Mike Causey's Federal Report is the best way to stay up to date on the latest issues affecting federal pay, benefits, and retirement. Plus, Mike's funny. New Federal Report columns can be found each weekday morning right here on FederalNewsRadio.com. Bookmark Mike's homepage or have his columns delivered directly to your email.

Light at end of tunnel: Sunshine or trainwreck?

For federal workers traveling through the congressional tunnel: Is that light they see sunshine or an oncoming train wreck? Either way their journey isn't over by a long shot, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Pay raise or retiree COLA: Timing is everything!

Worried about another pay freeze next year? Thinking about retiring to get a cost of living adjustment? Timing is everything, and for some people its already too late, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Tax-free investment option — R U ready?

How would you like it if your Thrift Savings Plan withdrawals were tax-free? Well, get ready because the tax-free end-of-the-rainbow Roth option is coming to your optional retirement package, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Are you in the Buyout Zone?

The IRS is the latest agency to join the 2012 buyout parade. Employees in other agencies should study it because it may be the model for similar buyouts governmentwide, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Everybody's got a price: What's yours?

They say that everybody's got a price, so what's yours? What would it take for Uncle Sam to convince you to retire? Because you may be facing that decision soon, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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A double-header brain drain

Ever hear of a double-header brain drain? The government is losing two of its best to retirement this month. Odds are they've touched your life, whether you are in a federal agency or a foxhole 3,000 miles away, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Your guide to the chamber of horrors

Thanks to the two-year pay freeze and two years of higher health premiums many federal workers today are taking home less money than they were in 2010, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. Some alert feds are also curious as to whether Congress has plans to extend their pay freeze until 2013, 2014 or maybe even until 2015.

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The worst is (probably) yet to come

Congress hit future federal workers with a new higher pension tax. For current workers, there is no change but that could have been a warning shot across the bow, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Life in the bullseye. So, what's next?

After 18 months of inactivity and extended vacation, Congress exhibited a blinding burst of speed last week before it left on yet another vacation. The bad news is that the action it took was aimed at future federal workers and you, well into your career, may be next, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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William Henry Harrison Day again?

Happy William Henry Harrison day. Actually this holiday, officially known as Washington's Birthday Holiday, has been hijacked by merchants hoping you might buy more if it honored more people. But Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says it'll always be GWs birthday to him, and Martha.

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It could have been worse. Really?

Federal workers who have been paying attention to the various plans to have them finance unemployment benefits, highways and tax cuts must be confused, if not in a state of shock, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. Could it be that the only people who are happy are those who haven't been paying attention?

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Fed pay: Measure twice, cut once

When it comes to figuring out whether federal workers are overpaid or underpaid both sides need to remember the basic carpenters rule: Measure twice, cut once. How come? Sometimes when doing complex math even the experts get it wrong, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says — even rocket scientists.

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Feds as reluctant swingers

When you think of federal workers, the term "swinger' isn't the first thing that pops into your head. But after some of the changes politicians want to make, anything could happen.

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Are You Nervous In The Service?

If you are unhappy in your job, and morale in your office is in the tank, you are not alone. A new survey by Federal News Radio indicates that managers and rank-and-file employees are on the same page when it comes to job satisfaction. Starting tomorrow, Federal News Radio will begin a three-day series on the problem and some possible solutions to it.

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Closing the 'gap' gap

White-collar federal workers on average are either overpaid by about 16 percent or paid an average of 26.3 percent less compared to their private-sector counterparts. Those numbers confirm that there is a pay gap. But that's about it, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. Could they both be right? Or wrong?

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Feds on the road to nowhere

Congress is taking a new road, literally, in its drive to trim federal retirement benefits and force civil servants to kick in more to their pension plan, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. This time its the so-called highway bill ...

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New snow plan: This time for sure?

Ever since Washington, D.C., became the nation's capital government officials have wrestled — without much success — with what to do with government workers when it snows, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. Yesterday, Uncle Sam got to do a first test of a new government snow plan. So, how did it fare?

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Congress and you — what could possibly go wrong?

A federal worker, who boxed in college and the Army, says in the last two years he's gone from a happy-go-lucky fed to feeling like he's fighting two opponents and the referee, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey say. So can this get any worse? Short answer, maybe.

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Off with your wigs!

No matter what condition your hair is in, the vast majority of federal workers get a new wig every one, two or three years. But that may be about to change, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Not your father's pay raise

Federal workers are considered lucky that the White House wants them to have a 0.5 percent raise next January. But what would G-men and women of your Mom or Dad's era have said to a pay raise of that — new word — minatude, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey wonders.

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