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FEDERAL EMPLOYEE'S
RETIREMENT PLANNING GUIDE

The Author's Personal Retirement Journal

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

 

Glaucoma Case Study Series

This series on glaucoma is associated with this site's Health Awareness Forum and it chronicles my wife's glaucoma case so that others may benefit from her experiences. This series is ongoing and covers her case from original diagnosis to current condition and includes helpful information for others who may have this disease.

Author
Dennis V. Damp

 

Copyright by Dennis V. Damp. All rights reserved. No part of the Journal's articles may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical. Including photocopying, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quoted excerpts or in reviews. Web links to this page or to individual articles are permitted as long as full credit is provided with each link. Contact Bookhaven Press at Bookhaven@aol.com or write to Bookhaven Press LLC, 249 Field Club Circle, McKees Rocks, PA 15136 to request reprint permissions. Web sites may link to these pages and include a short review without prior permission as long as they give full credit to this forum with the link.

INTRODUCTION

DENNIS DAMP is the author of over 21 books including his all new 10th edition of The Book of U.S. Government Jobs and a recognized government employment expert. He retired in 2005 at age 55 with 35 years of federal government service. He can attest at first hand to how rewarding civil service employment can be – and was in his case. Dennis has been a guest on hundreds of radio talk shows, lectured at universities and colleges, and has written hundreds of articles for national magazines and newspapers. He is a contributing writer for Monster.com and other Web portals and his books have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, and U.S. News & World Report. His new release, the 10th edition of The Book of U.S. Government Jobs was selected Best Career Title by the Benjamin Franklin Awards committee and was nominated in March of 2008 for the Career and Reference Book of the Year Award by Foreword Magazine.

His government career began when he was drafted in 1968. Dennis joined the Air Force prior to call-up and spent over three years on active duty and an additional seven years with the Air National Guard. He was hired by the Department of Defense (DOD) to maintain aircraft avionics systems after leaving the service and eventually landed an electronics technician position with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1975. He spent the remainder of his career in various positions with the FAA.

During his time with the FAA, Dennis worked on staff in various positions including training instructor, project engineer, computer based instruction (CBI) administrator, training program manager and program support manager. The last 20 years included numerous supervisory and management positions where he was responsible for recruiting, rating and interviewing applicants, outreach, and hiring for his organization. His last position was technical operations manager at the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport’s air traffic control tower. Dennis based this site and his new book on his 35 years of personal government experience.

Parts of this journal may relate to your personal situation. If you would like to comment on a journal entry or suggest a topic of interest send an e-mail to ddamp@aol.com.

PREPARATION is the key to a successful retirement and this site is devoted to guiding you through the federal retirement maze and includes information on benefits, general retirement issues, health issues, and easy-to-use estate planning techniques. It was designed to help you think about the entire picture and not just your annuity and when you can leave. There is considerably more to retirement than meets the eye and this site will help you focus on the critical issues that we all must address at this time in our lives.


DISCLAIMER

Readers should seek professional advice concerning their retirement and benefits and for all other areas that require professional clarifications and guidance. The author is not a benefits specialist or financial planner and is only relaying his personal thoughts and ideas in this forum. Readers are strongly cautioned to consult with a professional before using any information contained in this forum. No forum can substitute for professional retirement benefits and planning, investment, or medical advice. Caution is urged when using the information contained in the articles that are posted on this site. The authors and publisher are not engaged in rendering retirement planning, benefits, investment, or medical advice or services. If you have a retirement planning, benefits, investment problem or medical concern, you should consult with a qualified professional in that area. Accordingly, the authors and publisher expressly disclaim any liability, loss, damage, or injury caused by the contents posted on this forum.


Article Comments -

Submit your comments to Dennis V. Damp.

E-Mail Address: ddamp@aol.com

Historical Journal Entries Index

Pre-Retirement
Entries
Post Retirement
Entries
Start
Date
End
Date
Link
  8/17/04 12/29/04 Pre-Retirement Journal Entries
  1/7/05 4/7/05 Post-Retirement Journal Entries (1)
  4/14/05 6/12/05 Post-Retirement Journal Entries (2)
  6/20/05 8/11/05 Post-Retirement Journal Entries (3)
  8/18/05 10/26/05 Post-Retirement Journal Entries (4)
  11/2/05 12/12/05 Post-Retirement Journal Entries (5)
  1/23/06 2/27/06 Post-Retirement Journal Entries (6)
  3/10/06 10/15/06 Post-Retirement Journal Entries (7)
  6/1/06 11/27/06 Post-Retirement Journal Entries (8)
  1/1/2007 8/1/2007 Post Retirement Journal Entries (9)

This Months Article
Includes the most recent article and up to 4 previous articles.

