postal benefits
LiteBlue Heroes
I read something recently that made me rethink how important Letter Carriers are. We always think about them delivering the mail just like a habit that will never stop. We absolutely never think about the possibility that the mail will not be delivered. Mail Carriers are a constant in the lives of most Americans. We know our carriers and we depend on them to deliver the mail.
A customer in New York can add something else to her list of what we depend on Mail Carriers for – SAVING HER LIFE. Yes, saving her life. The carrier in Yorktown Heights, NY noticed that his customer had not collected her mail for several days. The carrier knew that was not her usual behavior. He got very concerned and contacted Emergency Responders (ERs). The ERs went to the woman’s home and found she needed medical attention. The woman was transported to the local hospital where she was able to get additional care and as a result, fully recovered.
What a story. The carrier didn’t simply determine that the mail pile-up was not his business but acted in a most humanitarian manner. The Good Samaritan’s name is Robert Womascko. The ERs credited Mr. Womascko for saving the woman’s life. I think Mr. Womascko needs more than a thank you from the ERs and the woman, he needs a hero thank you from the Postal Service and from the Commander-in-Chief. Mr. Womascko did something that was more than humane, he did something that was honorable to the highest degree. Mr. Womascko cared about another human being’s life. He didn’t just look at a condition and walk away. He cared about the life of a woman who could have died had he not thought quickly to get help.
Letter carriers don’t just deliver mail, they save lives. So if you read this post join in a letter writing campaign to the Commander-in-Chief-the President of the United States, the Post Master General and see that something of noteworthiness is done to recognize this Good Samaritan, this Honorable Man.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
LITEBLUE’S July 17th
July 17th is an important day for the Postal Service. July 17th is the last day to submit ideas about what the next generation of Post Office vehicles will look like and how they will need to function. Let’s give the Post Office a big round of applause for including the people in the process who know it best.
Many organizations make decisions in a vacuum and use individuals in the organization who have absolutely no hands-on knowledge about the process. The best folks to tell a baker whether his cake is good is not the baker, but those who eat the cake. The best individuals to give input about Postal Delivery vehicles are the ones who drive them, repair and maintain them. They are by far the very best authority to assist in designing the next generation of mail service delivery trucks.
The Post Office has an aging fleet of vehicles and are by all estimates not getting the efficiency of more modern vehicles. Postal carriers and Vehicle Maintenance personnel have been asked by their supervisors and managers to submit ideas and thoughts about what is needed in the Post Office’s next generation of service vehicles. Postal carriers and Vehicle Maintenance personnel will submit their best suggestions in a number of categories by July 17, 2014.
The Post Office got it right – by including its people in the strategic planning process.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Other LiteBlue Related Pages
LITEBLUE, Shared Services and You
Who can you trust to get your retirement documentation right? Recently that question was posed to Postal Workers about their retirement. The Postal Service uses HR Shared Services as their pre-retirement, all things human resources information and advice arm. Upon retirement the go-to-gurus will be the Office of Personnel Management?
The question posed is one of those rare life-line questions. OPM handles the business of all Federal employees when they are active and inactive (retirement). The mere premise is mind boggling and sometimes things get mixed up and you might have to wait longer than you’d like to get your benefits or at least your correct benefits. In a past article, we talked about getting your house in order, taking care of the things necessary to make your transition to retirement smooth and complete.
The question posed simply reiterates and underscores the need to do just that. It is recommended that Postal Employees download a copy of their eOPF (Electronic Official Personnel Folder). You can print out the information or save it to your computer. Once you separate from the Post Office you will no longer have access to your information on LiteBlue. Pay a visit to the LiteBlue website and follow the download and print instructions so that you will have all the information that is in your folder at your fingertips when you need it.
