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Mike Oxley, Republican Congressman, Dies as 71
Mike Oxley, who was a Republican man of the Congress with Ohio origins, has died aged 71. He was the main man who sponsored (Along with others) the paradigm-shifting law in 2002 which helped the government fight corporate fraud.
Mike Oxley Dies:
Oxley has been succeeded by Bob Latta in the Congress and like all the rest of the compatriots, he had nothing but praise for the recently deceased. He said that Mike’s life was the perfect example of how a politician should spend their tenure. He said that his efforts and his determination to make the country a better place transcend everyone else’s in weight and calibre.
Mike Oxley died a very peaceful death, as reported by many family members. He was sound asleep in his Virginia home when he stopped breathing and made the journey to the other side.
Mike wasn’t always a congressman though; he served as a special agent in the FBI in the beginning as well. In 2007, after serving the fourth congressional district of Ohio, he announced his retirement from Congress. This tenure also encompassed his service as the House Financial Committee’s chairman.
Although there are many other feathers in his cap, the one he is going to be remembered long for is the role he played in Sarbanes-Oxley Act that got passed in 2002. According to this act, the Congress approved the implementation of a system that would prevent companies like Enron Corp and WorldCom Inc. from committing corporate fraud.
Oxley was a cancer patient before he died and was also the chairman for the board of LCA. Throughout his life, he tried to give something to the world and not just be a dead weight despite his illness. All in all, his services for the country and their importance can and will never be undermined. May he rest in peace.
More Violations at VA Medical Facilities
The VA medical facilities have always been subject to increased criticism from everyone for the increased policy violations that persist in the premises. When Anthony McCann received an envelope from the VA, he was expecting to read about his own medical records. Instead what he laid eyes on was a 250 page booklet that unravelled all sorts of personal information about another veteran to him. He said “I could have done anything with the information” in an interview after the incident pertaining to it.
More violations at VA medical facilities:
This wasn’t the first time he received the wrong letter. He had received these mistakenly put letters in the past too and at that time he did inform the department but threw away the documents. This time, because he was unable to transfer the documents to the actual person, he took them with him to a town hall meeting that was organized by the Tennessee Valley Health care system in the attempt to let the veterans speak.
In this meeting was when McCann got the chance to tell the world about the 256 pages he received. He said that there was confidential information explicitly mentioned in the documents and he refused to return the documents to an official because he doubted the capabilities of the VA to safeguard the information. He continued by saying that the department is no longer worthy of his trust and they don’t do what they say they would do.
This is all down to the incompetency of the employees working at the VA medical centers. Apart from this, they perform thousands of privacy violations over the years, researches reveal. This needs to be looked into and the guilty parties need to either be properly vetted or removed from their positions. All in all, this matter isn’t one to let slip.
Paid Parental Leave Programs to Start Expanding
Last year, President Obama approved an executive order that allowed federal employees to take a period of six weeks as a paid leave to take care of their new born children and also recommended all the cities and states to follow in with the order.
Paid parental leave programs expanding:
This expansion in the paid parental leave programs is gaining momentum over the past few months. New York has most recently joined the group of cities that are moving to grant this 6 day paid leave. The other cities that took the step before NYC were Kansas City, Austin, Texas among others. There have been starkly similar programs adopted by other cities as well and it’s expected that this expansion is not going to hit any obstacle.
Recently M&T bank became the newest addition to the list of enterprises that allow this paid leave program. It employs over 2500 people and now offers 12 weeks of paid leave to all the parents that need time to look after their children.
While there are positive signs, there are some alarming negative indicators as well. Some companies and some states as a whole aren’t eager to adopt these programs but it’s expected that they too will join in within a few months’ time. Here’s hoping that happens.