Have Articles Sent to Your Email Address
 

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August 1, 2008

FERS Sick leave Conversion, Educational Opportunities,
COLAs 6.2% +, Part Time Jobs for Retirees, & Helpful Links

by Dennis V. Damp, Retired FAA

FEATURING:

  • FERS Sick Leave Conversion Proposal
  • Educational Opportunities - Keep Your Options Open
  • 2009 COLA Exceeding 6% and Rising
  • Part Time Jobs - Lucrative Retiree Options
  • Helpful Links

FERS Sick Leave Conversion (Proposed)

Potential good news for FERS employees. Two proposals by Representatives Henry Waxman, under H.R. 1108 and James Moran, offer two alternatives for retirement sick leave conversion. One proposal would offer a credit of 75% of accrued sick leave and another provides a payment of up to $10,0000 for unused sick leave when you retire. There are many obstacles remaining and nothing is certain yet. Stay tuned for more on this subject. You can review the house bill for particulars or read Government Executive’s article on this subject.

Educational Opportunities

Many federal employees and retirees explore completing college degrees they started years ago or look into taking credit or non-credit courses for subjects of interest when they retire. I participated in educational Extension Programs during my career to earn college credits through correspondence programs long before the Internet was conceived. Today it’s much easier and there are many online options available to complete degrees or gain new skills and credentials for other jobs and your retirement pursuits and goals. We recently launched a comprehensive Educational Program Research Center that you can use to explore online educational opportunities for all areas. This site can be easily searched for available degree or certificate programs or to simply identify courses of interest. Explore our new Education Center for available options.

COLAs

As Jackie Gleason would say, “How sweet it is.” Yes, for the first time in many years it is possible that the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) will exceed 7%, now at 6.2% with time remaining for additional increases. For more on how COLAs are calculated go to http://federalretirement.net/benefits.htm#COLAs.

Part Time Jobs for Retirees

The U.S. Census Bureau hired over 960,000 part time workers during the 2000 census and anticipates hiring 1.3 million for the upcoming 2010 census. In 2000, many federal retirees were hired for the census and the restriction on their earnings was waived, including retirees who received buy outs. There is a good chance that the restrictions will be waived again for the 2010 census. 100,000 workers will be hired for Address Canvassing, which begins next March and April. Peak hiring will be from February 2009 through the end of May 2010 for temporary assignments, most lasting 5 to 10 weeks. Most positions require U.S. citizenship, a driver’s license and use of a vehicle, and each applicant will undergo a background check. 2010 Census positions offer competitive wages and flexible schedules. Visit the census web site at http://www.census.gov/hrd/www/jobs/fo.html to check for opportunities. I was advised that some positions will be hired as early as next month to set up local offices. Check that a waiver for rehired federal annuitants has been approved before accepting a position.

We recently launched two new online job listing boards for Health Care Jobs and Environmental health & Safety Jobs. We are expanding this job posting data base service to our retirement planning site early next year. Federal retirees in these occupations will find a variety of work options including part time, contractor, and full time positions. Retirees and active feds with security clearances will also find lucrative job opportunities at our Clearance Jobs Center.

Helpful Links:

Visit our other informative sites

http://federaljobs.net (Federal Career & Job Center)
http://federalretirement.net (FREE Retirement Planning Guide)
http://fedcareer.info (Career Development Center)
http://healthcarejobs.org (Health Care Career & Jobs Center)
http://postofficejobs.info (Postal Career Center)
http://ehsjobs.org (Environmental Health & Safety Job Center)

Send comments to ddamp@aol.com 


FDIC Coverage - How to Protect Your Ass..ets, COLAs, &
Retiree Jobs Update

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by Dennis V. Damp, Retired FAA

FEATURING:

  • FDIC Coverage - How to Protect Your Ass..ets.
  • COLA’s - Heading for the Stratosphere
  • Retiree Job Opportunities - Jobs in Media

FDIC Coverage

With the recent IndyMac bank failure, and possibly more to come, retirees are understandably worried about their bank deposits and Federal Deposit Insurance Coverage (FDIC). All of the major news networks covered this subject recently and I believe much of that coverage was misleading and left viewers ill advised about the scope of their FDIC coverage.

Most understand that FDIC insured banks cover up to $100,000 that you have deposited in checking, savings, and NOW accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), money market deposit bank accounts, and $250,000 in IRA retirement accounts in any one bank per depositor. What most don’t realize is that FDIC insurance coverage expands substantially above the $100,000 limit for special kinds of accounts or ownership categories. The key to expanding your coverage in one bank is to register your accounts differently and by establishing formal or informal revocable trust account designations when appropriate. Designating bank accounts (ITF) In Trust for or (POD) Pay on Death also allows you to avoid probate when settling an estate. You can also open accounts in other banks and receive the same FDIC protection. For example, if you have $100,000 each in two different FDIC insured banks you are covered for up to $200,000 if both banks fail.

The FDIC guide located online at http://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/insured/yid.pdf shows an example of POD accounts with multiple owners and beneficiaries on page 13 that provides $1,000,000 in FDIC coverage at one bank.

