A news and educational resource pooling excerpts from various news and information sources from the web for the Federal Retiree.
Article Excerpt: "...If you haven’t already done so, set up online access to your earnings history so you can spot errors. Once you’ve got the account, you can download your history as an XML file and import it into a spreadsheet..."
Article Excerpt: "...The candidates have said little to acknowledge the issue, even though it’s a main driver of the government’s long-term budget problems...."
Article Excerpt: "...Last week, 200 “Bogleheads” met for an annual gathering near Philadelphia, PA to hear the legendary founder of Vanguard, the world’s largest fund company, talk about investing. The Bogleheads is a not-for-profit organization in which anyone can post financial questions (at bogleheads.org) and then hundreds of volunteer members (Bogleheads) who are seasoned investors respond with advice — generally without a profit motive. To ask a question, you must join, but you can probably find the answer to your question by using the search engine on the site without joining..."
Article Excerpt: "...Later this fall, the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) will announce health insurance premium increases for 2017. It is expected that premiums could jump due to medical inflation, which is currently triple the overall inflation rate. Total health care spending growth is expected to average 5.8 percent annually over 2015-2025, according to a report just published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Office of the Actuary (OACT). All of these issues, including Medicare Part B premium increases..."
Article Excerpt: "...Those who have worked for the government since before 1984 are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System, or CSRS. This system grants enrollees a pension, but it also offers the little-known VCP. With a VCP, employees can set aside up to 10% of their lifetime earnings in a fund designed to operate as a supplement to their pension. Contributions are made with after-tax dollars, and tax on the earnings is deferred..."
Article Excerpt: "...The number of FERS employees approaching retirement within the next 24 months is growing quickly. Many of them intend to implement the “Do it Yourself” (DIY) technique to retirement planning...."
Article Excerpt: "...age 62, the earliest claiming age. That’s a costly move. Benefits rise by 7% to 8% a year until maxing out at age 70—only 2% of workers wait that long to file..."
Article Excerpt: "...Who qualifies for Social Security, how big your Social Security checks can be, and other must-know Social Security rules..."
Article Excerpt: "... striking fact that wealthier people are living significantly longer than less wealthy people, and the gap appears to be widening..."
Article Excerpt: "...This calculator will show you the average number of additional years a person can expect to live, based only on the gender and date of birth you enter..."
Article Excerpt: "...the last day folks who qualify can take full advantage of the file-and-suspend Social Security claiming strategy. After April 29, 2016, file-and-suspend becomes a thing of the past. Why so? The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015..."
Article Excerpt: "...The divorced spouse must have been married to the worker for at least 10 years in order to qualify. In addition, the divorced spouse must not be remarried. However, the requirement that the worker have filed for Social Security retirement benefits does not apply to divorced spouses as long as the worker is eligible to file for them and as long as the couple has been divorced for at least two years..."
Article Excerpt: "...Three special perks of working while collecting Social Security benefits Additionally, working while collecting benefits could have its perks, according to the SSA. First, benefits deducted prior to hitting your FRA because you've earned too much in the eyes of the SSA will actually boost your benefits once you surpass your FRA...."
Article Excerpt: "...My belief has been that Social Security, due to the new law, would tell him to get lost. But Alan thinks they would pay him all his suspended benefits in a lump sum, but only from the time he first filed for benefits — that is, they would give him back benefits from 66 and a half and not from age 66; they would not include benefits that were retroactive to before he first filed...."