Downloading your folder and setting it aside is not enough. Prior to OPFs becoming electronic, they were paper. Hopefully your agency passed on your paper folder to you. Further, over the years you might have kept copies of your information in your at-home file. Always as a rule of thumb, keep your end of the year W-2s. Each time you choose or switch health insurance carriers, keep a copy of your records. Make certain that the service computation date (SCD) shown in your folder matches what you have. Most of us remember the exact date when we started to work. Agencies, even OPM, make mistakes or are subject to an oversight.
Take care of your business. Be in charge of the business of your life because no one cares about your business as much as you do. Many Postal Workers will be eligible for incentive payments. Make sure you submit PS Form 3077 to your employing agency so where you want your incentive payment mailed will be on record. If you are attempting to use any electronic means to transmit information to HR Shared Services or your employing office and the mechanics are not responding, pick up the telephone and notify the appropriate entity right away.
Stay in charge of your business now so that you can relax, enjoy and retire well.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Retirement Cannot Be A Secret
Your plans for retirement should include your family. Retirement is a family decision where communication is most important. There are so many benefits with provisions that can be complicated in the federal retirement systems. The federal employee as well as family members need to understand the fundamental concepts of all federal retirement and health benefits available.
Take time to discuss with your family how you feel about retirement. If you are experiencing some emotional separation about your impending retirement, discuss it with your family members or someone you can trust. Talking about your concerns and issues will make the transition from work to retirement much easier.
Don’t go through the challenges of retirement alone. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to your family about your fears and anxieties, you can always get counseling from a career coach or some other professional familiar with the highs and lows people experience about retirement.
If you know other people who have retired try talking to them. Let them share their experiences with you and I am sure what they describe will resonate with what you are feeling. Retirement for many is like saying goodbye to an old friend and that is always painful, even causing some tears to fall. There is absolutely nothing wrong about missing what has been such a significant part of your life for such a long time. There is nothing wrong with being afraid or feeling that you are no longer valued. Allow yourself a time to grieve, maybe 30 minutes, okay an hour and then shake it off and say – Look out world, I am ready for the next new adventure and this time I am doing on my own terms.
You can find the rainbow in retirement if you see all the years you worked as preparation for the best years of your life.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
RELATED TSP ARTICLES
Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Withdrawal Options
For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP
Federal and Postal Employees – Choosing a Financial Professional
Is All ‘Your’ TSP Money Actually Yours?
Federal Retirement: Things Happen
No matter how well we plan for our future and federal retirement, things happen because we do not live in a perfect world. As we age, we will invariably encounter more and more health problems. We need to prepare ourselves for those things we have not necessarily planned for. We don’t plan for a death, a serious illness, or countless other calamities, but when they happen we must have a back-up plan.
Serious illnesses and sudden death can often derail a family’s financial stability. Families that are accustomed to a two-household income may need to start planning early for the – what if – one income is gone. We need to think about whether we have enough coverage to take care of a disaster in our home or in our lives. We need to save not for a rainy day but for a tsunami.
I would like to share a personal story. I have lived in my home for nine years and never had a need to file a claim with my insurance company. A guy was mowing my lawn once and a rock hit the patio door and it crumbled like a beautiful pattern inside of the plastic casing. The guy was my brother-in-law, so I absorbed the replacement cost and moved on. No need to contact the insurance company.
But things happen. Doing a load of laundry and suddenly there is a tsunami making its way from the upstairs laundry room into the dining room via the chandelier. I rush, grab buckets, toss blankets and towels all over the floor to abate the water damage. Remember I have never filed a claim, so I don’t know how the entire process works.
I call the insurance company and tell my story and then I start looking for a company to dry up the water. I am completely out of my element. I don’t know what to do. Finally, I get a very compassionate insurance representative on the phone and she guides me through the process. She said, “We should have sent someone out to dry up the water immediately. ServPro will contact you shortly or you may use another company. No, I said, “ServPro is fine. I want to get back to my life.”