One news report stated that the FDIC doesn’t cover safe deposit box contents and that is correct. The FDIC only covers deposit accounts. However, they failed to explain that in the event of a bank failure, in most cases an acquiring institution would take over the failed bank's offices, including locations with safe deposit boxes. If no acquirer can be found the FDIC would send boxholders instructions for removing the contents of their boxes. The FDIC advises safety box holders to read the contract you signed with the bank when you rented the safe deposit box in the event that some type of insurance is provided; some banks may make a very limited payment if the box or contents are damaged or destroyed, depending on the circumstances. If you are concerned about the safety, or replacement, of items you have put in a safe deposit box, you may wish to consider purchasing fire and theft insurance. Usually such insurance is part of a homeowner's or tenant's insurance policy for a residence and its contents. Again, consult your insurance agent for more information.

Use the following checklist and resources to confirm your banks coverage and to calculate your actual FDIC coverage at each bank that you have funds deposited. I used all of these resources recently and found them to be easy to use and very helpful. The Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE) Calculator allows you to enter all of your account information and registrations to show you exactly what is and isn’t covered at your bank. A great tool.

The FDIC does NOT insure stocks, bank brokerage accounts, mutual funds including mutual fund money market accounts or other non-deposit investments. The FDIC only covers the deposit accounts listed earlier in this article. However, the Securities Investors Protection Corporation (SIPC), a non government entity, replaces missing stocks and other securities in customer accounts held by its members up to $500,000, including up to $100,000 in cash, if a member brokerage or bank brokerage subsidiary fails. For more information contact www.SIPC.org.

FDIC Check List:

¨ Determine if your bank is FDIC insured: Go to Bank Find 
¨ Use the EDIE Calculator to determine your total FDIC coverage
¨ Read the FDIC Guide for complete information
¨ Research ITF and POD account designations to expand coverage
¨ If deposits exceed your coverage at one bank open accounts at other FDIC insured banks.
     (Each bank is insured separately)
¨ For non-deposit investment accounts such as brokerage accounts contact www.SIPC.org.

COLA Update

The 2009 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for federal retirees could possibly exceed 6%. The CPI adjustment through June is 5.7% and we still have three months to go. If inflations goes down, which I doubt, that could change things. This COLA could be the largest since 1982 when retirees received an 8.7 percent increase. My annuity has increase just over 10% since I retired January 1, 2005. For more information on COLAs read my July column.

Federal Retiree Job Opportunities - I recently discovered an excellent resource for federal retirees to locate media jobs. Many feds retire at 55 or younger today and often seek part time or full time employment to supplement their income or to explore other venues of interest. Yes, even Uncle Sam has media specialists of all types including public affairs, technical writers, audiovisual production, theater and arts, editors, and writers in general. Plus many federal managers and specialists are often called upon to write detailed reports and proposals and edit others work. If you are looking for exciting new opportunities in media visit http://mediabistro.com and explore their job listings for full time, part time and freelance positions. I recently interviewed Laurel Touby, the founder and CEO of www.mediabistro.com, for an article I’m writing for Publisher’s Marketing Association. This site is an excellent match for many retired feds looking for the rewards and challenges of working in media with the private sector. Lots of very interesting job opportunities to explore. I added this site to our jobs board on http://federalretirement.net.

Visit our other informative sites

http://federaljobs.net (Federal Career & Job Center)
http://federalretirement.net (FREE Retirement Planning Guide)
http://fedcareer.info (Career Development Center)
http://healthcarejobs.org (Health Care Career & Jobs Center)
http://postofficejobs.info (Postal Career Center)
http://ehsjobs.org (Environmental Health & Safety Job Center)

Send comments to ddamp@aol.com


July 1, 2008

COLAs, Retirement Time Line, and Travel Considerations

by Dennis V. Damp, Retired FAA

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FEATURING:

  • New site & Book Review
  • COLA’s - Heading for 5% +
  • Retirement Time Line - Who’s on First & What’s on Second
  • Travel Considerations - Looking for a Winter Retreat

New Site & Book Review

We moved our retirement planning site to its own unique domain name in June. The site has grown so much that we needed additional space for the areas we have expanded into including jobs postings for retired feds. The new site is located at http://federalretirement.net, bookmark this site for future site visits. We added redirects to all of the old pages on http://federaljobs.net.

Nancy Holston reviewed Live Your Road Trip Dream by Phil and Carol White this month. Book review subjects include finance, investing, health and exercise, cooking, and everything in between that may be of interest to YOU. If you discover a helpful book let us know and we will review it here. I want to thank Nancy for volunteering to review books for this site and we welcome others to participate as well.

COLA’s - Up and Coming!

Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) are effective each December first. The adjustment appears in your January annuity payment on the first business day of the month. The consumer price index (CPI) is up 4.5% so far this year and it is possible that it will continue to increase providing possibly a 5% or greater increase with inflation on the rise.