New Scams Surround Notification of OPM’s Data Breach
The Office for Personnel Management (OPM), the office responsible for setting policy for Federal Employees in the Washington area is warning people about new scams surrounding the notification process from their most recent data breach. The Better Business Bureau has also been notified recently of a number of different approaches that scammers are taking to further gain personal information in direct relation to this notification process. Learn how to avoid these scams and find out how the OPM is dealing with this issue before doing anything further with notifications you receive.
Original Information Breach at OPM
This data breach was actually discovered and realized in June 2015, yet it is still making news because of how new scammers are taking advantage of the notification process. The original information breach included an unprecedented 21.5 million Americans. The breach did not just affect federal employees and job applicants as the breach centered around the hiring process that also included background checks. This extended breach may include those contacted during the background check process for federal employees. This is significant because it helps confuse the situation as many receiving letters may not be federal employees or even applied for a federal position.
The information at risk is varied and can include a person’s Social Security Number, mental health records, financial history and even fingerprint information. As a result there are multiple letter formats being sent as notification to individuals with different personal information breaches. This can also add to the confusion as two people may compare letters that are markedly different.
How Notification is being handled
Notification for this data breach by the OPM is also being handled differently than previous data breaches. The previous breach, people were notified by email, whereas in this breach notifications are being sent by traditional mail through the US Postal Service.
So if you receive an email notification, regarding this recent data breach, it is most likely a scam.
As notification letters can differ in their format you have to be sure that the one you receive in the mail is an authentic version. Authentic letters can be verified in a few different ways. First and foremost all real letters will include a 25 digit PIN (Personal Identification Number) allowing you to sign up for free identity theft and credit monitoring by the government. You will be directed to enroll at:
• www.opm.gov/cybersecurity or
• 1-800-750-3004
If you receive a letter that directs you anywhere else, or does not have a PIN, it is a fraudulent letter. You can also go directly to the OPM website to verify your letter version as all versions are listed on their website. Being vigilante about your personal details mentioned in these letters may also help recognize a fake letter.
What Scams to look out for
There are a number of ways that organized crime is targeting individuals in order to gain access to their personal information in relation to the data breach notification process. The easiest one to recognize is if you are notified any other way besides an official letter through the US Postal Service. If you receive an email or a direct telephone call from someone saying they are with the OPM regarding this data breach, it is most likely a scam. Your first contact will be a mailed letter. Do not click on any unknown emails regarding this issue as even clicking to open them can often infect your computer.
Secondly, make sure to authenticate all letters received by mail, as multiple versions of scammed letters have been discovered. The first tell-tale sign is no PIN number as described above. The second sign is a letter directing you to visit or call any other website or phone number from that provided above.
Unfortunately the OPM data breach is still causing significant problems for Americans, be sure you do not fall into this secondary trap.
What if a pension plan fails? How much do you get
Pension plans
Pension plans have really been a big source of solace for all the employees after retirement and one wonders that it can’t get worse if a pension plan ends up failing. However, if your pension plan doesn’t succeed, you might still be able to get your retirement payments. Most of the conventional pension plans of the private sector undergo insurance by the pension benefit guaranty corporation which will be responsible for granting the employees with benefits up to certain limits even if the plan reaches an end.
You will get payments even if your pension plan fails!
A retiree around the age of 65 who might terminate his career in 2016 could still end up receiving staggering amounts of annuity; as much as 60 thousand dollars. This of course is dependent on your pension plan and on the age when you actually start getting PBGC payments. You will not be able to get the maximum benefit if you claim your payments before you reach 65. You will get up to 2.25 thousand dollars per month if you begin taking payments at 55 and will get around 1.25 if you start getting payments at the age of 45.
If your insured benefit is almostPension plans have really been a big source of solace for all the employees after retirement and one wonders that it can’t get worse if a pension plan ends up failing. However, if your pension plan doesn’t succeed, you might still be able to get your retirement payments. Most of the conventional pension plans of the private sector undergo insurance by the pension benefit guaranty corporation which will be responsible for granting the employees with benefits up to certain limits even if the plan reaches an end.
You will get payments even if your pension plan fails!
