This is standard operating procedure when there is a major change in pay, retirement or other rules. The difference this time is that there are so many changes that were approved. All of them are good but some, because of their time-line, phase in period or formula, are not good enough for the potential beneficiaries.

Most of the changes were effective upon enactment. But not all. And some of the changes will come in stages, over time and won't be completed until January 2, 2014.

The Defense Authorization Act provides a number of very valuable new benefits for active duty and retired feds. They include unused sick leave credit for FERS employees, a service-time buyback option for FERS workers who return to government, a pension-protecting deal for CSRS workers who phase into retirement by going part-time, a major financial incentive for retired feds who come back into government, and higher retirement benefits for civil servants in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. And then there is the phase-out (maybe) of the National Security Personnel System.

But some of these changes are complex and will require time to interpret and implement. We gave you a partial timetable yesterday.

Here's how Randy Erwin, legislative director for the National Federation of Federal Employees, explains the FERS sick leave credit benefit:

"Once an employee becomes eligible to retire, their accrued sick leave will be credited toward his/her years and months of service. For example, before the benefit was signed into law, if a federal employee worked for the federal government for 30 years, earning a high three of $70,000 and garnering 6 months of sick leave, his/her retirement annuity would be 1.0% x 30 x 70,000, or $21,000 per year."

But there is, as we warned earlier, a catch. Listen today he'll explain - in detail - all the benefits and their timetable.

Now that the changes are law the next question is who benefits, how and when? Today at 10 a.m. on our Your Turn with Mike Causey radio show, Randy Erwin from the NFFE explains how the benefits made it through Congress, what they mean and their timetable. The full cure for the FERS flu cure, for example, will take several years. So will the phase-in of locality pay and phase out of tax-free cost of living allowances for workers in the 49th and 50th states.

The show runs from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (EST) on www.federalnewsradio.com or (if you are in your car in the Washington area) on WFED 1500 AM. Got questions? If so you can call in and/or send them to me at: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com

And the Changes Keep On Comin'!
Noted from the Newsdesk

Also coming to a wallet near you (maybe), new options and opportunites in the TSP. But there are some concerns to address first. FederalNewsRadio's Max Cacas reports on a House hearing yesterday of the Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia subcommittee. Click here to read that story.

And federal employees who work in law enforcement, have fiduciary responsibilities and others in similar positions would have to go through a reinvestigation every five years under a new proposed rule from OPM. Click here to learn more about it.

Nearly Useless Factoid
by Suzanne Kubota

The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is classified as "critically endangered", one step away from being extinct in the wild, and reproduces once every 20 years. This is all apparently "nearly useless" since it was the featured ingredient on a recent installment of the BBC's MasterChef: The Professionals.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com