'...counseled federal employees who are completing their retirement applications and getting ready to transition from employee to annuitant, there are some important reminders I make sure to tell them. Here are the top three pro tips that every retiring federal employee should know:...'
'..."It's a group formed from several of us sheriffs all across the country," Arnott told the News-Leader. "It's a grassroots organization that is basically telling the American citizens that we need to stand up and that the sheriff is the last line of defense." The group is headed by Mark Lamb...'
'...“This is a real concern because what this is going to do is it is going to increase the number of infections because people are going to come back and they are still infectious,” said Sara Nelson, the President of the Association for Flight Attendants. “There’s no way of confirming they are not because there aren’t testing protocols. This is going to perhaps give a short-term relief to the staffing of these flights over this holiday season. But a long-term extension of the pandemic because of the change in policy.”...'
'...During the interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan asked her about the one national security threat that keeps her up at night worrying. “Frankly, one of them is our democracy. ...'
'...Since Christmas falls on a Saturday this year, feds are likely to just get off that Friday. ...'
'...Rationing the sale of mayonnaise in South Korea was a factor in a federal union losing representation rights...'
'...To support the administration’s vaccination efforts, the Office of Personnel Management would like to remind agency human resources offices and the federal workforce of the leave policies associated with getting the booster shot.” Agencies must grant federal employees up to four hours of administrative leave to receive a vaccine booster shot...'
'...This mandate could result in more than a hundred thousand people being disciplined or fired for refusing to comply, even if those workers are otherwise excellent employees or if their loss will severely disrupt the government’s ability to function. ...'
'...Federal retirement claims processing is almost back to its pandemic peak. In August, claims took an average of two-and-a-half months — 93 days — to process, compared to 91 days in July and 78 days in June. This is the second-highest monthly processing time since...'
'...his comments were overwhelmed by protesters who accused him of being "a disgrace" and "a racist." Among the phrases hecklers hurled at Sharpton were "Why are you stoking racism where it doesn't exist?" and "How much money are you making out of this?" "Del Rio is not a racist city," someone shouted. "Del Rio is a loving, caring community. We don't want your racism in Texas. Get out of here! Nobody wants to hear your racist nonsense in Del Rio!...accused Sharpton of inciting 'violence and riots'...'
'...In a new revelation within the plan, the Postal Service said it will resume closing some of processing centers it never got around to shuttering after it paused the closures in 2015. USPS will use “data-driven analytics” to “strategically implement some of those consolidations where facilities remain underutilized...'
'...Normally this time of year, the issue of a federal pay raise in the following January is sort of a big deal. In a presidential year Democrats would often be pushing it big time while even conservative Republicans might look the other way or even join in to okay it...'
'...The White House directive was drafted in response to reports that mandatory trainings told employees in executive agencies that "virtually all white people contribute to racism," that racism is "embedded in the belief that America is the land of opportunity or the belief that the most qualified person should receive a job," or forced them to admit they "benefit from racism."...'
'...Claiming they are denied promotions and pay, reservists and guard troops are suing their civilian employers under a federal law designed to protect their civilian careers...'
'...Middle-class incomes are stagnant Despite gains in national income over the past half-century, American households in the middle of the distribution have experienced very little income growth in recent decades...'
'...Republican Sen. Susan Collins, of Maine, and Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, of Ohio, introduced legislation they call the “All-American Flag Act” that would require the government to buy flags produced entirely with U.S.-made materials. The flags would also have to be manufactured in the U.S...'
'...New withdrawal options are first up on the to-do list for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), the agency that administers the TSP. The new withdrawal flexibilities will be available for participants starting Sept. 15...'
'...The Relocation Expense Parity Act will ensure that all federal employees who qualify to have their moving costs reimbursed by the government are also repaid for the taxes owed on relocation reimbursements. “Straddling our loyal public employees with part of the cost of their employment-related relocation is not just wrong, it’s also a disservice to our workforce,” said Sen. Warner...'
'...do away with the FERS supplement for workers forced to retire before age 62, when Social Security kicks in. The Trump administration also proposed reducing payments to retirees by basing annuities on the average of workers’ highest five years of salary...'
'...More than nine out of 10 working Americans will make less than $132,900 this year, and will therefore be paying into the system on every dollar they earn. Mind you, only the self-employed will owe the 12.4% rate. If you're employed by someone else, you and your employer split the payroll tax liability down the middle, 6.2% each. This means just a single-digit percentage of the working population will sidestep paying tax on a portion of their earnings. But, in 2016, this "portion" equaled $1.2 trillion in earnings . At the 12.4% rate, that's $148.8 billion (nearly $150 billion) in revenue that Social Security is missing out on each year...'
'...Standard & Poor’s analyzed the cost of the partial government shutdown on the United States economy and found it added up to at least $6 billion...'
'...Along with the $100,000, Walls -- who lives in Ashburn, a suburban town near Washington -- also bagged a Ford Expedition SUV. Around 800,000 federal employees have been...'
