most of those hires will go to medical services.

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How to ensure your federal retirement benefit is correct

Tammy Flanagan — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 15:00:00 -0400

Over 33,000 retirement claims were processed at the Office of Personnel Management's Retirement Operations Center in January and February this year, according to the agency. The digital claims that were processed in February were finished in 34 days, and paper claims were processed in 95 days. This processing time begins when OPM receives your application from your agency. About one-half of February’s 31,240 new retirement claims were digital and the remaining 15,746 were paper. To learn more about how your retirement is processed, visit the following pages of OPM's website:

OPM Retirement Quick Guide
Retirement Processing Times
How OPM is Preparing for the Surge in Retirements FAQ
Retirement Processing Status Statistics
Check Your Interim Pay Status
Also on Services Online you can find your annuity statements, 1099-Rs, adjust your tax withholdings, make direct deposit changes, update your contact information and verify your life insurance (FEGLI).

It pays to know how much your gross and net annuity amounts should be before you retire! Your FERS retirement benefit is computed using a deceptively, simple formula:

One percent of your “high-three” average salary, times your years and months of creditable service, including credit for your balance of unused sick leave.

If you retire at age 62 or older with a minimum of 20 years of service (which may include a combination of actual creditable service and your balance of unused sick leave), the factor for the computation is 1.1% instead of 1.0%, resulting in a 10% higher basic benefit.

After computing the unreduced benefit, then there may be reductions applied in the following order and will result in a reduced “gross” amount of your benefit.

Age reduction: Reduction for age when retiring under early deferred retirement or MRA + 10 provisions. There is no reduction for age for an employee who retires on a disability retirement or on an immediate annuity for employees retiring under early retirement provisions for VERA (Voluntary Early Retirement Authority), DSR (Discontinued Service Retirement) or special groups such as law enforcement officers, firefighters, etc.
Reduction:
- Reduction to provide a survivor annuity to a person with an insurable interest.
- Reduction to provide a survivor annuity to a spouse and/or former spouse(s); and/or
Alternative annuity reduction (AFA): The only employees who may now elect the AFA are those who are eligible for a non-disability annuity and who have a life-threatening affliction or other critical medical condition.

Once your gross annuity is determined, then federal tax, state tax, court ordered apportionments and insurance premiums for FEHB, FEGLI, FEDVIP and FLTCIP may be withheld.

Learn more about court ordered benefit payments
To establish/change withholdings and allotments, visit Services Online or call the Retirement Information Office at 1-888-767-6738.
For more information on taxes, visit tax information for annuitants.
For more information on life insurance in retirement, visit life insurance coverage.
OPM publishes biweekly and monthly FEHB premiums and PSHB premiums.

You are not expected to know all of the rules for crediting your service for eligibility and computation of your CSRS or FERS retirement, but if you are not sure about whether your service is creditable or whether you must pay a deposit or a redeposit to receive credit, it is very important to find out BEFORE you separate from your federal career. Ask questions and educate yourself about the creditability of your federal service. These rules are very technical and can be complicated if you are not familiar with them.

Military service: Service that is included in your “leave” Service Computation Date that is published on your Notification of Personnel Action statements (form SF 50) is not always creditable for retirement. Here are the rules for crediting military service to your retirement:
Creditable military service: Chapter 22, CSRS and FERS Handbook
Service credit payments for post-56 military service: Chapter 23, CSRS and FERS Handbook
Benefits Administration Letter 23-105, Subject: Military service deposit eligibility notification requirement
Benefits Administration Letter 21-101, Subject: Payment of interest on post-56 military deposit or Peace Corp or VISTA service deposit with an administrative error
Benefits Administration Letter 17-101, Additional guidance on military deposits
Civilian service credit: In general, all federal and District of Columbia employment is considered creditable under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). The FERS Act provides that, with certain exceptions, service creditable under CSRS is potentially creditable under FERS. However, there are some important conceptual differences. These differences are discussed in the following chapters of the CSRS and FERS Handbook and in the Benefit Administration Letters that were issued after these chapters were published in 1998 (28 years ago!). Beware that when you see the word “general” or “generally” that means that there are exceptions!
Creditable civilian service: Chapter 20, CSRS and FERS Handbook
Service credit payments for civilian service: Chapter 21, CSRS and FERS Handbook
Benefits Administration Letters dating back to 1995

Here are some additional ways to find the answers to your questions:

Be careful when relying on secondhand information from well-meaning friends, family and coworkers! Do additional research before applying undocumented information to your situation.
If you are working with a financial advisor, be sure that they routinely work with federal employees like yourself so they may spot areas of concern when helping you plan your financial future.
If you attend a pre-retirement planning workshop, be sure to look for a reference to a resource or the law or regulation that backs up the information. Feel free to ask the presenter for references to the information presented when it may impact an important decision that you will make for your own retirement.
Organizations such as the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association have federal retirement specialists available to help members understand the value of their benefits through monthly live webinars, as well as an archived library of recent presentations, a monthly magazine and an email address to answer individual questions.
Retirees with a Civil Service Active (CSA) number can contact the Office of Personnel Management by submitting a “help request” or writing or calling Customer Service team: contact OPM.
Visit OPM's Federal Retirement Support Center.

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OPM to FEHB carriers: Cut costs, MAHA style

Erich Wagner — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:58:28 -0400

The Office of Personnel Management instructed insurers who participate in federal and postal workers’ employer-sponsored health benefits program last week to promote a series of “well care” initiatives as an effort to reduce costs as the companies prepare their offerings for this fall’s annual open season.

The notice took the form of OPM’s annual “call letter” to companies that participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits programs. While proposals to reduce health care spending by focusing on preventative treatments are nothing new in this process, OPM’s self-described policy goals in its 2026 letter are noteworthy in how they relate to the Trump administration’s health care agenda under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“In plan year 2027, OPM is expanding its vision for benefits with a stronger emphasis on the physical and mental wellness of the whole person,” the letter states. “This focus embraces individual autonomy, precision medicine and patient-centered care, and recognizes that the pursuit of mental and physical health should not be limited to the treatment of symptoms.”

Gone are cash incentives insurance companies offer families to ensure their children follow the recommended pediatric vaccine schedule. While FEHBP will still cover all “recommended” vaccines, the agency said it would put renewed emphasis on ensuring participants are informed of vaccines’ potential risks.

“Vaccination is a personal decision, and carriers must ensure that their policies do not prevent members from exercising independent judgment with respect to vaccination,” OPM wrote. “Carriers must require that providers comply with applicable informed consent laws. Providers may evaluate as to whether a vaccination is appropriate based on a patient’s medical condition or other relevant indications and discuss this with the patient as part of the informed consent process.”

On the cost front, the letter calls for insurers to require other interventions before patients may pursue GLP-1 drugs for obesity. Feds seeking a GLP-1 prescription would first have to participate in an obesity management program including intensive behavioral therapy. And OPM called for insurers to promote treatment for conception risk factors in addition to the limited assisted reproductive technology already covered by FEHBP and PSHBP.

“As part of OPM’s well care philosophy, emphasis should be placed on ensuring access to treatments for conditions that are recognized to adversely impact fertility, such as obesity, prediabetes, chronic reproductive health conditions to include male factor infertility and hypertension,” OPM wrote. “Improvement in men’s and women’s health enhances their likelihood of conceiving naturally and, for women, completing a healthy pregnancy. This approach demonstrates that low cost and health-conscious choices are often the most effective.”

John Hatton, staff vice president for policy and programs at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, said it’s not unusual for administration’s to promote their health policy priorities—or to seek cost savings—via FEHBP. While the letter likely won’t lead to huge shifts in how insurers cover federal workers—or how doctors approach their patients—it does mark a noteworthy shift away from traditional medical interventions.

“There isn’t one thing that really stands out by itself as noteworthy, but combined the letter reflects a trend toward alternative treatments and expanding and encouraging the treatment of underlying causes rather than symptoms,” he said. “But it’s not like providers don’t already try to do that to begin with. This is a MAHA set of policies . . . but if you were expecting them to say ‘we’re banning vaccines,’ the letter is not doing that. But it does change the incentives.”

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DHS employees to begin receiving paychecks this week

Eric Katz — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:46:07 -0400

Updated April 8 at 4:03 p.m.

Homeland Security Department employees are set to be paid by either the end of the week or, for some workers, by April 16, ending an impasse that has led them to go nearly two months without any compensation.

The paychecks will cover back pay dating to Feb. 14, when DHS funding lapsed. The department has operated under a shutdown ever since, with more than 100,000 employees either furloughed or working and not receiving immediate pay. Both groups of workers will soon receive paychecks after President Trump signed a memorandum ordering DHS to use previously appropriated funds to immediately pay the employees.

Trump previously ordered all Transportation Security Administration employees to receive immediate pay in an effort to address long wait times at airports that had resulted from a surge of employees calling out.

In a memo sent to all employees over the weekend, DHS said the workers would be paid between April 10 and April 16, depending on their financial institution. Trump’s order does not end the shutdown, however. Furloughed employees—only around 8% of the department—will remain on furlough. DHS also told employees not to submit their hours for their next paychecks until they receive further guidance.

One DHS employee who has been working without pay said there has been a "mad dash" for staff to complete there time cards in time. The announcement came as a relief to many workers who have been struggling to make ends meet.

“I've also been living off of my tax refund and only paying for what is absolutely necessary,” the employee said.

Many employees at DHS, such as most of those at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, have been paid on time since the shutdown’s onset because their offices are fee funded or are tapping into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

In his memo, Trump said he was declaring an “emergency situation compromising the nation’s security” and directed DHS to “use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to the functions of DHS to provide each and every employee of DHS with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them” but for the shutdown. Trump had said he would sign that memo because the employees’ “families have suffered for too long.”

Lawmakers appeared to reach a deal to fund most of DHS last week, while Republicans would seek to approve spending for ICE and CBP through a separate process. The Senate passed the measure unanimously while on recess, but the House—which was expected to do the same—never brought the bill up for consideration. Congress is set to return next week. Democrats had held out on funding all of DHS as they sought reforms to ICE and CBP practices.

“We remain hopeful that Congress will fund the department and allow us to reopen soon and get everyone back to work,” DHS said in its message to staff. “For those who have continued working, with and without pay, your dedication to the department and the American people, ensuring we remain mission-ready, is truly remarkable.”

In his first email to staff, newly sworn-in DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin also expressed his gratitude to employees and said he “won’t rest” until DHS is fully funded.

“While the department remains shut down, this memorandum allows us to prioritize DHS’s most valuable national security asset,” Mullin said of the president’s action, “the men and women of this department who serve to keep this country safe.”

Correction: This story has been updated to correct a typo and reflect that DHS employees went nearly two months without pay.

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OPM leans into 'well care' as it reshapes federal health plans for 2027

Kevin Moss — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 06:00:00 -0400

In late March, OPM released its annual call letter, including 2027 policy goals and initiatives for FEHB and PSHB carriers. The theme for next year will be “well care,” defined as “expanding [OPM’s] vision for benefits with a stronger emphasis on the physical and mental wellness of the whole person.”

While specific details depend on how carriers implement these initiatives, we’ve identified several items you’ll want to keep track of for next year.

Vaccine Access
Carriers must continue covering all vaccinations recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including those for children and for shared clinical decision-making. All FEHB plans will continue making these recommended vaccines available without any additional cost.

Reproductive Services and Maternal Health
OPM is encouraging carriers to use screening bundles and outreach programs for women interested in becoming pregnant. They emphasize access to treatments for conditions that adversely impact fertility, including obesity, prediabetes and hypertension, to enhance the likelihood of conceiving naturally and completing a healthy pregnancy.

OPM also strongly encourages carriers to provide discounted rates for assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures, like in vitro fertilization (IVF), if they are not covered by the plan.

Carriers are permitted to cover certified midwives, certified professional midwives and certified nurse midwives and must list these providers in their online provider directories.

Prevention and Treatment of Obesity
OPM continues to require that all FEHB plans provide at least one GLP-1 weight-loss medication and at least two additional oral anti-obesity medications (AOM). Carriers must use intensive behavioral therapy (IBT) prior to and while covering an AOM. IBT for obesity consists of:

Obesity screening for adults using body mass index (BMI)
Dietary assessment
Intensive behavioral counseling and therapy to promote weight loss through diet and exercise

From the letter: “Prior authorization for any AOM must ensure the member has demonstrated and will continue participation in lifestyle interventions meeting the rigor of IBT before initiating treatment and while on an AOM.”

Carriers must also cover IBT programs for children aged 6 or older who have a BMI higher than the 95th percentile for their age and sex. These programs can be conducted at a primary care office or at a community-centered organization.

Gender-Affirming Care
While gender-affirming care for new patients ended this year, patients who were mid-treatment were allowed to continue in 2026. Next year, all treatment for gender-affirming care will end while still allowing for mental health services with licensed mental health providers.

TrumpRx
OPM mentions the TrumpRx initiative in the call letter and “encourages carriers to educate members” on price transparency. Currently, TrumpRx offers a limited selection of brand-name prescription drugs.

Federal employees can take advantage of the offers available on TrumpRx, but consider the following before you do so:

Any drugs purchased through TrumpRx will be paid in cash outside your FEHB plan, and those expenses will not go toward your deductible or catastrophic limit.
You may not always find a lower price on TrumpRx compared to your FEHB prescription drug coverage, so use your carrier’s price tool to see what you are currently paying to determine if there are savings.
When comparing, make sure you use your medication’s correct form, dosage and quantity to ensure an apples-to-apples price comparison.
Federal employees who can’t get GLP-1 weight-loss drugs approved in their FEHB plan can use TrumpRx for access to some of those medications.

