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446 articles · page 8 of 19Retirement
2027 Medicare Part B: Premium and Deductible Projections ($209.50 vs $216)
2027 Part B projections: $209.50 premium (forecasters say $216-$219) and a deductible near $310, up from $283. What FERS and CSRS retirees should 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 (IRS, Forest Service, HUD)
Seven agencies have lost telework arbitrations — this tracker follows each order's status. The July 20 IRS/NTEU ruling held cancelling the union contract didn't cancel the case.
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 Raise: Tiered 5-7% vs Flat 3.6%
The 2027 NDAA proposes a tiered military pay raise (7% for E-5 and below) while the Senate wants a flat 3.6%. See the exact dollar impact by grade, E-1 through O-6.
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.
Retirement
BRS vs High-3: Optimize Your Military Retirement (2026)
In BRS since 2018? How to optimize: protect your TSP match, time continuation pay correctly, and run the retirement-versus-separation numbers for your grade.
Retirement
Guard & Reserve Retirement Points: The 'Good Year' Trap (2026)
Reserve and Guard retirement runs on points and good years. Missing one good year can cost an E-7 over $10,000 in lifetime pension. How to protect yours.
Pay & Compensation
E-7 Pay = GS-11, Not GS-7: What Your Rank Is Really Worth (2026)
Basic pay alone makes an E-7 look like a GS-7. Count Regular Military Compensation — BAH, BAS, tax advantage — and the honest match is GS-11. Full 2026 table.
Retirement
SBP vs Life Insurance: The Military Retiree's 6.5% Math
Military SBP costs 6.5% of your pension; the survivor gets 55% for life. Break-even vs term life, the four advantages competitors skip, and when term wins.
Benefits
VA Disability + a Federal Job: What You Can Collect (2026)
You can collect VA disability and a GS salary simultaneously. How VA comp, CRDP/CRSC, and a FERS pension interact in 2026, with a decision matrix.
Benefits
Which FEHB Plan Shares the Most Data With OPM? (2026)
OPM wants monthly medical claims on 8M feds. Some FEHB carriers already send your data; HMOs send less. A carrier-by-carrier privacy comparison for 2026.
Career
What a Forced Level 3 Rating Costs You in 2026
OPM's forced distribution caps top ratings. A Level 5-to-3 downgrade costs a GS-13 ~$2,761/yr in awards plus 12 RIF points after Sept 2. The math, by grade.
Retirement
Military Pension + FERS: Can You Collect Both? (2026)
Military retirees can keep full retired pay and a GS salary. But FERS credit means waiving or buying back the military pension. The retirement decision math.
Policy Updates
Can the Government Revoke Your Telework Disability Accommodation?
Agencies can't blanket-cancel telework granted for a disability. The Rehabilitation Act rules, the NSF and DOJ cases, and the 45-day deadline you can't miss.
Benefits
TRICARE vs. FEHB for Military Retirees in Federal Jobs (2026)
Military retirees in federal jobs can keep TRICARE, combine it with FEHB, or suspend FEHB to save thousands. The 2026 cost tables, 5-year-rule trap, strategy.
Pay & Compensation
Feds Get 0%, Military Gets 7%: The 2027 Pay Gap's Pension Cost
The 2027 budget proposes 0% for civilian feds and 5-7% for military, the widest gap in the modern GS era. See the year-by-year data and the High-3 pension hit.
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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.
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Data-backed allocation, contribution timing, and withdrawal news for every investing style.
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