CSRS retirees will receive the full CPI increase in January. With FERS or FERS Special benefits, if the increase in the CPI is 2 percent or less, the Cost-of-Living Adjustment is equal to the CPI increase. If the CPI increase is more than 2 percent but no more than 3 percent, the Cost-of-Living Adjustment is 2 percent. If the CPI increase is more than 3 percent, the adjustment is 1 percent less than the CPI increase. The new amount is rounded down to the next whole dollar.

The good new is that retirees will get a fairly substantial cost of living benefit increase this year that will more than likely prove larger than the average active federal employee’s projected 3 to 3.9% increase. The bad news is that everything from gas to food is costing more these days. To track the annual COLA increases since 1999 go to http://federalretirement.net/benefits.htm. My annuity, adding the newest projected increase of lets say 5%, will have increased in four short years by 15% this January!

Retiree’s are also losing out on income with Certificates of Deposit (CD) interest at the lowest it has been in years. Most CDs are paying less than 3% short term up to 4% for 48 months or more. Money market accounts are earning considerably lessl. I still like inflation protected I-Bonds or Treasury Inflation Protection Securities (TIPS) that you can buy direct from the Treasury at http://treasurydirect.gov. I-Bonds are now paying 4.84% and the yield increases as inflation rises. See my article on the new I-Bond purchase limits at http://federalretirement.net/Journal/feb2008j.pdf for more information on this subject.

Retirement Time Line - Who’s on First & What’s on Second

I received a number of emails this month asking about the steps that you must take the year you plan to retire. I updated my time line on this subject that is located at http://federalretirement.net/postretire_journal3.htm. Also go to the forms page at http://federalretirement.net/retireforms.htm for downloadable forms and for instructions on completing your SF-1199A Direct Deposit instructions that you will need for your annuity payment including the address that your bank must send this to.

Tammy Flanagan also published a To-Do-List In a recent article that you will find helpful. One thing that Tammy’s article does not address is your clearance record. You MUST fill out your agency’s Employee Clearance Record and Security Termination Statement. On your last day, take your signed clearance record to your supervisor’s office and turn in any personal items such as computer, cell phone, pager, credit cards, ID cards, keys, etc. If you neglect to do this your lump sum leave payment and first estimated annuity check will be withheld until this is done.

Travel - Looking for a Winter Retreat

I’ve been retired now three and a half years and my wife and I have yet to spend any appreciable time traveling as we had planned. First, we put it off because our dog was getting up in years, so we stuck around until she passed away at age 15, almost 2 years ago. We really don’t have any valid excuses to put it off so we decided to initiated a plan this month to get us off the mark and on the road. We are interested in either a beach community, small town, or inland resort area that is laid back with good restaurants, shopping, and local attractions. Basically a friendly quiet place if at all possible.

We are thinking that the Carolinas or possibly somewhere on Florida’s central to northern Golf Coast would be good for a vacation getaway. The Carolinas are more attractive because we can drive their in 7 to 12 hours. With vacation homes selling well below market we are considering purchasing a condo or home that we can escape to in the winter months. We know little about the Carolinas or Florida so I contacted Phil and Carol White, authors of Live Your Road Trip Dream that we reviewed this month on our Book Review page, http://federalretirement.net/reviews.htm. Carol and Phil suggested a number of places for us to explore and we put them on our itinerary. We also contacted Stan and Sandra Phillips-Posner, author’s of Drive I-95. Randy Baldwin, a friend and federal retiree living in North Carolina, also gave me several recommendations.

Hopefully, even with gas prices through the roof, we will find a great place to escape to this year. If anyone has a suggestion or two about a great place they found enjoyable drop me a line at ddamp@aol.com. I would like to hear from you. I’ll post any input I receive on this site so others can take a look.

Visit our other informative sites

http://federaljobs.net (Federal Career & Job Center)
http://federalretirement.net (FREE Retirement Planning Guide)
http://fedcareer.info (Career Development Center)
http://healthcarejobs.org (Health Care Career & Jobs Center)
http://postofficejobs.info (Postal Career Center)
http://ehsjobs.org (Environmental Health & Safety Job Center)

Send comments to ddamp@aol.com 



June 1, 2008

The ROTH IRA Switch! TSP Thoughts, & The 2008 Election
by Dennis V. Damp, Retired FAA

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FEATURING:

  • The Roth IRA Switch!
  • TSP Thoughts - Annual Statement & Gains
  • Commentary - The 2008 Election

The Roth IRA Switch!

Retirees may discover that shifting some or all of their THRIFT savings or traditional IRAs into a ROTH will save them taxes on investment earnings and growth long term. A good idea in many cases. Roth IRAs provide tax-free earnings on your contributions however you MUST pay taxes on your initial ROTH contributions. The amount that you transfer into a ROTH is fully taxed at current tax rates. Since you already paid taxes on your contributions you can withdraw them from a Roth IRA at any time tax-free. Generally, if your account has been open for at least 5 years, your earnings are tax-free when you withdraw them. Usually, you must be 59½ or older in order to avoid paying a 10% early withdrawal penalty tax on your earnings. Other exceptions to the withdrawal penalty tax may also apply. IRS publication 590 provides detailed guidance.