A retiree around the age of 65 who might terminate his career in 2016 could still end up receiving staggering amounts of annuity; as much as 60 thousand dollars. This of course is dependent on your pension plan and on the age when you actually start getting PBGC payments. You will not be able to get the maximum benefit if you claim your payments before you reach 65. You will get up to 2.25 thousand dollars per month if you begin taking payments at 55 and will get around 1.25 if you start getting payments at the age of 45.
If your insured benefit is almost equal (or completely equivalent) to the pension that you have accumulated up till now, then you will always go on receiving all of your pension payments, as promised. If however you get a pension that is more than the guarantee figure of the PBGC, then you will see a reduction in your monthly instalments. Having said that, the PGBC claims to provide most of the people with the full amount.
All in all, there is a possibility of a failure in pension plans but with this knowledge, the tension that is always lurking around the head of a retiree might go away.
equal (or completely equivalent) to the pension that you have accumulated up till now, then you will always go on receiving all of your pension payments, as promised. If however you get a pension that is more than the guarantee figure of the PBGC, then you will see a reduction in your monthly instalments. Having said that, the PGBC claims to provide most of the people with the full amount.
All in all, there is a possibility of a failure in pension plans but with this knowledge, the tension that is always lurking around the head of a retiree might go away.
New Public Sector Retirement Savings Plan Approved by Senate
The budget committee of the Senate has finally given its approval to the bill that is destined to create a long lasting retirement savings plan for the workers that are employed in the private sector. This will ideally be applicable to those workplaces where there are no employer-sponsored plans in New Jersey.
A new retirement savings plan:
The bill would make it a requirement for all those companies that have around 25 companies to offer a retirement plan known as the “Secure choice” if of-course they don’t already have a plan. Apart from this, if you are a smaller company and want to avail this opportunity then you are also more than welcome.
The bill was cleared by the Senate Appropriations and budget committee recently with a vote distribution of 9-3-1.
This bill has some similarities with the already available retirement savings plans. Just as in a 401(k) employers would be required to set up a deduction on the pay check of all the employees. This deduction would amount to 3 percent of the income and would go directly in to the retirement fund accounts.
The need of this plan was eminent in the state for quite some time now. There are around 1.7 million people only in the state of New Jersey who don’t have an employer-sponsored retirement plan available and according to researchers, around 31 percent of the federal employees have not got a retirement account set up either. This program is set to be put into practice within around 2 years and is expected to transform the way retirement plans are dealt with in the country. When people of a country are naïve because they are not prudent enough then it becomes the responsibility of the government to provide them with the insight to think in a broader way and this is a great step taken by the Senate in this regard.
IS THE MIDDLE CLASS EXTINCT by Dianna Tafazoli
Families in America today are either poor or rich
The Middle Class is very close to becoming extinct according to the PEW Institute. For more than four decades the Institute has never seen the current dynamics of our society. There appears to be only two classes of people in the country from an economic standpoint – the rich and the poor. The Middle Class – a long time determinant of the way in which the economy functioned has dwindled to the point of almost being a nonentity.
Families in America today are either poor or rich. The question is how did we get there? It is not a new phenomenon, yet one we hoped had disappeared as economic conditions from World War II and the Great Depression dissipated as more and more men took jobs in the Federal service.
While the pay was not all that great having a job in the Federal Government meant stability and health benefits for workers and their families. Individuals went to work for 30 years and retired with a pension, which also culminated in most instances with the retirement of a 30-year mortgage. A 30 year mortgage was taken care of with a job that lasted 30 years. Consistent employment is what creates financial stability and it is also what helped to create the Middle Class.
The surge in unemployment and the housing crisis that impacted families from all over the country were the beginning of the erosion of the Middle Class. Poor people generally don’t own homes and although there are surely the working poor, many people are poor because they are unemployed and living off of meager assistance from the state or nothing at all. The Middle Class is predicated perhaps more on the ebbs and flows of the economy than the rich or the poor. The poor will always be with us and it appears that the same statement is true for the rich. The Middle Class will only be with us if they can stay consistently employed. They don’t often have trust funds and they can’t blow dust off of old money.
