Thursday, March 4, 2021

Pandemic prompts some feds to delay or reconsider retirement plans

Title: Pandemic prompts some feds to delay or reconsider retirement plans

Article Snip: "...A total of 92,008 federal employees retired in 2020, the fewest in nearly 10 years, according to a Federal News Network analysis of monthly data from the Office of Personnel Management. By contrast, OPM processed 101,580 retirements in 2019 and 107,612 in 2018..."

Reference:

Thursday, February 25, 2021

Cash flexibility in retirement: Pros and cons of the TSP

Title: Cash flexibility in retirement: Pros and cons of the TSP

Article Snip: "...many federal and postal workers pull their retirement nest egg money out of the Thrift Savings Plan. So is that wise? Short answer..."

Reference: federalnewsnetwork.com

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Special Military Social Security Rate: Here's How It Works...

Title: Special Military Social Security Rate

Article Snip: "...Under certain circumstances, veterans who served between 1940 and 2001 can be credited for special extra earnings for Social Security purposes. These extra earnings may help you qualify for Social Security or increase...Social Security doesn't add these extra earnings to your record until you file for benefits..."

Reference: www.military.com
special extra earnings for Social Security

Friday, January 29, 2021

Didn't Retire from Active Duty? You Can Still Use Your Service Toward a Pension

Title: Didn't Retire from Active Duty? You Can Still Use Your Service Toward a Pension

Article Snip: "...your active duty military service puts you in a better position to earn a pension, even if you count yourself among the 83% (roughly five out of six) of active duty veterans who didn't remain on active duty long enough to retire from the military to earn military retirement pay..."

Reference: www.military.com
Buy Military Service Credits with the Federal Civil Service

What is Social Security’s 'special earnings limit rule'?

Title: What is Social Security’s 'special earnings limit rule'?

Article Snip: "...The special earnings limit rule is an exception to Social Security’s earnings limit...The reason for the rule is that Social Security bases the earnings limit on a full year’s income, but it recognizes that most people retire at some point mid-year and by then may have already earned more than the limit. Rather than count that income and reduce your benefits accordingly, Social Security applies a “monthly earnings test”: Once you claim your benefits, you’ll get your full payment for any month that Social Security considers you to be “retired” (doing limited or no paid work), regardless of your total earnings for the year. Here’s how it works..."

Reference: www.aarp.org
special earnings limit rule (Social Security),

CSRS vs FERS: Bill Would Remove Discriminatory Federal Retiree Annual Increases: Equal COLA Act (H.R. 304)

Title: Bill Would Standardize Federal Retiree Annual Increases, and More

Article Snip: "...The Equal COLA Act (H.R. 304), introduced by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., would ensure that federal retirees in the Federal Employee Retirement System and the Civil Service Retirement System both receive the same annual percentage cost of living increase each year..."

Reference:
Equal COLA Act (H.R. 304)

4 Critical Federal Retirement Decisions

Title: 4 Critical Federal Retirement Decisions

Article Snip: "...Retirement planning is a series of decisions. Some have minor consequences and some can have a lifelong impact on your financial security. Here are a few examples of critical retirement decisions that can lead to very different outcomes..."

Reference: www.govexec.com

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Retirement Planning: How To Get Out Of Debt Before Retirement

Title: Retirement Planning: How To Get Out Of Debt Before Retirement

Article Snip: "...Retiring with debt is often considered a cardinal financial sin: Every dollar you owe reduces your income in retirement, after all. But on the other hand, blindly prioritizing debt reduction before retirement savings, particularly for low-interest debt, could shortchange your nest egg. That’s why people nearing retirement need to weigh the costs and benefits of paying off debt vs. saving for retirement..."

Reference: www.forbes.com
Baby Boomer retirement planning,Retirement Planning Tips,pre-retirement planning,Mortgage Debt,

Thursday, January 14, 2021

Social Security and You

Title: Social Security and You

"Some 'real world' questions and answers relating to Social Security"

Reference: www.poncacitynews.com

Is Social Security Income Taxable?

Title: Is Social Security Income Taxable?

Article Snip: "...About 35 percent of Social Security recipients have total incomes high enough to trigger federal income tax on their benefits. To figure out if your benefits will be taxable, you’ll need to add up all of your “provisional income,” which includes..."