Roth IRAs do not require minimum distributions for participants starting at age 70½ like traditional IRAs require and beneficiaries pay NO INCOME TAXES for inherited accounts open at least five years. ROTH IRAs are one of the few investment vehicles that we have, other than municipal bonds, that earn tax free income.

The 2008 income limits are $116,000 for an individual and $169,000 for a married couple filing jointly. These income limits are eliminated in the year 2010. At that time anyone, regardless of income, can convert their THRIFT and IRAs to a ROTH. Thanks to the 2006 Pension Protection Act, if you convert to a ROTH in 2010 you are permitted to pay the taxes over a two year period, half in 2011 and the remaining half in 2012, a great deal for all. Uncle Sam receives a windfall in 401K taxes that they wouldn’t normally receive for decades and those who convert will earn tax free gains on their investments and get to defer the tax burden over a three year period, 2010 through 2012.

Retirees that are working and earning income under the limits, most federal retirees, can open and contribute to a ROTH. Contributions limits for 2008 are the lessor of $5,000 or your taxable compensation for the year. If you are over 50 the limit increases to $6,000.

Additional Resources:

ROTH Conversion Questions & Answers - http://federaljobs.net/retire/benefits.htm You will also find links to informative articles on this subject following the Q&As.

TSP Web Site - http://tsp.gov http://tsp.gov/faq/faq15.html

IRS Publication 590 - http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590.pdf

TSP Thoughts - Annual Statement & Gains

I received my annual TSP statement several months ago. Since I retired three years ago and stopped contributing my TSP account has increased by just under 20%. Even with the down market I’m holding my own. The funds gains for the past 12 months are revealing:

 

G-Fund

F-Fund

C-Fund

S-Fund

I-Fund

Year-to-date

1.14%

2.10%

(5.01%)

(4.70%)

(3.92%)

12 Months

4.37%

7.12%

(4.61%)

(5.70%)

(0.88%)

 

L-Fund

L-2010

L-2020

L-2030

L-2040

Year-to-date

0.22%

(0.71%)

(2.10%)

(2.81%

(3.40%

12 Month

3.21%

2.13%

0.06%

(0.94%)

(1.78%)

It would be tempting to switch to 100% G Fund at times like these, however you would more than likely loose out when the market recovers. If you go back to 1997, 98 and 99 the C fund advanced a total of 82% during that three year period, hard to believe when you are in a down market. The flip side of the coin is that had you invested just in the G Fund for the past 10 years the total gain would have been 5.12% opposed to the just 5.88% total C Fund return and you may have slept a lot better during the down times. If we could only time the market we would all be millionaires.

One significant factor is revealed in the table for the Life Cycle funds. As you get closer to retirement the life cycle fund are doing what they were designed to do and they become more conservative. The chart shows that when you reach your target, even in a down market you still earn a decent return and at the out years, the L 2040 fund didn’t do that bad at all. All in all my TSP return on my total contributions over the years, is now at 220%. I’ve always been fairly conservative with my TSP account.

Commentary - The 2008 Election

The election is almost upon us and I’m sure this will be a gut wrenching contest as is now measures up. My concerns revolve around the direction the country needs to take to continue our path of prosperity and growth. There are many critical issues to consider that both parties are side stepping to avoid stepping on anyone’s toes. This is unfortunate for all of us. We need to regain energy self sufficiency and encourage oil exploration until we can develop viable energy options. We must stop the flood of illegal immigrants that come to this country expecting full social services and health care when our working middle class and poor can’t afford the same. Illegal immigrants are bankrupting border states. The money we spend on the border, etc could go to infrastructure and other needs. We don’t have to build a fence to keep illegal immigrants out. All we have to do is pass laws denying them free medical care, food stamps and social services, stop granting automatic citizenship to their newborns, fine employers who ignore our laws and employ them and the problem will resolve itself, without huge costs.

When it comes to energy self sufficiency, Congress has repeatedly rejected drilling in Anwar and off shore. Had they approved this 20 years ago when it was first proposed we wouldn’t be paying $4.00 a gallon for gas and looking at $5 to $7 a gallon in the near future. Sure we must fund research for renewable energy options but we can’t place all of our bets on a maybe. We have the oil reserves NOW but Congress fails to act. It is almost as if they, our representatives, want American’s to suffer and loose our international competitive edge.

This election is too important to stand on the sidelines. I encourage everyone to get involved, write your Congressman, and vote your conscience.

