Pay & Benefits

Federal workers will pay 7.7% more towards health insurance premiums in 2024

Next year, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program will feature new coverage of anti-obesity medication, as well as expanded access to mental health, assistive reproductive technology and gender-affirming care.

Pay & Benefits

Long term care insurance: Sharp hike in premiums for feds means enrollees face tough choices

Experts say although long term care is in the cards for most older Americans, an upcoming spike in LTC insurance premiums for feds who are enrolled is just part of a pattern that will remain unbroken until Congress and policymakers act on the neglected—but vital—broader issue of long term care and accompanying costs that will affect a majority of federal families. The program remains closed to new applicants.

Pay & Benefits

Your guide to pay and benefits during a shutdown

Congress is on a collision course with yet another lapse of appropriations, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struggles to corral the Republican caucus.

Workforce

Pence ‘Day 1’ plan includes a telework rollback, spending freeze and ban on gender affirming care

The former vice president and Republican presidential candidate on Tuesday unveiled a laundry list of executive actions he would take immediately upon assuming office to reverse the Biden administration’s policies.

Pay & Benefits

Lawmakers urge OPM to expand FEHBP infertility coverage for LGBTQ+ feds

A group of 30 congressional Democrats called out “outdated” gaps in how the federal government’s employer-sponsored health insurance program covers infertility treatments, particularly for employees in the LGBTQ+ community.

Pay & Benefits

IVF coverage is available to veterans under VA insurance — if you’re heterosexual and married

A lawsuit filed in federal court would push the agency to cover the treatment — the most effective form of assisted reproductive technology — for people who are single, or who are in LGBTQ+ relationships.

Pay & Benefits

Military Survivor Annuity Program finally offers long-promised open season to choose new beneficiaries

Some retired service members say they are either outright denied or given an impossible runaround when they try to update their elections, but Defense agency pushes back on those allegations.

Pay & Benefits

Dental and vision benefits are now open to many part-time, temporary and seasonal federal employees

A rule finalized Tuesday makes nearly 200,000 additional federal employees, including postal workers, eligible to enroll in the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program.

Workforce

New union contract offers hope for better labor relations at the Social Security Administration

The American Federation of Government Employees and Social Security management will meet on a bimonthly basis to collaborate on issues like improving training, designing a child care subsidy and more.

Pay & Benefits

OPM reminds agencies of workplace flexibilities following disasters

A memo highlighting telework, paid leave and other benefits available to feds impacted by disasters corresponds with the beginning of hurricane season and a recent typhoon in the Pacific Ocean.

Oversight

As veteran disability claims soar, unaccredited coaches profit off frustration with the VA system

Austin, Texas-based VA Claims Insider says it has helped hundreds of thousands of clients. It has also touched off complaints and investigations.

Pay & Benefits

Most feds will have a few extra hours of paid leave this year, thanks to a calendar quirk

The Office of Personnel Management on Monday warned that many federal workers should plan to take slightly more time off to avoid forfeiting “use it or lose it” annual leave hours.

Workforce

A gender equity group still wants better protections for feds who need abortion care

One year after the Dobbs decision, President Biden signed a new executive order potentially expanding contraceptive access for federal workers, but a gender equity group at the Justice Department says more needs to be done.

Pay & Benefits

Draft spending bill cuts telework and bans transgender care for feds, but preserves 5.2% pay raise plan

A House subcommittee's fiscal 2024 spending bill does nothing to override the president’s planned average pay increase for federal workers next year, but it is riddled with policy riders.

Pay & Benefits

The 'Pay Cliff' That Could Cripple the Federal Government's Firefighting Workforce

A federal employee union said Wednesday that without a permanent boost to federal wildland firefighters’ pay and benefits, agencies will see a “mass exodus.”

Pay & Benefits

Why Every Federal Employee Should Consider a Health Savings Account

The annual HSA contribution limit is increasing in 2024. Here are some of the benefits of having one.

Pay & Benefits

OPM Wants to Do More for Federal Workers' Wellness

An initiative to “revitalize” employee assistance programs across the federal government eyes a more comprehensive approach to promoting federal employees' wellness.

Pay & Benefits

Fed Health Care Changes and the End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

Some over-the-counter and out-of-network coverage may be different now that the pandemic emergency is over.

Pay & Benefits

Fight the Long-Running FEHBP Abortion Ban, Gender Equity Group Urges House Democrats

The Department of Justice Gender Equality Network said the Hyde amendment unfairly makes women’s health care decisions more costly and traumatic, even when covered by exceptions in cases of rape, incest or the health of the mother.