The White House budget proposal’s call for a 1.6 percent pay raise for January 2017 may keep the figure low enough to stay off the congressional radar screen in the process ahead. That would follow the pattern since 2013 in which Congress allowed the recommendation to take effect by default by not including any language on a raise in its budget outline or in specific appropriations bills that follow. That practice has allowed Congress to avoid affirmatively voting to set a raise. The recommendation does not specify whether the number would be paid entirely across the board, divided as locality pay, or a combination of both; for 2016, the 1.3 percent figure was paid out as 1 percentage point across the board and the remainder divided up, resulting in raises that ranged from about 1.2 to 1.5 percent. Federal unions continue to push for larger amounts, with 5.3 percent being the leading figure suggested. Proposals likely will be introduced in Congress, as they have before in similar situations, reflecting that figure or one close to it. However, even sponsors of larger increases have been reluctant to push hard for a vote out of concern that the move could backfire and result in Congress voting to reduce or even eliminate the White House’s recommended figure.
Expired
Job Site Improvements Could Improve Applicant Pool
OPM is touting revisions to the USAJobs site, the main portal for applying for federal positions, as encouraging job-seekers to stay with the process to the end, potentially raising the quality of the applicant pool that eventually reaches hiring managers.
“The research OPM conducted found that the job application experience in USAJOBS could be confusing, difficult, and frustrating for applicants, driving some to abandon thei…r applications,” the agency said. “The revised job application features are designed to clearly communicate the steps applicants are expected to complete, and then guide them through building a completed application package that they can seamlessly transfer to an agency for final submission.”
OPM said its goal was to create a simpler and more user-friendly application experience, similar to that of many non-governmental job sites.
Key features include allowing applicants to track the progress of their applications; check on required documents without leaving the application; save progress on an unfinished application; add or delete resumes or other required documents; and review the application at the site before submitting it to the hiring agency.
Female Feds: What’s in Store for Your Financial Future?
By Abigail C. Reid
Writer-Editor, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
Recently, the Thrift Savings Plan examined gender differences in retirement saving among Federal employees. For the first time, we segmented data from our annual Participant Behavior and Demographics Report by gender, in addition to factors like age and length of tenure. Considering that March is Women’s History Month, we wanted to share what we learned.
When we look at TSP participation rates by gender, they are virtually identical. In 2013, the most recent year for which figures are available, 89.1% of women covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) were contributing to their TSP accounts, compared to 89.3%of men.[1]
But when we dig a little deeper, slight differences emerge. For example, consider deferral rates—or how much of their salaries participants save: Women saved an average of 7.4% of their salaries, while men saved an average of 8.0% of their salaries. And that difference has been consistent for the past five years.[2]Even a difference that slight can reduce your nest egg by thousands of dollars over time.
Other differences are more pronounced. On average, female participants allocated almost 11% more of their savings to the G Fund than men in 2013.[3]While the G Fund never loses money, its returns are so low that it may not outpace inflation over time. Women were also more than 1.5 times as likely as men to take a pre-retirement withdrawal due to financial hardship.[4]
What causes this variance? Research suggests that confidence may play a role. BlackRock, Inc., conducted a global study that found that 52% of women (compared to 43% of men) chose negative words like “nervous,” “pessimistic,” “frustrated,” and “concerned” to describe their financial future. In that same study, only about one-fifth of women said they were “comfortable” investing in the stock market, compared to one-third of men.
So what are we female Feds to do? The TSP offers a number of tools to help us make the right decisions.
- Consider our Lifecycle Funds (L 2050, L 2040, L 2030, L 2020, and L Income), which are professionally designed to grow more conservative based on when you’ll need your money. Just listen to Debbie, a 38-year-old TSP participant who works for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.“ As I get closer to retirement, I imagine that I would be less willing to take risks with my retirement savings, so it is of particular importance to me that the [Lifecycle] funds automatically become more conservative over time,” she says. “The TSP is easy to use, which is a plus in light of how daunting the stock market can be to a layperson.”
- Want to review your TSP account, see how it’s performed in the past, or change how you are currently investing your money? Just log into the My Account section of tsp.gov to review your quarterly and annual account statements. To change how your TSP account is invested, choose “Contribution Allocations” or “Inter fund Transfers” from the menu on the left.
- Visit the Planning & Tools section of tsp.gov. Our calculators provide financial projections to help you plan for the future, while illustrative graphics like our Ways to Save Chart can show you how saving a few dollars a day can add up to a lot over time.
4.Don’t forget to visit our YouTube channel at youtube.com/tsp4govand follow us on Twitter@tsp4gov.
The TSP offers a number of tools that can help you make informed savings decisions. After all, it may be Women’s History Month now, but it’s important to think about the future too.
