Retirement: How to Navigate the Current Instability

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Retirement: How to Navigate the Current Instability

Amid “deferred resignation” turmoil, federal workers are in uncharted territory. Here’s a little guidance.

Federal employees have had to get familiar with the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, which was clarified in the FAQs of the “Fork in the Road” memo from the Office of Personnel Management to mean that employees who are eligible for the deferred resignation offer and are at least age 50 with at least 20 years creditable federal service, or any age with at least 25 years creditable federal service are eligible for VERA (Voluntary Early Retirement Authority) along with the deferred resignation offer (unless your position is exempted from the program by your agency).  Follow link to read more. https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2025/02/retirement-how-navigate-chaos-ahead/402996/?oref=ge-mini-feed

OPM Sets Priorities for 2026 in FEHB, PSHB

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OPM Sets Priorities for 2026 in FEHB, PSHB

The letter, which begins the process of negotiating coverage and premiums, was issued in the last days of the Biden administration and could be changed under Trump.

In its annual “call letter” to carriers in the FEHB and PSHB programs outlining requirements for the 2026 plan year, OPM has stressed easing administrative burdens on enrollees and continuing initiatives of recent years in areas including fertility, mental health and obesity treatment coverage. Follow link to read more from FEDweek. https://www.fedweek.com/retirement-financial-planning/opm-sets-priorities-for-2026-in-fehb-pshb/

 

75,000 Workers Took Trump, Musk Government Buyout

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75,000 Workers Took Trump, Musk Government Buyout

Roughly 75,000 federal workers across government have accepted a buyout offer, taking an unusual deal headed by the Trump administration as it looks to reduce the federal workforce. The figure is 3.75 percent of the nation’s 2 million federal employees.

A senior administration official confirmed the figure in the hours after a court rejected a bid by unions to quash the program. Follow link to read more. https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5142311-opm-75000-workers-took-trump-musk-government-buyout/

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton Releases Remarks from American Federation of Government Employees Legislative Conference”

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Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton Releases Remarks from American Federation of Government Employees Legislative Conference”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released her remarks from today’s address to the American Federation of Government Employees Legislative Conference.

I am pleased to be here with you today. I am a strong supporter of government employees, collective bargaining and labor unions, and I am especially proud of our federal and District of Columbia government employees. I appreciate the work you do every day.

Unfortunately, we are meeting at an unprecedented and extraordinarily difficult time for federal employees. Follow link to read more. https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-releases-remarks-american-federation-government-employees-legislative

 

OPM Retirement Backlog Surges 68% to Start 2025

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OPM Retirement Backlog Surges 68% to Start 2025

OPM’s inventory of retirement claims grew sharply to start 2025, but it’s been worse.

The annual spike in the number of federal employees retiring at the end of the calendar year has caused a massive increase in the size of the OPM retirement backlog to kick off 2025. The total number of outstanding retirement claims at the agency went from 13,876 at the end of December to 23,277 at the end of January, a 68% increase. Click on link to read more from FedSmith. https://lnkd.in/d3xYqZ3Z