A Four-Day Weekend (With Pay) Coming This Month
Some readers will be getting a four-day weekend in January. Other readers will get a three-day weekend. Here is how the holiday will work.
Some readers will be getting a four-day weekend in January. Other readers will get a three-day weekend. Here is how the holiday will work.
After five straight years of positive TSP fund performance, 2008 was a disappointment. While all of the funds were up in December, all but two of the funds lost money in 2008.
What were the most popular news items on the FedSmith site in 2008? The most popular articles this past year were on the 2009 pay rates for federal employees, employee benefits and retirement issues.
We know that the average federal employee will receive a raise of 3.9% in 2008 and federal retirees will get a COLA of as much as 5.8%. What about employees under NSPS? Many NSPS employees in the Washington, DC area will get a higher raise than those under the GS system.
If smoking is not allowed inside a government building, or around the outside of a federal building, where will smokers smoke? Federal employee unions may be working hard on this issue in the next few months as GSA has issued a new bulletin banning smoking.
The President has signed an Executive Order implementing the 2009 federal pay increase. Here is a chart that shows the amount of the pay increase by locality pay area.
Changes to the most popular health insurance plan for federal employees has raised concerns in Congress and led to an extension of the “open season” for enrolling in the FEHB for 2009. Changes have now been made to the 2009 plan that will benefit federal employees using this plan. Here is a summary of the changes.
TSP investors are continuing to move money from stock funds and into the G fund although the number of transfers has declined substantially. What is the risk of not putting some of your investment money back into stock funds? Should you wait until the bear market is over before moving money around?
President Bush has issued an Order giving federal employees an extra holiday this year: December 26, 2008.
Should employees under the FERS system use their sick leave or save it with the possibility of getting more credit toward a higher annuity payment?