Ceiling and walls were damaged, subfloor and tile severely damaged in laundry room, carpet damaged, electric outlets no longer functioning, gas fireplaces won’t come on and the microwave is completely silent. Plugs are not responding to electrical signal. I am now frightened the house is going to catch on fire, mold is going to take over the house and THINGS HAPPEN.
Finally, I get a contractor I think I can work with whose estimate is significantly different from the Insurance Adjuster. Hold it, the story has not ended. The house is still in disarray, oriental rugs have been sent out for cleaning. I am becoming very familiar with the local laundry mat, and the house’s pleasant smell is gone and so am I.
I am not living in my house right now and the insurance company is not happy about paying the claim based on my contractor’s estimate. Now tell me why did I not file a claim in nine years and decided to take care of small things myself? I have more than enough coverage; yet, the insurance company is in no hurry to settle the claim and let me get back to living my life.
Things happen no matter how well we plan so the best course is to be prepared, stay calm and know that all storms, not matter how bad, pass over. A lesson to me that I would also like to share. Even if you never file an insurance claim, at least know before hand how the process works. It makes things much easier.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Recommended Articles
For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP
Federal Retirement Benefit Analysis
Is The Pension Survivor Benefit Best For You? by Todd Carmack
A Little-Known Opportunity Can Increase Your Retirement Income. by Mark Sprague
COLA for Federal Employees
Some updates on COLA:
The Cost of Living Adjustments are based on the changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Many of us don’t pay much attention to the CPI, but as we reach retirement age keeping informed about anything that impacts our financial picture is just smart planning.
Retirees live on a fixed income for the most part and it pays them to know about how their money is being impacted by policy changes, rules and regulations. Retirees must keep their ears open and their eyes peeled because they are no longer in the workforce where information flows consistently whether right or wrong. The Office of Personnel Management will make certain you are kept abreast through information bulletins and other correspondence. However, the real job lies with you to make sure you are keeping up with what is important for your well-being.
Both for the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), the accumulation for the 2015 COLA was 1.4 percent after the release on May 16th of the CPI for April 2014. The COLA for next year will be predicated on the increase in the average CPI of the third quarter of last year and the third quarter of this year.
Knowledge is critical to creating the kind of retirement future you want and deserve.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Related Pages
Postal Employee – STAPLES® Survey
Postal Employee – YOUR OPINION MATTERS
The USPS has opened over 50 ‘Test’ USPS locations inside of STAPLES® locations throughout the Country. Your opinion about this event matters – Our results will be published and we will be forwarding our findings to the USPS for review and consideration.
www.PSRetirement.com is conducting a Survey of USPS employees.
PSRetirement.com, through the ‘Postal Employee – STAPLES®‘ survey is requesting feedback from Postal employees about the USPS’s decision to open USPS locations in over 50 ‘test market’ STAPLES® stores.
If you were selected to participate in this survey please do so –
If you have NOT received your survey and would like to participate please request your survey by submitting your email address in the comment section below – we will promptly send one to you.
Your opinion matters – Make it count.
* To say ‘Thank You’ for the time you spend filling out the survey PSRetirement.com is offering survey participants a Retirement Benefit Analysis free of charge.
Postal and LiteBlue Related Pages
What Is LiteBlue?
PostalEase / LiteBlue
What Postal Employees Should Do On LiteBlue Before Retirement
eRetire for Postal Employees – Retirement Applications on LiteBlue
Use LiteBlue to Manage your FEHB
You can use LiteBlue and PostalEase to manage your Allotments
Requesting Duplicate Postal Employee W-2 Forms Using LiteBlue
Federal Employee – Do You Really Want To Retire?
Do Federal Employees Really Want to Retire?
As a federal employee, the question ‘Do you really want to retire?‘ is a totally different question than can you retire. If you don’t really want to retire because you feel you have a lot more to give and the thought of retirement simply does not appeal to you, is not an usual phenomenon. According to the Blue Zone Report (people who live longer, healthier lives) retirement in the traditional sense might not be a good idea. Studies have certainly shown that being active is of great benefit to humans both physically and mentally, it keeps you in the game.
