Will 5% pay cut change your retirement plans?
May 11th, 2012 | Pay & Benefits | Posted by Stephen Losey
The House yesterday passed a budget that hikes federal employees’ retirement contributions by 5 percent, which translates to an effective cut in take-home pay. If that becomes law, what would it mean for you? Would it change how much you invest in the Thrift Savings Plan? Or would you go so far as to bail out of the pension system — leave the federal service before retirement and get your FERS contributions refunded, with interest? (See “If You Leave Before Retirement Age” on this page for more details.)
Write me at slosey@federaltimes.com if you’d like to talk further. If you prefer to stay anonymous, that’s fine.
Tags: FERS, pay cut, what do you think?
Is your agency rolling back retention incentives?
May 11th, 2012 | Pay & Benefits | Posted by Stephen Losey
With agencies facing tight budgets and unprecedented scrutiny of their payroll costs, has your agency reined in its use of retention incentives? Have you recently lost a retention incentive, or are you offering your employees fewer such bonuses to hold on to them? If so, why?
E-mail me at slosey@federaltimes.com. I will keep your response anonymous if you like.
Tags: incentives, retention, what do you think?
Fed up with anti-fed attitudes? We want to hear from you
April 30th, 2012 | HR Management | Posted by Stephen Losey
Public Service Recognition Week — traditionally a week to recognize the good that government employees do for the nation — comes at a dour time for federal employees this year. House Republicans are intent on cutting their take-home pay by 5 percent. President Obama has proposed his own 1.2 percent pension contribution hike. Cash-strapped agencies are scrambling to cut their workforces. Pay has been frozen for two years, and a third may be coming down the line. And GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is swiping at their “unfair” pay and benefits.
How do you feel about being a public servant right now? Have the constant attacks and anger against federal employees demoralized you? Are you feeling less effective in your job? Or are you thinking about getting out of government service altogether?
And if you’re a manager, has the anti-fed atmosphere made it more difficult to manage your office and accomplish its mission?
We’d like to hear from you. Write to us at slosey@federaltimes.com or amedici@federaltimes.com to share your thoughts.
GSA’s conference scandal: What do you think?
April 10th, 2012 | General Services Administration | Posted by Stephen Losey
The General Services Administration’s conference spending scandal shows no signs of quitting. House Republicans have chomped down on it hard as an example of out-of-control government waste, and GSA officials are dropping left and right. The fallout is bound to affect federal employees across the government, and change how agencies think about travel and conferences.
We’d like to hear from you. What’s your take on GSA’s conference spending? Is it a big deal to you, or does it just reflect the status quo in the government? Has your office instituted any changes yet? Are you already getting pressure to rein in travel and conference spending? And what do you think the focus on this issue is doing to the public image of feds?
E-mail us at slosey@federaltimes.com or amedici@federaltimes.com. If you’d like to talk anonymously, that’s fine.
Tags: conference, Las Vegas, scandal, what do you think?
Retirements continue to rise — what’s it mean for you?
April 9th, 2012 | HR Management | Posted by Stephen Losey
The latest pension processing stats from the Office of Personnel Management contained an interesting nugget on retirement trends. Namely, that they’re continuing to rise in 2012, after shooting up 24 percent in 2011.
It’s not hard to figure out why. Agencies are offering federal employees buyouts and early outs left and right to deal with limited budgets. And with Congress constantly threatening to further freeze feds’ pay, increase their retirement contributions, or switch to a high-5, many feds are beating a path to the door.
Federal Times would like to hear from you about the still-increasing retirement trend, and how it touches you. Are your co-workers dropping left and right lately, and is that hurting your agency’s ability to get its mission done? Or are you yourself planning to retire soon, and why?
Write me at slosey@federaltimes.com if you’d like to talk. I’m interested in hearing from managers as well as rank-and-file employees. If you want to stay anonymous, that’s fine.
Tags: buyouts, early retirement, retirement, what do you think?
Were you demoted during NSPS transition?
February 22nd, 2012 | Pay & Benefits | Posted by Stephen Losey
Are you a Defense Department employee who was transferred into, and then out of, the now-defunct National Security Personnel System? Were you placed into a General Schedule grade that was lower than your original grade, or did your new GS grade not take into account a promotion you received under NSPS?
Federal Times would like to hear from you. E-mail me at slosey@federaltimes.com to talk. If you’d like to talk anonymously, that’s fine.
Tags: Defense Department, NSPS, what do you think?
2013 budget cuts: What do you think?
February 14th, 2012 | 2013 Budget | Posted by Stephen Losey
While spending in the Obama administration’s proposed fiscal budget is essentially flat overall, some agencies are facing cuts. The Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury departments and the Environmental Protection Agency are just a few of the organizations that could possibly see declines in their budgets next year.
What do you think about the proposed budget? How would cuts affect your organization, and what would they mean for you personally? E-mail me at slosey@federaltimes.com or Sean Reilly at sreilly@federaltimes.com to share your thoughts. If you’d like to talk anonymously, that’s fine.
Tags: budget cuts, what do you think?
Sequestration: What will it mean for you?
November 18th, 2011 | Congress | Posted by Stephen Losey
The supercommittee is shaping up to be Washington’s biggest flop since the 1961 Redskins. There’s five days left until Nov. 23, when its 12 members are supposed to come up with about $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction, but still no signs of life. The supercommittee is going to work through the weekend, but each party’s leaders are now publicly doubting it will succeed — and are jockeying to blame the other side.
Federal Times would like to hear from our readers on what they’re doing to prepare for sequestration — the $1.2 trillion in across-the-board cuts that would (theoretically) be mandated if the supercommittee fails. Budget specialists: How steep are the cuts you’re looking at, and where are you finding them? Human resources: Are you preparing for furloughs, more early outs and buyouts, or even RIFs? Are your contracting offices preparing to scale back contracts?
E-mail us at slosey@federaltimes.com or sreilly@federaltimes.com if you’d like to talk. If you don’t want your name used, that’s fine.
Moving to cheaper health care plans? We want to hear from you
October 27th, 2011 | Pay & Benefits | Posted by Stephen Losey
Federal employees have endured several years of steep hikes to their health care premiums. Has this prompted you to switch health care plans, perhaps to a cheaper alternative? Or are you trying out high-deductible health plans, or consumer-driven health plans?
We’d like to hear from you, and why you’re switching health plans. E-mail me at slosey@federaltimes.com if you’d like to talk.
Tags: health care, what do you think?
USAJobs 3.0: What’s the verdict?
October 12th, 2011 | Office of Personnel Management | Posted by Stephen Losey
The Office of Personnel Management yesterday launched its revamped USAJobs.gov website. But if users’ comments on its Facebook page are any indication, there’s still a few kinks to be worked out.
How is it working for you? Are you having problems with USAJobs 3.0? We’d like to hear from you. E-mail me with your experiences at slosey@federaltimes.com.
Tags: USAJobs, what do you think?