Site of Care Optimization
To reduce costs, OPM is encouraging carriers to optimize the site of care where clinically appropriate. This includes reviewing their claims to identify strategies that ensure members receive their medically necessary services in the most efficient and cost-effective settings. OPM provides examples of freestanding, home-based and physician office-based infusion centers offering savings compared to outpatient hospital departments.

Digital Therapeutics
OPM encourages carriers to offer proven and cost-effective digital therapeutics as a complement to traditional treatments that may offer ways to manage or improve health conditions through software or other digital health technologies.

The Final Word
Besides these initiatives, federal employees may also see increased wellness incentives from their FEHB plans next year. OPM is strongly encouraging carriers to review their current programs and expand offerings.

Open Season gives federal employees and annuitants the opportunity to reassess whether their current plan still meets their needs. In addition to any new wellness offerings, be sure to review how the premium and benefits are changing in your current plan, as well as prescription drug coverage and access to providers. Carefully reviewing Section 2 of the official FEHB plan brochure, along with information on the carrier’s website, can help you make a more informed choice during Open Season this fall.

Kevin Moss is a senior editor with the Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees provided by Consumers’ Checkbook. Watch more of his free advice and check here if the Guide is available for free from your agency. You can also purchase the Guide and save 20% with promo code GOVEXEC.

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Trump’s budget calls for 2027 pay freeze

Erich Wagner — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:35:10 -0400

Updated at 3:30 p.m. ET.

President Trump's fiscal 2027 budget proposal, released Friday morning, would freeze federal civilian employees' pay in 2027, all while granting a sizeable raise for members of the armed services.

An Office of Management and Budget spokesperson told Government Executive that under Trump's budget, civilian workers would receive no pay increase next January. But under the plan, members of the military would receive between a 5% and 7% pay increase, with the highest raises going to the lowest ranked personnel.

“The administration recognizes the importance of America’s warfighters and their families, so the budget funds a military pay raise of 7% for all [Defense Department] military personnel ranked E-5 and below, 6% for E-6 to O-3, and 5% for O-4 and above,” the document states. “This enduring investment, far above the standard annual military pay raise, builds on the president’s recruiting and retention success, by doubling down on the administration’s goal to restore America’s fighting force.”

In order to follow through on his pay freeze plan, Trump must submit an "alternative pay plan" to Congress by August to avert sizeable automatic increases in locality pay due to the 1990 Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act, an annual exercise from presidents of both parties since the law’s passage.

Last spring, the Office of Management and Budget told agencies through internal “pass back” documents to expect a pay freeze for 2026, but Trump's alternative pay plan ultimately advanced a 1% across-the-board raise for most civilian workers, and a 3.8% raise for select federal law enforcement occupations, in line with the pay increase seen in the military.

Democrats in Congress, conversely, have proposed a 4.1% raise for civilian feds, split between a 3.1% across-the-board increase in basic pay and an average 1% boost to locality pay.

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Trump says he’ll pay all DHS workers after House again fails to end 48-day shutdown

Erich Wagner — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 17:24:07 -0400

President Trump on Thursday said he plans to sign an executive order to pay all Homeland Security Department workers, after the House failed again to pass legislation ending the partial government shutdown, now in its 48th day.

The move, which Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social, follows a similar edict issued last week authorizing pay for Transportation Security Administration workers, who had been previously forced to work without pay amid the party-line standoff over funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, the two agencies most central to the president’s immigration crackdown.

“…I will soon sign an order to pay ALL of the incredible employees at the Department of Homeland Security,” he wrote. “Their families have suffered for too long.”

It is unclear when Trump will sign the order, or upon what authority he would seek to pay thus-far unpaid DHS workers. The president signed executive orders Thursday afternoon, but as of press time they were confined to tariff-related issues.

TSA workers were granted four weeks’ worth of back pay Monday following the signing of the more targeted edict last week, while ICE and CBP workers have been paid on time since the beginning of the department-wide appropriations lapse using funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill law. Still working without pay within the department are employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency along with support staff and other non-immigration-related DHS components.

Observers had anticipated Thursday to serve as the potential end of the six-week impasse. After the House rejected a Senate-passed bill to fund DHS—minus ICE and CBP—through the end of September last week, senators again passed the bill with the expectation that the House would approve it via unanimous consent that morning. But when the House convened its pro forma session, lawmakers did not bring the measure up for consideration, reportedly due to pressure from conservative GOP members.

The next possible opportunity for Speaker Mike Johnson to advance the DHS legislation would be Monday. The House is not set to return to Washington until April 14.

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Traveling soon? What federal health plans actually cover

Tammy Flanagan — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 15:00:00 -0400

It’s the peak tourist season in Florida thanks to our sunny and warm weather and surprisingly low humidity this time of year. Saturday, March 21, was the busiest day of the year at our local Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), with up to 16,000 departing passengers — nearly double the daily average of 8,020 — airport officials told the Herald-Tribune — our local newspaper. That would mark the airport’s second-busiest day on record. With so many people traveling, I thought it might be time to review your health insurance coverage and how it works when you are traveling out of town or out of the country. It’s important to know how your insurance plan works should you need care during an emergency when you are traveling overseas. Here are some of the important features to look for:

Are you responsible for converting the currency to dollars and translating the bills into English? You can find out by reviewing your plan brochure (generally this information is found in Section 7) or by contacting your plan’s customer service.
Be prepared to pay up front if you need care. Your insurance coverage is likely to reimburse you, but not until after you file the claim.
Most plans will reimburse at the in-network level of coverage when you travel overseas.
Note if there is a special number you will need to call if you are traveling outside of the U.S.
If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage option of your FEHB plan, be sure to contact the plan to see how coverage will work overseas.

If you have FEHB coverage, do you still need to purchase travel insurance?

The coverage that is available with commercial travel plans varies from one plan to another, but the best annual travel insurance plans include protection for common mishaps. Your FEHB (and PSHB) plans generally cover medical emergencies while you’re traveling. The one thing that most health plans don’t cover is a medical evacuation back to the U.S. This is sometimes referred to as a “repatriation benefit.” Check for travel plans that cover this benefit.

Travel insurance also covers non-medical problems such as unexpected cancellations and trip interruption benefits. Check your policy for coverage for baggage delays, loss, theft and damage. Travel delay benefits may reimburse you for meals, accommodation and other expenses during a covered delay. If you rent a car, your policy may have car rental protection. Some plans include additional benefits, such as business equipment coverage and change fee coverage.

Let’s look at the nationwide FEHB fee-for-service plans, some of the larger HMOs and Medicare.

APWU:

Outside the U.S.: For covered services you receive by providers and hospitals outside the United States and Puerto Rico, send a completed Claim Form and the itemized bills to the following address. Also, send any written inquiries concerning the processing of overseas claims to:

High Option: APWU Health Plan, P.O. Box 8660, Elkridge, MD 21075

Consumer Driven Option: UnitedHealthcare at the claims address shown on the back of your UnitedHealthcare ID card.

Note: Overseas claims, including emergency claims, will be paid as out-of-network.

Nationwide coverage: You can get care from any “covered provider” or “covered facility.” How much APWU will pay — and you pay — depends on the type of covered provider or facility you use. If you use preferred providers, you will pay less. APWU uses UnitedHealthcare PPO providers. When out of your state of residence, if you do not use a UnitedHealthcare PPO provider or a UnitedHealthcare PPO provider is not available, standard non-PPO benefits apply. For assistance in identifying a provider in the network, call the APWU Health Plan at 800-222-2798.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan:

Outside the U.S.: If you travel or live outside the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, you are still entitled to the plan benefits. Unless otherwise noted in the plan’s brochure, the same definitions, limitations and exclusions also apply. Costs associated with repatriation from an international location back to the United States are not covered. We may request that you provide complete medical records from your provider to support your claim. If you plan to receive healthcare services in a country sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, your claim must include documentation of a government exemption under OFAC authorizing care in that country.

Please note that the requirements to obtain precertification for inpatient care and prior approval for those services listed in the plan brochure do not apply when you receive care overseas, except for admissions to residential treatment centers and skilled nursing facilities. Prior approval is required for all non-emergent air ambulance transport services for overseas members. Protections offered under the No Surprises Act do not apply to overseas claims. Members enrolled in the FEP Medicare Prescription Drug Program have no coverage for drugs obtained and/or purchased overseas. Please visit www.fepblue.org/overseas-coverage for additional information.

BC/BS has a network of participating hospitals overseas that will file your claims for inpatient facility care for you — without an advance payment for the covered services you receive. We also have a network of professional providers who have agreed to accept a negotiated amount as payment in full for their services. The Overseas Assistance Center can help you locate a hospital or physician in our network near where you are staying. You may also view a list of our network providers on our website, www.fepblue.org. You will have to file a claim to us for reimbursement for professional services unless you or your provider contacts the Overseas Assistance Center in advance to arrange direct billing and payment to the provider.

Nationwide coverage:

Under Standard Option, you can go to any covered provider you want, but in some circumstances, we must approve your care in advance. How much BC/BS pays — and you pay — depends on the type of covered provider you use. If you use our Preferred, Participating or Member providers, you will pay less.

Under Basic Option, you must use Preferred providers to receive benefits, except under situations listed in Section 4 of the plan brochure. In addition, we must approve certain types of care in advance. Under Basic Option, you must use those “covered professional providers” or “covered facility providers” that are Preferred providers for Basic Option to receive benefits. Please read further in Section 4 of the plan brochure for exceptions to this requirement.

You must use those “covered professional providers” or “covered facility providers” that are Preferred providers for FEP Blue Focus to receive benefits. Benefits are not available for care from non-preferred providers, except in very limited situations.

Compass Rose Health Plan:

Outside the U.S. coverage: When work or travel takes you overseas, the High and Standard Compass Rose Health Plan has you covered. You can see any health care provider or visit any hospital, and you will be reimbursed at the in-network level of benefits. When you use a provider outside the United States, you will pay them up front, then submit the receipt and detailed billing invoice for claims processing and reimbursement. Our overseas customers receive the same PPO benefits and prompt customer service as their stateside counterparts. There may be additional claims processing time for foreign claims. Claims may also be filed online. We will provide translation and currency conversion services for claims overseas and foreign services.

Optional travel insurance for Compass Rose Health Plan members:
UnitedHealthcare Global provides Compass Rose Health Plan members with access to Safe Trip travel insurance plans — an optional layer of protection designed specifically for international travel. These Safe Trip travel plans provide added protection when traveling abroad, covering unexpected trip cancellations, medical emergencies, evacuations and repatriations.

Nationwide coverage: You can get care from any “covered provider” or “covered facility.” How much we pay — and you pay — depends on the type of covered provider or facility you use. On the High Option, if you use our preferred providers, you will pay less. The Compass Rose Health Plan is powered by the UnitedHealthcare Choice Plus network. To help keep out-of-pocket costs low, our contract with UnitedHealthcare limits what doctors, hospitals and other facilities in the network are allowed to charge you. The Standard Compass Rose Health Plan does not provide coverage for out-of-network care.

Foreign Service Benefit Plan:

Who may enroll in this plan: You must be, or become, a member of the American Foreign Service Protective Association. New membership in the FSBP is limited to American Foreign Service personnel and certain Civil Service direct hire employees (i.e., eligible for FEHB insurance) working for the following government organizations: (1) Department of State (Foreign Service and Civil Service); (2) Department of Defense; (3) Department of Homeland Security; (4) USAID (Foreign Service and Civil Service); (5) Foreign Commercial Service (Foreign Service and Civil Service); (6) Foreign Agricultural Service (Foreign Service and Civil Service); (7) CIA, NSA and other intelligence organizations; and (8) Executive Branch civilian employees assigned overseas or to U.S. possessions and territories, and the direct hire domestic employees assigned to support those activities.

Outside the U.S. claims: When you are overseas you have access to a translation service, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you in discussing your urgent health-related conditions (such as accidents and medical emergencies that require immediate attention) with a foreign healthcare professional. You may call 855-411-9916. The Foreign Service Benefit Plan pays claims for providers outside the 50 United States at the same in-network coinsurance rate as in-network providers in the 50 United States, except in Guam, which is part of the plan’s network and subject to in- and out-of-network benefits. Note: We will provide translation and currency conversion services for claims for overseas (foreign) services. We have direct billing arrangements with providers in many countries, including China, Colombia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Korea, Panama, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand and Turkey. In addition, overseas Seventh-day Adventist hospitals and clinics participate in our direct billing arrangement. Please see our website (www.AFSPA.org/FSBP) for the most up-to-date information.

Nationwide coverage: You can get care from any “covered provider” or “covered facility.” We do not require referrals to see a specialist. How much we pay — and you pay — depends on the type of covered provider or facility you use. If you use in-network providers, you will pay less. The out-of-network benefits are the standard benefits of this plan. In-network benefits apply only when you use an in-network provider. Provider networks may be more extensive in some areas than others. In-network benefit levels also apply to providers outside the 50 United States.

GEHA:

Outside the U.S. claims: For covered services you receive by physicians and hospitals outside the United States and Puerto Rico, send a completed Overseas Claim Form and the itemized bills. Eligibility and/or medical necessity review is required when procedures are performed, or you are admitted to a hospital outside of the United States. Covered providers outside the United States will be paid at the in-network level of benefits, subject to the deductible, copays and/or coinsurance. We will provide translation and currency conversion for claims for overseas (foreign) services. The conversion rate will be based on the date services were rendered. You may be required to pay for the services at the time you receive them and then submit a claim to us for reimbursement. Proof of payment is required to be submitted with an overseas claim form. Canceled checks, cash register receipts or balance due statements are not acceptable. All foreign claim payments will be made directly to the enrollee.

