What Makes the Federal Employees Retirement System So Good?

Article Excerpt: "...For starters, not everybody can sign up for the Federal Employees Retirement System. It – as the name implies – is for federal employees. More specifically, it’s for civil servants. They are the non-military civilian workforce that forms government departments and agencies. There are millions of such workers across the country. They system includes Federal Reserve employees and covers the congressional pension program. Those working for the National Security Agency, staff members of the White House, CIA agents and nearly 500,000 postal service workers qualify for the Federal Employees Retirement System..."

Resource: investmentu.com

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS),

Will Federal Employees Really Have Lower Taxes in Retirement?

Article Excerpt: "...even though you’ve stopped working and are no longer being paid a salary by your agency, once you retire and start receiving your pension retirement, it’s as if you’re still receiving a salary from a tax perspective. This is because the money that you’re receiving from your pension is considered fully taxable..."

Resource: www.fedsmith.com

Here's the Average Social Security Benefit by Age

Article Excerpt: "...let's examine the average payout by age. Below you'll find a payment breakdown provided by the SSA as of June 2020 (rounded to the nearest whole dollar)..."

Resource: www.fool.com

6 Considerations For Retirees To Pay Off Your Mortgage Early

Article Excerpt: "...If you plan to pay off your loan by taking a withdrawal from a 401(k) or IRA, you may want to reconsider for tax purposes. For example, if your current income puts you in the 12% tax bracket and taking a large distribution puts you in the next tax bracket (22%)..."

Resource: www.forbes.com

How Much Can You Collect From Social Security With a Salary of $50,000 per Year?

Article Excerpt: "...it's a good idea to figure out how much you can expect to receive each month. Although everyone's benefit amount will differ, here's how much the average retiree earning a salary of $50,000 per year can expect to collect..."

Resource: www.nasdaq.com

Social Security

All About the Many Different Types of Retirement Plans

Article Excerpt: "...To make matters worse, constantly worrying about money is hazardous to your health. And considering health expenses tend to go up with age, this is doubly problematic. The assumption is that healthcare costs go down once folks are eligible for Medicare. But this is far from true. ..."

Resource: investmentu.com

Supplement Paid to FERS Retirees Until Hitting 62

Article Excerpt: "...Who is eligible for the SRS? The SRS is paid to FERS employees who retire on an immediate, unreduced annuity before reaching age 62, when they become eligible for Social Security benefits—if you retire at 62 or above, you are..."

Resource: www.fedweek.com

SRS,FERS Special Retirement Supplement Eligibility,Special Retirement Supplement,

Strategies to Reduce Taxes on Social Security

Article Excerpt: "...Say you're married filing jointly and your $42,000 in provisional income includes half of your $12,000 in Social Security benefits. Your provisional income exceeds the $32,000 base amount by $10,000. The amount of benefits that will be included in your taxable income is either half your benefits ($6,000) or..."

Resource: www.kiplinger.com

www.kiplinger.com

4 Things You Must Know if You're Thinking About Claiming Social Security Soon

Article Excerpt: "...Before you file for your Social Security benefits, you'll want to make sure you know these four facts so you can make the right moves to maximize your chances at getting your checks on time and shoring up your financial security throughout your later years..."

Resource: www.fool.com

Social Security,Social Security tips,

Read This Before You Tap Your TSP to Pay Off Your House

Article Excerpt: "...One misconception that I see is that some feds assume that traditional TSP distributions will be taxed at capital gains tax rates, but this is not the case. These distributions are simply added to your income in whatever year you take the money out. It is also important to note that the TSP is required to withhold 20% of any traditional TSP distributions to cover taxes..."

Resource: www.govexec.com

Will Biden Live Up to Promise of imposing the 6.2% Social Security tax on earnings above $400,000?

Article Excerpt: "...plan hinges on imposing the 6.2% Social Security tax on earnings above $400,000. Employees and their employers are taxed on earnings up to $137,000 under current guidelines. If enacted next year, Social Security would collect 7% more in revenue in 2021, 12% more in 2040, and 16% more in 2065..."

Resource: yahoo.com

Biden Promises, Biden,Social Security Tax Cap,

CPI-E vs CPI-W

Article Excerpt: "...The CPI-E tends to grow more quickly than the CPI-W in most years, because it more accurately accounts for the percentage of income that retirees spend on healthcare and housing costs. Those two categories tend to increase several times faster than inflation, and tend to take a bigger share of retiree income. The CPI-E tends to give less weight to items like gasoline and consumer electronics which have fallen significantly in recent months and helped drag down the COLA for 2020..."

Resource: seniorsleague.org

CPI-E vs CPI-W

OPM proposes rule to fix the burden of vets’ miscalculated pensions

Article Excerpt: "...Feds that served in the armed forces, Peace Corps and Volunteers in Service to America will no longer be on the hook for agency miscalculations of their retirement deposits under a proposed rule issued by the Office of Personnel Management Nov. 5..."

Resource: www.federaltimes.com

Correcting Miscalculations in Veterans' Pensions Act

Income Tax and TSP Withdrawals

Article Excerpt: "...The general rules regarding the federal income taxation of withdrawals from the Thrift Savings plan are: A) All withdrawals from your traditional TSP balance are fully taxable as ordinary income..."

