This message was sent to ##Email##
Advertisement
|
| June 20, 2017 |
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
This issue of NewsWatch is provided by NARFE, a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the earned pay, retirement and health care benefits of federal employees, retirees and their survivors. Please join today!
|
NARFE
OPM has recently learned of an aggressive marketing push targeting federal annuitants. Companies are offering a cash payment in exchange for a portion, or all, of your future annuity payments that is generally much less than their long-term worth, and typically charging high interest rates and fees. OPM has received numerous phone calls from one particular company asking for verification of not only annuity amounts, but also banking information, including routing numbers and account numbers. Suspicions were confirmed by the OPM Office of Inspector General, which discovered this company is currently under investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
The CFPB recommends these three things you can do to protect your retirement annuity.
READ MORE
Advertisement
NARFE
What would you do if you were presented with a buyout or early retirement option? Before you sign on the dotted line, learn the pros and cons of accepting early retirement in a new NARFE Federal Benefits Institute webinar, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” Federal benefits expert Tammy Flanagan will take you through what you need to know to make the best choice. Register now to attend this new Federal Benefits Institute webinar and online Q&A chat session this Thursday, June 22 at 2 p.m. ET.
The following week, on June 29, at 2 p.m. ET, career transition expert Alan Malinchak of, Éclat Transitions, maps out a strategy to help retiring or separating Feds take their next steps. Malinchak is a former Fed of 20 years’ experience who created second careers for himself in leadership and business development. Learn how to reinvent your knowledge, skills and abilities, position your professional certifications, develop your resume for private industry and more in “Creating a Second Career,” followed by an online Q&A chat session.
All NARFE Federal Benefits Institute webinars are FREE to NARFE members. The nonmember registration fee of $39.95 includes a one-year membership in NARFE with access to full NARFE benefits. Register for one or both webinars here today! Webinars will be available on the NARFE website within 48 hours of the presentation.
READ MORE
|
FEDERAL BENEFITS QUESTION OF THE WEEK
|
NARFE
QUESTION: My husband recently died. I am currently employed under the Federal Employees Retirement System. My husband was a Civil Service Retirement System employee. We both have Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) accounts. As a survivor, can I have his account rolled over into my account, rather than receive it as an annuity?
READ MORE
FedSmith.com
A group of over 100 House Democrats sent a letter to House leaders expressing opposition to proposed changes to federal employee pension programs in the 2018 budget proposal.
The letter, sent to House speaker Paul Ryan, R-WI, and minority leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, expressed concerns on behalf of the authors to proposed cuts to cost-of-living adjustments and increased contributions federal employees would have to make to their retirement programs as outlined in the White House’s 2018 budget proposal.
READ MORE
Federal News Radio
Nearly 70 million Americans — and lots of family members, local merchants and landlords — have a huge stake in the size of the January 2018 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). That COLA, assuming there is one, will go to millions of federal and military retirees and to the much larger group of Americans who get Social Security benefits. And to their survivors, too. Learn more about COLAs.
READ MORE
|
Promoted by
|
|
|
|
 |
FedSmith.com
Legislation has recently been reintroduced in Congress to give a tax credit to federal employees serving with the military in combat zones.
Known as the Combat Zone Tax Parity Act, H.R. 2929, the bill has been introduced by Rep. Rob Wittman, R-VA, and is being co-sponsored by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-VA.
Military personnel serving in combat zones are given a tax credit for their service, and the congressmen want to ensure the same benefit is offered to federal employees working alongside the military.
READ MORE
Government Executive
Did you know that more than 25 percent of total spending under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program goes to prescription drugs? Rising drug prices and increasing drug utilization continue to drive up FEHBP premiums. Every year, the Office of Personnel Management sends a call letter to all FEHBP carriers.
READ MORE
Route Fifty
U.S. state governments have experienced sluggish tax revenue growth in the past two fiscal years, and governors were cautious in proposing spending increases for the upcoming 2018 budget cycle, according to a new report on state budgets. These findings come as Congress contemplates major changes to Medicaid that could pose significant new costs for states in future years and as the Trump administration is pushing for deep cuts to federal funds that flow to state and local governments.
READ MORE
NerdWallet
When her car trouble began, Beverly Dobratz, 70, assumed that years of responsible credit usage would qualify her for a new car loan with a low interest rate.
Then the salesman checked her credit and learned that she hadn’t made any purchases with it in 10 years; she preferred to pay with cash or her debit card. That had hurt her credit scores, preventing her from getting the best deal.
READ MORE
Consumer Affairs
For many consumers living with hypertension, measuring their blood pressure has become a part of their daily routine. Unfortunately, a new study suggests that the readings they’re taking at home probably aren’t all that accurate.
Researchers from the University of Alberta have found that up to 70 percent of readings from home blood pressure monitors are “unacceptably inaccurate.” This is a big problem, they say, because consumers who use these devices to make informed health decisions are being led astray.
READ MORE
USA Today
A grandparent can never go wrong carrying proof of parental consent when traveling with grandchildren, but on many trips, he or she will never need to supply it. Consent forms aren't necessary on domestic road trips unless a grandparent runs into trouble with the law. On a domestic flight, an underage child won't need to present identification of any kind to the Transportation Security Administration, though it's always smart to check the airline's ID policies for children.
READ MORE
MarketWatch
As the saying goes, the eyes are the window to the soul — and possibly to a job offer.
Eye contact is the most telling nonverbal cue when it comes to a job interview, according to a recent survey of more than 300 senior managers by staffing firm OfficeTeam. Body language during an interview plays an integral role in the hiring process — and a lot of people aren’t getting it right.
READ MORE
Consumer Reports
In the wake of last year’s Zika epidemic, and with the list of mosquito- and tick-borne diseases growing, the insect-control business is booming.
“There’s been a proliferation of companies that are doing mosquito control right now,” says Stanton Cope, president of the American Mosquito Control Association. “You see them all over the place. But some of them are much more professional than others.” In fact, consumer affairs bureaus across the United States are on high alert for companies that spray without proper licensing, experience or equipment.
READ MORE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
|