Nationwide coverage: If you utilize an out-of-network provider, out-of-network benefits would apply on the Elevate Option. The Elevate Plus Option does not provide benefits for out-of-network providers, except in cases of emergency medical care. This plan uses the UnitedHealthcare network.

MHBP:

Outside the U.S. coverage: Overseas will be paid at the network level of benefits for covered services. Overseas hospitals and physicians are under no obligation to file claims for you. You may be required to pay for the services at the time you receive them and then submit a claim to us for reimbursement. MHBP will provide translation and currency conversion services for claims for overseas (foreign) services. For inpatient hospital services, the exchange rate will be based on the date of admission. For all other services, we will apply the exchange rate for the date the services were rendered. All foreign claim payments will be made directly to the enrollee except for services rendered to beneficiaries of the United States Department of Defense third party collection program. Canceled checks, cash register receipts or balance due statements are not acceptable.

Nationwide coverage: MHBP is a fee-for-service plan that allows you and your covered dependents to choose your health care providers. However, when you use an out-of-network provider, you may incur higher out-of-pocket expenses. The out-of-network benefits are the regular benefits of the plan. Network benefits apply only when you use a network provider. We cannot guarantee the availability of every specialty, or their continued participation in a specialty, in all areas. Out-of-network benefits are based on the plan’s out-of-network allowance. The out-of-network allowance depends on the type of care you receive, whether you receive care in an area that has a fully developed network and other factors. Aetna is the brand name used for products and services provided by one or more of the Aetna group of companies, including Aetna Life Insurance Company and its affiliates (Aetna). A single annual $52 associate membership fee makes all MHBP plans available to you.

SAMBA Health Benefit Plan:

Outside the U.S. coverage: For covered services rendered by a hospital or by a doctor outside of the United States, the plan will pay eligible charges at PPO benefit levels, limited to the plan’s allowance established for the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The member is responsible for the difference between the plan’s allowance and the provider’s charge. We will provide translation and currency conversion services for claims for overseas (foreign) services. Charges for overseas (foreign) claims will be converted to U.S. dollars using the exchange rate applicable to the date the service was rendered. For inpatient hospital services, the exchange rate will be based on the date of admission. When you must file a claim — such as for services you received overseas or when another group health plan is primary — submit it on the CMS-1500 or a claim form that includes the information shown in Section 7 of the plan brochure. Bills and receipts should be itemized.

Nationwide coverage: SAMBA’s fee-for-service plan offers services through a PPO. This means that certain hospitals and other healthcare providers are “preferred providers.” We have entered an arrangement with Cigna to offer the Cigna Open Access Plus (OAP) network to serve as the plan’s PPO for SAMBA enrollees in all states. When you use our PPO providers, you will receive covered services at reduced cost. The non-PPO benefits are the regular benefits of this plan. PPO benefits apply only when you use a participating Cigna OAP network provider. We cannot guarantee the availability of every specialty in all areas and continued participation of any specific provider cannot be guaranteed. When you phone for an appointment, please remember to verify that the healthcare provider or facility is still a Cigna OAP network provider. The nature of the services (such as urgent or emergency situations) does not affect whether benefits are paid as PPO or non-PPO. If you reside in the PPO network area and no PPO provider is available, or you do not use a PPO provider, the regular non-PPO benefits apply.

Aetna:

Aetna offers seven unique plan options: Aetna Saver, Open Access Plan, Aetna Value Plan, HDHP w/HAS, CDHP, Aetna Direct and Aetna Advantage.

Aetna Advantage

Outside the U.S. coverage: You should provide an English translation and currency conversion rate at the time of services for claims for overseas (foreign) services. When you must file a claim, such as when you use non-network providers, for services you receive overseas or when another group health plan is primary, submit it on the Aetna claim form.

Nationwide coverage: This plan is a health maintenance organization (HMO). We require you to see specific physicians, hospitals and other providers that contract with us. These plan providers coordinate your health care services. We are solely responsible for the selection of these providers in your area. Contact us for a copy of our most recent provider directory or visit our website at www.AetnaFeds.com. We give you a choice of enrollment in a High, Basic or Saver Option.

If you live or work in our service area, you can go directly to any network specialist for covered services without a referral from your primary care provider. Note: Whether your covered services are provided by your selected primary care provider (for your PCP copay) or by another participating provider in the network (for the specialist copay), you will be responsible for payment, which may be in the form of a copay (flat dollar amount) or coinsurance (a percentage of covered expenses). If you go directly to a specialist, you are responsible for verifying that the specialist is participating in our plan. If your participating specialist refers you to another provider, you are responsible for verifying that the other specialist is participating in our plan.

Aetna Saver, Aetna High Option, Aetna Basic Option

Outside the U.S.:
If you are traveling outside your Aetna service area, including overseas/foreign lands, or if you are a student who is away at school, you are covered for emergency and urgently needed care. For non-emergency services, care may be obtained from a walk-in clinic, an urgent care center or by calling Teladoc. Urgent care may be obtained from a private practice physician, a walk-in clinic or an urgent care center. Certain conditions, such as severe vomiting, earaches or high fever are considered “urgent care” outside your Aetna service area and are covered in any of the above settings. All follow-up care should be coordinated by your PCP or network specialist. Follow-up care with non-participating providers is only covered with a referral from your primary care provider and preapproval from Aetna. Suture removal, cast removal, X-rays and clinic and emergency room revisits are some examples of follow-up care.

Nationwide coverage: Large nationwide Aetna network, 24-hour/7-days-a-week access to doctors with CVS Virtual Care, no referrals to network specialists.

See www.aetnafeds.com for additional plans that Aetna offers, including Aetna Open Access Plan, Aetna HDHP w/HSA, Aetna CDHP and Aetna Direct plans.

Kaiser Permanente:

Outside the U.S.: Most overseas providers are under no obligation to file claims on behalf of our members. You may need to pay for the services at the time you receive them and then submit a claim to us for reimbursement. To file a claim for covered urgent or emergent care received outside the United States, send a completed Overseas Claim Form and itemized bills to: Mid-Atlantic Claims Administration, Kaiser Permanente, P.O. Box 371860, Denver, CO 80237-9998. We will do the translation and currency conversion for you. You may obtain the Overseas Claim Form by calling Member Services toll-free at 877-KP4-FEDS (877-574-3337) or from our website at www.kp.org/feds, Members/Forms and Information.

Nationwide coverage: You must receive your health services at Kaiser Permanente plan facilities, except if you have an emergency, authorized referral or out-of-area urgent care. If you are visiting another Kaiser Permanente or allied plan service area, you may receive healthcare services at those Kaiser Permanente facilities. Under the circumstances specified in this brochure you may receive follow-up or continue care while you travel anywhere. If you have an urgent care claim (i.e., when waiting for the regular time limit for your medical care or treatment could seriously jeopardize your life, health or ability to regain maximum function, or in the opinion of a physician with knowledge of your medical condition would subject you to severe pain that cannot be adequately managed without this care or treatment), we will expedite our review and notify you of our decision within 72 hours.

If your plan is not listed, you can check out all other FEHB and PSHB plans by visiting https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/.

TRICARE:

Outside the U.S. proof of coverage: Learn how to travel. Filling prescriptions overseas: We recommend that you fill all your prescriptions before you travel. If you must fill a prescription while you’re traveling, keep in mind that TRICARE retail network pharmacies are only located in the U.S. and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. Also, if you’re using home delivery, you must have a prescription from a U.S.-licensed provider and an APO or FPO address. Learn more about filling prescriptions overseas.

Air evacuations: To be medically necessary means it is appropriate, reasonable and adequate for your condition. International SOS will provide cashless, claimless air evacuation services to the closest safe location. This applies only to active-duty service members and their families. For all others, TRICARE will still cover the safest circumstances. However, you should be prepared to pay up front and submit a claim for reimbursement. TRICARE doesn’t cover all air evacuations back to the U.S. Learn more about air evacuation coverage.

Nationwide coverage: TRICARE is the uniformed services health care program for active-duty service members, active-duty family members, National Guard and Reserve members and their family members, retirees and retiree family members, survivors and certain former spouses worldwide.

TRICARE brings together the health care resources of the Military Health System — such as military hospitals and clinics — with a network of civilian health care professionals, institutions, pharmacies and suppliers to foster, protect, sustain and restore health for those entrusted to their care. You can also seek care from a civilian network of TRICARE-authorized providers. This network depends on what region you’re in. Find your region and learn more about network providers. Note: You may be able to see a non-network TRICARE-authorized provider, depending on your TRICARE plan. But you may have higher costs and you may have to file your own claims.

Medicare:

Medicare usually doesn’t cover medical care outside the U.S. and its territories. However, Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans must cover care you receive outside the U.S. in some very limited certain circumstances:

Medicare will pay for emergency services in Canada if you are traveling a direct route, without unreasonable delay, between Alaska and another state and the closest hospital that can treat you is in Canada.
Medicare will pay for medical care you get on a cruise ship if you get the care while the ship is in U.S. territorial waters. This means the ship is in a U.S. port or within six hours of arrival at or departure from a U.S. port.
In limited situations, Medicare may pay for non-emergency inpatient services in a foreign hospital (and any connected provider and ambulance costs). Your care is covered if the hospital is closer to your residence than the nearest available U.S. hospital. This might happen if, for example, you live near the border of Mexico or Canada.

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Most TSP funds tumbled in March

Erich Wagner — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:50:33 -0400

Nearly all the portfolios within the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program lost ground last month, as the global economy buckles from disruptions resulting from President Trump’s bombing campaign in Iran.

The Thrift Savings Plan’s G Fund, which is made up of government securities, was the sole offering to finish March in the black, increasing by its statutorily mandated rate of 0.34%. So far in 2026, the G Fund has gained 1.04%.

The common stocks of the C Fund lost 4.98% last month, bringing its performance since January to 4.34% in the red. And the small- and mid-size businesses of the S Fund fell 4.58%, wiping out its gains this year. So far in 2026, the S Fund has lost 1.22% in value.

The I Fund, which is made up of international investments, was hardest hit in March, finishing the month 9.35% in the red. So far this year, the I Fund has gained 1.84%.

And the fixed income (F) fund lost 1.77% last month, bringing its 2026 gains down to 0.04%.

Likewise, each of the TSP’s lifecycle (L) funds, which shift toward more conservative investments as participants get closer to retirement, lost value in March. The L Income Fund, designed for people who have already begun making withdrawals, fell 1.66%; L 2030, 3.67%; L 2035, 4.29%; L 2040, 4.69%; L 2045, 5.04%; L 2050, 5.37%; L 2055, 6.40%; L 2060, 6.40%; L 2065, 6.40%; L 2070, 6.40%; and L 2075, 6.40%.

Since January, the L Income Fund has grown 0.26%, the sole L fund still in the black for 2026. The L 2030 Fund lost 0.56%; L 2035, 0.82%; L 2040, 0.99%; L 2045, 1.14%; L 2050, 1.29%; L 2055, 1.73%; L 2060, 1.73%; L 2065, 1.73%; L 2070, 1.73%; and L 2075, 1.73%.

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TSA workers receive back pay after 4-week delay as DHS shutdown continues

Jacob Fischler, States Newsroom — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 17:48:42 -0400

Most Transportation Security Administration officers received a paycheck Monday covering four weeks of back wages that were held up by the funding lapse at the Homeland Security Department, a TSA spokesperson said.

The lack of pay had produced long wait lines for security checks at some of the nation’s busiest airports after TSA officers quit or called out sick.

The 45-day partial government shutdown of DHS remains ongoing — with each chamber of Congress, both led by Republicans, unable to reach a consensus on a solution. It is now the longest government shutdown in history, exceeding last year’s 43-day record.

But President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the department and the White House Office of Management and Budget to reprogram funds with a “logical nexus” to TSA in order to compensate the airport screeners who had remained on the job without pay.

That month of back pay went out Monday, DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis wrote in an email.

“Most TSA employees received a retroactive paycheck today that included at least two full paychecks … today,” Bis wrote.

Some TSA workers “might see a slight delay,” which could be attributed to a variety of factors, such as processing by their banks, Bis added. She said the department was working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Finance Center to process the half-paycheck employees missed in February.

Because TSA workers are considered essential, they are required by law to stay on the job even when the government cannot fund their positions. Though they receive back pay once funding is available, long shutdowns cause major problems for workers.

More than 500 TSA workers have quit since the shutdown began and thousands more have missed shifts, Bis wrote.

Breakdown in Congress

The House and Senate passed competing measures Friday to end the shutdown. Because the chambers diverged in how to fund the department, it remains shuttered.

The shutdown began Feb. 14 after Democrats in Congress said they would only support a funding bill for the department if it contained changes in how the Trump administration carried out immigration enforcement following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by immigration agents in Minneapolis.

Senators last week reached a deal to fund the department except for its immigration enforcement agencies, which received a massive influx from Republicans’ spending and tax cuts law last year.

The House bill would have extended 2025 funding levels for the entire department for two months. Lawmakers from both chambers left for a two-week recess after passing their respective bills.

White House wants full funding

At a Monday briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt urged Congress to pass full funding for the department.

“The president just can’t keep signing presidential memorandums and proclamations every time Congress fails to do its job and every time Democrats hold our country hostage, picking and choosing the programs and agencies they want to fund just because they don’t like this administration’s policies,” she said. “That’s not how it’s supposed to work.”

Jennifer Shutt contributed to this report.

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The Social Security clock is ticking faster than expected

Tammy Flanagan — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:00:00 -0400

Did you know that the “Doomsday Clock” was founded in 1947 by scientists associated with the Manhattan Project, including Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer? According to this “clock,” it is now 85 seconds to midnight.