There are a number of opportunities available to persons who don’t want to retire. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is exploring the idea of Phased Retirement which will keep many in the federal workforce on their jobs for a longer period of time. Those employees who want to stay in the federal workforce may have options via proposed Phased Retirement or the option of working as Contractors.
The other side of the coin is, can you afford to retire as a federal employee. After examining your options, performing a benefit analysis and finding that the estimated money that will be coming in after you retire, just won’t cover your expenses is reason to pause and evaluate options. What to do? If you are within 3 to 5 years of retirement, it might not be a whole lot that can be done in terms of a salary increase. But you can tap into doing more through your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). It is always a good idea to maximize participation in TSP to the greatest extent possible. Exercise all of your options to leverage your ability to secure your retirement future.
It is never too late to begin planning for your retirement future as a federal employee. Plan now, look at your options realistically, and take care to stack up your expenses against the estimated revenue you will receive in retirement. It is important to realize that wanting to work and needing to work are a dynamic that should be prioritized early so that working or not working is voluntary and not mandatory.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Related Articles
Changing Your LiteBlue / PostalEase Password
Changing Your PostalEase Password
By now, you will almost certainly have received your new LiteBlue / PostalEase password and have thought about visiting ssp.usps.gov to make the change (ssp www.usps.gov).
The letter you have received contains a temporary password in the upper right hand corner of the letter. You may have to search for the password as it is not clearly identified, but it is there if you look.
To effect the change, you will need to visit https://ssp.usps.gov/ssp-web/login.xhtml. As you go to the website you will need to enter your LiteBlue (employee) ID and the temporary LiteBlue password.
Once you are logged in, you will need to set up and then save your new LiteBlue password. Please remember, however, that LiteBlue / PostalEase will be accepting your new (ssp www.usps.gov) passwords after April 28th, 2014.
Other LiteBlue Related Pages
What Postal Employees Should Do On LiteBlue Before Retirement
eRetire for Postal Employees – Retirement Applications on LiteBlue
Use LiteBlue to Manage your FEHB
You can use LiteBlue and PostalEase to manage your Allotments
Requesting Duplicate Postal Employee W-2 Forms Using LiteBlue
Contact us for more information
*Using this form will add you to the Psretirement newsletter.
Weekly Newsletter: U.S. Postal Service and LiteBlue
Weekly Newsletter: USPS and LiteBlue
Weekly Newsletter: Women’s History Month technically ended on March 31, 2014, but since the United States Postal Service has been the forerunner of placing women in the upper chambers of operations, we thought it noteworthy to dedicate our Newsletter Weekly to the United States Postal Service’s progressive and forward movement of honoring diversity and gender in the workplace.
The Postal Service or the Post Office as it is called is the third largest employer in the United States and one of the few government agencies specifically authorized by the United States Constitution. Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first Postmaster General in 1775. As early as that time women were a part of the Postal Service as Postmasters: Sarah Updike Goddard, Lydia Hill, Katherine Goddard, Elizabeth Creswell, Sarah DeCrow, Mary Dickson, Rose Wright, Anna M. Dumas, Mary Summer Long, Kathryn S. Wilson, Elizabeth D. Barnard and Lucy S. Miller to name just a few of the women who helped to make the Post Office what it is today.
Women make up a significant portion of the Postal Service’s more than 626,000 employees representing jobs from mail carriers to law enforcement. The U.S. Postal Service has played a monumental role in how we are able to communicate with each other from city-to-city, town-to-town, state-to-state and points beyond our borders. The Department of Defense partners with the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail for the military both on land and sea called the Army Post Office and the Fleet Post Office respectively.
As the Postal Service has created ways for the world to communicate and stay connected, it has also created several systems for its workers to stay connected. The LiteBlue page is the Postal Service’s intranet communication and information system. LiteBlue and PostalEase allows Postal Workers to participate in Open Season, check their TSP.gov account balances online with added security, along with make changes to their Thrift Savings Plan contributions or even stop or cancel participation.
