A news and educational resource pooling excerpts from various news and information sources from the web for the Federal Retiree.
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..."
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..."
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..."
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..."
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..."
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..."
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..."
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..."
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..."
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..."
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..."
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 ..."
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%..."
Article Excerpt: "...Military retirees, those who receive disability or other benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, federal retirees and social security recipients will see a 1.6% increase in their monthly checks for 2020..."
Article Excerpt: "...the news on the COLA front isn't so encouraging going into 2020: Seniors will only be getting a 1.6% boost in their benefits, which pales in comparison to the 2.8% COLA they received going into 2019..."