P.S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Dianna Tafazoli
Social security changed throughout 2015. Here’s how
Social security isn’t something that has just hit centre stage. It has been with us for over 80 years now but during this whole tenure, there have been considerable changes made. The year 2015 was no different; there were some small changes and there were some alterations that have caused serious implications for all the current retirees and the ones that are all set to retire in the future. Here are some of the ways it changed:
Small benefit increases:
As the last year begun, there were some good news given to all the social security recipients as they got a good 1.7 percent increase in their cost of living plans. This boost was good but it made 2015 the third consecutive year where the annual COLA was lesser than 2 percent; this was a cause for concern for all the older Americans because it wasn’t a good indicative of the funds that they would ideally want to live their life up to the set standards. This increase though meant that the monthly Social security benefits that the employees were set to receive got higher.
Social security claiming methodologies edging the end:
The file and suspend strategy that some of the federal employees make use of will no longer be available after May 2016. This was announced during the month of November.
The maximum SS benefits:
During 2015, we saw the maximum social security benefit also reach to an alarming height of 2663 dollars per month. It’s worth mentioning that this is the highest the highest level has ever gone. This entails that you will earn the highest possible income level for around 35 years (if not more) during your tenure of service.
Like every year, we see that 2015 did bring about stark changes in the way social security is awarded.
TSP Board Alters Allocations To Lifecycle Funds
It had only been weeks since when the federal employees had begun adding their retirement savings into the lifecycle fund automatically. Such is the brittle nature of these matters that the governing board has already brought about changes in the allocation procedure of the investments. These funds when added to the Thrift savings plan’s L funds now get treated differently.
Every year the Thrift Savings plan allocates different lifecycle funds – L2050, L2030, L2040, L2020 and the L income fund. The one covering the current retired officers is the last of the aforementioned.
Kim Weaver who is the director of all the external affairs at the Thrift investment board of the Federal retirement officers has always stressed that they have to ensure every year that the asset allocation is done in a way so that most people get benefited. This year, he said that because the interest rates have been considerably downhill, they have decided to move some of the funds to the G fund and a little less to the F fund. The least amount will get added to the S fund whereas the I fund may get a little more contribution.
The TSP began the auto-enrollment of new feds in the G fund at a slim rate of 3% contribution in 2010. Now, effective Sept. 5, the rudimentary investment funds for the non-federal and the civilian officers that have recently joined the thrift savings plan is primarily the L fund. The board has stressed upon the matter further by saying that the G fund isn’t as effective in the long term for the employees who are expecting a substantial replacement percentage so the L fund amendment was an absolute must. This amendment was made possible when the TSP board convinced the Congress to change the fundamental investment fund to the lifecycle fund. Here’s hoping that positive changes like these continue.
Senior and Retired Veterans Hope for COLA Increase in 2016
In light of the pay raise for federal employees last week as an executive order by the President, many sectors of the government and special interest groups are calling on the government to also provide a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) to Seniors on Social Security and Veterans for 2016.
Why you might not get a COLA increase in 2016
In the last 40 years, it has happened on three occasions that seniors did not get their annual COLA increase. It appears to be the case for 2016, as no legislation has been approved to date, but it also happened in 2010 and 2011. Last year in October, federal retirees received a 1.7% COLA increase for their civil service annuities, so why not this year?
The largest reason why COLA increases were not put into effect so far this year is because these increases are generally based on the Consumer Price Index figure. Yet according to the CPI for 2015, prices have actually decreased. The CPI which includes food, energy and shelter costs actually fell by 0.1% mainly due to the falling price of gasoline. Since the federal government bases their annual COLA adjustments on this primary index, when it is in negative territory, no COLA adjustments are triggered.