LiteBlue also allows workers to choose Flexible Spending Accounts, participate in leave sharing and leave exchange programs. Most significantly Postal Employees can review nearly every aspect of their benefits demographics to determine career growth and evaluate their retirement profile. LiteBlue is a convenient, fast and easy way for Postal Employees to stay connected so that they can make plans for their future and the future of their families.
Statistically, women outlive men by more than 5 to 10 years. As we dedicate this Newsletter Weekly to the United States Postal Service and salute the women who help to make sure the world stays in touch, we also remind them that planning for their retirement future, ensuring the safety and security of their families is just another one of the many contributions they make to advance the greatness of our nation. This concludes our weekly newsletter.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Changing Your LiteBlue / PostalEase Password through ssp.USPS.Gov
Retirement Planning – Thinking Forward
Buying Back Leave – Postal Employees
Postal Retirement and Benefits – Postal Employees
Postal Retirement
There are some slight differences between the benefits of Postal employees and Federal employees. We would like to explain a few of them here and potentially give you reason to seek out additional informtion from a qualified benefit expert to help you with your own specific circumstance and questions about postal retirement. Employees in the federal service, not including the Senior Executive Services (SES), earn about 26 days of annual leave per year after 15 years. After the same period Postal Workers, earn a maximum of 20 days.
The leave structure is 10 days per year up to 5 years of service for the Postal Service as compared to 13 days for the first 3 years of service as a regular federal employee. From 4-14 years of service, regular federal employees receive 19 days of annual leave while postal workers receive 15 days after 5 years.
Federal employees also earn 4 hours of sick leave per pay period, while postal employees earn 3 hours per pay period to safeguard against illness and accidents. Because of the structure and the mission of the Postal Service the compensation profile is different from the regular federal service.
Postal employees regularly get pay raises and are compensated for overtime, night shift differential and Sunday premium pay. There are also minor differences in how FEGLI is paid. Therefore, when postal employees work on their own financial plan and postal retirement future, it is valuable to understand the structure of the postal employees’ total compensation and benefits plan.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
For Postal employees; learn about LiteBlue
Learn about your FEGLI benefits and how you are covered.
Financial Advisors and Federal Employees
I was recently asked if my trainer of financial advisors and planners interested in the federal workforce differed from training federal workers? Without missing a beat, I said most emphatically “It certainly does.” It is more intense because financial advisors for federal employees need to know more about the Federal Retirement Systems than the federal workforce themselves.
The Federal Retirement Systems probably have some of the best benefits you will find all things being equal. It, too, is a system of immense rules and regulations that can be undeniably complex, even for someone who has spent a career absorbing all of the nooks and crannies.
The Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) often referred to as the old retirement system was enacted in 1920. The world has changed a number of times since then and many amendments have been made to the system. One must be constantly updated on the changes so as to be an excellent source of information dissemination. I find that many financial advisors and planners I work with who wish to begin helping the federal workforce think of simply helping the workers manage their money. There is nothing wrong with that premise only that would leave the federal employee missing out on a great number of potential benefits
Federal Employees Partnering with Financial Advisors
Financial Advisors and Financial Planners (really the same thing) are important pieces of the partnership needed to guide the federal employee workforce to safe harbor so that their sails can withstand the uncertainty of storms that will surely come in their lives. To strategize such a journey requires acquiring a very sound knowledge of the Federal Retirement Systems (FERS, CSRS, FEGLI, FSAFEDS, etc.).
We are not talking about becoming Federal Retirement Specialists, but we are talking about partnerships that will equip these professionals to help manage the financial resources of a very unique group of employees. When you cast your net to work with the federal workforce in helping to plan their retirement, it needs to be cast wide because federal employees are as diverse as their many duties and responsibilities.