Resource: www.fedweek.com

Here's the Average Social Security Benefit in 2021

Article Excerpt: "......"

Resource: www.fool.com

Half of Americans over 55 may retire poor

Article Excerpt: "......"

Resource: www.marketwatch.com

1.2% COLA in 2021 for Federal Retirees and Social Security?

Article Excerpt: "...We still do not know what the final figure will be that is necessary for calculating the COLA to become effective in December and paid in January 2021. A reasonable estimate is that the COLA that will impact federal retirees and Social Security recipients will be about 1.2%. This missing part of the puzzle for next year’s COLA will be released in October..."

Resource: www.fedsmith.com

Retirement living: Here's what it costs to retire comfortably in every state

Article Excerpt: "...1. Alabama

• Est. total retirement spending: $894,461 (3rd least)

• Avg. cost of living: 13.6% less than avg. (3rd lowest)

• Avg. monthly homeownership cost for senior citizens: $357 (6th lowest)

• Pop. 65 and older: 17.0% (18th highest)

In Alabama, residents need an average of about $894,000 to live out their retirement years in relative comfort – below the national average of about $1.1 million. Retirees in Alabama need less retirement savings..."

Resource: www.usatoday.com

How to Increase Your FERS Annuity by 10% for Life

Article Excerpt: "... If you’re in FERS, you can actually lock in a 10% increase to your retirement annuity for the rest of your life..."

Resource: www.fedsmith.com

Retiring at 61 vs 62, FERS,

When retirement is more valuable than disability compensation

Article Excerpt: "... simulations found that, for those on Reduced FECA, FERS retirement benefits generally offered greater value if the employee had served more than 19 years as a federal employee without an injury. Meanwhile those on regular FECA saw only slightly greater FERS value once they had served 30 years or more..."

Resource: www.federaltimes.com

Forbes: The Best Places To Retire In 2020

Article Excerpt: "...Forbes compared more than 750 locales in America, measuring everything from housing costs and taxes to healthcare and air quality. These are the top 25 cities for retirees..."

Resource: www.forbes.com

Best Places To Retire In 2020,

How average are you and what does it matter?

Article Excerpt: "...According to the Congressional Research Service, the average person retiring under CSRS in FY 2108 got an annuity of $4,973 per month compared to $1,834 for FERS retirees. This is another reason those covered by the FERS plan must contribute to the TSP if they hope to match income in retirement..."

Resource: federalnewsnetwork.com

Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage?

Article Excerpt: "...If you’re carrying a home mortgage in the 3% or 4% range, accelerating your payments or retiring the loan entirely may offer a better return than letting cash sit around earning next to nothing--and the numbers can be even more attractive for paying down higher-rate debt on credit cards or student loans. Wait, retirees don’t typically have that kind of debt on their balance sheets, right? Not exactly: A rising number of older households are carrying significant debt..."

Resource: www.morningstar.com

Retirement, Mortgage,

How much is a FERS Postal Service retiree pension?

Article Excerpt: "...FERS also uses the high-3 average, paying 1 to 1.1 percent of the high-3 average salary for each year of service. Under FERS, a postal worker with a high-3 average of around $60,000 and 20 years of service earns $1,007 a month without any deductions. That equals about $12,000 annually. A worker with the same salary and 40 years of service earns $2,013 monthly, or about $24,000 annually..."

Resource: chron.com

FERS Postal Service retiree pension amount, FERS vs CSRS

10 Ways for Retirees to Save Money During the Coronavirus

Article Excerpt: "...there are also ways to improve your retirement finances if you implement some cost cutting strategies. Here are some simple ways to save money during the coronavirus outbreak..."

Resource: www.msn.com

How bad is the stock market sell-off?

Article Excerpt: "...While the drop into a bear market over the past month is the fastest on record, the Standard & Poor’s 500 still hasn't fallen nearly as much as it did at its bottom in 2009, when it had plummeted 57% during the Great Recession. The index is off nearly 30% from its Feb. 19 high..."

Resource: www.usatoday.com

2020 Stock Market Crash,

How Much of Your Income Do You Need to Replace in Retirement?

Article Excerpt: "...we have approximations like the 70-80 percent guideline. They give people an estimate to work towards, which is a step in the right direction..."

Resource: parade.com

Where the Democratic Candidates Stand on Social Security

Article Excerpt: "...Elizabeth Warren: Sanders’ main rival on the left also supports the expansion of Social Security. Her plan calls for a $200 monthly increase for all beneficiaries, with the roughly $150 billion cost in the first year to be paid for by higher taxes on the rich. The taxes include a 14.8% payroll tax on incomes over $250,000 and a 14.8% tax on investment income for the top 2% of earners. The taxes would reduce the deficit by $1 trillion over 10 years and extend the life of the Social Security trust fund ..."

Resource: yahoo.com

Elizabeth Warren Social Security Upgrade,

Federal retirements dropped in 2019, as employees cite wide variety of motivations to stay or go

Article Excerpt: "...Many survey respondents said they planned to retire at age 62, because the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) incentivizes participants to keep working until that specific age...For the purposes of calculating their annuities, 62-year-old employees receive 1.1% of their average highest three years of salary for each year of service, instead of 1%..."

Resource: federalnewsnetwork.com