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News for the federal workforce, updated daily.
Pay raises, retirement planning, and benefits — expert guidance for every stage of your federal career, sourced and updated for 2026.
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575 articles · page 13 of 24Policy Updates
Government Shutdown October 2026: Averted, Next Cliff Dec 11
President Trump signed the CR on Sept 2, funding the government through Dec 11, 2026. What it means for your paycheck and the next funding cliff.
Retirement
OPM Back Pay Tax Trap 2026: The $1,148 Medicare Surprise
OPM pays 60-80% interim pay, then a catch-up lump sum taxed in one year. See grade-by-grade tax math, the $1,148 IRMAA trap at 2026 rates, and SSA options.
Policy Updates
OPM's New Rule Can Debar You From All Federal Jobs
The suitability rule (July 30) lets OPM remove current employees and bar them from federal work for up to 3 years. Triggers include late taxes and NDAs.
TSP
TSP Fund Returns June 2026: S Fund Jumps 4.34%, C Fund Dips
The S Fund jumped 4.34% in June 2026 while the C Fund fell 0.95%, the widest monthly gap of the year. Full TSP returns, YTD leaders, and what changed.
TSP
$157,797: The Average TSP Account as the Plan Hits $1.156T
TSP assets hit a record $1.156 trillion. The average account now holds $157,797, and FERS accounts average $233,829. Here's the math behind the milestone.
Retirement
Will There Be a VERA/VSIP in 2027? Agency-by-Agency Tracker
Will there be a VERA/VSIP in 2027? Confirmed, rumored, and denied status for 18 agencies, with the corrected $25K DoD cap and September's USDA and FEMA court rulings.
Policy Updates
Supreme Court Ended MSPB Independence: What Feds Should Know
The Supreme Court's Trump v. Slaughter ruling ended MSPB, FLRA, and EEOC independence. Your federal appeal rights are still intact. What changed, explained.
Pay & Compensation
How to Benchmark Your Federal Salary in 2026
Learn how to benchmark your federal salary against your agency and job series averages using OPM data, plus what the numbers actually mean.
Retirement
Which Jobs Count Toward Federal Retirement? Creditable Service
Which jobs count toward FERS and CSRS retirement: temporary time, military, Peace Corps, quasi-government, NAF, and contractors. The deposit rules that decide it.
Pay & Compensation
Federal Take-Home Pay: What's Left After Deductions
See what federal employees actually keep after FERS, FICA, TSP, FEHB, and taxes. A real GS-12 paycheck breakdown for 2026.
Career
GS Job After Military Retirement: Your Combined Income
Military retirees who take a federal job can stack pension, VA disability, and GS salary. See how the combined income adds up in 2026.
Retirement
2027 Medicare Part B: Why FERS Retirees Fall Behind, CSRS Pay It All
How the 2027 Medicare Part B increase hits FERS vs CSRS retirees: the diet-COLA rule, the hold-harmless gap, the 2025 income look-back, and what to budget.
Policy Updates
20 Days Paid Military Leave for Federal Employees (5 USC 6323)
Guard and Reserve feds now get 20 paid military leave days, up from 15, plus a 22-day emergency bank. Leave-year rules, pay offset, and the carryover trap.
Retirement
OPM Says You Owe Money Back: Your Overpayment Waiver Rights
OPM overpaid a FERS retiree, then kept collecting. Federal employees can fight overpayment clawbacks with waivers under 5 U.S.C. 5584 and 8470. Here's how.
Benefits
Paid Family Leave for Federal Employees: What's Paid in 2026
Federal employees get 12 weeks of paid parental leave under FEPLA, but other leave is still unpaid. What FEPLA covers, the coverage gap, and H.R. 9261.
Policy Updates
Am I At-Will Now? Schedule F and Whether You Can Be Fired
Schedule Policy/Career employees are at-will: fired on one written notice, no cause, no MSPB appeal. But not for an illegal reason. What you keep and lose.
Policy Updates
Telework Arbitration Update 2026: Agency-by-Agency Tracker
On Oct 21, 2026 the FLRA upheld the HHS telework award. This tracker follows each agency and component telework arbitration and its order's status.
Benefits
TrumpRx vs FEHB: When It Saves Federal Employees Money
TrumpRx is cash-pay and doesn't touch your FEHB deductible. For most drugs your FEHB copay wins, but GLP-1 weight-loss drugs (Wegovy $199 vs $728) are the exception.
TSP
TSP C Fund Passes $500 Billion: What You Actually Own
The TSP C Fund crossed $500 billion in May 2026, now 43.9% of the whole plan. See what's inside it, the megacap concentration, and C vs S vs I returns.
Policy Updates
USERRA Reemployment Rights for Federal Employees (2026)
USERRA gives federal reservists and Guard members the right to their job back. Reemployment deadlines, the escalator rule, the 5-year cap, and the MSPB appeal path.
TSP
USERRA and Your TSP: Make Up Deployment Contributions (2026)
Back from deployment? USERRA lets you make up missed TSP contributions and recover agency matching. The makeup window, 60-day clock, and lost-earnings rules.
Pay & Compensation
What Is Your Federal Job Actually Worth in 2026?
Your federal salary is only part of the story. See how pension, TSP match, FEHB, and leave push a GS-12 package to nearly $158,000.
Pay & Compensation
2027 Military Pay Chart: Projected Base Pay by Rank (E-1 to O-6)
Projected 2027 base pay by rank, E-1 to O-6, under the 7-6-5 tiered raise in the President's plan, with the Senate's flat 3.6% beside it.
Pay & Compensation
2026 BAH Rates by Duty Station: Same Rank, $45,000 Apart
2026 BAH rose 4.2% on average; stations ranged from -6.9% to +15.8%. Which bases gained or dropped, and the rate-protection rule that blindsides PCS arrivals.
What we cover
The topics that matter most to federal employees.Policy Updates
Pay raises, OPM guidance, RIFs, and the legislation that reshapes federal employment.
Retirement Planning
FERS guides, High-3 strategy, the supplement, survivor benefits, and real retirement case studies.
TSP Strategies
Data-backed allocation, contribution timing, and withdrawal news for every investing style.
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