TPA Retirement Plan Consultant EPIC RPS (TPA/DPS)
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Defined Contributions Compliance Consultant Loren D. Stark Company (LDSCO)
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Regional Sales Director (West) July Business Services
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Retirement Planners and Administrators (RPA)
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Fringe Benefit Group
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New York City District Council of Carpenters Benefit Funds
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Senior Specialist 401k Recordkeeping T Bank N.A.
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July Business Services
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Great Lakes Pension Associates, Inc.
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Pollard & Associates
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July Business Services
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Greenline Wealth Management
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Defined Contribution Account Manager Nova 401(k) Associates
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Retirement Solutions Specialists
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Feds Join Ranks of Employers with Generous Fertility Benefits
KFF Health News Apr. 4, 2024 "Companies have increasingly offered generous fertility benefits to attract and keep top-notch workers. Now, the federal government is getting in on the act. Starting this year, federal employees can choose plans that cover several fertility services, including up to $25,000 annually for in vitro fertilization procedures and up to three artificial insemination cycles each year." |
Text of FRTIB Final Regs: Removal of 30-Calendar-Day Waiting Period Between Withdrawals
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board [Official Guidance] Mar. 14, 2024 "This direct final rule removes the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)'s restriction on a participant's ability to request more than one withdrawal within a thirty-calendar-day period." Tags: Federal Government Plans • Retirement Plan Administration |
CRS In Focus: The Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave Benefit
Congressional Research Service [CRS] [Guidance Overview] Mar. 5, 2024 "The benefit is available to most civilian federal employees and allows for the substitution of up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave (PPL) for unpaid leave guaranteed by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which can be used for the arrival of the employee's new child by birth, adoption, or foster care placement and for bonding with that child." [IF12420, updated Mar. 5, 2024] |
The Postal Service Health Benefits Program, Prescription Coverage and Open Season 2025
Government Executive [Guidance Overview] Feb. 21, 2024 "OPM released its annual call letter to insurance carriers ... [outlining] areas of focus for plan year 2025. Most of the initiatives center on Medicare coordination with FEHB coverage, in particular how federal annuitants will receive prescription drug coverage. Next year will also be the first for PSHB, the new health-benefits program replacing FEHB coverage for USPS employees and retirees. The call letter provides our first look at how certain PSHB benefits will be structured." |
Text of OPM FEHB Program Carrier Letter 2024-04: Federal Employees Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits Programs Call Letter for 2025 Plan Year (PDF)
U.S. Office of Personnel Management [OPM] [Official Guidance] Feb. 14, 2024 "This combined call letter outlines OPM's policy goals and initiatives for benefit and rate proposals from Carriers in the 2025 Plan Year.... Carriers must submit their benefit and rate proposals on or before May 31, 2024, for the contract term beginning January 1, 2025. OPM expects to complete benefit negotiations by July 31, 2024, and rate negotiations by mid-August to ensure a timely Open Season." |
Text of OPM FEHB Program Carrier Letter 2024-02: Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM) Transparency Standards (PDF)
U.S. Office of Personnel Management [OPM] [Official Guidance] Feb. 13, 2024 "This Carrier Letter clarifies Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) Transparency Standards for fee-for-service (FFS) and experience-rated (ER) HMO Carriers.... OPM will decline any arrangements which may manipulate the prescription drug benefit design or incorporate any programs such as copay maximizers, copay optimizers, or other similar programs ... Carriers must exercise due diligence, implement these standards, and use transparent pass-through pricing and manufacturer payments when contracting with PBMs. Carriers are required to apply [these] transparency standards ... with current PBM contractors and subcontractors." Tags: Federal Government Plans • Health Plan Administration • Health Plan Design |
GAO Report on Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave: OPM Should Take Steps to Further Raise Awareness of the Program
