Getting Your Official Personnel Folder in Order

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Making sure your records are in order is a big part of retirement preparation, and it’s never too early to start.

The main resource to check is your Official Personnel Folder—which may be in either paper or electronic form—which forms the backbone of your retirement eligibility and benefit calculations. You should make sure that the folder includes:

* the beginning and ending dates for each period of employment which will be used for your benefit computation;
* the effective dates for each promotion or within-grade increase during the period that will be used to compute your high-3 average salary;
* the dates of pay changes or earnings and the pay rate, during employment periods when retirement deductions were not withheld from your salary;
* the tour-of-duty during any part-time employment (if you worked more hours than the official tour-of-duty, document the hours actually worked.);
* a record of time actually worked during intermittent or “when-actually-employed” service; and,
* documentation of the dates of military service.

If any service is not verified or any of the required documentation is missing, you should obtain assistance from your personnel officer.

Your OPF should contain a record of all your health benefits registration forms, Standard Form 2809, and, if appropriate, Standard Form 2810, Notice of Change in Health Benefits. Be sure that when you retire, your records will show a complete history of your health insurance enrollment for the last five years. It also should contain a record of your current federal life insurance coverage on a Standard Form 2817, “Life Insurance Election”, and, if appropriate, your current life insurance designation of beneficiary, Standard Form 2823.

Also review your designation of beneficiary for the lump sum payment of retirement contributions if no one is eligible for monthly payments. This designation is made on a Standard Form 2808 for the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or a Standard Form 3102 for the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Make sure the form shows the person or people you want designated. If a copy is not available to review, you may wish to file a new designation.

If you are under FERS with prior service under CSRS, any prior designation you made for CSRS coverage is canceled. You may wish to file a FERS designation.

If there is no designation of beneficiary, benefits will be paid in the following order: your widow or widower; our children in equal shares; your parents in equal shares; your appointed executor or administrator of your estate; then your next of kin under the laws of the state you reside in when you die.

Source: FEDweek

Published: September 13, 2023

 

 

How to Invest in TSP

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The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a retirement savings and investment plan for federal employees and members of the uniformed services. It offers a variety of investment options, known as funds, to help participants grow their savings over time. Choosing the best TSP funds to invest in can be a daunting task, but with some research and understanding of your investment goals, you can make informed decisions that align with your retirement objectives. In this article, we will explore some of the best TSP funds and provide answers to frequently asked questions.

  1. C Fund (Common Stock Index Investment Fund): This fund invests in large and mid-sized U.S. companies and tracks the performance of the Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) Index. It is a popular choice for long-term growth.
  2. S Fund (Small Cap Stock Index Investment Fund): This fund invests in small to mid-sized U.S. companies and aims to replicate the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Completion Total Stock Market Index. It offers potential for higher returns but also carries higher risks.
  3. I Fund (International Stock Index Investment Fund): This fund invests in international stocks and seeks to match the performance of the Morgan Stanley Capital International EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index. It provides exposure to non-U.S. markets and can be a useful diversification tool.
  4. F Fund (Fixed Income Index Investment Fund): This fund invests in a broad range of U.S. government, corporate, and mortgage-backed bonds. It aims to replicate the performance of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and offers stability and income potential. Click HERE to read more.

 

 

DoD Gender Survey Targets 1 Million Service Members

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Once again, Pentagon leadership wants to hear what the ranks have to say about sexual assault and harassment and gender discrimination. With the bi-annual 2023 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey, which began July 31, DoD is reaching out to one million randomly selected service members – roughly half of the combined active and reserve force. For the first time, the survey is available to anyone once they complete their unit’s Defense Organizational Climate Survey.

The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete, with an available abbreviated version that averages roughly five minutes shorter in duration. Eligible participants are all below the rank of general and admiral, and is completely voluntary.

It is available online at DODSurveys.mil. Once participants open the site, they will be asked to provide a ticket number they should have received via regular mail or email, or that can be found on the web site.