Fortunately, today’s column will not focus on disruptive technologies, nuclear risk, climate change or biological threats that are the focus of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Instead, I will focus on projections of the insolvency of Social Security, including analysis from the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) and the official projections from the Social Security Trustees.

The official annual report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds will not be released for a few more months. The most recent report was released on June 18, 2025.

For someone like me who looks for the silver lining in every cloud, I don’t like to make dire predictions or assume a problem cannot be solved. Today’s column discusses both the projections and the potential policy paths forward.

The PWBM analysis is grounded in microeconomics, which refers to how individuals, households and firms make decisions to allocate limited resources. In this case, the limited resource is the funds available to pay Social Security benefits to retirees, survivors and individuals who are unable to work due to disability.

The PWBM projects that Social Security could face depletion in the early 2030s under certain assumptions. At that point, available revenues would be sufficient to pay only a portion of scheduled benefits.

This aligns broadly with the Social Security Trustees’ projections, though the exact timing differs slightly depending on the assumptions used. The Trustees have projected depletion of the combined trust funds in the mid-2030s if no changes are made to current law.

The OASI and DI Trust Funds operate separately under current law. The Disability Insurance Trust Fund is generally projected to remain solvent longer than the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund. Combined projections are often used as a general indicator of the system’s overall financial status, even though the funds cannot be merged without a change in law.

According to the Trustees, several factors are contributing to the long-term imbalance. One is recent legislation that increased benefits for some workers by repealing provisions that had reduced benefits for certain public-sector employees.

Another factor is demographics. Lower birth rates mean fewer workers paying into the system in the future, while the population of beneficiaries continues to grow. The total fertility rate in the United States has declined to historic lows in recent years, contributing to this long-term pressure.

A third factor is the share of income going to wages versus other forms of compensation. Changes in that balance can affect payroll tax revenues, which fund Social Security.

Understanding these drivers is necessary to understand the policy options available to address the shortfall.

The PWBM outlines several policy levers that could address the gap, though any changes would require action by Congress. These include adjustments to the payroll tax rate, the taxable maximum, cost-of-living adjustments, benefit formulas and the full retirement age.

The combined OASDI payroll tax rate is 12.4 percent, split evenly between employers and employees. Only earnings up to a certain annual limit are subject to the payroll tax, with that taxable maximum increasing over time. Benefits are adjusted annually for inflation through cost-of-living adjustments, and the benefit formula is based on a progressive structure tied to lifetime earnings.

The full retirement age is 67 for workers born in 1960 or later, though individuals can claim reduced benefits starting at 62 or delay claiming until age 70 to receive higher monthly payments.

The PWBM presents several illustrative policy options to address the long-term imbalance. These scenarios are modeling exercises, not legislative proposals, and each combines different changes to taxes and benefits.

Option A focuses primarily on revenue increases, including a higher payroll tax rate and an increase in the taxable maximum, along with adjustments to the cost-of-living formula.

Option B combines revenue increases with modest benefit reductions by adjusting the benefit formula and cost-of-living calculations.

Option C shifts more toward benefit reductions, including a gradual increase in the full retirement age.

Option D blends both revenue increases and benefit adjustments.

Option E relies primarily on benefit reductions without increasing the payroll tax rate.

Time will tell whether any of these approaches will be adopted. The reality is that the options generally fall into three categories: raising revenue, reducing benefits or some combination of the two.

The advantage of phasing in changes over time is that it gives workers and retirees more time to adjust. Congress has acted before to stabilize Social Security, though often at the last possible moment. The question is whether it will act again before time runs out.

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How federal retirement benefits have changed over the years

Tammy Flanagan — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:00:00 -0400

It has been more than 20 years since I began writing this “retirement planning” column and more than 40 years since I started studying federal benefits so that I could teach and counsel federal employees about their retirement and insurance benefits. As the old saying goes, “time flies when you’re having fun!” During the past four decades, I have seen changes in federal retirement and insurance benefits due to changes in laws and policies. As I look back to 1985 (the year I was assigned to work in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s “retirement office”), here are some of the changes that have stood out that impact the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), which was being created and implemented in the 1980s, and the older Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), which dates back to its creation in 1920:

Federal Employees Retirement System Act of 1986 — Title I: Federal Employees Retirement System

Establishes FERS for federal employees, postal employees and members of Congress who began service after Dec. 31, 1983. Declares that benefits payable under the system are in addition to those payable under the Social Security Act. Includes the following provisions:

Eligibility for an annuity after five years of creditable service
Entitlements to retirement based on age and years of service
Formulas for computing an annuity
Survivor election reductions
Funding

The FERS Act also provided for:

Mandatory retirement for air traffic controllers, law enforcement officers and firefighters
A Thrift Savings Plan under which participants make contributions from their basic pay
A formula to determine the appropriate contribution by the employing agency
Payment of benefits, lump sum or annuity, at separation from service
Establishment of the Thrift Savings Fund in the Treasury
Investment of funds
Survivor annuities under FERS
Disability benefits for employees with 18 months of creditable service
The Office of Personnel Management to administer benefits and adjudicate claims
Annual adjustments in basic pensions based on increases in the Consumer Price Index
Withholding of state income taxes from retirement annuities
Protection of annuities, survivor annuities and disability benefits from legal process, unless otherwise provided by federal law
Creation of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to oversee the Thrift Savings Fund
Creation of an Employees Thrift Advisory Council
Appointment of an executive director to carry out board policies and administer the plan

Public Law 103-353, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA)

Approved Oct. 13, 1994, this law made two substantial amendments to FERS and CSRS provisions under Title 5. It made certain National Guard service creditable and addressed service credit deposits required for certain military service that interrupts civilian federal service. Both provisions apply to certain past service.

Bailey v. State of North Carolina (1998)

This class-action lawsuit resulted in a North Carolina Supreme Court decision that affected taxation of certain retirement benefits. As a result, North Carolina may not tax certain retirement benefits received by retirees of the state who meet specific criteria. The ruling applies to certain defined benefit plans, including FERS and CSRS, for qualifying service. It also applies to certain state retirement plans. Retirees are advised to check with their state tax office regarding how their benefits will be taxed.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (Public Law 111-84)

Signed Oct. 28, 2009, this law provided several changes under CSRS and FERS, including:

Credit for unused sick leave under FERS, with phased implementation (50 percent effective Oct. 28, 2009, and 100 percent effective Jan. 1, 2014)
Expanded ability to use actuarial reductions instead of cash redeposits for certain prior service
Changes to annuity calculations for part-time service
Authority to deposit refunds under FERS
Credit for certain District of Columbia service transferred to federal service
Retirement equity adjustments for employees in non-foreign areas, allowing a phased shift from cost-of-living allowances to locality pay

Public Law 112-96, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012

Established FERS-Revised Annuity Employee (FERS-RAE). Employees hired after Dec. 31, 2012, who were not excluded from FERS coverage became subject to higher employee contribution rates. While most benefits did not change, the law increased contributions and included exceptions allowing some employees to remain under original FERS rules.

The Social Security Fairness Act (2025)

Signed into law on Jan. 5, 2025, this act ended the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions had reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for millions of workers who also received pensions from non-covered employment, including many federal employees under CSRS.

Future changes

H.R. 1522, the Federal Retirement Fairness Act, would allow civilian service in temporary positions after Dec. 31, 1988, to be creditable under FERS. It has been proposed for years but has not gained broad support.
Recent proposals in the “big beautiful bill” of 2025 included potential changes to federal retirement and benefits, such as:
- Reducing the federal government’s contribution to FEHB plans through a voucher model
- Eliminating cost-of-living adjustments for FERS retirees
- Reducing COLAs for CSRS retirees by 0.5 percent
- Reducing returns on the Thrift Savings Plan G Fund
- Increasing employee retirement contributions
- Converting new employees to at-will status unless they accept higher contributions
- Charging fees for Merit Systems Protection Board appeals
- Calculating annuities based on the highest five years of salary instead of three
- Eliminating the FERS annuity supplement

Employee and retiree organizations continue to play a significant role in shaping these outcomes. Groups like AFGE and NARFE have successfully influenced legislation and helped prevent proposed cuts to federal retirement and insurance benefits.

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Women in federal service still face retirement gaps

Tammy Flanagan — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 15:00:00 -0400

Updated at 4:08 p.m. on March 13.

March is Women’s History Month, a time to reflect on the achievements of women who have shaped American institutions and to examine the challenges that persist today. One area where women’s contributions — and challenges — are especially visible is retirement security. For federal employees, retirement planning is built on a strong foundation through the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Yet, even with this structure, women face unique hurdles that make proactive planning essential.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Executive Order 11375, which added sex to other prohibited forms of discrimination in the federal government. As a result, the Civil Service Commission established the Federal Women’s Program (FWP). The program was tasked with identifying barriers that hinder hiring women and women’s career advancement in the federal government.

In 1972 the Equal Employment Opportunity Act brought federal employees fully under the equal employment opportunity provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act required that federal agencies designate a Federal Women’s Program Manager to advise the director of equal employment opportunity on matters affecting women’s employment and advancement. It also required federal agencies to allocate sufficient resources to their Federal Women’s Programs. To help implement the portions of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act that affected its female employees, the National Archives and Records Service (NARS) created a Federal Women’s Program Committee.

I’ve had the opportunity to present retirement planning programs to a variety of groups of female federal employees. My presentations for groups of women were really no different from any other presentations I conducted. However, I noticed that there were more frequent questions about taking time out for caregiving, whether it was for young children, parents or spouses. Caregiving duties often result in changing work schedules from full time to part time.

In some cases, women have taken a break in their service history, leaving them with shorter careers resulting in smaller retirement benefits when they returned to federal service. In some cases, refunded retirement contributions needed to be paid back (with interest) to fully credit the past service.

Federal Employed Women, or FEW, is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1968, the year after President Johnson’s executive order was signed. Today, FEW still works to end sex and gender discrimination, to encourage diversity for inclusion and equity in the workplace, and for the advancement and professional growth of women in federal service by:

encouraging diversity and equity in the workplace
enhancing career opportunities
establishing relationships with organizations to advocate the fair application of laws, policies, procedures and practices
maintaining relationships with organizations to advocate the fair application of laws, policies, procedures and practices

Groups like FEW exist to improve the quality of life for women by influencing legislative actions, committing to maintain a unified and diverse membership and providing opportunities for professional growth.

Women in Federal Law Enforcement, or WIFLE, is another such organization that stemmed from President Johnson’s efforts to remove barriers to women in government. WIFLE’s predecessor was ICWIFLE (I C WIFLE), which is the acronym for the Interagency Committee on Women in Federal Law Enforcement hosted by the departments of Justice and Treasury.

ICWIFLE was originally formed as a task force created by the Office of Personnel Management in 1978. It was charged with studying reasons for the low numbers of women entering federal law enforcement — fields that opened to women only after President Richard Nixon signed Executive Order 11478 (EO 11478) on Aug. 8, 1969.

President Nixon’s executive order provided equal opportunity to federal employment for all persons; prohibited discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap or age; and promoted equal employment opportunity through a continuing affirmative program in each executive department and agency.

Women were not authorized to carry firearms, execute search warrants and make arrests until 1969, when Executive Order 11478 was signed.

Joanne Pierce Misko, a former nun who grew up in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Susan Roley Malone, a 25‑year‑old Marine, became the first female FBI agents in 1972. I had the privilege of meeting Special Agent Johnnie Mae Gibson, one of the first Black female FBI agents, during the time I worked at FBI headquarters in the 1980s. Gibson served from 1976 to 1999.

In 1971 and 1972, women special agents were also hired by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

How women save compared to men

Despite remarkable gains in labor force participation, women’s economic well‑being continues to lag in key outcomes like median earnings and retirement security. Research shows that women hold fewer retirement assets and are more likely to be impoverished at the end of their lives than men.

Census Bureau data consistently show that women approach retirement with fewer financial resources than men. According to U.S. Census Bureau research in 2018, about 50% of women ages 55–66 have no personal retirement savings, compared with 47% of men in the same age group. Women are also less likely to have substantial savings: only 22% of women report retirement savings of $100,000 or more, compared with 30% of men.

Multiple studies indicate that women are disadvantaged across all sources of retirement assets: they tend to receive lower Social Security benefits, have lower retirement account ownership rates and lower estimated retirement account balances, and own fewer assets than men.

A study by researchers from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found that the lifetime earnings of mothers with one child are 28% less than the earnings of childless women, all else equal, and each additional child lowers lifetime earnings by another 3%.

When examining Social Security benefits, the study found that the “motherhood penalty” is smaller than the earnings penalty. But mothers with one child still receive 16% less in benefits than women without children, and each additional child reduces benefits by another 2%.

Other studies reinforce this trend. Research summarized by Investopedia shows that women often have less than one‑third of the median retirement savings of men, a gap driven by lower lifetime earnings, caregiving responsibilities and career interruptions.

Surveys also indicate that women report lower confidence in their ability to meet retirement goals than men, even when participating in employer‑sponsored plans.

For federal employees, the Federal Employees Retirement System helps offset some of these challenges by guaranteeing a pension. Still, differences in TSP contribution levels, investment growth and years of service can widen gaps over time if not actively managed.

Why women face greater retirement challenges

Elderly women, who comprise a growing portion of the U.S. population, have historically been at greater risk of living in poverty than elderly men.

This prompted a study by the Government Accountability Office in 2012, which found that women, on average, earn less over their lifetimes and are more likely to take time away from work to care for children or aging relatives. These interruptions reduce years of creditable service under FERS and lower total TSP contributions.

