Military Deposits, Retire EZ,
Travel, & TSP Changes

• Military Deposit Issue

• Retire Easy - OPM Update

• Retirement Travel - A Great Way to See America

• TSP Changes - Easy Does It!

I also suggested that he ask his personnel office to contact other agencies that he previously worked with to obtain this information. I would also request a search of his Official Personnel File to locate this information. I understand that many agencies have automated their OPF files so you may be able to access your OPF online.

On February 25, 2008, OPM began the rollout of RetireEZ. Approximately 26,000 employees in agencies serviced by the General Services Administration’s (GSA) payroll processing center are now covered under the new system. The initial test agencies include OPM, GSA, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Railroad Retirement Board. Subsequent rollouts will cover the remainder of the Executive Branch, the U.S. Postal Service and the Legislative and Judicial Branches.

OPM is paying full retirement benefits at the payment commencement date. No longer are retirees under the new system receiving interim payments and waiting for months until their actual payment amounts are calculated. OPM converted millions of paper records to automated data that underlies the modernization. New retirees under the RetireEZ program are receiving better service. Tammy Flanagan describes the pros and cons of the RetireEZ system in her April 11^th column that is linked below.

Additional Articles and Guidance for Retire EZ:

TSP Changes - Easy Does It

TSP fund participants are now limited to two interfund transfers per month. Last year it became clear that a few thousand of the 3.9 million Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) participants were making frequent interfund transfer (IFT) requests. Because this activity was clearly accelerating, and in light of the detrimental effect on fund performance and transaction costs, the Agency implemented limits on interfund transfers.

Most if not all private sector fund families have trading limits because of the additional costs incurred with frequent trading. For example, at Vanguard Funds you can’t trade back into a fund you just sold in a retirement account for 60 days except for money market funds. Other restrictions include an early redemption fee of 1% or more on many mutual funds if you don’t hold the fund for at least 30 days. At Fidelity they have similar restrictions including early redemption fees on many funds that are sold within a 30 day period of up to 1% or more plus they limit you to what they call 4 round trips a year and issue a warning after two. For example, if you go in and out of a fund 2 times in a 90 day period you are locked out of any additional trading for a 85 day period.

If you want to day trade you would have to open a brokerage account and pay for each trade. The TSP is protecting all fund participants by limiting costs which increases our gains. Like they say, "there is no such thing as a FREE lunch."

I received a number of positive comments from site visitors and readers concerning the FREE Projected Retirement Annuity Chart that Frank Cullen designed and contributed to the retirement forum. The chart shows retirees what their actual full survivor’s benefits will be for their spouse and projects the growth of their annuity based on historical COLA averages though the year 2051. Frank is working on an update that will allow users to change the survivor benefits calculation to anything up to the full 55% percent. If you elect less than full survivor benefits the new form will calculate the actual annuity and project the annuity growth through 2051.

Download the current FREE Projected Retirement Annuity Chart and use it for your Survivor’s Binder and discuss the results with your significant other. When Frank completes his update I will let everyone know through our email newsletter and post it online at http://federaljobs.net/retire.

CGH Corporation is looking for retired FAA Maintenance Technicians and Engineers who would like to work on installation/maintenance projects. Projects would be based on the success of bids by CGH Corporation in conjunction with other contractors. Projects could involve installation activities, maintenance projects, maintenance/installation of Airport security equipment, project management functions, modernization projects and engineering projects. Checkout the full listing with contact information online at http://federaljobs.net/retire/jobsboard.htm.

Tammy Flanagan is the senior benefits director for http://www.nitpinc.com/The National Institute of Transition Planning, Inc.(NITP) which conducts federal retirement planning workshops and seminars. She has spent over 25 years helping federal employees take charge of their retirement by understanding their benefits. Retirement planning is critical and we all need professional experts like Tammy to provide the advise we all need to make the right decisions. Ms. Flanagan writes a retirement planning column for Government Executive Magazine and a list of her retirement planning articles is available at http://www.nitpinc.com/gov_ex_archives.html.