[1] P. 6 of 2014 Participant Behavior and Demographics Report: See chart.
[2] P. 9 of 2014 Participant Behavior and Demographics Report: See chart.
[3] P. 12 of 2014 Participant Behavior and Demographics Report: See chart.
[4] P. 17 of 2014 Participant Behavior and Demographics Report: “More females (5.0%) than males (3.2%) received hardship withdrawals in 2013.”
Last day to register for health coverage without being penalized
Today, January 31st, is the final day to get health coverage for 2016. It’s also your last chance to make sure your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors are covered.
Need coverage for 2016? Go to at HealthCare.gov, or call 1-800-318-2596 to check out your options. You may qualify for financial assistance. In fact, 8 in 10 people who enroll in a health plan receive financial help! Most people can find a health insurance plan for as little as $75 or less per month.
Already covered? Spread the word to friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors using #GetCovered and directing them to HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596. You could help them save $695 or more by avoiding the penalty and getting the coverage they need. Encourage them to join the more than 90% of people nationwide who now have health insurance, and enroll now.
Feds to get half-day off before Christmas
Federal employees will get a half-day off on Thursday, Dec. 24.
President Barack Obama signed an executive order Dec. 11 permitting federal employees to take off the last half of the scheduled workday on Christmas Eve.
“The heads of executive branch departments and agencies may determine that certain offices and installations of their organizations, or parts thereof, must remain open and that certain employees must remain on duty for the full scheduled workday on December 24, 2015, for reasons of national security, defense, or other public need,” the executive order said.
The Office of Personnel Management issued a memo at the same time as Obama’s order.
Acting OPM Director Beth Cobert wrote employees scheduled to work will receive their basic pay. But if you requested time off they will not be charged for that day, unless it’s use-or-lose.
“If an employee has scheduled ‘use or lose’ annual leave for the last half of the scheduled workday on December 24, 2015, and is unable to reschedule that leave for use before the end of the leave year (i.e., January 9, 2016), the leave will be forfeited,” the memo stated. ” When “use or lose” leave is forfeited under these conditions, the law (5 U.S.C. 6304(d)) does not permit restoration of the leave.”
Cobert also recommended that employees of the U.S. Postal Service and contract employees contact their supervisor or contract officer to obtain information on their pay and leave entitlements for Dec. 24.
A “We the People” petition posted on WhiteHouse.gov called for a full federal holiday Dec. 24. It had 6,550 signatures as of Friday afternoon, well short of the 100,000 signatures needed for the White House to respond.
Last year, President Obama announced non-postal federal employees could have Dec. 26, 2014 — the Friday after Christmas — off.
U.S. military opens all combat roles to women
- By Phil Stewart and David Alexander
- Edited by Tom Brown and Peter Cooney
- December 4, 2015
The U.S. military will let women serve in all combat roles, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Thursday in a historic move striking down gender barriers in the armed forces.
“As long as they qualify and meet the standards, women will now be able to contribute to our mission in ways they could not before,” Carter told a Pentagon news conference.
“They’ll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars, and lead infantry soldiers into combat. They’ll be able to serve as Army Rangers and Green Berets, Navy SEALS, Marine Corps infantry, Air Force parajumpers and everything else that was previously open only to men,” he said.
President Barack Obama called the move a “historic step forward,” saying it would “make our military even stronger.”
“Our armed forces will draw on an even wider pool of talent. Women who can meet the high standards required will have new opportunities to serve,” Obama said in a statement
Carter said the opening to women would take place following a 30-day review period, after which they would be integrated into the new roles in a “deliberate and methodical manner” as positions come open. The waiting period enables Congress to review the decision and raise any objections.
He acknowledged the decision could lead to more debate over whether women would have to register for the draft, an issue he said was already under litigation. The U.S. military is currently an all-volunteer force, but young men are still required to register in case the draft is reactivated.
Asked whether the decision opened the door to women being required to serve in front-line combat positions, Carter said members of the military had some choices but not “absolute choice.”
“People are assigned to missions, tasks and functions according to need as well as their capabilities,” he said. “And women will be subject to the same standard and rules that men will.”
MARINES HAD SOUGHT EXCEPTIONS
The decision drew a rebuke from the Republican chairmen of the armed services committees in the Senate and House of Representatives. But some other lawmakers welcomed the move.
“Secretary Carter’s decision to open all combat positions to women will have a consequential impact on our service members and our military’s warfighting capabilities,” Senator John McCain and Representative Mac Thornberry said in a statement.
They asked the Pentagon for details on a Marine Corps request for exceptions, which was overridden by Carter, and information on how draft registration might be affected.