Reference: www.theintelligencer.net
Is Social Security Income Taxable?

Sunday, January 10, 2021

Social Security, Medicare and Retirement Plan Changes for 2021

Title: Social Security, Medicare and Retirement Plan Changes for 2021

Article Snip: "...From the pandemic to politics and the economy, it’s been a wild year, especially for those near or in retirement. While some uncertainty remains in the outlook for 2021, here’s what you need to know about Social Security, Medicare premiums and retirement plan contributions..."

Reference: www.thestreet.com
social security,Medicare, Retirement, 2021,

Sunday, November 22, 2020

7 Things to Know About the Military's New Retirement Plan

Title: 7 Things to Know About the Military's New Retirement Plan

Article Snip: "...Generally, you need to serve for 20 years to retire, and when you retire with 20 years of service you’ll receive 50% of your base pay. If you choose the new plan, that multiplier of 2.5 reduces to 2.0, so you’ll only receive 40% of your base pay at 20 years..."

Reference: www.doughroller.net
Military Retirement,

How Much Debt do Baby Boomers Have?

Title: How Much Debt do Baby Boomers Have?

Article Snip: "...Baby boomers have an average of $25,812 of debt, not including mortgages—here’s how they compare to other generations.New Experian data finds that ..."

Reference: www.cnbc.com
Baby Boomers,Retirement Debt,Experian data,

Monday, November 16, 2020

Average Retirement Income 2020: How Do You Compare?

Title: Average Retirement Income 2020: How Do You Compare?

Article Snip: "...Average Retirement Income from Pensions: A mere 31 percent of today’s retirees have retirement income from a pension, a 6% drop over recent years. This number is trending further downward. Consider yourself extremely lucky if you have this income..."

Reference: www.newretirement.com
Average Retirement Income, Retirement, Median vs Mean, Average Retirement Income from Pensions,

Thursday, November 12, 2020

For Feds, Net Worth Is More Important Than Income

Title: For Feds, Net Worth Is More Important Than Income

Article Snip: "...Here are three big reasons why you should focus on your net worth more than your income..."

Reference: www.govexec.com
Net Worth vs Income, TSP, Mortgage Debt,Retirement Debt,

Monday, October 26, 2020

Special Government Help for Your Retirement

20+ Government programs for older people that you may not know about

Title: Special Government Help for Your Retirement

Article Snip: "...government programs are also available, but many older citizens do not participate for a variety of reasons, including lack of knowledge about available programs and the complexity of the application process.3  Read on to learn about what's available, who qualifies, and how to obtain help along with information..."

Reference: www.investopedia.com

Monday, September 14, 2020

When retirement is more valuable than disability compensation

Title: When retirement is more valuable than disability compensation

Article Snip: "...Payments under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act are generally higher, but some disability recipients may get more out of switching to the retirement benefit program..."

Reference: www.federaltimes.com
disability vs retirement

You can work while collecting Social Security but there are limits if you earn more than $18,240 a year

Title: You can work while collecting Social Security but there are limits if you earn more than $18,240 a year

Article Snip: "...Meanwhile, an estimated 88% of nonretirees polled by Gallup believe they'll need their Social Security income to help make ends meet in retirement. This 88% figure marks an all-time high since this annual poll began in 2001..."

Reference: www.usatoday.com

Thursday, September 10, 2020

How a Roth IRA Could Help You Keep More of Your Social Security Benefits

Title: How a Roth IRA Could Help You Keep More of Your Social Security Benefits

Article Snip: "...One significant advantage of investing in a Roth IRA is that your withdrawals in retirement are tax-free. But Roth IRAs offer another tax perk that could help you keep more of your Social Security benefits..."

Reference: starherald.com
ROTH

Saturday, August 8, 2020

Biden vs. Trump: Where the Presidential Candidates Stand on Social Security

Title: Biden vs. Trump: Where the Presidential Candidates Stand on Social Security

Article Snip: "...Biden's overall plan includes some provisions that would boost Social Security benefits in many cases, but it would come at the cost of additional taxes. Meanwhile, Trump hasn't taken Social Security head-on as an issue..."

Reference: www.msn.com