Visit our other informative sites

http://federaljobs.net (Federal Career & Job Center)
http://federaljobs.net/retire (FREE Retirement Planning Guide)
http://fedcareer.info (Career Development Center)
http://healthcarejobs.org (Health Care Career & Jobs Center)
http://postofficejobs.info (Postal Career Center)
http://ehsjobs.org (Environmental Health & Safety Job Center)

Send comments to ddamp@aol.com


May 1, 2008

Military Deposits, Retire EZ,
Travel, & TSP Changes

by Dennis V. Damp, Retired FAA

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FEATURING:

  • Military Deposit Issue
  • Retire Easy - OPM Update
  • Retirement Travel - A Great Way to See America
  • TSP Changes - Easy Does It!

Military Deposits

Don’t loose track of your military time buyback. John wrote that he is in FERs and his base is offering an early out. He paid back his military time through monthly payments in the mid 1980s. However, he worked at several military installations that have since closed and his current HR office has not been able to locate his military payback documentation. He also contacted payroll and they were not able to help.  

I told John that I kept a copy of the SF 2803 Application to Make Deposit or Redeposit that I submitted in 1987 to pay back my military time. I had to attach a copy of my DD Form 214 and send it to the Air Force Accounting Office. The Air Force replied with my total pay and HR determined what I had to pay back. I paid back the total owed over several years. I advised John to locate a copy of his pay stub from the agency that he was working with at the time he paid it off. My FAA pay stubs show the total military payment and a balance due of zero. Fax a copy of your old pay stub to your HR retirement specialist and have your Official Personnel File (OPF) updated. I kept a copy of the last pay period pay stub with each years federal income tax. You may have a copy with your tax records that shows the deposit.

I also suggested that he ask his personnel office to contact other agencies that he previously worked with to obtain this information. I would also request a search of his Official Personnel File to locate this information. I understand that many agencies have automated their OPF files so you may be able to access your OPF online.

If you paid back your military time make sure your total military payment and balance due is annotated on your current pay stub. Without this documentation your federal annuity will be reduced at age 62, if you are eligible for Social Security. If you are eligible, your annuity will be recomputed to eliminate all credit for post-1956 military service. Visit http://federaljobs.net/retire/militarybuyback.htm for complete details.

Retire Easy - OPM Automates Retirement (Test Program)

On February 25, 2008, OPM began the rollout of RetireEZ. Approximately 26,000 employees in agencies serviced by the General Services Administration’s (GSA) payroll processing center are now covered under the new system. The initial test agencies include OPM, GSA, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Railroad Retirement Board. Subsequent rollouts will cover the remainder of the Executive Branch, the U.S. Postal Service and the Legislative and Judicial Branches.

OPM is paying full retirement benefits at the payment commencement date. No longer are retirees under the new system receiving interim payments and waiting for months until their actual payment amounts are calculated. OPM converted millions of paper records to automated data that underlies the modernization. New retirees under the RetireEZ program are receiving better service. Tammy Flanagan describes the pros and cons of the RetireEZ system in her April 11th column that is linked below.

Additional Articles and Guidance for Retire EZ:

Tammy Flanagan’s Government Executive Article
OPM Official RetireEZ Introduction

Retirement Travel

You’ve worked hard to prepare for retirement. Your financial life is in order. So now what are you going to DO in your retirement? For many boomers, it is all about travel, volunteering, the grandkids and "the good life." Travel can be rewarding if you prepare and plan your trips. It seems easy enough; select a destination, book a flight and bon voyage! It isn’t quite that easy and I speak from experience, traveling all over the US and in Germany.

Phil and Carol White have developed a keynote talk especially for retiring Federal employees who are contemplating extended travel as one option. This fast-paced seminar is perfect for your lunch break, retirement seminars or morning kick-off meeting offering lots of practical tips, humor and advice. The Whites discuss everything you’ll need to know – from budgeting, to what to do with your house, to leaving your friends/family, – and much more.

The Whites are frequent guest speakers, having spoken at conventions such as the National AARP Life @ 50+, The Great North American RV Rally, AAA-Oregon and many more in conjunction with their award-winning, best-selling book, Live Your Road Trip Dream, RLI Press 2008 www.roadtripdream.com.

If your agency is scheduling a retirement seminar they might want to invite Carol and Phil White to their event, especially if you are on the West Coast or at least visit their web site. They are the authors of Live Your Road Trip Dream; Travel for a year for the cost of staying home. Nancy Holston is going on a road trip, for the first time, in a motor home this fall and she is going to review this title for our Book Review section.

For more information on how to book them for your next seminar, email Carol at carol@roadtripdream.com or call them at 888 522-8747.

TSP Changes - Easy Does It

TSP fund participants are now limited to two interfund transfers per month. Last year it became clear that a few thousand of the 3.9 million Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) participants were making frequent interfund transfer (IFT) requests. Because this activity was clearly accelerating, and in light of the detrimental effect on fund performance and transaction costs, the Agency implemented limits on interfund transfers.

