Pay and Benefits News 
Top News
- Contractors with security clearances lack path to report problems
- Proposed commission would give teeth to cost-saving ideas but some lawmakers skeptical
- Feds outside the Beltway react to furloughs
- Contracting executives guilty of 8(a) program fraud
- EPA CIO Jackson returning to private sector
- Navy strikes enterprise licensing deal with Oracle
- 29-year-old NASA engineer going where no one has gone before
- USPS reaches energy reduction goal ahead of schedule
- NOAA meteorologist helps save lives one storm at a time
- ICE Director John Morton stepping down
- NASA picks 8 new astronauts, 4 of them women
- House passes sweeping $638 billion defense bill
- NIH tops list of best companies for baby boomers
- Latest postal reform proposal OKs 5-day delivery
- IRS official contradicts claims about reviews
- House presses VA for more details after cyber attacks
- DoD maintains BRAC fight, despite opposition
Retirement Lite
Unless you get a better job offer or die first, odds are you will probably retire from the federal government. And that can be a very good deal, Senior Correspodent Mike Causey says. But the start of the so-called Golden Years can be rough on your standard of living.
Pay and Benefits Tracker
Congress is turning to federal pay and benefits to find cost savings. To sort out all the proposals for you, Federal News Radio compiled a list of the bills that could affect your compensation. This list will be updated regularly with status changes and the addition of new bills.
No pay raise but maybe a COLA?
What's the difference between a pay raise for active-duty federal workers and a cost-of-living adjustment for retirees and Social Security beneficiaries? This time around it's about 1.38 percent, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey. So who's the winner?
Pay freeze/pay cut/tax hike - then it gets worse!
Looking for something to take your mind off the pending pay freeze extension? If so, consider the prospect of higher taxes, lower take-home pay and higher health insurance premiums, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
Report: Social Security lax on disability claims
Social Security is so overwhelmed by disability claims that some officials are awarding benefits without adequately reviewing applications, potentially adding to the program's financial problems as it edges closer to the brink of insolvency, congressional investigators say in a new report.
Feds work a month less per year than private sector, Heritage report finds
The report found federal employees work on average of 38.7 hours a week, compared with 41.4 hours per week in the private sector. That difference adds up to 3.8 fewer weeks per year feds work.
You've got your WIG to keep you warm
Despite the prospect of an extended pay freeze, many nonpostal workers have their "wigs" to keep them warm, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. So, how do you get a 3 percent raise while salaries are frozen at 2010 levels?
White House missed deadline, fed pay freeze extended
Attorney Tom O'Rourke and Federal Times' Steve Losey joined Mike Causey.
Disability and disability benefits
Lester Austin, public affairs specialist at the
Social Security Administration, explains the
disability application process and answer your
questions about benefits.
September 10, 2012
Young, healthy, idealistic and unemployed
Senior Correspondent Mike Causey wants to know: Has the long-feared retirement tsunami hit the federal government? And if so, could the so- called brain drain be a career life-saver for tens of thousands of unemployed or under employed millennials?
Last hired, first fired: Where are you in line?
If Uncle Sam really drives off the sequestration cliff in January, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey wants to know: Do you have a job parachute?
Health premium surprise
With pay frozen and pensions threatened, federal workers and retirees have been waiting for the next shoe to drop — the what's-next moment. But it could be good news for a change, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says, like changes to your health insurance package.
The GSA, sequestration, and more
Federal News Radio's Jason Miller will talk
about a recent confrontation between a GSA
official and an agent in the Inspector
General's office. Steve Losey and Andy Medici
from the Federal Times will discuss the pay
debate and other issues affecing federal
workers.
September 5, 2012
TSP numbers continue upward climb in August
Returns for the Thrift Savings Plan continued their steady upward climb last month, with all funds posting in positive territory for the month of August, according to new data from the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.
Romney's private-sector approach to government includes realigning pay, downsizing workforce
It's no secret Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney envisions broad changes to the federal government and its workforce. In campaign speeches, Romney has spoken of aligning federal pay with that of the private sector and reducing the federal workforce through attrition. But federal unions say Romney's comments and proposals should give feds pause. This story is part of Federal News Radio's special, week-long multimedia report, The Obama Impact: Evaluating the Last Four Years.
Bad news, good news and mangoes
When somebody tells a fed they've got good news and bad news and which do they want first, there is no right answer. So what is it now. And what does it mean when the boss says to report to her office with a burlap sack and two mangoes?
Life aboard the federal gravy train
What's it like to ride the federal gravy train? Politicians, pundits and others tell us all the time, and it sounds great. So Senior Correspondent Mike Causey decided to upset the apple cart and ask some long-time easy riders what it's really like. They did.
Coming soon to YouTube -- Videos about TSP accounts
Kim Weaver, director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, told In Depth with Francis Rose feds will soon be able to access videos online explaining some of the more complicated aspects of their Thrift Savings Plan accounts.
Is retirement in your near future?
What do you see when you look in the mirror? Is it a dedicated IRS auditor, a serious federal agent or a compassionate VA employee? Or, do you have a Charles Dickens moment and spot the ghost of Christmas Future - you after you have retired? While feds have mostly held on to their jobs, things could change quickly, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
GOP platform takes aim at federal workforce
The Republican Party officially unveiled national party platform Tuesday, revealing its plan to downsize the federal workforce, trim federal benefits and privatize airport screeners. The party's platform calls for a reduction in the federal workforce by at least 10 percent through attrition, says federal pay and benefits should be aligned with the private sector and calls for reforms to the U.S. Postal Service.