Although there are two retirement systems technically, there are a number of aspects that apply to special categories of employees as well, like firefighters, air traffic controllers and law enforcement officials.
Yes, my approach to conversational training with financial professionals is much more intense and absolutely focused on ensuring they know the language of the federal retirement systems and its workforce so that they can give them the tools necessary to retire in comfort and security.
If the federal workforce gets a course in the basics of the Federal Retirement Systems, then the professionals they entrust to handle their hard earned money – get the ADVANCED-ZERO TOLERANCE version with lots of hand-holding collaboration. I learn as much from Financial Advisors and Planners as they learn from me. We are all invested in making life in retirement and before a little easier to maneuver for federal workforce.
Financial Advisors who are knowledgable in federal and postal benefits need to be able to help you with your TSP account and Thrift Savings Plan fund choices, your Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) selection (both while employed and any potential reduction elections that you might want) and also possibly help you with your FSAFEDS and FEHB elections.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Recommended Articles
For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP
Federal Retirement Benefit Analysis
Is The Pension Survivor Benefit Best For You? by Todd Carmack
A Little-Known Opportunity Can Increase Your Retirement Income. by Mark Sprague
Social Security – Background
~~SOCIAL SECURITY-BACKGROUND
As we continue building our laundry list of things we need to know and do in order to prepare to retire well, Social Security is a major item on our list. The Social Security Act was signed on August 14, 1935 some 15 years after the Civil Service came into being on August 1, 1920. When the Social Security Act first came into being, it was only a retirement program for the primary worker. It was not until many years later around 1939, that benefits for survivors and the retiree’s spouse and children were added. Disability benefits were not a part of the program until 1956.
Today we look at the Social Security Act from a much smaller view than it was originally structured. The Act was extensive in its original format and contained provisions for national unemployment compensation, Aid for Dependent Children and assistance to states to support a number of health and welfare programs.
Today we think of Social Security as a core part of the retirement structure for employees of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) as well as those employees under the CSRS Offset program. Individuals under these systems have social security deducted from payroll, while employees under the old Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) do not.
CSRS employees may, however, be eligible for social security benefits because they worked in non-federal jobs where they paid into social security or via spousal or survivor benefits because of a spouse’s covered employment. The history of the Social Security Act and its expansion to cover the categories of spouses and survivors has been of great benefit to many families.
Two legal requirements may impact Social Security benefits for CSRS employees: the *Government Pension Offset and the * Windfall Elimination Provision. The Government Pension Offset does not affect CSRS Offset employees but the Windfall Elimination Provision might, depending on the beneficiary’s earned outside income while drawing Social Security benefits.
*DEFINITIONS: Government Pension Offset – This law affects spouses, widows and widowers who may qualify to receive a pension from a federal, state or local government where Social Security taxes were not paid from your work and may cause your Social Security spouse’s widow or widower’s benefits to be reduced.
Windfall Elimination Provision – Your Social Security benefits may be reduced if you receive a pension based on work you performed in a government agency or employment in another country where your employer did not withhold Social Security taxes from your salary.
We will discuss both Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision in greater detail in a subsequent post.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Click HERE for information on Windfall Elimination Provision
Click HERE for information on Government Pension Offset
Click HERE for information on Social Security
Click HERE for information on CSRS
Click HERE for information on FERS
How To Retire Happy
~~HOW TO RETIRE HAPPY
The first step to making sure you are happy in retirement is to understand that YOU MATTER. Many of us subconsciously define ourselves by our jobs and job titles. When those things no longer exist, we may begin to wonder about the significance of our lives and our future. It is simply human nature to want to feel important in the lives of others. However, to really feel how important you are in the lives of others, you must first place value on your own life. You really do matter because you are you, a wonderful being who has contributed more than you know to helping to make our country thrive.