In 2020, the comptroller general of the United States, Gene Dodaro, head of GAO, testified about the unique challenges women face saving for retirement. Among those challenges, he noted that women have longer life spans, lower lifetime earnings and that they are more likely to be primary caregivers, which can limit them from maintaining paid employment.

Studies cited by retirement researchers show that women are more likely to express concern about longevity risk and health care costs in retirement. These realities make strategic retirement planning especially critical for women in federal service.

How women federal employees can prepare for retirement

While challenges exist, federal employment offers tools that women can leverage so they can prepare for retirement.

Preparation begins with understanding how each component of FERS fits together. Maximizing TSP participation is one of the most impactful steps. The federal government automatically contributes 1% of salary and matches additional employee contributions up to certain limits, making consistent contributions especially valuable over time. Ensuring at least enough contributions to receive the full match is widely recognized as a foundational strategy.

Women should also pay close attention to years of creditable service and retirement eligibility milestones. FERS retirement options depend on combinations of age and service, such as reaching the minimum retirement age with 30 years of service or age 60 with 20 years. Understanding these thresholds helps employees make informed decisions about when to retire and how long to remain in federal service.

Finally, retirement preparation extends beyond income. Evaluating health insurance continuation, survivor benefits and long‑term care considerations is particularly important for women, who statistically spend more years in retirement.

Looking forward

While FERS provides a solid framework, women still face disparities in savings, confidence and retirement readiness. By understanding the data, using federal benefits strategically and learning from the women who shaped today’s retirement landscape, women in federal service can turn structural advantages into lasting financial security.

In doing so, they continue a long tradition of women strengthening not only their own futures but the retirement systems that support generations to come.

What has Congress done and what can they do in the future to help equalize the retirement benefits for women?

Increase access to retirement plans (there are well over a dozen categories of federal workers who are excluded from FERS coverage, including temporary and term appointments and employees serving on an intermittent work schedule)
Improve tax incentives to save for retirement (IRS Retirement Savings Contributions Credit is a tax credit established to help taxpayers save for retirement and lower their tax bill. Beginning in tax year 2027, the Saver’s Credit will be replaced by the Saver’s Match, created by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 for individuals meeting income and other eligibility requirements. Several provisions of SECURE 2.0 affect how participants contribute and use the TSP as well)
Expand Social Security benefits for caregivers

In 2025, Rep. Lauren Underwood, D‑Ill., and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D‑Wis., introduced the Women’s Retirement Protection Act of 2025 (WRPA), legislation to help close the retirement gap and improve women’s financial security. There is a companion bill in the Senate, S.988, sponsored by Sen. Baldwin, D‑Wis., designed to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide greater spousal protection under defined contribution plans (the TSP already provides such protection by requiring spousal consent for withdrawals by FERS and uniformed services participants).

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Johnnie Mae Gibson as the first Black female FBI agent. Ms. Gibson was among the first Black female FBI agents, but not the first.

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The No. 1 thing to know entering retirement: How much are you really spending?

Austin Costello — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 07:00:00 -0400

When federal employees begin thinking about retirement, most focus first on the big questions.

When should I claim Social Security?

Should I keep Federal Employee Health Benefits or enroll in Medicare?

How much can I expect from my Federal Employee Retirement System annuity?

But there’s one question that should come before all of that.

How much am I actually spending?

Understanding how to manage your finances in retirement must start with this simple question. While it may seem basic, this step is one of the most empowering, yet often overlooked, parts of planning for your future.

Your spending habits, not your Thrift Savings Plan balance and not your annuity estimate, create the foundation of retirement income planning. Because your spending dictates how much income you’ll need, it’s necessary before you retire to determine how much you’ll withdraw from your investments. Once you know how much you’re really spending, it’s much easier to figure out how to invest your money, how much you can safely take out each year and whether your savings will last.

Why spending is so often misjudged

Many people estimate their monthly spending with a round figure, such as “probably around $5,000.” However, a closer look at bank statements, credit card records and bills often reveals that the actual amount is 20–30% higher than their initial guess. National data backs this up — according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey, households headed by someone age 65 or older spent an average of $60,087 in 2023, not much lower than working-age households.

It’s not that people are trying to hide anything. It's just how we are. A lot of our spending happens automatically or pops up at odd times, so it’s easy to overlook certain costs.

Insurance premiums, property taxes, vehicle repairs, vacations, gifts and subscriptions are easy to overlook. Plus, as we move toward retirement, life itself is changing. You may plan to downsize or travel more, or you may find new costs replacing old ones.

Without a true understanding of your spending, even the most detailed retirement plan can miss the mark.

Assess the situation prior to taking action

The most reliable way to find your true spending level is to track every expense for 6–12 months before retirement.

That’s long enough to capture both everyday spending and seasonal or annual expenses, everything from holiday travel to homeowners’ insurance renewals.

You can use a spreadsheet, budgeting software or simply your bank and credit card statements. Start by dividing expenses into broad categories:

Housing: mortgage or rent, property taxes, maintenance, homeowners association fees, utilities.
Transportation: car payments, fuel, insurance, repairs, rideshares.
Health care: FEHB premiums, copays, prescriptions, dental and vision.
Food: groceries, dining out, meal delivery.
Lifestyle: travel, entertainment, gifts, hobbies, charitable giving.
Other: taxes, personal care, subscriptions, miscellaneous items.

Once you’ve tracked and categorized expenses for several months, calculate your average monthly spending. Then multiply that by 12 for an annual estimate.

This is your real cost of living.

Be realistic about what will change

Many retirees assume their spending will drop dramatically once they leave work. After all, there’s no more commute, fewer dry-cleaning bills and less money spent on lunches or professional clothing.

This could all be true, but as these expenses fall off, other expenses often rise. You’ll have more free time, which can mean more travel, dining out or general spending. Health care costs tend to increase, even for those covered under FEHB or Medicare. And if you’ve been putting off home projects or bucket-list trips, the early retirement years are often when they happen.

A good rule of thumb: plan for the first few years of retirement to cost roughly the same as your final working years. You can always adjust downward once you see how your new lifestyle settles in.

Why your spending drives the whole plan

Once you have a realistic understanding of how much you spend, everything else in your financial plan comes into focus.

Your spending dictates:

How much income you’ll need each month. This includes your FERS annuity, Social Security and TSP withdrawals.
How your portfolio should be structured. The size and timing of withdrawals affect your investment mix, cash reserves and risk tolerance.
How sustainable your plan will be. If you draw more than your portfolio can reasonably sustain, even a well-funded TSP can deplete faster than expected.

If you underestimate your spending, you may overestimate how long your assets will last. For example, if you believe your annual expenses are $60,000 but they’re actually $75,000, that $15,000 gap has to come from somewhere - likely from your TSP or savings. Over 20–30 years of retirement, that difference compounds significantly.

Adjusting as life happens

Retirement isn’t a static event. It’s a new phase of life that evolves over time. Early retirement years tend to be more active (and expensive), while later years may focus more on health care or downsizing.

That’s why it’s smart to review and update your spending plan every year, especially in the first five years of retirement. Keep an eye on new expenses like spoiling grandchildren, finding new hobbies or finally booking that trip you’ve been thinking about. All of this may require you to adjust your withdrawals accordingly.

It’s important to keep an eye on rising prices. Even small increases like groceries or gas, can add up over many years. Your plan should make room for spending to go up a little bit as things get more expensive. Unfortunately, that’s just inflation.

Build a plan just for you, and your confidence

Many people resist tracking spending because it feels restrictive or annoying.

But in retirement, knowing your numbers isn’t about limitation, it’s about freedom.

When you know exactly how much you spend and how much income you have to cover it, you gain confidence and clarity. You can enjoy your retirement without worrying whether every purchase is “too much.”

Every federal employee’s financial picture is unique, but the same principle applies across the board: your spending sets the stage for everything that follows.

Before you finalize your retirement date, take the time to understand your expenses in detail. Track them. Question them. Think about how they’ll change as your lifestyle evolves.

Your spending is your foundation. It’s data, so the more information you have, the better decisions you can make to prepare for the life you want in retirement.

This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal or investment advice. If you are seeking investment advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be obtained on your own separate from this educational material.

Austin Costello, CFP® is an LPL Financial Planner with Capital Financial Planners. If you have questions about your insurance needs or any other federal-specific financial planning question, register for a complimentary checkup. For topics covered in even greater depth, see our YouTube page.

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Travel industry rallies support for TSA staff working without pay amid concern of delays during shutdown

Eric Katz — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:56:00 -0500

The travel industry is imploring lawmakers to ensure on-time pay for Transportation Security Administration employees, launching a campaign on Thursday to pressure Congress into passing legislation to that effect while the partial government shutdown remains in effect.

As TSA employees have already received a partial paycheck and are preparing to miss their next one entirely, private sector operators who depend on smoothly running airports are speaking out in favor of the agency’s workforce. The Homeland Security Department shutdown is finishing its third week as congressional Democrats and the White House remain divided on the agency’s funding and how to reform its immigration enforcement crackdown.

Travel industry officials created the “Pay Federal Aviation Workers” campaign to rally support to end the shutdown and, absent that, pass various pieces of legislation that would ensure air traffic controllers and TSA staff receive on-time paychecks during funding lapses. The Federal Aviation Administration, like all agencies outside DHS, is fully funded for fiscal 2026 and air traffic controllers are therefore not impacted by the current impasse.

They also called for Customs and Border Protection officers to receive on-time pay, though most CBP employees are being paid on a normal schedule thanks to funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Geoff Freeman, president of the U.S. Travel Association, said the “stakes are too high” to continue making TSA employees sacrifice.

“TSA officers screen nearly a billion passengers a year,” Freeman said. “With an average salary of around $35,000, these are workers who simply cannot afford to miss a paycheck. Right now, Congress is allowing them to do that work without one.”

Missed pay for TSA workers often serves as a flash point in shutdowns, as it typically causes a spike in unscheduled absences that in turn leads to longer security lines. Those delays tend to increase pressure on lawmakers to find a resolution to their standoffs.

Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told Congress last month that her agency saw a 25% increase in attrition during the record-setting shutdown last fall compared to the same six-week period the year before the lapse. TSA can ill-afford a similar employee drain now, she added, as the agency is preparing for increased traffic during spring break and the upcoming World Cup.

“It’s affecting recruiting as we speak,” she said of the lingering uncertainty.

Chris Sununu, a former Republican governor from New Hampshire and current president of Airlines for America, said his clients have met demand by adding capacity, but the government is failing to hold up its end of the bargain.

“Congress must get to the table and act with urgency to get a deal done that ensures frontline agencies can fully operate and employees can get the paychecks they earn for the important work they do to keep our skies secure,” Sununu said.

The groups estimated that TSA would screen an average of 2.8 million passengers per day in March and April, an all-time high. The 2025 shutdown caused 9,000 flights to be delayed or canceled, they said, which took a $6 billion toll on the travel industry.

DHS employees have told Government Executive they are still paying off loans they took out during the last shutdown and are rotating taking unpaid days off to save on commuting costs.

“For the third time in five months, TSA screeners are being asked to perform their jobs without pay because Washington can’t find a way to do its job,” said Todd Hauptli, president of the American Association of Airport Executives. “That’s wrong, and dedicated screeners shouldn’t have to pay the price for continued Washington dysfunction.”

The House on Thursday once again advanced a spending bill for DHS, though it was approved largely along party lines and did not contain the new checks on DHS law enforcement personnel that Democrats are seeking. The measure is not expected to pass the Senate in its current form. Democratic leadership and the White House have traded legislative reform proposals back and forth—and President Trump announced on Thursday he would fire DHS Secretary Kristi Noem—but the two sides have yet to reach an agreement that would reopen the department.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., made clear on Thursday that Noem's removal would not lead to a change in Democrats' strategy in holding up DHS funding.

"This is a problem of policy, not personnel," Schumer said. "The rot is deep. No one person can straighten this up until the president changes the whole agency, stops the violence and reins in [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]."

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A year after the Social Security Fairness Act, some retirees are still waiting for full benefits

Tammy Flanagan — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 15:00:00 -0500

On Jan. 5, 2025, President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA) into law, repealing two onerous Social Security provisions: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) – or the “Evil Twins,” as the late columnist Mike Causey dubbed them. The law restored full Social Security benefits to millions of retired public service workers, including federal retirees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System.

Although federal employees who paid into the Civil Service Retirement System were exempt from FICA taxes, many had worked in Social Security-covered employment before, after, or even during their federal employment, as well as serving in the military, where FICA taxes have been paid since 1957. The SSFA also restored spousal and widows’ benefits previously reduced by the GPO.

The SSFA is retroactive to Jan. 2024, meaning Dec. 2023 is the last month the WEP and GPO applied. This was welcome news for millions of public servants who had been receiving reduced retirement benefits and often were prevented from receiving spousal and widows’ benefits. However, some individuals are not entitled to retroactive payments. Those who have not applied for Social Security retirement benefits yet will not see the impact of this law until they begin receiving benefits.

Some individuals eligible for spousal and widows’ benefits before Jan. 2024 have been denied retroactive benefits because of when they previously inquired. They were told benefits would only be applied six months before the date of application. Many see this as inconsistent with the intent of the SSFA.

Survivors’ benefits

As a surviving spouse, you may be able to receive full benefits (up to 100% of the deceased spouse’s benefit amount) at your full retirement age. The full retirement age for survivors born from 1945 through 1956 is 66. It increases gradually for those born from 1957 through 1962. For anyone born in 1962 or later, full survivors’ benefits are payable at age 67. This differs from the full retirement age for retirement benefits, which is 67 for people born in 1960 or later.

