Same-Sex Marriage Financial Impact

/in /by

Same Sex Marriage Ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court – Decided – June 26, 2015

Key Points of the Ruling:

1 – Same-sex marriage is a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment

2 – States must license and recognize same-sex marriage

3 – States must recognize out-of-state same sex marriages

Impact

  • No more conflict between federal and state laws and taxation
  • More same-sex couples can be legally married (in states that previously did not permit it)
  • Relation to the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Windsor:
  • Windsor recognized Federal benefits for legal same-sex marriage while this case (Obergefell v. Hodges) allows same-sex marriage in all states and in turn allows more same-sex married couples to take advantage of Federal tax benefits.

The following Tax Benefits are now available to same-sex married couples in all states:  Read more

Federal Employees’ Wages Rise

/in /by

Starting in January of 2016, thirteen cities across the country will see a significant bump in salary for federal workers. This plan has been steadily moving along since May 2013, but now it finally has a date on which these changes will take place. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics has recorded data that shows the pay for federal employees in these cities lags significantly behind the average payments of employees in the private sector and in local governments.

Read more

Weekly Roundup

/in /by

4 Million Federal Employees Hacked!

hacked

The Office of Personnel Management is informing 4 million current and former employees that they have had personal information hacked from the OPM databases. this is the second time this year that OPM data has been breached by an unwanted party. The FBI is still performing their investigation into how the event took place and what a possible motive could be for stealing the personal information of federal employees. This doesn’t necessarily show the federal government messing up, rather it shows that even they aren’t safe from the cyber-crimes that are occurring more and more frequently. Click here to find out more.

10 Steps to Plan Your Retirement in Your 40s

retirement_planner

It’s never too early to start planning for your retirement. Only 53% of Americans participate in a retirement plan at work. One in three workers aged 35-44 has less than $1,000 saved for retirement. These numbers are baffling as there is no reason not to be forward thinking and have a relative plan for your future. These 10 steps will help you jumpstart your retirement plan and get you right on the track that you want to be on! The list can be found right here. 

Freshman Congressman Fights for Federal Pay Raise

beyer

Rep. Don Beyer has only been in office for about six months now but that isn’t stopping him from trying to make changes. He is co-sponsoring a piece of legislation that would provide all federal employees with a 3.8% salary increase, significantly higher than the 1.3% increase that Obama has proposed. In addition, Beyer wants federal employees to be provided six weeks of parental leave that can be taken at the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child. Find out more here. 

Weekly Roundup

/in /by

Goal Planning App

app

Sometimes, the hardest part of planning your retirement is figuring out what YOU want to do. It is a whole new chapter in your life and setting goals for yourself can be a major help and also a major pain in neck. Retirement Goal Planning System is an app (available only on iPad) that takes you through a simple but effective process to help you determine what is most important to you!

http://blogs.wsj.com/totalreturn/2015/05/22/a-web-tool-to-refine-your-retirement-priorities/

A New Look at Retirement Planning

Retirement

Retirement planning for previous generations usually was strictly planning out your finances. However, in this day and age people are starting to plan much more than just their finances, they’re planning out their lives. Finding something you love doing that could provide a little (or even a lot!) income during or while approaching your retirement years could reward you in many ways. Don’t just make a plan for your retirement, make a plan for your life.

http://investorplace.com/2015/05/love-different-approach-retirement-planning/#.VWiJQs9Viko

Benefits Remain for Federal Workers

crutches

Democratic committee members voted down a proposal by the U.S. Department of Labor that would result in a significant loss of benefits for injured federal workers. The plan would have cut roughly 500 million dollars from injured workers and their families. This is the third time in five years that the DOL has proposed such a plan.

http://ehstoday.com/health/democrats-reject-proposal-cut-benefits-injured-federal-workers

A Family Mother’s Day

/in /by

Every year for Mother’s Day, fathers all around the country round up the kids and take them to the park or out to the movies and give mom the day home alone to relax. While this can be amazing (and hard to come by) for any mother, maybe this is the year to try something different. After all, Mother’s Day is about celebrating being a mother, right? Here’s a few activities that can be done with the whole family, really encompassing the spirit of Mother’s Day, bringing the family together, yet still providing Mom with those valued moments of peace.

  1. Family Picnic

I know this seems a bit cliché but bear with me. After the tough Winter we just had, the entire family should be dying for a day out in the spring time air together. Whether you’re a master chef or you can barely make dinner, every father should be able to rustle up a few hoagies, some chips, and some beverages to make a solid picnic. Bring a couple yard games for some fun with everyone with a while. Then, take the kids for a walk for an hour to leave mom with her favorite book, magazine, or just the outdoors to get that relaxation that we all know she desperately needs.

  1. Family Movie, Mom’s pick

Read more