Archive for month: January, 2025

Employee Groups, Democrats, Experts Warn Feds Not to Accept ‘Deferred Resignation’ Offer 

The lack of a legal underpinning for the purported eight-month severance package, and Elon Musk’s history of offering—and then revoking—severance  payments¹ have many federal workers wary of the measure.

Following the haphazard rollout Tuesday of a plan the White House claimed offered “buyouts” to nearly the entire federal workforce but ultimately looked more like extended paid leave prior to leaving government, federal employee groups, Democratic lawmakers and good government experts are warning federal workers not to respond to the Trump administration’s “deferred resignation” email.

According to the terms of the offer, if a federal employee decides to resign by Feb. 6, they can retain their current pay and benefits until Sept. 30. Although federal regulations cap buyouts through the Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment program at $25,000, the administration appears to be circumventing this by instructing agencies to place resigning employees on paid administrative leave for the remainder of the fiscal year. Follow link to read more from Government Executive. https://bit.ly/3WC6A2Q

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2025 Tax Season is Here: TSP, IRA Considerations for Contributions and RMDs

You can fund a spouse’s IRA even if he or she had no earned income in the prior year, and take the deduction this year; less tax and more savings.  

One of the rules around Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) is that one must have earned income to contribute to an IRA and that the contribution cannot exceed the amount of income one has earned, even if that level of income is below the annual contribution. For example, If I had $5,000 of earned income in 2024, I can’t contribute more than that amount to an IRA, even though the 2024 contribution limit is $7,000 (plus another $1,000 if over 50).

Some readers may have noticed that I used the present tense “is” when referring to last year’s limit. Why didn’t I say “was”? Follow link to read more from FEDweek. https://www.fedweek.com/tsp/2025-tax-season-is-here-tsp-ira-considerations-for-contributions-and-rmds/