A surviving spouse can get reduced benefits as early as age 60. If your surviving spouse has a disability, benefits can begin as early as age 50. For more information on survivors’ benefits, visit www.ssa.gov/survivorplan.

To qualify for Social Security widow’s benefits in addition to benefits payable at age 60, other requirements include:

Must be age 60 or older
Any age if caring for dependent children under 16 or receiving Social Security disability benefits
Former spouses who were married to the worker for at least 10 years and meet one of the above requirements

A spousal benefit payable while the worker is alive can be as much as half of the worker's primary insurance amount, depending on the worker's age at retirement. If a spouse begins receiving benefits before normal retirement age, the benefit is reduced. However, if a spouse is caring for a qualifying child, the spousal benefit is not reduced.

If a spouse is eligible for a retirement benefit based on his or her own earnings and that benefit is higher than the spousal benefit, only the earned retirement benefit will be paid. A spouse can retire as early as age 62, but doing so may result in a benefit of as little as 32.5% of the worker's primary insurance amount.

Spousal benefits

Requirements to qualify for Social Security spousal benefits include:

The worker must file for retirement benefits for the spouse to be eligible for a benefit based on the worker's earnings
Spouse must be at least age 62, or any age if caring for dependent children under 16 or receiving Social Security disability benefits
Former spouses who have not remarried and were married to the worker for at least 10 years may also qualify

Spouses, surviving spouses, and former spouses are subject to an earnings limit that can reduce or terminate benefits until they reach full retirement age, when the limit no longer applies, or when earned income falls below the annual earnings limit ($24,480 in 2026).

To clarify eligibility for the repealed WEP and GPO, Social Security published FAQs at https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html, explaining how to claim spousal and widow benefits and unreduced personal benefits.

NARFE member example

Mike Teefy, president of the Vancouver chapter of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) and a retired SSA employee, shared a story from a member named Charles. It highlights perceived inequities in benefit payments after the repeal of WEP and GPO.

Charles divided impacted individuals into two groups:

Group 1: Individuals who formally applied for Social Security spousal benefits. Before the Act, some received reduced or no benefits due to WEP and GPO. SSA generally processed these cases to provide benefits back to Jan. 2024.
Group 2: Individuals who did not formally apply for benefits because they assumed their payments would be reduced to zero or insignificantly small amounts. SSA processed these cases to provide benefits six months from the application date. For example, an individual applying today would have benefits start six months before the application rather than back to Jan. 2024.

Many in Group 2 wonder why they were not entitled to benefits back to Jan. 2024, as the Act provided retroactive payments. Charles, 81, a CSRS retiree who retired in July 2011, has 34 Social Security credits and is not eligible for his own retirement benefit. He never applied for spousal benefits because the offset would have reduced them to zero.

His wife, 80, began receiving Social Security retirement payments in her mid-60s. In late January 2025, Charles contacted his local SSA office about spousal benefits under the SSFA. After a phone interview on Feb. 14, 2025, he received a deposit covering July 2024 through Jan. 2025 (six months’ retroactive benefits). He did not receive payments for Jan.–June 2024 because he was told retroactive benefits were limited to six months from his application date.

Charles and others who have not formally filed should contact SSA immediately to protect their benefits.

Retroactive benefits rules

According to the SSA handbook (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.15/handbook-1513.html), full retirement age and survivor claims may be paid retroactively up to six months. Certain disability claims may be paid up to 12 months retroactively. You are entitled to benefits beginning the first month in the retroactive period that you meet all requirements, except for filing an application.

For example, if you reach full retirement age in March 2022, are fully insured, and file for benefits in March 2026, you may be entitled to retroactive benefits starting Sept. 2025 (six months before filing). Retroactive benefits for months prior to full retirement age are not payable if this permanently reduces the monthly benefit, except for surviving spouses or surviving divorced spouses under disability who are under 61 in the filing month. Surviving spouses filing after a worker's death may be entitled to benefits in the month of death if otherwise eligible.

Congressional review

Senators Susan Collins, Bill Cassidy, John Cornyn, and John Fetterman sent a letter to SSA Administrator Leland Dudek requesting a review of agency policy to grant maximum retroactive payments to protected spouses affected by the SSFA back to Jan. 2024. The SSFA, coauthored by Collins and cosponsored by Cassidy, Fetterman, and Cornyn, restores Social Security benefits for millions of public employees and their spouses by repealing WEP and GPO, including retroactive payments to Jan. 2024.

Like Charles, several constituents contacted senators’ offices regarding retroactive benefits. They were told by SSA employees years ago that spousal benefits would be reduced to $0 under the GPO, so they did not file claims. Now, these spouses are being told to file a claim but are only granted up to six months’ retroactivity from the most recent SSA contact.

Filing for reconsideration

Teefy advises members who did not receive retroactive benefits back to Jan. 2024 to file Form SSA-561, Request for Reconsideration. This action may protect rights until SSA resolves the issue or Congress or courts require SSA to conform to the legislation and Jan. 2024 effective date.

Those who have not filed for spousal benefits can use the following:

Widows and former spouses: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-10.html
Spouses and divorced spouses: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-2.html#
Marriage certification: online or Form SSA-3: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-3.pdf

Claims may require birth certificates, marriage, divorce, and death certificates depending on the type of benefits filed.

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House Dems want to know why retirees aren’t getting physical tax documents from OPM

Carten Cordell — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 07:00:00 -0500

Updated at 8:27 a.m. ET March 4

With tax season in full swing, House Democrats are pressing the Office of Personnel Management for answers about reports that federal retirees and annuitants aren’t receiving paper copies of tax documents needed to file their returns.

In the March 2 letter to OPM Director Scott Kupor, nine House members — led by Reps. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., and Frank Pallone, D-N.J. — inquired why some retirees still haven’t received physical copies of their 1099-R forms.

“Each year, OPM states that it will mail physical Form 1099-R documents to any annuitant who does not have an email address on file after January 31,” the letter said. “Despite this policy, we have heard from numerous constituents who still have not received their Form 1099-R or annuity statements, even after waiting well beyond the maximum two-week delivery window communicated by your staff.”

Form 1099-R covers annual distributions from a variety of retirement plans, including pensions, individual retirement arrangements, survivor income benefit plans, insurance contracts and others.

OPM’s Retirement Services Online portal will provide digital copies to retirees and annuitants with a Login.gov account or an email address. For those without either, the agency typically sends paper forms out by Jan. 31.

But according to some, neither has been happening this year, and when retirees or annuitants try to reach out to OPM, they can’t get an answer.

John Hatton, staff vice president for policy and programs at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, told Government Executive that his organization has been "inundated" with calls from retirees who had not received a physical 1099-R form or had difficulty acquiring one online.

"We're hearing from a lot of members who don't know how to get their form, and they can't call OPM because it's almost impossible to get through on the phone," he said. "We've told people to start calling at 7:40 a.m. and keep calling for 30 minutes, and you might get through . . . And even if they did get through, [OPM] don't let you switch to mail delivery via the phone — you need to create an account just to switch it."

OPM’s inspector general recently cited customer service at its Retirement Services office as a top management challenge for fiscal 2026 due contributing factors such as a lack of resources, the loss of 100 retirement personnel from the deferred resignation program and the office’s own retirements and hiring action cancellations.

"OPM has made 1099 forms available digitally with one-click access, and users no longer need a PIN to sign in," said OPM spokesperson McLaurine Pinover in a email. "Anyone without a Retirement Services Online account was mailed a paper copy, and some deliveries may have been delayed by recent winter storms in the DC and Northeast region. We are advising recipients to allow about 10 days for mail delivery."

The nine House members requested that OPM provide statistics on the current status of 1099-Rs to be mailed, information on average call and wait times to the Office of Retirement Services’ help line, any information on customer service satisfaction data and metrics for success and how the agency plans to address the customer service issues.

Erich Wagner contributed to this report. The story was updated to include a comment from OPM.

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Most TSP funds were flat in February

Erich Wagner — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 15:40:06 -0500

Most portfolios in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program were relatively flat last month, with just one fund exceeding 2% growth and another ending February in the red.

The Thrift Savings Plan’s international (I) was the lone bright spot, gaining 6.05% last month. So far this year, the I Fund has grown 12.34%. Meanwhile, the small-and mid-size businesses of the S Fund increased 1.08% in January, bringing its returns since January to 3.52%.

The fixed income (F) fund gained 1.63% in February; so far this year, it has increased 1.84%. And the G Fund, which is made up of government securities, grew by its statutorily mandated rate of 0.33%. So far in 2026, the G Fund has increased 0.70%.

The common stocks of the C Fund were the only TSP offerings to lose value last month, falling 0.76%. So far this year, the C Fund is up 0.68%.

Each of the TSP’s lifecycle (L) funds, which shift toward more conservative investments as participants get closer to retirement, posted modest gains in February. The L Income Fund, designed for those who have already begun making withdrawals, increased 0.82%; L 2030, 1.26%; L 2035, 1.41%; L 2040, 1.50%; L 2045, 1.58%; L 2050, 1.65%; L 2055, 1.82%; L 2060, 1.82%; L 2065, 1.82%; L 2070, 1.82%: and L 2075, 1.82%.

So far this year, the L Income Fund has grown 1.95%; L 2030, 3.23%; L 2035, 3.62%; L 2040, 3.88%; L 2045, 4.10%; L 2050, 4.31%; L 2055, 4.99%; L 2060, 4.99%; L 2065, 4.99%; L 2070, 4.99%; and L 2075, 4.99%.

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How to make the most of FERS, Social Security and your TSP

Tammy Flanagan — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 15:00:00 -0500

From FY1970 to FY1985, the number of people receiving federal civil service annuities rose from fewer than 1 million to nearly 2 million, an increase of 105%. Between FY1985 and FY2022, civil service annuitants rose by 767,000, an increase of about 39%.

In FY2022, all CSRS employees were 55 or older, compared with 32% of FERS employees. 42.1% of FERS employees were younger than 45. 91% of CSRS employees were 60 or older, whereas 15% of FERS employees were in this age range.

Unlike the Social Security trust fund, which may not pay full benefits by 2034, the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund is in strong financial shape. At the end of FY2022, the CSRDF balance was $1.012 trillion, more than 10 times the year’s outlays, and is expected to reach $1.576 trillion by FY2032.

Agency contributions under FERS: FY2024 rates range from 16.5% to 18.4% of payroll, depending on hire date. Employee contributions vary from 0.8% to 4.4%. CSRS agency contributions equal 7% of payroll, with transfers from the Treasury general fund.

Preparing for retirement

Know the three main parts of retirement income after a federal career:

FERS basic retirement benefit
Social Security
Thrift Savings Plan

Other income may include employer plans, IRAs, state or local government benefits, military service, or private pensions.

FERS basic retirement benefit

Formula:
- 1% × high-three average salary × years and months of creditable service
- 1.1% × high-three average salary × years and months of creditable service for age 62+ with 20+ years of service
High-three average salary: Highest average pay during any three consecutive years of service. Includes increases for retirement deductions. Excludes overtime, bonuses, annual leave payout, and cash awards.
Creditable service: Includes federal covered service, pre-1989 service if a deposit is paid, unused sick leave, and generally military service if a deposit is made.

Reductions and withholdings:

Age reduction for early retirement
Survivor benefits election
Alternative annuity election
Deductions for FEHB, FEGLI, FLTCIP, FEDVIP, federal and possibly state taxes

Social Security and TSP

Check your Social Security benefits via a my Social Security account. Your Thrift Savings Plan is your main retirement investment tool. As of December 2025, 4,143,273 FERS accounts had an average balance of $216,863. 96.6% of FERS employees participate. Most receive the full 5% agency match.

TSP and SEC provide tools, webinars, and resources to manage investments, understand withdrawals, and protect financial security. Strategies include the 4% withdrawal rule, fixed-dollar withdrawals, fixed-percentage withdrawals, systematic withdrawals, and withdrawal buckets.

Other planning considerations

Taxes on traditional TSP withdrawals and some Social Security benefits
Health care costs, including Medicare premiums and prescription drugs
Long-term care expenses
Seeking professional financial advice when needed

Planning for retirement is like hiring a professional for high-risk or complex home projects. Proper preparation now can lead to a more financially secure and enjoyable retirement.

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Why your federal benefits may not protect your family the way you think

Neil Cain — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 07:00:00 -0500

Federal employment comes with benefits that many Americans envy, including stability, a steady paycheck, a pension, health insurance, life insurance and survivor benefits. On paper, it looks like a solid picture.

But, when Mark, a 52-year-old federal employee with more than two decades of service, passed away unexpectedly, his wife assumed the benefits they’d discussed over the years would carry her through.

What she didn’t realize, until weeks later, was how much it depended on elections made years earlier and forms that hadn’t been revisited since their children were in elementary school. Life insurance covered immediate expenses, but not long-term income. The pension survivor benefit was smaller than she expected. The TSP beneficiary form hadn’t been updated after a refinance and name change.

There wasn’t anything that was “wrong.” The plan just hadn’t kept up with life.

But here’s what many federal employees only learn after something goes wrong. Your benefits were designed to support you but not fully protect your family if something happens to you. That gap is where plans stop being theoretical and need to be fully ready to step in if life happens. Stories like Mark’s are more common than many federal employees realize, and they usually don’t involve mistakes, just assumptions.

Why “I’m covered” is usually an assumption

Most federal employees assume their benefits will “take care of things” if they die unexpectedly, become disabled or retire earlier than planned. It’s not a reckless assumption, but a reasonable one. After all, the federal government offers more benefits than most private employers. The problem is that they’re often misunderstood, incomplete or dependent on choices you may not have revisited in years.

FEGLI: Helpful, but rarely enough

Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance is one of the most misunderstood benefits in the federal system. Though you do have life insurance, it may not be enough.