The Agency published a final regulation that takes effect Thursday, May 1, 2008. The regulation will limit the number of unrestricted interfund transfer requests to two per month. After a participant has made two interfund transfers in a calendar month, the participant may make additional interfund transfers only into the G Fund until the next calendar month. For more information about this change, see the Questions and Answers on this topic.

Most if not all private sector fund families have trading limits because of the additional costs incurred with frequent trading. For example, at Vanguard Funds you can’t trade back into a fund you just sold in a retirement account for 60 days except for money market funds. Other restrictions include an early redemption fee of 1% or more on many mutual funds if you don’t hold the fund for at least 30 days. At Fidelity they have similar restrictions including early redemption fees on many funds that are sold within a 30 day period of up to 1% or more plus they limit you to what they call 4 round trips a year and issue a warning after two. For example, if you go in and out of a fund 2 times in a 90 day period you are locked out of any additional trading for a 85 day period.

If you want to day trade you would have to open a brokerage account and pay for each trade. The TSP is protecting all fund participants by limiting costs which increases our gains. Like they say, "there is no such thing as a FREE lunch."

Visit our other informative sites

http://federaljobs.net (Federal Career & Job Center)
http://federaljobs.net/retire (FREE Retirement Planning Guide)
http://fedcareer.info (Career Development Center)
http://healthcarejobs.org (Health Care Career & Jobs Center)
http://postofficejobs.info (Postal Career Center)
http://ehsjobs.org (Environmental Health & Safety Job Center)

Send comments to ddamp@aol.com


April 2008

Rebate Checks, Survivor Update, New Job Listing,
Helpful Article Archive, and Gas Commentary

by Dennis V. Damp, Retired FAA

Print This Article & Post it at Your facility

FEATURING:

  • Are Your Eligible For the Stimulus Rebate?

  • Survivor Annuity Spreadsheet Update Coming

  • Retirement Jobs Board - New Listing

  • Helpful Article Archive - Tammy Flanagan

  • Commentary - What’s UP with Gas!!!!!!!

Are Your Eligible For the Stimulus Rebate?

Federal employees and retirees who paid income taxes on either wages, pensions, annuities, Social Security benefits, IRAs, and other investments and retirement income are eligible for rebates of $600 per person or $1,200 per couple as long as they file an income tax return and don’t exceed the income limits. Taxpayers with children will receive an additional $300 per child. Rebates start to phase out at $75,000, ending at $87,000 adjusted gross income for single filers and $150,000 ending at $186,000 for joint filers.

Workers and retirees earning wages, Social Security taxes or disabled veterans benefits, that paid little to no income taxes, qualify for payments of $300 for individuals or $600 for couples filing joint returns. You must file a 2007 federal income tax return by April 15, 2008 and write "Stimulus Payment" on the top of the tax form to receive a check. Checks should arrive in May and you don’t have to pay income taxes on your rebate.

Survivor Annuity Growth Chart Update Coming

I received a number of positive comments from site visitors and readers concerning the FREE Projected Retirement Annuity Chart that Frank Cullen designed and contributed to the retirement forum. The chart shows retirees what their actual full survivor’s benefits will be for their spouse and projects the growth of their annuity based on historical COLA averages though the year 2051. Frank is working on an update that will allow users to change the survivor benefits calculation to anything up to the full 55% percent. If you elect less than full survivor benefits the new form will calculate the actual annuity and project the annuity growth through 2051.

Download the current FREE Projected Retirement Annuity Chart and use it for your Survivor’s Binder and discuss the results with your significant other. When Frank completes his update I will let everyone know through our email newsletter and post it online at http://federaljobs.net/retire.

Retirement Jobs Board - New Listing

CGH Corporation is looking for retired FAA Maintenance Technicians and Engineers who would like to work on installation/maintenance projects. Projects would be based on the success of bids by CGH Corporation in conjunction with other contractors. Projects could involve installation activities, maintenance projects, maintenance/installation of Airport security equipment, project management functions, modernization projects and engineering projects. Checkout the full listing with contact information online at http://federaljobs.net/retire/jobsboard.htm.

Helpful Article Archive - Tammy Flanagan

Tammy Flanagan is the senior benefits director for http://www.nitpinc.com/The National Institute of Transition Planning, Inc.(NITP) which conducts federal retirement planning workshops and seminars. She has spent over 25 years helping federal employees take charge of their retirement by understanding their benefits. Retirement planning is critical and we all need professional experts like Tammy to provide the advise we all need to make the right decisions. Ms. Flanagan writes a retirement planning column for Government Executive Magazine and a list of her retirement planning articles is available at http://www.nitpinc.com/gov_ex_archives.html.

The goal of http://federaljobs.net is to be the ultimate one-stop informational resource for federal employees exploring retirement options and for retired feds needing benefits and general support information. Our intent is to provide the answers you need and to add other professional voices to the mix so you have a complete picture. Tammy is a consummate professional federal benefits consular and I highly recommend reader her insightful articles. http://federaljobs.net/retie

Commentary - What’s UP with Gas!!!