Why the CPI may not be the right metric
However, it has been pointed out again and again, that using the strict confines of the CPI for a COLA adjustment does not truly reflect the cost of living issues affecting senior retirees. In fact, in 2016 increases in health care costs that have already been announced will effectively increase the cost of living for seniors, even with the lower energy and food costs.
Since retirees rely on these COLA adjustments annually simply to continue at the same quality of life, the extremely rare year when inflation does not increase, can make for extremely tough years. Take for example those federal retirees under the Civil Service Retirement Service (CSRS) enrolled in Medicare Part B that are bracing for a 52% increase in premiums this year due to rules that dictate these increases. Legislation in the works may not mitigate this increase in time for January. The COLA adjustment for retirees would definitely benefit from an overhaul in how it is calculated with a weighting more tied to health care costs that food.
2 Houses, 2 Bills
However, there has been serious movement in Congress and the Senate to implement COLA adjustments for retired civil servants for 2016, with the first bill being introduced in October this year, calling for a 2.9% COLA increase by Alan Grayson (D-FL). Seniors Deserve a Raise Act as it was called never passed, mainly because two other bills submitted on the issue. One was a follow up by Grayson, known as Seniors and Veterans Emergency (SAVE) Benefits Act as a companion bill to a Senate bill introduced on November 5.
Yet this is not the only current bill put forth, as on 1 December, Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced another companion bill to the same one that Grayson’s was submitted with. Although Duckworth’s bill calls for a 3.9% COLA adjustment and both would fund the increase by closing a loophole that allows companies to deduct executive bonuses from their taxes if they were performance related.
Whichever bill makes it to the finish line is not important; simply that one of these bills does so, in order to defray the rising costs of health care for retired civil servants and veterans.
Here’s What You Need to Know About Social Security in 2016
Social security changes considerably over the span of a full year. While it did see stark changes throughout most of 2015, it’s expected to do the same with the start of the New Year. Claiming options are going to get a lot different for the federal employees this year, and if you are looking to retire or are looking to set up your SS shop, then you need to know some things that you would otherwise not. Here’s a list of some of the things that you can’t miss out:
Social security to change in 2016:
- You can’t claim social security twice. IT will be abolished by the start of May 2016 and while some may disagree, the majority is on a consensus that this was the right thing to do.
- There can be higher Medicare Part B premiums in store for you. This might not be the case for each and every single one of the employees but it can happy for the lucky ones.
- Stricter suspended payment rules are expected.
- There will be a considerably larger saver’s credit threshold available.
- No increases in the payments are expected.
- The tax cap will remain the same i.e. 118 thousand and 5 hundred dollars.
- No changes are to be made in the earnings limit either.
- The administration is changing the way it operates; you can now expect longer office hours as a SS employee and the infrastructure is to be shifted online too in the coming months.
- The new monthly maximum amount will drop to 2,639 dollars. It was 2,663 dollars last year.
While these changes aren’t really what many people might have had in mind and are not ideal, they are things to know about. In order to be astutely prepared, being aware of this information is pivotal.
Civil Service Pay Raise Will Be Dependent On Performance
Civil Service Pay Raise Will Be Dependent On Performance
The rises in pays are always anticipated by workers and officers from around the country and there is some news to pay heed to for the public sector officers and workers. It has been announced that the rise in civil service pay for them will be automated but a strong factor in this regard will be their performance. This was indicated by Franz Manderson who is the Deputy Governor. This announcement, according to Franz could go a long way in inculcating a drive to do better in the civil servants because incentives do lie in wait; but only to those who do well.
Civil service pay dependent on performance:
Teachers and a lot of other public sector officers should anticipate some handsome rises in civil service pays over the next year. This would be in addition to the increase that has been seen to be made in the cost of living allowance of all the employees. This was announced by Alden McLaughlin in his bid to address the needs of everybody.