Federal and postal workers make up the largest workforce in the world and they perform some very important tasks. They help to keep the world moving. An unfortunate thing that I hear in many of the educational seminars I have performed, is that these same employees don’t think of themselves that way. Their biggest mistake is to not maintain a happy outlook at all times. It is understandable that losing the routine of work itself, the relationships we build with colleagues, the connection to an environment, an office or defined destination to go to, and just that daily schedule leaves many people wondering if they really matter.
It may take a little time to figure out just how important you are. But while you are figuring that out, we already know how important you are and that you really do matter because the work you performed has charted a path for that work to continue and make a difference in the continued growth of our nation. In a future post, we will discuss some interesting thoughts about our psychological profile. Remember YOU MATTER.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Tips For Staying Healthy
~~Tips for Your Health
Often time retirees find that a great portion of their social life has been left in the office. You spend the majority of your waking hours at work and as a result you spend most of your time with your work family. But when you retire, that work family does not necessarily retire with you. When you call them they may not have time to talk. Their schedules may now be very different from your own. Just finding time to do things together might become a challenge. It does not mean they don’t want to spend time with you; it is just that your schedules are now very different.
It might be time you established a new group of friends and acquaintances. You worked most of your adult life so you have probably had to organize a few committees, focus groups, teams and the like. Use the team-building skills you acquired from work to do something innovative and fun in your community:
• Start a walking club in your community. Name the group, print up some tee shirts and design activities that will bring about some health competition.
• Start a book club. Select interesting books and enjoy discussing the book over some home-made health eats.
• Buzz around to see if there are any thespians (would-be actors) and talented writers lurking around in your neighborhood. Start a community play house so that your community can enjoy the arts right in their own back yard.
• What about a biking and hiking club. Getting in touch with nature is both stimulating and refreshing.
• Travel clubs are nice. You don’t have to travel alone and depend on the social generosity of strangers. There are lots of group discounts just waiting to be had.
• Go dancing. Listen to some great music (the language of the Gods) it even soothes the savage beast.
• I live in the Washington Metro area and the Kennedy Center offers free, magnificent performances throughout the year. Wherever you live, I am sure you can find something equally as entertaining.
• Have you considered going to school. They say children keep you young. Volunteer at one of the local schools in your community. You are filled with knowledge, share it with a kid. They say the “darndest” things and they keep you laughing and feeling young, most of the time.
• You are looking good. Keep yourself looking good because it makes you feel good. We are so used to getting ourselves shined up for work, but when we stop working often we forget about continuing to care about what we look like. Ladies you no longer have to wait for weekends to get your hair done. You are free to go during the week at your leisure and even meet up with some of your new friends afterwards for a nice walk indoors or outdoors.
• What about a community cook-in healthy living café? Loneliness has a tremendously negative impact on our health. Once you have formed the healthy living café, the group can alternate preparing aesthetically pleasing, calorie sensitive, and budget conscious, great tasting meals. This eliminates the loneliness, controls weight, reduces high cholesterol, hypertension and brings together a circle of supportive friends with a common goal.
Retirement can be fun and exciting. It can be a time of discovery and new beginnings. Your health is what is most important.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Click HERE for information on Retirement Planning
Plan Building: How Do I Get Started?
~~HOW DO I GET STARTED WITH A PLAN?
By now you are probably asking – How do I get started setting goals that are SMART and putting a plan into action? You get started by first simply writing down what you desire your retirement picture to reflect. Write down your goals, evaluate and analyze them so they fit your circumstances and values.
Create a strategy that is doable with short, intermediate and long-term goals with time horizons that are based in reality. Make certain that the plan you create can be put into action without causing undue stress on your emotional and financial well-being. Lastly, make room to monitor and track the movement of your plan, leaving time and space to modify the plan as circumstances and conditions change in your life both for you and your family.
A plan that starts out SMART ends with giving you in retirement the lifestyle you desire and deserve.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
Retire Well – Retirement Application
About the Retirement Application
We spoke briefly about the retirement application package in a previous post. The question of when the Retirement Application should be completed is relevant in evaluating your check list of things to do in order to take full advantage of your Federal and Postal Benefits.
