...providing retirement news snippets from various sources for federal employees, postal employees, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities who receive Social Security . Your resource for retirement living, investment, employment, health care, and retirement leisure. - Stay Informed!
Title: Five Considerations for Federal Employee Disability Retirement Cases
Article Snip: "...Federal employees thinking about filing for disability retirement should consider the following five issues as they debate whether or not to proceed..."
Reference: www.arlnow.comTitle: Is Working after Retirement Worth the Costs?
Article Snip: "...because the SRS (in this case) is treated the same as a Social Security benefit, it can be reduced or eliminated if you exceed the earnings limit. The limit for earnings before impacting either SSA or SRS payments is $17,040 in 2018..."
Reference: www.fedsmith.comTitle: Federal Annuity and Benefits
Article Snip: "...FERS and FERS Specials Cost-of-Living Adjustments are not provided until age 62, except for disability, survivor benefits, and other special provision retirements. FERS disability retirees get the adjustment, except when they are receiving a disability annuity based on 60 percent of their high-3 average salary. Also, under FERS, if you have a CSRS component, the component is subject to the CSRS COLA calculation. FERS survivors receive the FERS increase on their entire annuity, even where component service is involved..."
Reference: www.opm.govTitle: For American Workers, 4 Key Retirement Issues to Watch in 2019
Article Snip: "...It’s going to be a busy year in Washington and state capitals for policymakers working to improve the retirement security of millions of Americans. Savings Plans, Saving One Million Pensions, Protecting Investors From Conflicted Advice, Expanding Social Security ..."
Reference: www.nytimes.comTitle: The Middle Class Retirement Nightmare
Article Snip: "...Like a squirrel that hasn’t saved against approaching winter… 80% of American workers have under one year’s salary salted away for retirement. This we learn from a recent report issuing from the National Institute on Retirement Security..."
Reference: dailyreckoning.comArticle Snip: "...For the first time, those using Tricare can take part in an open enrollment season akin to civilian healthcare, allowing users to change or keep their current plan. In addition, military retirees will no longer receive dental benefits through Tricare, but will be able to obtain..."
Reference: www.tampabay.comTitle: The Social Security Retirement Age Increases to 66.5 in 2019
Article Snip: "...Here's a look at how the retirement age is changing, and what this means for your retirement payments. An older Social Security full retirement age. The full retirement age used to be 65 for those born in 1937 or earlier. Those born between..."
Reference: usnews.comTitle: What is 'Provisional Income'
Article Snip: "...Provisional income is an IRS threshold above which social security income is taxable. The base, from §86 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), triggers taxability social security benefits requiring its inclusion in gross income tax payment on excess amounts..."
Reference: www.investopedia.comTitle: What is considered income relative to social security benefits?
Article Snip: "...In general, the Social Security Administration defines “earned income” as “income from wages or net earnings from self-employment.” For example, earnings may include bonuses, commissions, and severance pay. Investment income, pensions, capital gains, and inheritances are not considered wages. Other types of payment made by an employer may be considered earnings under certain conditions..."
Reference: www.aarp.orgTitle: Are Social Security Benefits Taxed?
Article Snip: "...Some of you have to pay federal income taxes on your Social Security benefits. This usually happens only if you..."
Reference: www.ssa.govTitle: New legislation would improve retiree cost-of-living adjustments
Article Snip: "...Retired federal employees under the Federal Employees Retirement System currently can end up receiving a lower cost-of-living adjustment than retirees under the older Civil Service Retirement System, due to the legislation that created the FERS in 1986. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., introduced legislation Nov. 20 that would amend Title 5 of U.S. Code to ensure that COLAs for all retirees are equal..."
Reference: www.federaltimes.comTitle: It Might Be Worse To Take Social Security At 66, Here's Why
Article Snip: "...it's extremely unlikely that benefit cuts would be visited on those already collecting benefits or on those about to start collecting in, say, the next decade. Roughly one fifth of the elderly subsists on Social Security and it's the main source of financial support for roughly half..."