Once the ticket number is entered, respondents will be redirected to the site of the contractor who is managing the survey. Pentagon officials promise the survey site is safe and legitimate, but doubters can call 571-372-1034 or DSN 372-1034 for reassurance.

While the survey will be kept private, respondents are being urged to keep their ticket numbers confidential and be aware of the surroundings when and where they decide to provide their responses.

Results should be ready sometime next spring.

Citation: FEDweek Published: September 1, 2023
By: FEDweek Staff

 

 

Benefits Housekeeping 101 For Federal Employees and Retirees

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We are halfway through the year. Has anything in your life significantly changed such as getting married, having a baby or perhaps moving to a new house or apartment?  If any of these life events happen during the year you need to update your federal personnel forms and beneficiaries.  The federal government has a form for every occasion. Sometimes we get so involved in the moment that we neglect to take care of the housekeeping of our federal paperwork.  Here are some suggestions.

  1. Contact your human resource department and ask how to update your employee profile.Your agency may retain their employees’ profiles in a database as part of the human resource payroll and benefits.  Perhaps, you can access that database and make any necessary changes to your address, telephone number, marital status along with an emergency contact.
  2. As an active federal employee, you should fill out a form SF1152 Designation of Beneficiaries. This form relates to unpaid wages in the event that you pass away as an active employee.  You need to designate your spouse, a family member or other person who will receive your last paycheck or other outstanding payments owed to you such as a travel reimbursement.
  3. If you get married or have a baby, you need to fill out the Federal Health Benefits form SF 2809, the Tables of Permissible Changes in Enrollment. In these situations, there is no need to wait for the Health Benefits Open Season, because these are qualifying events.
  4. If you carry the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), you should update your SF2823 Designation of Beneficiary. If you are divorced, you may not want your life insurance going to your ex-spouse.  This is a common oversight for federal employees.
  5. With respect to your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), you should update your TSP-3, Thrift Savings Plan Designation of Beneficiary. The Thrift Saving Plan website allows you to change your beneficiaries online and also allows you to select primary and contingent beneficiaries.
  6. What should you do if you are a federal retiree. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has a specific website for federal retirees.  You need to register and have your information updated on the OPM Retirement Services website www.servicesonline.opm.gov

Make a check list and review each one of these items.  Remember proper planning prevents poor performance!

Citation: FEDweek, Abraham Grungold, AG Financial Services

 

SECURE 2.0 Implementation: Roth Catch-up Rule Pushed Back

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Here’s more news about the implementation of SECURE 2.0. In a recent article, we discussed a provision of the Act that, beginning in 2024, would have required highly compensated employees to make any catch-up contributions as Roth contributions. This provision will not affect too many TSP account holders for two reasons: 1) Catch-up contributions can only be made by those participants who are 50 or older (including those who turn 50 during the year); and 2) This law’s definition of highly compensated employees covers those who make more than $145,000 a year.

Apparently, retirement plan custodians and record-keepers raised a stink about the implementation date of January 1, 2024, claiming that it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to be able to implement the requirement as called for in the Act.

Their pleas did not fall on deaf ears. On Friday, August 25th, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued IRS Notice 2023-62, which pushed off the implementation date to January 1, 2026. Thus, no employees (highly compensated or otherwise) will be required to make their catch-up contributions as Roth contributions. Of course, any employee will still be able to make Roth catch-up contributions if their plan has a Roth component (as does the TSP).

The IRS referred to this as an “administrative transition period” and promised to issue further guidance clarifying the provisions of SECURE 2.0. I can hardly wait.

In other news, Fidelity Investments announced that the number of retirement plan millionaires is on the rise again now that market performance has improved. The data they shared was from plans and IRAs managed by Fidelity. They said the volume of millionaires has increased 25% so far this year, though the total number of millionaires is still less than it was at the end of 2021.

Overall, in the accounts managed by Fidelity only 1.6% of 401(k) accounts and 2.5% of IRAs have balances of $1,000,000 or more.

Citation: FEDweek- Published: September 5, 2023