Two Democratic members of the armed services panels welcomed Carter’s decision. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said it would “strengthen our armed forces” and Representative Niki Tsongas called it a “long overdue” move that would eliminate some of the barriers to advancement that women face in the military.
Carter’s decision comes nearly three years after the Pentagon first instructed the military to open all positions to qualified women, including front-line combat roles. A restriction on such roles was seen as increasingly out of place during a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan in which women were often in harm’s way.
Women represented about 2 percent of U.S. casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, with some 300,000 deploying to the conflict zones.
Since the Pentagon directive in 2013, the services have been examining whether women should be excluded from any military positions. Three women recently passed the rigorous Army Ranger course, but some 220,000 military jobs are still closed to women.
Carter said most of the services favored opening all jobs to women, but the Marine Corps had sought a partial exception for roles such as infantry, machine gunner, fire support reconnaissance and others. He said he considered the Marines’ request and believed its concerns could be addressed.
General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Marine commandant, said he had given Carter his best advice on the issue and would now fully integrate women “in a manner that maintains our joint warfighting capability.”
Women already serve in combat roles for the armed forces of a few developed nations, including Canada and Israel, but officials have said demand from women for such jobs in most NATO countries is very low.
Black History Month “A Century of Black Life, History and Culture”
Can you believe it’s been a century since the great writer and educator Dr. Carter G. Woodson proclaimed this month, Negro History Week? 100 years of remembering the contributions of African American’s to the world. Still today, African American contributions are just as significant as a century ago. Bear in mind, that as we celebrate “A Century of Black Life, History and Culture”, we acknowledge that Black History is American History.
We take this time, Black History Month, to reflect upon the struggles and contribution made. It’s a time when we recognize the best in African Americans. Our achievements and perseverance over any obstacle. We pay homage this Black History Month to the over-comer’s from whence this country was built.
Over the past century, the recognition of African American contributions to life, history, and culture has become major forces in the United States and the world. In 1926, few could have imagined that African Americans people would be appreciated by a global community in entertainment, art, and literature. And even fewer could have predicted the prominence achieved by African Americans in shaping world politics, war, and diplomacy. Indeed, African American people play a major role in the unfolding of history and civilization itself. A century later, few can deny the centrality of African Americans in the making of American history.
Join FEW and this great nation in celebrating “Black History Month.”
Public Service 5K Run/Walk
May 4, 2014, marks the kickoff of Public Service Recognition Week,(http://publicservicerecognitionweek.org/) a celebration of the contributions federal, state, and local employees
make every day. The Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund (http://www.feea.org) will once again benefit from the proceeds of the race.
If you’ll be in the DC-area on May 4, the Public Service 5K (http://publicservicerecognitionweek.org/events/5k.shtml) is a great way to show your support for federal, state, and local employees. The run/walk takes place rain or shine at Anacostia Park, with a great view of the Potomac River and Nationals’ Park. Don’t wait, sign up now! (http://www.active.com/washington-dc/running/distance-running-races/public-service-5k-2014)
up, as well as for a variety of functions during the race. All volunteers receive a free shirt. If you are interested in volunteering, please send an email (mailto:agensch@feea.org) with your name and contact information.
House Budget Plan Has Familiar Look
The House Budget Committee has unveiled a plan for the upcoming fiscal year that once again seeks to reduce the federal workforce by attrition and increase required contributions toward retirement, among other familiar provisions. The plan still must go through the full committee and then to a House vote — and then likely will go no farther. The Senate doesn’t plan to produce a counterpart, arguing that a budget deal reached last December provides sufficient guidance for specific spending bills for the budget year starting October 1. The House plan does however amount to staking out positions on issues, including recommendations to: raise the employee share toward retirement benefits while decreasing the government share so that they become equal, which would mean about a 5.5 percentage point increase in the employee share; allow for filling only one of three vacancies, with an exception for national security jobs, until the workforce is reduced by 10 percent; eliminating the student loan reimbursement program; and ending the FERS “special retirement supplement” for those who retire before age 62, for future retirees. The plan contains no provisions regarding premium sharing in the FEHB program nor does it endorse switching to the less-generous “chained” CPI in federal retirement and other inflation-adjusted programs—likely meaning that those issues are off the table for the year.
Transit Subsidy May Rebound
A Senate committee is set to consider this week a tax measure that among other things would restore the “public transit subsidy” to a higher level. A temporary boost in the payment expired at the end of 2013, causing the maximum monthly amount that an individual can receive tax-free to fall from $240 to $130. The measure before the Finance Committee would raise the amount to $250 a month, effective retroactive to the start of this year and carrying through 2015. Some agencies pay the subsidy directly to employees in the form of transit passes that can be used for public transportation or van pools, while some allow employees to have the maximum amount deducted from pay on a pre-tax basis.