U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO] Jan. 25, 2024 "Starting October 1, 2020, most federal civilian employees became eligible to take up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for the arrival of a new child whether by birth, adoption, or foster care. The Office of Personnel Management's government-wide data showed that most federal employees were aware of the benefit, and the number of employees who took paid parental leave generally aligned with OPM's initial estimates. However, OPM's webpage for federal leave policies is outdated and doesn't include information about the benefit." [GAO-24-106654 Jan. 25, 2024] |
Federal Employees May Soon Get Texts About Health Insurance
Kiplinger Dec. 27, 2023 "A new federal pilot program aims to use text messaging to send critical service updates about federal benefits to people ... The digital notification service ... sends text messages about application deadlines, interview reminders, fraud reduction and other critical service updates to those who opt-in for the service[.]" |
CRS Report on Federal Employees' Retirement System: Summary of Recent Trends
Congressional Research Service [CRS] Dec. 13, 2023 20 pages. "This report describes recent trends in the characteristics of annuitants and current employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) as well as the financial status of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF)." [98-972 updated Dec. 12, 2023] Tags: Federal Government Plans • Retirement Plan Design • Retirement Plan Investments |
2023 Participant Satisfaction Survey: Federal Thrift Savings Plan (PDF)
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board [FRTIB] Dec. 13, 2023 58 pages. "The 2023 survey focused on satisfaction with the features of the plan, and also gauged selected participant desires and behaviors.... The 2023 survey was administered after the plan transitioned to a new service provider which altered the appearance of online account information. The transition to a new service provider may have impacted satisfaction scores for the 2023 survey." Tags: Federal Government Plans • Retirement Plan Administration • Retirement Plan Design |
Draft of IRS Publication 721: Tax Guide to U.S. Civil Service Retirement Benefits, for Use in Preparing 2023 Returns (PDF)
Internal Revenue Service [IRS] [Official Guidance] Dec. 12, 2023 35 pages, Dec. 11, 2023. "What's New: [1] Qualified disaster distributions.... [2] Distributions to terminally ill individuals.... [3] Increase in age for mandatory distributions.... [4] Expanded exception to the tax on early distributions from a governmental plan (including both govern mental defined benefit and governmental defined contribution plans) for qualified public safety employees." Tags: Federal Government Plans • Retirement Plan Administration • Retirement Plan Information for Employees |
GAO Report: Railroad Retirement Board Could Strengthen Plans to Address Key Management Challenges
U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO] Dec. 8, 2023 "The Railroad Retirement Board [RRB] handles retirement and other benefits for railroad workers and their families. But the Board's programs are at risk for fraud and abuse and the agency faces a looming wave of retirements and aging IT systems.... This report examines the extent to which RRB has addressed its key operational challenges[.]" [GAO-24-105545] Tags: Federal Government Plans |
Text of FRTIB Final Regs: Elimination of Mandatory Roth Distributions for Federal Thrift Savings Plan
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board [FRTIB] [Official Guidance] Oct. 30, 2023 "This direct final rule makes technical conforming revisions necessary to implement statutory amendments made by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. Specifically, it eliminates the requirement to take mandatory Roth distributions.... This rule is effective on January 1, 2024, unless significant adverse comment is received by December 15, 2023." |
Federal Employee Thrift Savings Plan Will Implement SECURE 2.0 Changes to Catch-Up Contributions
Government Executive Oct. 30, 2023 "[T]he Thrift Savings Plan will use the entirety of a recently announced two-year 'transition period' to prepare to implement new rules governing how older federal employees can make catch-up contributions as they approach retirement." Tags: Federal Government Plans • Retirement Plan Administration • Retirement Plan Design • SECURE 2.0 |
A Closer Look at 2024 Federal Employee Health Benefits Premiums
Government Executive Oct. 4, 2023 "Federal employees and annuitants will, on average, pay 7.7% more in FEHB premiums next year. OPM cites increased cost and use of prescription drugs, emergency room care, and outpatient care as the primary reasons for the increase in premiums.... [This article will describe] changes in popular plans, discuss which ones saw their premiums increase above and below the average, provide enrollment advice for two-person families, and discuss FEDVIP dental and vision plan premium changes." Tags: Federal Government Plans • Health Plan Information for Employees |
Federal Workers Will Pay 7.7% More Towards Health Insurance Premiums in 2024
Government Executive Sept. 28, 2023 "On average, federal workers enrolled in 'self-only' plans will pay an additional $8.05 per biweekly pay period, while feds in 'self plus one' insurance plans will pay $16.73 more next year. Federal employees enrolled in family coverage will pay an average of $21.16 per pay period in 2024." |
Dental and Vision Benefits Now Available to Many Part-Time, Temporary and Seasonal Federal Employees
