Pay & Benefits
No expansion of military IVF coverage included in the final defense policy bill
Congress is expected to vote to approve the package during the next two weeks, before both chambers leave town for the holiday break.
Pay & Benefits
Open season and tax savings
Monday is the last day to enroll in or make changes to your benefits for 2025. What are you doing this weekend?
Pay & Benefits
Last-minute advice for the 2025 open season
Things you need to consider before the annual window when federal employees can enroll in or make changes to their health benefits closes on Dec. 9.
Pay & Benefits
Nearly every TSP fund rebounded in November
Only one of the portfolios in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program lost value last month.
Pay & Benefits
Medicare Part D may benefit most federal annuitants next year
COMMENTARY | Not only are there more options to choose from, but there are also benefit changes that may make Part D more convenient and a better value, according to Kevin Moss of Consumers’ Checkbook.
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
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
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
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
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.
Oversight
OPM’s retirement backlog has fallen off the agency’s list of top management challenges
The Office of Personnel Management’s inspector general last month reported that the federal government’s dedicated HR agency faces taller tasks in the form of launching a health insurance program for postal workers and verifying enrollees’ eligibility for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
Pay & Benefits
A closer look at 2025 FEHBP premiums
Open Season is just a few weeks away, and costs are increasing this year. What does that mean for federal employees?
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers consider making military leave more equitable for feds with non-traditional work schedules
Currently, the annual cap on paid leave available to federal employees associated with their service in the National Guard is 15 days, which advocates say works well for traditional weekday work schedules but not for employees who frequently work weekends.
Pay & Benefits
OPM announces leave transfer program for feds affected by Helene
Federal employees will soon be able to donate unused leave to their colleagues who need time to recover after Hurricane Helene caused widespread destruction across the Southeast.
Pay & Benefits