Manderson saw it fair to thank McLaughlin for this generous allotment of rises and he had nothing but praise for the man. He ensured the premier that this is only going to further instigate a sense of responsibility and love for the job in the hearts of civil employees and that they are going to work ever harder knowing that they are going to be compensated for the extra input they give to the department.
It’s really appreciative to see these kind of steps being taken by the government and the officials because nothing pleases a civil service employee more than knowing the fact that they are not the ones who get overlooked when priorities for the country are set. Here’s hoping that steps like these continue to be taken.
Why You Should Go With myRA This year
myRA was announced very late in 2015 but the fame it garnered in the last few months was considerable. Everybody was talking about it and with the start of the New Year, it is a perfect time to know more about it. IF you are making your retirement plans and 2016 could be your year, then you are reading what you need to read; even if you plan to retire a little late then too you are in the right place, because this new Roth retirement account flavour is expected to last. Here are some of the details that make it one of the best retirement savings account that you can choose:
- Absolutely no fees involved. The government won’t even charge you a single dollar for the whole registration and maintenance process. This should be incentive enough, all things considered.
- The government insists that this account will never lose its worth. Whatever it’s valued at now, it can only get better or stay the same.
- There is one catch though; a treasury savings bond is the only investment option. Some facts about this bond are as follows:
- Your interest will not be taxed as long as it is within the account.
- No interest whatsoever will be taxed if you leave the account till you are 59 and a half years old.
- It has averaged around 3.2 percent in the last 10 years.
- You can make limited contributions to your myRA 5500 dollars per year for people who earn under 130,999.99 dollars per year and for couples earning 192,999.99 dollars per annum.
- If you are over 50 though you can contribute an extra thousand dollars.
- After 30 years of opening or if you have reached a balance of 15 thousand dollars, the money will get transferred to a private sector Roth account.
The Results Are In! Government Has Failed To Properly Train Federal Employees
The results are in! Less than 20% of Federal Employees are satisfied with the retirement training they have received. -75% report receiving no training at all.
Nearly 1 Million Federal Employees were asked to participate in the 2015 Year-End Retirement Survey conducted by PSRetirement.com. After tabulating the responses, and apart from the surprising number of Federal Employees that were left unsatisfied with their training, there were also a few other interesting insights into the retirement training that the Federal Employees are currently receiving.
¾ of Federal Employees Surveyed Report Receiving ZERO Retirement Training
According to PSRetirement.com’s 2015 Retirement survey over 75% of Federal Employee respondents have not had any retirement training at all. Of the Federal Employees surveyed less than 20% of those stating they have received training also state that they are satisfied with the training they received
Federal Employees Prefer One-On-One Retirement Training
Responding to the type of benefit training these Federal Employees would prefer:
- 42.5% of Federal Employees selected one-on-one training as their preferred method
- 29% of Federal Employees chose group training;
- A surprisingly large number of Federal Employees (28.5%) specifically requested interactive online training, which is something that is predominantly unavailable.
One thing is certain Federal Employees believe that their employer should be doing a better job of training employees on their retirement benefits. We happen to agree.
(Advertisement)Federal Employees Telework during Winter Storms
The Office for Personnel Management, the office responsible for setting policy for Federal Employees in the Washington area recently updated its annual policy memo on working in winter weather conditions. Not typically a big news story this year’s policy had less changes in past years except for one small addition that may lead to a disconnect with employees.
How one policy can affect the US Economy?
The OPM releases an annual policy memo for Federal Agencies in the Washington area that is meant to be followed for staying open, when to close and how to handle severe winter weather. This policy memo is not only followed by thousands of federal employees however as many institutions, schools and even businesses tend to follow this mandate.
These policies have major impacts across most organizations during winter severe weather as well on the major road and transit systems in the area. As this policy is often used as a resource for other areas and state governments, it can have far reaching effects.
When are you entitled to skip work for weather issues?