Reading carefully all of the information in the Retirement Application package is a must before submission. There is no need to submit a letter of resignation since your completed application is equivalent to a resignation. Further, if you are eligible for benefits it is important not to resign with the intent of retiring later. Suppose you were to pass away after leaving your employment but before submitting your retirement application.
You would have no life insurance, no survivor benefit and no survivor health care coverage available to your survivors. It is always a good idea to talk to your human resource office when making important decisions that impact you and your family. Make sure your FEGLI coverage is appropriate for your needs and that you have a plan for your TSP.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
LINKS
Learn more about your FEGLI coverage
Frequently Asked Questions about Federal and Postal Retirement
Tips to Getting Your House in Order to Retire Well – Interim Payments
Interim Payments
The term Interim Payments is a term Federal and Postal employees should become thoroughly familiar with. Although the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) works diligently to get annuity checks to retirees in a timely manner, good planning dictates that we should be prepared for the unexpected or the glitches that often occur during the normal course of conducting business
Interim Payments represent approximately 75 to 80 percent of what you will receive in your full annuity check. Don’t despair, all deficits will be recovered when you begin to receive your full annuity check.
It is important when you are submitting your Retirement Application papers for both CSRS and FERS retirement and for all Federal and Postal Benefits and that you are certain to check and recheck your retirement application to make sure you have crossed all your T’s and dotted all of your I’s. Overlooking pertinent information will cause a delay in the processing of your application. I always recommend that potential retirees do a –dry run- or test drive of the application package to become familiar with its contents and requirements before submitting the actual package. You may even want to solicit the help of a financial professional to ensure that you have the ability to maximize your Federal and Postal retirement benefits. Potential retirees need to know what their responsibilities are towards enhancing a seamless process to retirement. Retirement packages are on-line and information about your TSP can be found at PSRetirement’s TSP portal which will give you valuable information as you begin getting our house in order to retire well.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
For more information visit and to access your retirement accounts visit;
LINKS
For information on how to log into your TSP.gov account
More information on Interim Payments
Complete CSRS information for Federal and Postal Employees
Explanation of Federal Employee Retirement System Benefits (FERS)
Emotional and Psychological Readiness
~~Item #2 – Emotional and Psychological Readiness
Psychological Readiness is an underrated part of adjusting to retirement. There is no denying the importance of those concrete items such as maximizing the benefits of the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) and understanding how all of your Federal Benefits work in retirement. But in order to chart a workable course for retiring well one must be emotionally and psychologically ready to embrace change, accept new beginnings, expand horizons and brace for the sometimes unexpected.
There are things we need to know and do so that we chart a feasible course to retiring well. Whether you’re eligible for CSRS or eligible for FERS often concrete items that we can touch, sort of put our hands on prioritize the list of things we need to know and do in order to retire well.
Below is a list of things we can do to get ready psychologically and emotionally to retire well and ensure the resources we need to live the life we deserve outlast us.
• Define who you are, absent of your job’s title and work environment
• Outline your gifts and skills and how you can use them to improve the world around you
• Think about what you’ve always wanted to do but were restricted due to the time constraints of your job
• Do a 15 minute self-evaluation of where you are, where you’ve been and where you’d like to be 3-5 years post-retirement
• Write down 5 of the most intriguing places in the world where you’d like to live, one just might be in your own back yard
• Think about what you are going to do on the first morning of your retirement
We spend more waking hours on our jobs and with our work families than we do in our homes with our own families. Psychological readiness ensures you’ll be ready to tackle all the issues a new retiree faces. Retiring well means getting ready to face new challenges and opportunities, meeting new people, going to new places and understanding a new and better you. These are critical tools needed to get you emotionally and psychologically ready to live a life on your own agenda. Getting ready now means success when you enter your next adventure – retiring well!
P.S. Always remember to share what you know.
LINKS
For complete information on FERS benefits
