By: Vanessa Craddock, Federal Benefits Specialist
Published: June, 2022
By: Vanessa Craddock, Federal Benefits Specialist
Published: June, 2022
By: Kaitlin Schaeffer Yardley, CFP®
Published: May, 2022
By: Ray Kirk, Ph.D., Federal Benefits Specialist
Published: April, 2022
By: Vanessa Craddock
Published: March, 2022
Question: I’m about to retire at the end of the year and was told I should check my OPF before leaving. What should I look for?
Answer: The easy answer is to make sure your personnel records are in order: accurate and complete. This will help expedite the retirement process. Your Official Personnel Folder (eOPF) contains important documents used to determine retirement eligibility and your benefit calculation. While the “Certified Summary of Federal Service” is a form you may request from HR which provides a record of your creditable Federal service, it is your responsibility to confirm its content.
By: Bob Braunstein, Federal Benefits Specialist
Published: February, 2022
If you are a retired Federal employee with FEHB coverage, when you turn 65 you are not required to enroll in Medicare – but enrollment for most will be cost effective and worth it. When you enroll in Medicare Part A and Part B (Part B has an extra individual premium), Medicare becomes your primary payer for hospital and outpatient services. When FEHB is then the secondary payer, the deductibles, copays, and coinsurance you have been paying will disappear. Additionally, many of the newer FEHB plans reimburse for a good portion of your Part B premiums – in essence, you will have an “FEHB/Medicare Wrap-Around” arrangement with regular recurring premiums. Your monthly total premiums for FEHB and Medicare will often be equivalent to or less than what you are paying for FEHB coverage alone, but with no further out-of-pocket costs for your care.
By: Karen Schaeffer, CFP®
Published: January, 2022
A recent survey found the top three financial resolutions for Americans are to save more, spend less and pay down debt. No surprises there, but how do we really make 2022 the year of financial success? Before our great January intentions fade into unfulfilled promises of February, try these tips, culled from financial planners, to stay on track.
By: Marc S. Levine, Esq.
Published: December, 2021
What are some of the practical considerations when a loved one dies? A lot of estate planning is about planning for low-probability / high-impact events – such as an early or unexpected death, as well as planning for the reality that all of us will pass at some point. This is one of the most important aspects of what we do – helping people navigate what can be a very complicated and often upsetting maze of what has to be done after someone dies.
By: Bob Braunstein, Federal Benefits Specialist
Published: November, 2021
Believe it or not, there was a time when the calculation of Federal retirement annuities made no distinction between part-time work and full-time work. Under the old Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), you could retire after the same time as one with the same number of years who had worked full-time. And, even though you had worked fewer hours, your annuity would have been the same as it would have been had you always worked full-time. This inherent inequity – paying the same annuity to those who work fewer hours due to part-time work schedules – led to the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) changing its annuity calculation rules. The change became effective on April 7, 1986, and created “part-time proration,” which reduces retirement annuities.
By: Vanessa Craddock, Federal Benefits Specialist
Published: October 2021
By: Kaitlin Yardley, CFP®
Published: September, 2021