Pay & Benefits

Identity theft protection for OPM hack victims could extend for life under new bill

Under current law, the benefit for those whose personal information was exposed by the 2015 data breach is set to expire in 2026.

Pay & Benefits

TSP and Required Minimum Distributions

Rules around these mandatory withdrawals changed under the Secure 2.0 Act.

Pay & Benefits

Lawmakers urge OPM to update parental leave policy docs

The federal government’s HR agency’s self-imposed deadline of the end of 2024 to ensure the federal employee handbook and public-facing web pages reflect the enactment of 12 weeks of paid parental leave should be “a floor and not a ceiling.”

Pay & Benefits

Some Coast Guard personnel can’t find housing in vacation-rich areas, GAO says

The watchdog said that despite some government housing and a private sector housing allowance, some Coast Guard personnel can’t find affordable lodging stationed in either remote areas or ones where rentals are positioned for vacation economies. 

Pay & Benefits

Tips for recent retirees

There may be a few bumps along the way, but don’t panic.

Pay & Benefits

Federal retirement savings plan opens 2024 with a mixed bag

Only two of the five core funds within the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings plan posted gains last month.

Pay & Benefits

Biden administration to extend salary history ban to federal contractors

Officials said that new proposed regulations, released in conjunction with a final rule barring federal agencies from soliciting job applicants’ salary histories, will reduce pay disparities and improve the effectiveness of the federal contract workforce.

Pay & Benefits

Secret Service overtime pay locked in through 2028

The House passed legislation Monday to extend overtime pay authority for agents providing protective services through the next presidential election cycle after it was slated to lapse last month. 

Pay & Benefits

Feds get 7.4% pay raise under congressional Democrats' plan

Despite two years of federal employees receiving the highest pay increases in decades, the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act’s sponsors say the federal workforce continues to suffer from “chronic underinvestment.”

Pay & Benefits

Postal union leader: Stop the misallocation of Civil Service Retirement System pension costs

COMMENTARY | "The failure to uphold the promise to fix the unfair pension allocation is hurting the Postal Service’s ability to recover from the pandemic," writes the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Pay & Benefits

OPM: Federal salaries won't be tied to private sector pay histories

Agencies can’t use non-federal salaries to help set pay for new or returning federal employees, under a new rule from the Office of Personnel Management. 

Pay & Benefits

GAO: 4% of feds used paid parental leave in the benefit’s first 22 months

In 2022, 81% of federal workers who responded to an annual Office of Personnel Management survey and said they used the then-newly implemented program said they took all 12 weeks of paid parental leave.

Pay & Benefits

Trans veterans were promised access to gender-affirming surgeries — but it never happened

The Transgender American Veterans Association filed a lawsuit on Thursday over the Veterans Affairs Deparment’s failure to act after years of inaction.

Pay & Benefits

Doublecheck your TSP beneficiary designations

The federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement plan changed some rules around contingent beneficiaries in 2022.

Pay & Benefits

Is the 5.2% pay raise enough for feds? Union says no

While the president authorized the largest pay raise for federal employees in more than 40 years last month, the National Federation of Federal Employees said inflation and the outpacing private sector pay means workers need more. 

Pay & Benefits

GSA could soon update some relocation expense reimbursement caps more regularly

It’s been more than a decade since the agency updated the maximum amounts of payments for miscellaneous relocation expenses that don’t require itemized receipts.

Pay & Benefits

What you need to know about the Social Security Earnings Test

When picking a date to start claiming your Social Security benefits, timing is everything.

Pay & Benefits

Election years and the TSP

COMMENTARY | Investing during election years is an exercise in not letting your emotions drive your decisions, says one financial advisor.

Pay & Benefits

OPM reduces the retirement backlog by one-third in 2023

The federal government’s HR agency’s work on improving the retirement application process for federal workers led to the agency shattering yet another longstanding record last month.

Pay & Benefits

New year, new benefit changes

Some 2024 changes that may benefit federal employees and retirees.