The goal of http://federaljobs.net is to be the ultimate one-stop informational resource for federal employees exploring retirement options and for retired feds needing benefits and general support information. Our intent is to provide the answers you need and to add other professional voices to the mix so you have a complete picture. Tammy is a consummate professional federal benefits consular and I highly recommend reader her insightful articles. http://federaljobs.net/retie

Walter Williams, a professor of economics at George Mason University, exposed the myth of ethanol in an article that was published in the Tribune-Review in March. Did you know that ethanol is 20 to 30 percent less efficient than gasoline, must be shipped by truck because the water content corrodes pipes and unmodified car engines, requires a gallon of fossil fuel to produce one gallon of ethanol, and it takes 450 pounds of corn to produce enough ethanol to fill up the tank of a standard SUV! Where is the conservation, there is no quid-pro-quo here. It also takes 1,700 gallons of water to make a gallon of ethanol. Ethanol is not a viable option, it’s a hoax sponsored by those who wish to profit from escalating corn prices and instil fear so we overlook the reality of the situation.

The bottom line is that we must utilize our extensive oil and coal reserves for our short term needs and fund alternative energy research to address our long term needs. This isn’t a political issue, it’s our country’s issue regardless of political affiliation. The Department of the Interior reports that, "oil reserves in the far Northern Coastal Plain of ANWR represent the nation's largest single prospect for future oil production - greater than any state, including Texas and Louisiana." If we don’t act NOW and tell our representatives what we expect them to do, we will be as much at fault as they are and all will suffer. Contact your representatives and tell them what you think about this subject. 　

Visit our other informative sites

http://federaljobs.net (Federal Career & Job Center)
http://federaljobs.net/retire (FREE Retirement Planning Guide)
http://fedcareer.info (Career Development Center)
http://healthcarejobs.org (Health Care Career & Jobs Center)
http://postofficejobs.info (Postal Career Center)
http://ehsjobs.org (Environmental Health & Safety Job Center)

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March 1, 2008

Annuity Growth Chart, Survivor Annuities for New Spouses After Retirement, & Ahead of Your Time

• Annuity & Survivor Annuity Growth Chart

• Survivor Annuities for New Spouses After Retirement

• Book Review - Ahead of Your Time

• For Your Benefit Radio Talk Show

• New Savings Bond Limits

• Survivor Annuity Calculations

• Planning for Retirement (Anita Bruzzese Article Comments)

• Work Options for Retired Feds

• For Your Benefit Radio Talk Show

The Savings Bond limit for I and EE Savings bonds was dramatically reduced starting in 2008. Many feds and retirees continue to purchase savings bonds through payroll deductions. I prefer I bonds because they are inflation adjusted. Savings bonds also defer taxes until cashed and you don’t pay state or local taxes on the interest earned. Last year each person could purchase up to $30,000 a year in paper I Bonds and the same amount in EE Bonds and an addition $30,000 of each through online purchases.

The new limit is $5,000 which means you can only buy $5,000 a year of each bond type per registered owner. An individual can purchase up to $20,000 worth of bonds in one calendar year ($5,000 each of EE and I bonds in paper form, and $5,000 of each in Treasury Direct online accounts. If your payroll deduction is for more than $5,000 in a calendar year you need to reduce your savings bond allotment. If paper bonds are issued in co-owner form (two-names separated by "or"), the limit applies to the first-named co-owner.

For example, if you and your wife elected a full survivor annuity it reduced each of your annuity payments by 10%. Lets say each of you are now receiving $4,500 a month. Your actual full annuity, before survivor costs are deducted, is $5,000 and when you die your spouse will get 55% of the full annuity, in this case $2,750 plus her annuity will go up to $5,000 and she will collect a total of $7,750 a month.

Planning for Retirement (Anita Bruzzese Article Comments)

January 1, 2008

FEATURING:

• Deferred Retirement Too Late

• Three Years and Counting

• What Happens to Credit Leave When You Retire!

