Weekend Reading on Your Federal Benefits 25-18.jpg

(for the week of June 16th – June 22nd)

You’re too busy during the week to keep up on all the news around your employee benefits and pay. My weekly summary of the most interesting and relevant news stories could help you and includes my comments and insights.

By the way, if you’ve read something about your employee benefits that you think is important or interesting, share it. And, let me know about news sources that you follow. Have a great weekend.

George Ray
Federal Benefits Online

In this week’s Federal benefits news, the Administration wants to get rid of OPM, and resistance keeps growing against those darned recent Executive Orders. We also learn which agencies could have the most retirees coming, and that it’s not all just about the money. Really? Let’s get started.

Abolish OPM? What the Administration’s Proposal Would Do

From ChiefHRO.com

I always appreciate Jeff Neal’s insight into the workings of the Federal government and found his blog post this week as insightful as ever. As you may have heard, the Administration released a 103-page report (here’s the link) that covers numerous proposals to change Federal agencies. One proposal getting a lot of attention would essentially dismantle the Office of Personnel Management. Many of its functions would be moved to the Executive Office of the President and the rest to the General Services Administration (GSA), which would be renamed the Government Services Agency (same acronym).

Jeff has suggested in the past that reforms to OPM are needed if we are to modernize the workforce and begin to fix some of the problems that have built up over the years such as issues with recruiting, performance, and getting rid of poor performers. The agency could then focus its attention on its bigger core mission of making policy. Although he was a bit surprised at some of the content of the Administration’s proposal, he agreed that it might just work to accomplish the goals that have been set out.

However, a bigger issue is the fact that these changes seem unlikely to occur as we approach the mid-term elections because Congresspeople will want to avoid voting on major reforms right before they are to be re-elected. No matter whether you’re for or against the changes, shaking things up before the election creates a shaky ground. And right now, there’s a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on.

Resistance Mounts on Benefit Proposals, Executive Orders

From Fedweek.com

Is there anyone who isn’t mad, protesting or suing the President over his three recently signed Executive Orders. You may remember the orders covered the use of ‘official time’ for collective bargaining units and other workforce ‘modernization’ issues. The most recent count says 13 unions have filed suits to block the orders. There are more suits than a Secret Service convention. There are so many suits that a Federal judge is consolidating them. And 23 House Democrats have called on the President to rescind these orders. And even 12 House Republicans expressed their concerns (likely because there are lots of Feds in their districts).

On the issue of your employee benefits, 26 Senate Democrats responded to OPM’s proposal to increase employee contributions to your benefits, changing the formula and reducing the retiree Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). With all of the talk about cutting benefits and reorganizing agencies, you have to wonder where are . . . .

The Federal Agencies Where the Most Employees Are Eligible to Retire

From Govexec.com

Employees are considered “retirement eligible” when they can receive full benefits under either the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Government Executive obtained data from the Office of Personnel Management that indicates that about 14% of Federal employees are currently eligible to retire. And In five years, that number is expected to jump to 30%. So, which agencies have the highest percentage of employees who could currently retire, and which could see their ranks drop the most five years from now? Reporter Eric Katz includes a nifty red, white, and blue bar chart to help us visualize the possibilities. How high on the chart is your agency?

If you’re close to retirement you certainly want to continue to work to be able to receive your pension upon retiring. And if you must go before being eligible there’s the possibility of the permanent loss of your health and life insurance benefits when you leave. You may also want to stay around as long as you can because most Feds find it helpful to stash away as much as possible in their TSPs right before they leave. It makes sense to work as long as you enjoy it and are able, but . . . .

It’s Not Just About the Money

From Govexec.com

Tammy Flanagan makes a good point this week. Most of the benefits training programs (mine included) tend to focus their learning on helping you to understand your benefits and how to use them wisely. In particular, there’s usually a lot of focus on your retirement benefits, like your pension and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Those are valuable programs for retirees and can also be complex to understand. But the focus shouldn’t be on your wealth alone. What about your health? Does it really matter how long the money in your TSP will last if you’re not healthy enough to stick around to enjoy it?

During the next Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program Open Season (which will take place this year from November 12th through December 10th, 2018) you should expect to hear much more about wellness programs as OPM has asked the health carriers to promote wellness initiatives. Most of us tend to ignore the offers of health risk assessments and biometric screening, even when these services are free and convenient. I believe one of the reasons for this is because we are often given our data without it being assembled into more useful information that helps us to make sense of what we’ve learned. Another reason is that we may not receive recommendations or instructions that are specific to us that could help us to use this information to make changes. A final issue is that there may be no one to continually coach and encourage us to take the steps needed to improve our long-term health.

The healthcare vendors are creating more incentives to try to help us to live healthy lives while we’re younger. Some incentives are even monetary. But of course, the real incentive to living healthy now is that we can continue to enjoy many years of a healthy retirement. So, enjoy the county fair this summer weekend, but best to stay away from the vendor selling those fried Snickers bars. (Even though they’re sooooo good.)

See you next week. Thanks!

Get the help you need to understand and wisely use your benefits. Do it when you’re ready and at your own pace. Let me be your guide to “Understanding Your Federal Benefits” and become the boss of your benefits with my comprehensive e-learning course. There’s a free trial that gives you the course introduction and first module at no charge. Give it a look. You’ll like what you see.