Basic FEGLI typically equals your salary rounded up to the nearest $1,000, plus $2,000. For many employees, that means $70,000–$100,000 in coverage.

For most families, that amount doesn’t replace your income for very long.

Optional FEGLI coverage can help, but premiums increase sharply with age. Many employees quietly reduce or drop coverage later in their careers because it becomes expensive and often without replacing it. It feels like coverage, but when it’s tested, there may be a gap that’s quickly uncovered.

Survivor benefits offer real protection, but often misunderstood

When a federal employee dies while still working, survivors are not left without support. In fact, federal survivor benefits can be meaningful and substantial.

For many families, benefits may include a Basic Employee Death Benefit. This is a lump sum equal to 50% of the employee’s final salary (or high-3 average) plus an additional fixed amount, along with the potential for a survivor annuity, continued health insurance coverage (Federal Employee Health Benefits) and any FEGLI life insurance in place. These benefits are administered through the Office of Personnel Management and are designed to provide immediate and ongoing financial support.

Where families are often surprised isn’t whether benefits exist. It’s how those benefits are paid, how long they last and whether they truly replace the income that was lost.

The BEDB, for example, is a one-time benefit. Survivor annuities may provide ongoing income, but typically at a reduced level compared to a full working paycheck. Importantly, unlike FEGLI, which is generally received income-tax free by beneficiaries, the survivor annuity and portions of the BEDB are taxable as ordinary income. That means the actual spendable amount can be lower than families expect once federal (and potentially state) taxes are factored in.

FEGLI may help with short-term needs, but it often isn’t designed to sustain a household for decades.

And while these benefits create a strong foundation, they don’t automatically adjust for a family’s specific financial reality — such as mortgage obligations, college funding, outstanding debt or the surviving spouse’s ability to return to work.

Without understanding how the pieces fit together, families can find themselves financially stable on paper yet still facing difficult trade-offs in real life.

Understanding inherited TSP rules — and why planning matters

Your Thrift Savings Plan is one of the most powerful wealth-building tools available to federal employees. But it is not self-executing — especially when it comes to what happens after death.

Multi-generational planning inside the TSP follows very specific rules:

Original TSP owner → First beneficiary → Second beneficiary

Each stage changes the distribution options and tax treatment — sometimes dramatically.

When the first beneficiary inherits

If the beneficiary is a spouse:
The spouse can move the TSP into a Beneficiary Participant Account within the TSP system. This preserves tax deferral and allows for continued structured withdrawals. With proper planning, this can maintain flexibility and long-term income control.

If the beneficiary is a non-spouse:
Under current post-SECURE Act rules, most non-spouse beneficiaries must follow the 10-year rule, meaning the account must be fully distributed by the end of the 10th year following death.
In limited cases (eligible designated beneficiaries or pre-SECURE inheritances), life expectancy “stretch” rules may still apply.

Already, you can see how outcomes vary depending on who inherits.

When the second beneficiary inherits

If the first beneficiary later passes and a second beneficiary inherits what is known as a non-designated beneficiary account, the rules become even more restrictive.

In most cases, the second beneficiary must fully distribute the account by Dec. 31 of the year of receipt.

There is no new 10-year clock and no life expectancy stretch available.

This often surprises families — and can trigger large, compressed taxable distributions.

Where real-world problems show up

On paper, the TSP is highly efficient. In real life, issues arise when it isn’t aligned with your actual family and financial situation.

Common gaps we see:

Beneficiary forms that haven’t been updated in decades
Asset allocations that no longer match your timeline
Assumptions that a spouse will “figure it out” later
No tax strategy for inherited withdrawals

The TSP does not automatically pass to your spouse. It only does if your beneficiary designation form says so. And even when it does pass correctly, the way distributions are structured can significantly impact:

Income taxes
Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount exposure
Long-term income sustainability
Multi-generational wealth transfer

A well-funded TSP without a clear plan can still create financial stress for survivors.

The goal isn’t just to accumulate a large balance.
It’s to ensure that balance transitions efficiently, tax-smart and aligned with your family’s real-world needs.

Because when it comes to inherited retirement accounts, the rules — not the balance — often determine the outcome.

Disability: The risk no one likes to talk about

Most people insure their car, their home, even their phone. But few adequately insure their ability to earn a living. You may see this referred to as your human capital. Federal disability benefits exist, but they often:

Replace only a portion of income
Take time to approve
Come with strict eligibility requirements

If an illness or injury prevents you from working for months, or even permanently, your family may face a sudden drop in income at the exact moment expenses rise.

This is one of the most financially disruptive events a family can experience, yet it’s one of the least planned for.

Health care and long-term care: The silent cost

FEHB is excellent health insurance. But it does not cover everything.

Long-term care refers to help with daily activities due to aging, illness or cognitive decline. It’s one of the largest financial risks retirees face. Medicare coverage is limited, and long-term care expenses can quietly drain savings and force difficult family decisions.

Without a plan, the burden often falls on a spouse or adult child, both from a financial and emotional perspective.

The real risk can be your assumptions

Most benefit shortfalls don’t happen because people don’t care. They happen because people assumed.

Assumed FEGLI was enough
Assumed beneficiaries were correct
Assumed retirement would “work itself out”
Assumed there would be time later

Life doesn’t always give us that time.

No better time than right now to act

You don’t need to be a financial expert to protect your family better. You just need clarity.

Start with these steps:

Review your FEGLI coverage and ask what it replaces.
Confirm all beneficiaries—TSP, FEGLI, pension, savings.
Understand your Survivor Benefit Plan election and whether it aligns with your family’s needs.
Consider income protection, not just retirement income.

Talk it through with someone who understands federal benefits and your personal situation. These benefits are a strong foundation, but it still needs walls, a roof and reinforcement. When you’ve taken the necessary steps to protect your loved ones, ensuring they’re all ready for action, with no assumptions, may be the last step to securing that confidence.

This is a hypothetical situation based on real life examples. Names and circumstances have been changed. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investments or strategies may be appropriate for you, consult your advisor prior to investing. This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal or investment advice. If you are seeking investment advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be obtained on your own separate from this educational material.

Neil Cain is a certified financial planner with Capital Financial Planners. To discuss your investments, including your TSP, register for a complimentary Retirement Readiness Meeting. For topics covered in even greater depth, see our YouTube Channel.

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Still digging out from the last shutdown, DHS employees brace for more delayed pay

Eric Katz — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 15:28:00 -0500

While the Homeland Security Department is shut down, the vast majority of employees—about 92%—are still reporting to work. In some cases, however, workers are finding creative solutions to get out of their regular duties and save money while their paychecks hang in the balance.

“My unit is rotating voluntary furlough days,” said one DHS staffer.

Workers in that office are taking turns to take time off work, which, during a shutdown, entails being placed in an unpaid furlough status.

“[We] conserve finances by not commuting, since we're only allowed to telework in emergency situations,” the employee said, noting some employees in the unit commute 80 miles per day and are therefore seeing significant savings on gas when they do not go to work. The employees who accept the furloughs have used the time to schedule medical appointments, handle errands or tackle home projects.

Funding for DHS lapsed Feb. 14 after congressional Democrats and the White House failed to reach an agreement on reforms to President Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown. Most of DHS is still working because their jobs are necessary to protect life or property, but their paychecks will be delayed until Congress approves appropriations for the department. Those accepting voluntary furloughs are taking a risk, as the White House has treated back pay for furloughed workers as non-guaranteed. Congress has approved retroactive compensation in both of the two shutdowns this fiscal year, however, reaffirming a guarantee it passed into law for all future shutdowns in 2019.

The third shutdown of the year—which is impacting only DHS, as every other federal agency is funded through Septemeber—is taking its toll on the department’s employees.

“I did not dig out from the last shutdown” before this one began, said a civilian U.S. Coast Guard employee who is once again working without pay.

They received a no-interest loan from Coast Guard Mutual Assistance during last year’s 43-day funding lapse, without which “I wouldn’t have been able to make it.” The employee still has multiple payments left on the loan.

“I’m struggling,” they said. “I’m not going to paint a picture that I’m OK financially.”

Their biggest concerns, the Coast Guard worker said, was that they now know certain creditors will not be flexible, adding they will have to be vigilant with those institutions. In the previous shutdown, the before and after school care for the employee's child waived all fees. The facility does not plan to do so this time around, but is providing some flexibility on the payment schedule.

Friends and family have already reached out to offer help with groceries and other necessities. In the office, however, longstanding and pervasive issues are harder to address. The employee’s office is still doling out contract funds under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. But the trio of shutdowns is “killing diminishing morale” and that impact is making it difficult to get work done, they said.

“We’re still working as if we’re not shut down,” the civilian worker said. “It’s very weird.”

The Trump administration has excoriated congressional Democrats for declining to approve DHS funding, suggesting it is having significant impacts on employees and agency operations alike.

“Now we have [Federal Emergency Management Agency] workers, the men and women of the United States Coast Guard, the men and women of [the Transportation Security Administration], who keep our airports moving, who will be working without paychecks for no good reason other than the Democrats wanting to pick a fight with Donald Trump, and the president thinks that is irresponsible and despicable,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

FEMA is currently pursuing efforts to shed about half of its workforce.

DHS officials told lawmakers at a hearing last week that a shutdown would hurt recruiting, damage morale and stymie long-term planning and projects. The Coast Guard is curtailing training and grounding some aircraft, while TSA’s leaders warned of delays at airports. FEMA will struggle to make payments for long-term recovery efforts, while the Secret Service is pausing reforms that are currently underway. Congress returns from recess next week, but negotiators have not announced any progress in reaching a deal to fund the department.

Most DHS employees will not miss a full paycheck until the beginning of March. Craig Carter, president of the Federal Managers Association, said the impacts are already being felt across the DHS workforce.

“Federal employees at the Department of Homeland Security are once again working without pay and must endure uncertainty on their budgets for the fiscal year,” Carter said. “This is an unacceptable way to treat these dedicated feds who do so much to provide for our fellow Americans.”

Lawmakers had reached a bipartisan agreement to fund DHS before department personnel fatally shot Alex Pretti, a Veterans Affairs Department nurse protesting Immigration and Customs and Enforcement actions in Minnesota, and Democrats made new demands to change the department’s policies. To the Coast Guard civilian, that makes their current sacrifice a worthy one.

“If I have to go a month or a month and a half because more measures are put in place to ensure people aren’t murdered in the street, I’m ok with that,” they said. “What if it were my kid, or my relative, or my coworker?”

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Federal workers delay retirement as savings gaps persist

Tammy Flanagan — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:00:00 -0500

How many years of federal service did you have or will you have when you retire? Most of you are now retiring under the Federal Employees Retirement System, or FERS. Before we explore your FERS retirement, let’s look at some recent survey results from the 2025 Retirement Confidence Survey. The RCS is the longest-running survey of its kind, measuring worker and retiree confidence about retirement, and is conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research. The 2025 survey of 2,767 Americans was conducted online Jan. 2 through Feb. 3, 2025. All respondents were ages 25 or older, including 1,042 workers and 1,005 retirees.

One key finding of the survey is that workers are planning to retire later. While the median expected retirement age for workers has held steady at 65, a growing share report planning to retire at 70 or beyond. Most retirees—three in five—report retiring earlier than 65, with a median retirement age of 62. While over two in five retirees who retired early say they did so because they could afford to, nearly seven in 10 retirees indicated the reason was something out of their control.

Some troubling responses included:

Only 41% of workers have calculated how much money they would need to cover health expenses in retirement
Only 44% of workers thought about how much money they would withdraw from retirement savings and investments
Only 46% of workers planned for emergency or large expenses in retirement
Only 51% of workers reviewed their Social Security benefit at their planned retirement age
Only 52% of workers estimated the amount of income needed each month in retirement

On the other hand:

65% of workers discussed with their partner or spouse when they hoped to retire and what it would look like
58% of workers thought about the age they would claim Social Security
55% of workers thought about how they would occupy their time in retirement

Additional survey responses:

How confident are workers that they will have enough money in retirement?
- 78%: Very or somewhat confident
- 22%: Not too or not at all confident
Workers without a defined benefit or defined contribution plan:
- 33%: Very or somewhat confident
- 67%: Not too or not at all confident
Workers who feel prepared for retirement: 69% confident
Retirees who felt prepared: 75% confident
Workers with a major debt problem who are confident about financial security: 36%
Workers’ total savings and investments (excluding primary residence):
- 32%: Less than $25,000
- 7%: $25,000–$49,999
- 12%: $50,000–$99,999
- 13%: $100,000–$249,999
- 37%: $250,000 or more

How would your answers compare with the survey?

According to a Congressional Research Service report from December 2023, 98% of current civilian federal employees were enrolled in FERS, which covers employees hired since 1984. Two percent were enrolled in CSRS, which covers employees hired before 1984.

More than 2.7 million people received civil service annuity payments, including 2,226,760 employee annuitants and 475,562 survivor annuitants. Of these, 56% received annuities earned under CSRS, and 44% received annuities earned under FERS.

The average civilian federal employee who retired in FY2022 was 62.3 years old and had completed 25.1 years of federal service. Average monthly annuities: CSRS, $5,447; FERS, $2,126. FERS annuities are supplemented by Social Security benefits and the Thrift Savings Plan.

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Air traffic controller pay raise stalled by DHS shutdown

Carten Cordell — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 07:00:00 -0500

The current government shutdown of the Homeland Security Department is not only disparately impacting paychecks across the federal government’s third largest agency, it has also placed a proposed pay raise for air traffic controllers in jeopardy.