• For Your Benefit radio Talk Show

A friend passed away unexpectedly on Christmas eve, a 35+ year federal employee and associate that I worked with for many years. Russ was 63 years young and had much to live for. Over the past few years, as December approached, he and I would ultimately talk about his pending retirement and each year he decided to defer retirement to a later date. He finally made up his mind to retire this year and contacted me in early December to discuss several concerns he had. Russ was still a little apprehensive but looking forward to traveling and excited about the change.

Being physically prepared means just that, you must be physically able to handle the riggers of retirement life. Retirees often are more active than when they worked and complain about not having time to do all they desire! To be physically prepared I scheduled a physical before retiring and had a nuclear stress test and colonoscopy. I checked out OK but still had problems when I first left because I went too far too fast with my physical activities. My 55 year old body wasn’t prepared for the additional activities, especially after sitting at a desk for many years.

I don’t know if Russ had a physical recently, but I do know that you shouldn’t leave your health to chance — get that physical. Just maybe, if he had scheduled a physical in preparation for his pending retirement the doctors would have detected his heart condition and he would still be with us today. Another good friend and FAA associate died from colon cancer three years after retiring, that’s why I added a colonoscopy to my physical checkup that year.

Three Years and Counting

It’s been three years to the day that I retired January 1, 2005. I’m now acclimated to the new routine and not resisting the change anymore. The first year was the most challenging, getting use to the new routine, setting up exercise and work schedules, growing my business, and achieving a level of comfort that you need after a major lifestyle change like retirement. I truly didn’t retire, still work 40+ hours a week but enjoy it much more and owning your own business — where you have total control — king in goveVerdanarnment for 35+ years.

What Happens to Credit Leave When You Retire!

Peter wrote in December asking if his 24 credit hours would be paid to him the same way his accumulated annual leave will be paid when he leaves. I contacted Tammy Flanagan, Senior Benefits Specialist for NITP, and she confirmed that credit hours are paid the same as accrued annual leave hours when you retire. If you have credit hours on the books, you have two options. Either sell the hours back when you retire or take the time off before you leave.

December 1, 2007

Should I Retire! Direct Deposit,
and Retirement Time Line

• Should I Retire!

• Direct Deposit Your Annuity Check

• Retirement TIME LINE

• For Your Benefit radio Talk Show

George, a current federal employee with 35 years service, asked if it is financially better to remain in the Federal Government for 40 years or leave now with 35 years service. He estimated his retirement income with 40 years service and was concerned that if he did retire now he would have to save a tremendous amount of money to generate the difference in income. George was also concerned that he would have to earn a substantial salary working elsewhere to make up the difference and asked. "why leave for the private sector?". He didn’t like the idea of having to start all over again without the annual and sick leave cushion that he had accumulated in government service.

All are good points and George is not alone. Many go through this when they are eligible and don't quite know when to abandon ship or at least change course. If you know what you want to do, planned your retirement, and have sufficient funds, you should be fine. Prior to retiring I had a small business for many years and I continue to work 40 hours a week in my business. I would not have retired had I not had many things to fill up my time. I also have several hobbies and a family that keeps me busy.

One thing to consider on the income side of the equation is that your annuity goes up each year due to the COLA annuitants receive. My annuity has increased over 10% in three short years. When you are looking at what you will make in five years while working, take this into consideration.

I was asked several times this month where to send the 1199A Direct Deposit Request Form for your annuity check. I submitted my form with my retirement paperwork and OPM forwarded it to this address. If you didn’t submit your form with your retirement paperwork, sent it to:

OPM Retirement Operations Center
P.O. Box 45
Boyers, PA 16017

http://federaljobs.net (Federal Career & Job Center)
http://federaljobs.net/retire (FREE Retirement Planning Guide)
http://fedcareer.info (Career Development Center)
http://healthcarejobs.org (Health Care Career & Jobs Center)http://postofficejobs.info (Postal Career Center)