Pay & Benefits

OPM’s retirement backlog ticked up slightly last month, though other metrics improved

Statistics measuring the federal government HR agency’s performance in processing departing federal workers’ retirement claims remained stable following the backlog’s removal from OPM’s list of top management challenges.

Pay & Benefits

Feds find open season 'unpleasant'—but may miss thousands in savings

Federal enrollees have until Dec. 9 to make changes to their health coverage ahead of substantial premium increases.

Pay & Benefits

The House finally appears set to repeal the WEP and GPO

Lawmakers in September successfully triggered a discharge petition to force a vote on legislation to get rid of the controversial tax provisions affecting some feds’ retirement benefits.

Pay & Benefits

A primer on the FERS supplement

The Federal Employees Retirement System supplement can get complicated, so we answer some of your key questions about it.

Pay & Benefits

Infertility benefit coverage from FEHB plans in 2025

Federal employees will have even more options for plans offering IVF coverage, including another national PPO plan.

Pay & Benefits

GSA issues update to rules governing relocation expense reimbursement following real estate lawsuit

A recent deal to settle multiple lawsuits against the National Association of Realtors has changed how real estate agents are compensating, necessitating a tweak to how agencies reimburse federal workers who must relocate for work.

Pay & Benefits

Most TSP funds took a tumble in October

Only two portfolios in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program ended last month in the black, ending a three-month run of gains.

Pay & Benefits

Your Open Season Q&A

Open Season begins on Nov. 11 for active and retired federal and postal employees. Let's get you ready.

Pay & Benefits

An employee group is miffed by the new Postal Service insurance program’s Medicare Part D coverage

OPM said that they were restricted in how they provide prescription drug benefits to Medicare-eligible enrollees in the new Postal Service Health Benefits Program, but at least one employee association disagrees.

Updated Pay & Benefits

OPM doesn’t have documented customer experience plans for the Postal Service’s open season, OIG says

The HR agency has developed contingencies if there is a surge of customer experience requests during the Postal Service Health Benefits System’s first open season, but a new report claims that those plans aren’t either defined or comprehensive enough for the multi-agency operation. 

Pay & Benefits

Revisiting the WEP and GPO

How the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset cause substantial, and often, unfair reductions in Social Security benefits for CSRS retirees.

Pay & Benefits

Why federal workers should consider an HSA

COMMENTARY | There is something exciting about having a health insurance plan that can reduce your taxes while also providing tax-free investment growth.

Pay & Benefits

A Senate bill targeting teleworkers’ locality pay now has its companion in the House

Legislation introduced by Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., would bar federal workers from receiving locality pay if they telework at least once per week, a move that could amount to a 30% pay cut for many feds.

Pay & Benefits

Biden administration forgives $4.5B in student debt for public service workers

The president said that more than 1 million public servants to date have had their federal student debt canceled.

Pay & Benefits

10 important facts about Medicare

Some things you need to know when approaching Medicare eligibility.

Pay & Benefits

New bills want to provide Gold Star survivors with better benefits, make it easier for former feds to return

The Gold Star Spouse Healthcare Enhancement Act aims to provide fallen service members’ partners with lower health care costs for longer, while the Return USA Act looks to create an on-ramp for former employees to return to federal service. 

Pay & Benefits

OPM sets up leave transfer program for feds impacted by Milton

Federal workers will soon be able to donate unused leave to their colleagues who need time to recover after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida Wednesday.

Pay & Benefits

Time for the fall deadlines

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

Pay & Benefits

Cost-of-living adjustments will decline for federal retirees again in 2025

For the second straight year, former federal workers will see a smaller increase to their defined-benefit annuities in January, with FERS retirees set for a 2% increase and CSRS annuitants a 2.5% bump.