Government Executive [Guidance Overview] July 26, 2023 "A final rule published [July 25] in the Federal Register extends eligibility to enroll in the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program to temporary and part-time federal workers, including postal employees, who work at least 130 hours per month for 90 or more days. Additionally, it extends FEDVIP eligibility to temporary and intermittent federal firefighters and other first responders, whose shifts often do not meet the 130-hour per month for at least 90 days threshold." |
CRS Report: Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress
Congressional Research Service [CRS] July 26, 2023 19 pages. "Congressional pensions, like those of other federal employees, are financed through a combination of employee and employer contributions.... Members of Congress are eligible for a pension at the age of 62 if they have completed at least 5 years of service. Members are eligible for a pension at age 50 if they have completed 20 years of service, or at any age after completing 25 years of service. The amount of the pension depends on length of service (as measured in months) and the average of the highest three years of salary." [RL30631 updated Jul. 25, 2023] |
Text of OPM Proposed Regs: Federal Employees' Retirement System; Present Value Conversion Factors for Spouses of Deceased Separated Employees
U.S. Office of Personnel Management [OPM] [Official Guidance] July 14, 2023 "[OPM] is issuing a proposed rule to revise the table of reduction factors for early commencing dates of survivor annuities for spouses of separated employees who die before the date on which they would be eligible for unreduced deferred annuities. The annuity factor for spouses of deceased employees who die in service when those spouses elect to receive the basic employee death benefit in 36 installments under the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) Act of 1986 remains unchanged." Tags: Federal Government Plans • Retirement Plan Administration • Retirement Plan Design |
CRS In Focus: The Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave Benefit
Congressional Research Service [CRS] [Guidance Overview] June 6, 2023 "This In Focus provides an overview of the federal employee paid parental leave benefit created by the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act (FEPLA) ... The benefit is available to most civilian federal employees and allows for the substitution of up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave (PPL) for unpaid leave guaranteed by the [FMLA], which can be used for the arrival of the employee's new child by birth, adoption, or foster care placement and for bonding with that child." [IF12420 Jun. 5, 2023] |
TSP Board, Accenture, Alight Hit with Lawsuit Over Rocky Transition to New System
Pensions & Investments June 5, 2023 "Starting in June 2022, the plan rolled out several new features ... However, within the first month of implementation, participants voiced complaints about the updates, stating there were problems logging into accounts and making transactions, as well as long waits for customer service." [Bridges v. Accenture Federal Services, No. 23-1568 (D.D.C. complaint filed Jun. 1, 2023)] Tags: Federal Government Plans • Retirement Plan Administration |
Text of OPM FEHB Program Carrier Letter 2023-12: Coverage for Gender Affirming Care and Services (PDF)
U.S. Office of Personnel Management [OPM] [Official Guidance] May 30, 2023 "OPM has strongly encouraged FEHB Carriers to cover comprehensive gender affirming care and services ... and OPM expects that, in their benefit and rate proposals for the upcoming plan year, Carriers will propose enhanced coverage of services related to the treatment of gender dysphoria." |
OPM Provides Guide to Retirement Process for Federal Employees
Government Executive May 26, 2023 "The retirement process is, on the surface, fairly straightforward. But all it takes is missing a few pages of documentation or forgetting to sign a document to throw the process off course. The newly released guide is only three pages long. But it includes some very important details about the retirement process and spells out the steps that employees must take along the way." Tags: Federal Government Plans • Retirement Plan Administration |
CRS Report: Railroad Retirement Board -- Retirement, Survivor, Disability, Unemployment, and Sickness Benefits
Congressional Research Service [CRS] [Guidance Overview] May 24, 2023 17 pages. "This report explains the programs under [the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA)], including how each program is financed, the eligibility rules, and the types of benefits available to railroad workers and family members. It also discusses how railroad retirement relates to the Social Security system. " [RS22350 updated May 23, 2023] Tags: Federal Government Plans |
CRS in Focus: Railroad Retirement Board -- Retirement, Survivor, Disability, Unemployment, and Sickness Benefits
Congressional Research Service [CRS] May 11, 2023 "The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) administers retirement, survivor, disability, unemployment, and sickness benefits for railroad workers and their families under the provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA). Work for railroads engaged in interstate commerce, railroad associations, and railroad labor organizations is covered by the railroad benefits system instead of Social Security or the federal-state unemployment compensation system." [IF10481 May 11, 2023] Tags: Federal Government Plans |