I frequently hear people say "why not alternative energy resources." I say "why not drill for oil NOW and use our vast coal reserves until you have viable alternative energy options available." Congress MUST implement an energy policy that addresses our short and long term energy needs and returns the U.S. to energy self sufficiency. Sure, we should be developing alternatives; fuel cell technology, solar power, etc. However, if you need water NOW you connect to a water system or dig a well. Do you look for water alternatives! Should we all be drinking and bathing in milk, another renewable resource, driving the price of milk to where you can’t afford to drink it? In a drought we conserve, cut back on water usage, and look for other sources if available. Water is used in most everything we do and so is OIL.

The powers to be hold our vast oil reserves hostage insisting on impractical renewable energy resources instead of drilling in ANWAR, off shore, and using our extensive coal reserves. This poorly thought out policy makes us dependent on Mid East oil, subjecting our country to terrorist attacks funded by the oil we purchase. Congress has also restricted oil refinery expansion for more than two decades so now when a refinery goes offline, for maintenance or repair, gas prices escalate regardless of our dwindling supply. What a mess.

Walter Williams, a professor of economics at George Mason University, exposed the myth of ethanol in an article that was published in the Tribune-Review in March. Did you know that ethanol is 20 to 30 percent less efficient than gasoline, must be shipped by truck because the water content corrodes pipes and unmodified car engines, requires a gallon of fossil fuel to produce one gallon of ethanol, and it takes 450 pounds of corn to produce enough ethanol to fill up the tank of a standard SUV! Where is the conservation, there is no quid-pro-quo here. It also takes 1,700 gallons of water to make a gallon of ethanol. Ethanol is not a viable option, it’s a hoax sponsored by those who wish to profit from escalating corn prices and instil fear so we overlook the reality of the situation.

The bottom line is that we must utilize our extensive oil and coal reserves for our short term needs and fund alternative energy research to address our long term needs. This isn’t a political issue, it’s our country’s issue regardless of political affiliation. The Department of the Interior reports that, "oil reserves in the far Northern Coastal Plain of ANWR represent the nation's largest single prospect for future oil production - greater than any state, including Texas and Louisiana." If we don’t act NOW and tell our representatives what we expect them to do, we will be as much at fault as they are and all will suffer. Contact your representatives and tell them what you think about this subject.  

Visit our other informative sites

http://federaljobs.net (Federal Career & Job Center)
http://federaljobs.net/retire (FREE Retirement Planning Guide)
http://fedcareer.info (Career Development Center)
http://healthcarejobs.org (Health Care Career & Jobs Center)
http://postofficejobs.info (Postal Career Center)
http://ehsjobs.org (Environmental Health & Safety Job Center)

Send comments to ddamp@aol.com


 

2007 ARTICLE INDEX

Article Title (PDF Files) 2007
Two Years and Counting Updates, Helpful Information & More January
Warning - Online TSP and Banking Transactions Can Be hazardous to Your Wealth February
STRESS FREE Travel, Survivor Guide, SF1199As & More March
Taxes and Your Annuity Plus Other Helpful Information April
Why Many Work Beyond Retirement Eligibility,
Health Care Premium Conversion, & Chiropractic Health Benefits
May
Retirement - Look Before You Leap, Immigration Reform, Thrift Plan Security Updates, and Retiree Identification Cards June
Retirement Card Benefits, Vacation Trip with GPS, and Immigration Follow-up July
Don’t Get Caught Without Insurance In Retirement,
Plus Additional Info On retiree Discounts
August
Three Years Retired - Almost, and The Best Date to Retire September
Is Your Retirement Nest Egg at Risk? Thrift Plan Changes, 2008 COLA, and Medicare B Issues October
Open Season, 2008 COLAs, and Earnings Limits in Retirement November
Should I Retire! Direct Deposit, and Retirement Time Line December
 

2008

Deferred Retirement Too Late, Three Years & Counting, & Credit Leave Issues January
New Savings Bond Limits, Survivor Annuity Calculations, Planning for Retirement & Work Options  After Retirement February
Annuity Growth Chart, Survivor Annuities for New Spouses After Retirement, & Ahead of Your Time March
Rebate Checks, Survivors, Job Listing, Articles, & Gas Commentary April
Military Deposits, Retire EZ, Travel, & TSP Changes May
The ROTH IRA Switch! TSP Thoughts, & The 2008 Election June
COLA's, Retirement Time Line, and Travel Considerations July
FDIC Coverage - How to Protect Your Ass..ets, COLAs, &
Retiree Jobs Update
August
FERS Sick leave Conversion, Educational Opportunities, COLAs, Part Time Jobs, & Helpful Links September
   
   
   

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 Dennis V. Damp
-
Retired FAA -
 
This federal employee's retirement planning site is based on my 35+ years of federal service and the considerable amount of research that I completed to prepare for my personal retirement.
 

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