This policy statement however, only works when all employees and agencies understand and follow the memo. Acting Director Beth Cobert wants all agencies and employees to realize the importance of keeping to the same policy as it can have serious effects if agencies or employees follow their own separate policies.
These policies outline the basic policies for when agencies should open in inclement weather, when to close when severe weather hits and when to remain closed all day. The memo also helps agencies decide which days they can remain open but allow employees to take unscheduled leave, personal leave or to perform unscheduled telework. It can outline the delay in which employees can appear to work to allow extra time to get to work, as well as when to close early to allow safe travel home before a large storm hits. Of course it also outlines an immediate closure procedure as well in emergency weather situations.
Of course these policies are not meant to ever be used for emergency service personnel, whom are meant to work in all weather conditions.
Teleworkers required to keep working
The last major federal employee survey for teleworking completed in 2012 only showed 12% of workers telework. However with improvements in cyber security protocols, more agencies are allowing employees teleworking portions of their employment contracts. As such, the most recent survey has shown 31% of federal employees now participate in teleworking even occasionally.
With such a large portion of the federal employee with the option to work at home during severe weather the OPM has mandated in the memo that “employees that were previously scheduled to telework and those that have teleworking already in their employment agreements should continue to work during these weather situations and not be allowed paid time-off.” They also are encouraging employees that have teleworking in their contracts but not severe weather clauses to work through these situations in any case.
Of course the long term goal for most agencies the OPM is suggesting that any employees that have a telework portion to their employment situation be required to work during these severe weather events. In the end it would help the productivity of the government.
Obama has Authorized Federal Pay Raise
Federal employees are all set to get a pay raise this year…and it’s official. The president has finally issued the executive order about the federal pay raise that all of the federal employees was after. The executive order has authorized a 1.3% pay raise and it has come after previously we heard about the spending bill that amounted to a little over trillion dollars.
The federal pay raise is here:
The bill hasn’t meant to bring about any differences for the VP and other senior positions. The raise will go into effect as soon as the next year starts and OPM has also already released their report that is highlighting all the salary tables that the people were looking forward to.
The President, in this regard sent out a letter to majority of the congressional members during the month of August where he authorized the majority of the adjustments to the locality pays.
This is something that the federal employees look forward to every year and this year was no different. The anticipation was huge and thankfully, the end result was exactly what the majority wanted. The pay raise is as substantial as was expected and it surely is going to prove to be something great for all the employees. The reason why it’s so important is that the federal employees can thus feel that they are actually cared about and that their concerns also hold importance in the White house. Here’s hoping that this is not just a single port in the storm and that steps like these get taken every now and again in order for the mass of the population to have a smile on their faces. Start calculating your incomes for the coming year and also begin contemplating what you would be doing with the extra quid!
Executive Order increases Federal Employee Wages by 1.3% for 2016
If you were looking for a pay raise in 2016 as a federal employee, you will be happy to know that it has been approved by President Obama in an executive order.
Same 1% Target from the start
At the beginning of 2015, Obama committed to a 1% raise in the 2015 budget for federal employees. This was countermanding a 3 year pay raise freeze that was put in place by Congress. With this executive order the President put in place a raise for the second year in a row, displacing the congressional mandate of no raises for federal employees.
The President sent a letter to congressional leaders this past August outlining the increases across the board and for locality adjustments as state below:
“Specifically, I have determined that for 2016, across-the-board pay increases will be 1.0 percent… Also, I will make a decision by November 30, 2015, regarding an alternative plan for locality payments under 5 U.S.C. 5304a. This decision is consistent with my fiscal year 2016 Budget and it will not materially affect the Federal Government’s ability to attract and retain well-qualified members for the uniformed services.”
If you are in the executive branch of the government however, this raise will not include you. The raise was passed in an omnibus $1.1 trillion spending bill that would continue the freeze on the Vice President’s salary and other political appointees. This 1% raise will take effect 1 January 2016 and most employees can expect their raise on their first biweekly pay on the 10th January.
