Weekend Reading on Your Federal Benefits 46-17.jpg

(for the week of November 11th – November 17th)

You’re too busy during the week to keep up on all the news around your employee benefits and pay. My weekly summary of some of the most interesting and relevant news stories could help you and includes some of my insights. You might just refer to it as “What’s George been reading this week?”

By the way, if you’ve read something about your employee benefits that you think is important or interesting, send it to me. 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, OPM withdraws a proposed rule on health insurance, we get the details on FSAs, a refresher on holiday pay, and just for fun let’s find out who is the highest paid Federal employee. It’s time to get started.

Note: There will be no ‘Weekend Reading on Your Federal Benefits’ next Friday. Instead, please enjoy your time with your family and friends. Or shop ‘til you drop on Black Friday. But, be sure to give thanks for those who love and support you throughout the year. Have an enjoyable holiday weekend.

Here Is Something All Employees Should Consider During "Open Season”

From federalsoup.com

When I ask, ‘who’s using a Flexible Spending Account?’ during my benefits briefings, few hands in the room go up. Most employees know that an FSA is ‘use it or lose it’. If you haven’t spent all the money in the account by the end of the year, it’s gone. ‘But wait,’ you say, ‘that’s my own money. How can it go away?’ That’s the question most Federal employees have a problem wrapping their brain around.

In this article from Federal Soup, Federal benefits guru Edward Zurndorfer does a thorough job of explaining all the details on the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and how it can be used to pay for certain out-of-pocket medical, dental and vision expenses with before-tax dollars. But the key is in the name. It’s a Flexible SPENDING Account – designed for you to SPEND the money in the current year. If you don’t spend it, you lose it. (Yes, you’re correct, you can now carry over $500 into the following year.)

Even though there are tax benefits, it can still be tough to convince Feds of the value of the FSA. That’s why I’m hoping in one of the three follow-up columns that are scheduled during Open Season, we’ll hear from Ed about the Health Savings Account (HSA). Here again, the key is in the name. It’s a Health SAVINGS Account -- designed for you to accumulate SAVINGS to be used for health expenses when needed. No more use or lose it. And higher contribution amounts too. Many more Federal employees seem to be using these types of accounts according to my informal polling during benefits sessions. And there are many reasons why. Stay tuned.

Riding Your Spouse’s Health Plan? Time to Dismount!

From federalnewsradio.com

Even though there are lots of choices, and the cost is heavily subsidized (compared to private sector programs), there are many Federal employees who don’t use the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program. As Mike Causey of Federal News Radio suggests, they’re ‘piggybacking on their private-sector spouse’s health insurance plan’. And that’s OK – until it’s not.

Your spouse’s private sector coverage will likely end after he or she leaves their job for retirement, and the ‘five-year rule’ requires you to have FEHB coverage for the five years prior to your retirement if you want to continue it into retirement. There are many Feds who end up working longer than they had planned after finding out that they haven’t been in FEHB long enough to carry their health insurance into retirement. And, just as importantly, what happens if you die while in service, but are not covered? Your widow/widower won’t have access to coverage if you didn’t have it before you passed. What’s the solution? Listen to ‘Your Turn’ with Mike Causey.

In the audio segment on Mike’s show available at this link, Mike talks with a guy who’s very popular with Feds each Fall – Walton Francis, the author of the Checkbook Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees. Walt suggests the solution to the question above is enrolling in a low-cost self-only plan to get yourself some health insurance ‘insurance’ just in case you should die while in service. Walt and Mike also discuss using a Health Savings Account (HSA) with a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), vendor service quality, prescription coverage, and much more. It’s worth a listen.

OPM Withdraws Proposed Rule on Health Care Premiums for Some Feds

From govexec.com

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) got an earful from employees, agencies, and unions about a proposed rule that would have required some Federal employees to keep paying their health insurance premiums while they are on Leave Without Pay (LWOP). Currently, agencies pay both their own cost and the employee’s cost for their employees that are on leave. After returning to work, the employee must repay their portion of the insurance contribution to their agency. But when employees don’t return, the agency incurs ‘unrecoverable premium debt’ because they don’t go after the former employee for the cost of the provided coverage. It would seem fair to ask employees on leave (which is a temporary situation) to continue to cover their share of their health insurance costs, but the rule would have affected large numbers of permanent seasonal employees, who are placed in a “nonpay status” every year, so OPM withdrew the proposed rule. And, everyone is much happier (and quieter) now.

A Refresher on Holiday Pay

From fedsmith.com

As we get closer to the holidays, questions come up on how and whether you’ll get paid for a holiday. For most employees, Thanksgiving isn’t too confusing since it always falls on a Thursday. This year, Christmas shouldn’t be a problem either since it falls on a Monday. But holiday pay questions usually come from those employees who don’t work a regular Monday through Friday work schedule. In this brief article, Wayne Coleman of Fedsmith covers four scenarios to answer your questions about holiday pay.

Who is the Highest Paid ‘Federal Employee’ in America?

From Fedsmith.com

I already know your answer to this question. “It sure ain’t me, I can tell you that.” But, have a bit of fun and take a guess on who you think it might be before clicking the link to the article. Here’s a hint (although I’m not sure that it will help). He was recently awarded a 5.5% base pay increase that will increase his annual basic pay to over one million dollars. (As I write this, I’m holding my pinky finger to the corner of my lips a la Dr. Evil from Austin Powers.) But that’s nothing because his bonus and other awards should bring his total compensation to more than $6.45 million this year. And, believe it or not, his pay is considered comparatively low relative to the salaries of those in other similar jobs. Is your interest piqued? Go ahead, click now.

See you next week. Thanks.

Even the highest paid Federal employee should understand and wisely use his benefits -- and so should you. Use my comprehensive e-learning course “Understanding Your Federal Benefits” to become the boss of your benefits. And if you enroll now, you’ll also receive updated modules for the changes Congress may bring our way in 2018. 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.