'...In other words, a prime segment of the Democrats' coalition is in a financial hole that gets deeper and deeper with each passing day – all because Nancy Pelosi says a border wall is "immoral," a nonsense proposition that only sycophants can mouth without inner doubts. The position that not even a dollar should be spent on a border wall is not viable, which means that a compromise on calling it a "slatted fence" or "border protection" or some other euphemism is going to get more attractive to the federal employees and to the political bosses...'
'...Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of FERS retirees will be wondering why they are only receiving a 2 percent COLA when the relevant measure of consumer prices increased by 2.8 percent. That's due to the bargain struck in Congress in the 1980s when FERS was created, which limits COLAs to 2 percent when consumer prices increase between 2 and 3 percent. But that was the wrong policy then, as it is now. It prevents FERS annuities from keeping up with inflation, which is the whole point of a COLA. It is past time for Congress to ensure FERS retirees receive a full COLA each year...'
'...The 2019 COLA for those covered in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) will be...'
'...There is also the question, which is soon to be answered, of what happens to federal workers and retirees if the House, Senate or both change hands? Would they get a better deal if Democrats controlled Congress, as most unions say? Or, as some critics say, would Democrats take feds for granted? The three-year pay freeze from 2011-2013 came during the Obama administration, which also introduced “sequestration” and triggered furloughs. That sparked 20 percent pay losses for tens of thousands of workers...'
'...Joffrion says Brooks should be doing more for federal workers. “Now Mo flaps his gums about being for national defense, but he won’t fight for a pay increase for the Redstone workers who have earned it,” Joffrion said. "And I will....'
'...One class of people affected are those who receive a pension from a job in which they haven't paid Social Security FICA taxes, such as public-sector workers like police officers and firefighters. Many federal, state and local employees are enrolled in retirement systems that are not part of Social Security. Federal employees hired before 1984 who stayed under Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) are affected. Federal workers who retired under the newer Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) are not subject to WEP because they paid Social Security FICA taxes. Some foreign workers are also affected...'
'...In a letter to Congress, Trump — who never tires of telling us the economy is the best ever — argues that the freeze is justified by "serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare." Moreover, he would have us believe that we "must maintain efforts to put our Nation on a fiscally sustainable course, and Federal agency budgets cannot sustain such increases." Perhaps if those efforts didn't give him, his children and his cronies enormous tax breaks, there would be enough to pay these people a raise that does not even keep up with inflation...'
'...The findings will not be made public until after the November elections, however, according to three sources made aware of the administration’s thinking. Trump directed the task force to make the recommendations actionable, either through legislation or regulation, the sources said, but is not planning to start implementation until voters elect a new Congress...'
'...the move “yet another slap in the face to American workers.” Under current law, federal civilian employees are set to receive a 2.1% across-the-board pay increase beginning on Jan. 1, 2019, but Mr. Trump said he is eliminating those raises...'
'...In today’s Federal Newscast, the National Labor Relations Board says years of flat funding led to an imbalanced staff at NLRB headquarters and its regional offices...'
'...further recommended combining sick leave and annual leave into one category to be called paid time off...'
'...boost training opportunities for their managers to make sure they’re up to speed on dealing with employee misconduct. Not surprisingly, the administration will also devote its attention to simplifying its hiring process. By the third quarter of this year, OPM is supposed to demonstrate the initial capability for an “automated hiring adviser” for managers, the update said...'
'...Besides making the individual tax cuts permanent, conservatives also said they would hope a second tax bill would lower capital gains taxes, which people pay when they sell investments. Republicans have long wanted to lower capital gains taxes, but they were largely left untouched in the new tax law...'
'...Individual federal employee salary data has been posted for fiscal year 2017 and is now available in the searchable database at FedsDataCenter.com. One reason some politicians are seeking to move agency functions out of the Washington, DC area is to share the wealth. Moving jobs and functions out of the Washington...'
'...The elimination of the FERS Supplement would have a severe impact on an early FERS retiree. The loss of the Supplement may cause the retiree to withdraw substantially more from TSP during the years before Social Security eligibility. Without proper savings and planning, this may place a retiree at risk of running out of savings during their lifetime...'
'...My sister Dr. Jeannette Epps has been fighting against oppressive racism and misogynist in NASA and now they are holding her back and allowing a Caucasian Astronaut to take her place!” Henry Epps wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday evening...'
'...expressed concern that the new tables would “systematically underwithhold income taxes during the 2018 tax year.” That sort of move would boost workers’ pay before the November 2018 congressional elections but could leave them “owing federal income tax when they file in 2019,” according to a Jan. 8 letter to the Treasury Department from Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon and Representative Richard Neal of Massachusetts...'
'...The two funds are the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF) and the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund. Mnuchin said the government can no longer fully invest in these funds as a way to avoid exceeding the debt ceiling. He noted, however, that once the debt limit is raised, the funds will be made whole again, much along the lines of what is done with the TSP’s G Fund...'