Reference: www.forbes.comTitle: Retirement benefits and LWOP
Excerpt Quoted from OPM.GOV: "An aggregate nonpay status of 6 months in any calendar year is creditable service. Coverage continues at no cost to the employee while in a nonpay status. When employees are in a nonpay status for only a portion of a pay period, their retirement deductions are adjusted in proportion to their basic pay (5 U.S.C. 8332 and 8411).
High-3 average salary computations are based on periods of creditable service. Thus, periods of nonpay status of 6 months or less in a calendar year that fall within an employee’s average salary period are included in the calculation of the average salary using the rate of basic pay in effect during the period of nonpay status. For example, if a full-time employee whose annual rate of basic pay is $85,000 per year is placed in nonpay status for 3 months, that 3-month period would be credited in the average salary calculation using the $85,000 basic pay rate. (If the rate of basic pay changed to $86,500 per year after 2 months of the nonpay period, the first 2 months of the nonpay period would be credited in the average salary calculation using the $85,000 basic pay rate and the last month of the nonpay period would be credited in the average salary calculation using the $86,500 basic pay rate.)"
Title: What It's Like to Live in Key West
Article Snip: "...On the southernmost point of the U.S., discover what it's like living on island time..."
Reference: www.greatamericancountry.comTitle: Now You Can Save More for Retirement
Article Snip: "...Good news for retirement savers: Starting in 2019, the IRS just raised the annual contribution for IRAs, the first increase since 2013. Those who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans and the Thrift Savings Plan for federal workers can now put aside more, too. It's also become easier to qualify for a Roth IRA, to have your contributions to a traditional IRA be tax-deductible and to claim the Saver's Credit. Here's a summary..."
Reference: www.investopedia.comTitle: Should I start drawing down my savings or claim Social Security early?
Article Snip: "...There are solid arguments to be made for both options. The argument in favor of claiming Social Security is that your retirement savings..."
Reference: www.usatoday.comTitle: Were you called by a Social Security scammer? Feds issue warning
Article Snip: "...The Feds issued a warning that scammers are spoofing a real, actual number used by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to try to get personal information from people across the country. “Scammers are spoofing SSA’s 1-800 customer service number to try to get your personal information..."
Reference: wtop.comTitle: High-3 Average Salary
Article Snip: "...Your “high-3” average pay is the highest average basic pay you earned during any 3 consecutive years of service. These three years are usually your final three years of service, but can be an earlier period, if your basic pay was higher during that period. Your basic pay is the basic salary you earn for your position. It includes increases to your salary for which retirement deductions are withheld, such as shift rates. It does not include payments for overtime, bonuses, etc. (If your total service was less than 3 years, your average salary was figured by averaging your basic pay during all of your periods of creditable Federal service)..."
Reference: www.opm.govThis information is correct as stated on 10/27/2018. Bold Face added.
Title: Postponed or deferred
Article Snip: "...Most employees retire when they’ve reached the standard age and service requirements to receive an immediate unreduced annuity. If you are a CSRS employee, those are age 62 with 5 years of service, 60 with 20 or 55 with 30. If you are a FERS employee, they are..."
Reference: www.federaltimes.comArticle Snip: "...Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of FERS retirees will be wondering why they are only receiving a 2 percent COLA when the relevant measure of consumer prices increased by 2.8 percent. That’s due to the bargain struck in Congress in the 1980s when FERS was created, which limits COLAs to 2 percent when consumer prices increase between 2 and 3 percent. But that was the wrong policy then, as it is now. It prevents FERS annuities from keeping up with inflation, which is the whole point of a COLA. It is past time for Congress to ensure FERS retirees receive a full COLA each year. “Retirees already receive COLAs that fail to represent how seniors spend their money. COLAs are currently based on the CPI-W..."
Reference: www.narfe.orgeverify Social Security Lock | Protect Yourself From The Foreign Invasion Snippet of Article: "...Self Lock is the unique feature...