After the House passed an appropriations package to fund DHS, Senate Democrats withdrew their support for the budget plan, instead pressing for immigration enforcement reforms following multiple fatal shootings of citizens by DHS employees.

The DHS budget impasse will stretch at minimum another week while the Senate remains in recess until Feb. 23 after failing to reach a funding deal prior to the department’s appropriations running out last week. But it will also leave the fate of a proposed 3.8% pay raise for air traffic controllers an open question.

The House appropriations minibus for the Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and related agencies baked in $140 million into the DHS portion of the funding package for the air traffic controller raises in fiscal 2026.

That funding would go into effect if the Federal Aviation Administrator determines “in his sole discretion, that improvements in workforce scheduling, staffing utilization, or other operational efficiencies are achieved that contribute to addressing workforce shortfalls and enhancing aviation safety.”

But despite the FAA and the Transportation Department having full-year appropriations, because the Senate carved out DHS funding, the $140 million remains on hold.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., cited the pay raise as one of several detrimental impacts of the DHS shutdown in his opening remarks of a Feb. 11 hearing.

"I will end with this: the appropriations process shouldn’t be used as a proxy for other policy disputes. Discussions on reforms, oversight, and accountability across government can happen without leveraging other agencies as collateral," he said.

The proposed raise is targeted to help recruitment and retention efforts for air traffic controllers, which have been a focus of the agency for years but received renewed attention following a collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a commercial airliner near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed all 67 people on both aircraft in January 2025.

According to the FAA’s air traffic controller workforce plan, the agency had roughly 10,730 Certified Professional Controllers in fiscal 2024 and anticipated losing an estimated 6,872 between fiscal 2025 and 2028, due to a mix of retirements, attrition, promotions and transfers and other reasons.

Meanwhile, the bulk of DHS employees will continue to report to work without pay during the shutdown, with roughly 23,000 employees placed on furlough. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officials are expected to utilize funding provided in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to continue operations.

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TSP in-plan Roth conversions: Are they right for you?

Tammy Flanagan — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 15:00:00 -0500

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) has long served as a cornerstone of retirement savings for federal employees and members of the uniformed services. As retirement planning becomes more complex, TSP participants are increasingly interested in maximizing their accounts’ flexibility and tax advantages. One of the most significant features now available is the in-plan Roth conversion, allowing participants to convert traditional TSP balances to Roth within the plan.

Recently, TSP introduced a new calculator to help participants better understand and evaluate the impacts of such conversions. This new option presents a decision that should involve a consultation with your financial professional, who can help you evaluate how this move might benefit you in tax planning and also caution you when deciding to jump in feet first to take advantage of this new option available to TSP participants.

What do the professionals think?

One such financial advisor whom I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know is Neil Cain, a Certified Financial Planner with Capital Financial Planners. He wrote a column this week about the pros and cons to be aware of when deciding to proceed with a TSP in-plan Roth conversion. I also discussed this new option with Karen Schaeffer, a long-time colleague of mine, who is also a CFP. She has advised clients for over 40 years and has developed a diverse client base, including professional women, Foreign Service officers, foreign nationals, and federal government employees.

Both Karen and Neil have expressed holding up a big caution flag before taking advantage of this new option.

“We’re being forced to make a deal with the devil of future changes to our tax laws,” Karen said.

In other words, using a pre-tax traditional retirement savings plan allows you to save tax dollars as you are investing today and reminds us to think about tax planning and strategies we can plan for when withdrawing those taxable distributions in the future. Karen also provided the following reminders:

No one knows what the tax laws will do in four years, let alone over the next 40 years.
Those who want to do their kids a favor by leaving a tax-free account as an inheritance should consider that they can most likely save more for the future by investing pre-tax dollars, which will allow them to make their retirement more comfortable while possibly still leaving a sizeable legacy for their family. After all, she reminded us, we have already been nice to our kids; we should not sacrifice the comfort we may experience in our retirement thanks to our ability to save and invest during our working years.
Will your tax bracket really be lower when you are withdrawing these funds in retirement? Federal retirees will have a minimum of three streams of retirement income to consider: the FERS basic retirement benefit, Social Security retirement, and, once over a certain age, required minimum distributions (RMDs) from the TSP and other pre-tax retirement accounts, which can be sizeable, especially if you haven’t been taking distributions earlier in your retirement.

If it is your plan to save these funds to pass on to your favorite charity, remember that they won’t necessarily need the tax-free withdrawals, since distributions to a charity are tax-free anyway—even those that were invested on a pre-tax basis—and provide a deduction for estate tax purposes. If this is your plan, remember that TSP and IRS rules do not allow direct, tax-free charitable transfers, commonly known as QCDs (this is a discussion for another day with your financial advisor).

What is an in-plan Roth conversion?

The concept of an in-plan Roth conversion is that this process enables TSP participants to transfer all or a portion of their traditional (pre-tax) TSP account to a Roth (after-tax) account within the plan. Unlike rolling funds out to a Roth IRA, this process keeps the money within the TSP, allowing participants to continue benefiting from low-cost investment options and the familiar structure of their retirement account.

When you convert traditional TSP funds to Roth, the amount converted becomes taxable income in the year of the conversion. This means you’ll owe federal (and possibly state) income taxes on the converted amount. The taxes are not withheld from the converted investment; instead, you must plan to pay these taxes out of other funds you have available.

However, once in the Roth account, future qualified withdrawals—including earnings—are tax-free, provided certain requirements are met. This trade-off can be appealing for participants who anticipate being in a higher tax bracket in retirement or who value tax diversification.

As any financial professional will tell you, there are some advantages to having a Roth account in retirement:

Tax-free growth and withdrawals: After converting and paying taxes upfront, Roth balances grow tax-free, and qualified withdrawals in retirement are not taxed.
Tax diversification: Having both traditional and Roth balances can provide flexibility in managing taxable income in retirement.
No required minimum distributions (RMDs): While traditional TSP accounts are subject to RMDs at age 73, Roth TSP balances are not, allowing participants to keep funds invested longer.
Estate planning benefits: Roth accounts can be advantageous for heirs, who may inherit funds without immediate tax consequences.

However, the decision to convert is highly personal and depends on factors such as current and future tax rates, age, anticipated retirement income, and available funds to pay taxes on the conversion. It’s important to note that converting a large balance in a single year could push participants into a higher tax bracket, resulting in more taxes owed. Also, for those over 65, this decision can affect Medicare Part B and Part D premiums due to the income-related monthly adjustment amount, better known as IRMAA.

Using the TSP’s Roth conversion calculator

Recognizing the complexity of Roth conversions, TSP recently launched a dedicated calculator. This tool is designed to help participants visualize the financial impact of converting traditional TSP funds to Roth, estimate the tax consequences, and assess how conversions fit into their broader retirement strategy.

The calculator allows users to input their current traditional TSP balance, desired conversion amount, estimated federal and state tax rates, and anticipated future growth rates. Based on these inputs, the tool projects the immediate tax liability, the future value of the converted amount, and potential tax savings over time. It also enables comparisons between keeping funds in traditional versus Roth accounts, providing clarity on the long-term benefits and drawbacks.

The basics to use the calculator:

Access the calculator: Log in to your TSP account or visit the TSP website to find the Roth conversion calculator under the “Tools and Calculators” section.
Enter your information: Input your traditional TSP balance, the amount you wish to convert, your current federal and state tax rates, and expected annual growth rate.
Review the results: The calculator will display your estimated tax bill for the conversion, the projected value of your Roth account at retirement, and the tax-free withdrawal potential.
Compare scenarios: You can run multiple scenarios, adjusting conversion amounts and tax rates, to see how different strategies affect your retirement outcomes.
Consult a professional: While the calculator provides valuable insights, it’s wise to consult a financial advisor or tax professional before making a final decision.

Key considerations when exploring an in-plan TSP Roth conversion:

While the calculator is a powerful tool, participants should consider several factors before proceeding with a Roth conversion:

Future tax brackets are uncertain: The best you can do is run multiple scenarios to prepare for future income and tax fluctuations. Your financial planner is your best resource to forecast your future financial situation.
Future investment returns are uncertain: The best you can do is rely on historical information and remember that past results do not guarantee future returns.
Tax impact: Converting large amounts at once could increase your taxable income significantly for the year.
Ability to pay taxes: Ensure you have funds available outside TSP to pay the tax bill, as withdrawing from the TSP to pay taxes could trigger additional penalties and taxes.
Age and retirement timeline: Younger participants may benefit more from the extended tax-free growth in Roth accounts, while those nearing retirement should weigh the immediate tax costs against future benefits.
Required minimum distributions: If you are subject to RMDs, you must withdraw the RMD amount for the year before you can do a Roth in-plan conversion. The IRS doesn’t allow conversion of RMD amounts. You cannot satisfy the RMD amount by converting money from your traditional TSP balance to your Roth TSP balance.
Future tax legislation: Changes in tax laws could affect the relative benefits of traditional versus Roth accounts.

The TSP’s introduction of in-plan Roth conversions and its new calculator mark a significant step forward in empowering participants to make informed retirement planning decisions. By understanding how conversions work and utilizing the calculator to model their choices, federal employees and uniformed service members can optimize their retirement savings strategy to fit their unique circumstances.

Mark Keen, CFP®, has a webinar that explores Roth conversions, available to members of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. He explains ways to discover how Roth conversions can increase after-tax wealth, lower your lifetime tax burden, and help you avoid stealth taxes. As always, careful consideration and professional guidance are recommended before making major financial moves, but the tools now available make navigating the complexities of Roth conversions easier than ever.

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Roth in-plan conversions arrive for TSP, but consider tax implications first

Neil Cain — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 07:00:00 -0500

Beginning Jan. 28, the Thrift Savings Plan now allows participants to convert traditional (pre-tax) balances into Roth (after-tax) balances inside the TSP itself. This long-awaited change gives federal employees and retirees more flexibility over how and when they pay taxes on retirement savings.

While the mechanics of the change are straightforward, the implications are not. A Roth in-plan conversion is a tax event and not just a retirement planning decision. Once it is made, it cannot be reversed. Knowing this beforehand helps you choose effective planning tools and avoid costly errors.

Why this change matters

Until now, federal employees who wanted to convert pre-tax TSP savings to Roth generally had to move money out of the TSP and into an IRA. That process introduced multiple steps, more paperwork and additional risks.

With in-plan conversions, participants can:

Convert eligible traditional TSP balances to Roth without leaving the plan
Retain access to the TSP’s low-cost structure and protections
Simplify administration by keeping retirement assets consolidated

A simple way to think about the decision

Consider a simplified scenario.

A federal employee has spent decades contributing to the traditional TSP. Most of the account has never been taxed. The new in-plan conversion feature creates a clear option: pay the tax now or pay it later.

Let's quickly review some common questions.

Question	Traditional TSP	Roth TSP (After Conversion)
When do you pay taxes?	Later, in retirement	Now, in the year you convert
Does income increase this year?	No	Yes
Are withdrawals taxed later?	Yes	No (if rules are met)
Required distributions?	Yes	No
Can you undo the decision?	N/A	No

The benefit of converting is future flexibility: tax-free qualified withdrawals and no required minimum distributions on Roth balances. The cost is immediate: higher taxable income today.

Reviewing the conversion impact

When a conversion occurs:

The converted amount is added to taxable income for that year
There is no tax withholding through the TSP
Taxes must be paid using funds outside the TSP

Depending on timing and income, a conversion can:

Push your income into a higher tax bracket
Increase Medicare premiums in future years
Change how much Social Security income is taxable
Require estimated tax payments to avoid penalties

None of these outcomes are hypothetical. They are mechanical results of how the tax code works, and bringing in a tax professional who keeps up with such policies is crucial.

Why should I care about staying inside the TSP?

The ability to convert inside the TSP is not solely a convenience feature. It preserves several advantages that can be lost when funds are moved out of the plan.

Keeping assets inside the TSP means:

Continued access to institutional-level expense ratios
Simpler account structure and oversight
Avoidance of rollover errors that can trigger unintended taxes
Fewer custodians and reporting requirements

For many federal employees, the TSP is the foundation of their retirement plan. In-plan conversions allow tax strategy adjustments without dismantling that foundation.

Why this is Not a do-it-yourself tax decision

Because Roth in-plan conversions directly affect taxable income, they cross into tax planning territory. This decision should not be made in isolation or based on general rules of thumb.

At Capital Financial Planners, Roth conversion strategies are reviewed with participation from our Certified Public Account. We’ve added this layer of oversight to help federal employees and retirees understand:

How much can be converted without crossing unintended tax thresholds
Whether the tax can be paid comfortably from non-retirement funds
How conversions interact with current income, retirement timing and future required distributions
Whether a multi-year approach is more appropriate than a single large conversion

The goal is not to pursue conversions simply because they are possible. Rather, it is to ensure that tax decisions are coordinated with long-term retirement objectives.

Greater control means greater responsibility. Avoid handling it solo.

Roth in-plan conversions give federal employees more control, but they also require more responsibility. The decision affects taxes immediately and cannot be reversed later.

Before initiating a conversion, the most important step is not choosing an amount. It is understanding the tax impact of that choice in the context of the full financial picture. With proper planning, in-plan conversions offer flexibility. But failing to consult a tax professional may lead to needless tax costs.

This material is for general information and educational purposes only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Investing involves risk including the loss of principal. There is no assurance that the views or strategies discussed are suitable for all investors or will yield positive outcomes. Traditional TSP account owners have considerations to make before performing a Roth conversion. These primarily include income tax consequences on the converted amount in the year of conversion, withdrawal limitations from a Roth account and income limitations for future contributions to a Roth account. In addition, if you are required to take a required minimum distribution (RMD) in the year you convert, you must do so before converting to a Roth account.

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