0.3% for Locality bumps
Although all employees will receive the 1% pay hike, those living in urban areas will receive differing levels of an increase as determined by tables set out in the legislation, mostly tied to the cost of living according to the Labor Department data in those cities. The average pay hike will not exceed 1.3% the President said, but certain locales might see higher than 1.3% dependent upon their location.
An example of one of the top locations pay increases includes the Washington-Baltimore and San Francisco and San Diego areas which will see a 1.46% increase. The pay council advisory board however states that federal pay rates still lag behind private sector jobs by 35% on average.
Employee Unions still advocate 3.8% increases
This pay increase is nowhere near where employee unions advocate for pay increases. For the past two years, pay increases have been 1 percent and pay rates were frozen for 3 years prior, making the last 5 year increases only a paltry 2%. This two percent does not even come close to the rise in the cost of living, increased health care costs and the rising cost of groceries and medicine. The American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. and National Treasury Employees Union President Tony Reardon both contend these raise are ‘simply not enough’.
Federal and Military Retirees kept out of raises
Furthermore, these raises do not increase the payments to Federal or Military retirees that are currently on a fixed income. These retirees usually receive a cost-of-living adjustment every January and will have to go without for 2016. This means making the same fixed income stretch farther in order to deal with increases in the cost of living. Many other benefit systems in the US will also forgo these raises as well.
The executive order was issued after Congress decided to support the recommendation for pay raises.
TSP Expecting Military Influx
The Thrift Investment Board of the Federal Retirement division of the Government has always been one for making announcements and dealing with all sorts of criticism along the way. They are trying to avoid as much criticism as they can these days and for that TSP board is making preparations to welcome the huge expected military influx in to the program by 2018.
New military members coming towards TSP:
The National Defense Authorization Act which was passed in November by Congress is intended to encourage the contemporary military members to make the investments in the TSP. The act will take effect starting next year.
The board is expecting over 500 thousand new additions within the first year and expects/projects that the number is going to get extended to as much as 1 million within the first year and a half. Greg Long who is the director of the board mentioned that this is destined to be a turning point in the recent history of the organization and that the whole dimension in expected to get changed in the longer run. He also mentioned that they are trying their best to improve their infrastructure so that it becomes able to deal with this large of an influx.
Renee Wilder who is the director of enterprise planning was the first person who raised the point that the system will have to be altered in order to make sure that they are able to sustain these alterations. There would have to be some extra efforts done by the communications team and the process will have to be sped up too.
That being said, all in all, it looks as if things are probably going to get a little hot to handle for the organization and here’s hoping that they are able to stay in the kitchen during the heat.
Social Security Benefits to be Kept for Federal Debtors
The senate is always keen on issuing new bills every now and again that are ideally aimed at making lives of the inhabitants of the country better than they otherwise would be. The bills, as we all are already aware require the following of a strict protocol in order for their approval and then the subsequent implementation. The democratic members of the Senate have put forward a new bill this past week that would let the federal officers that are indebted to keep their social security payments.
Debtors to keep their social security payments:
The bill has been put forward and made available for discussion by Ron Wyden and Sherrod Brown. This bill is destined to change the law that currently gives the government authority to grab a hold of the Social Security Basicse employees who have any unpaid loans. These loans could be any student loan, food stamp overpayments, federal debts or any veterans’ administration home loans.
Wyden emphasized on the fact that the loans are piling up for the Americans with each passing day and they can’t afford their social payments to be taken from them too. Any people who are striving hard to pay off their academic dues should not be deprived of the meagre funding sources that they have on hand. This bill, as indicated by Wyden, is intended to make better the lives of the already indebted feds that are suffering from financial instability.
Bills and in general steps like these show that the members of the senate actually feel and care about the ordinary citizen as much as anybody of repute. Therefore, they should be highly commended in this regard. Here’s hoping that this bill does get approved and the once already in turmoil don’t face any more government caused financial issues.
