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Early Retirement Incentives – VERAs May be on the Way

Posted on Tuesday, 30th May 2017 by Dennis Damp

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Many agencies are now either considering or have already applied to OPM for approval to offer Voluntary Early Retirements (VERAs) and possibly Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIPs) as well. Now is the time to assess whether or not a VERA, if offered, would be the right thing for you to do based on your circumstances […]

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Veteran’s Identification Card – New and Expanded Veteran Benefits

Posted on Saturday, 15th April 2017 by Dennis Damp

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Veteran Identification Cards – New & Expanded Benefits Until recently the only way veterans could prove their military status was either with a VA Health Service card, a retired military card, or provide a copy of their DD-214 discharge paperwork. Veterans that aren’t signed up for VA health care or didn’t retire from military service […]

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The End Game – Protecting Your Loved Ones

Posted on Sunday, 12th February 2017 by Dennis Damp

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The saying that “It’s Never Too Late” doesn’t apply to certain aspects of retirement and estate planning. I can attest first hand to this; my father died when I was one and my mother, at age 37, was left with 4 small children of which I was the youngest. My father died without life insurance […]

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Retirement Application & Benefit Forms – Don’t Make This Mistake!

Posted on Friday, 27th January 2017 by Dennis Damp

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OPM issued a “Benefits Administration Letter,” number 16-102, announcing that “effective immediately, we will not accept corrections (scratch-outs, white-outs, line-outs, or any other type of correction actions) in the named Sections on the following forms. New forms must be completed in lieu of any alterations to previously entered information.” A manually corrected retirement application could […]

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1099 R Statements For 2016 Are Available Now!

Posted on Wednesday, 18th January 2017 by Dennis Damp

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Normally, federal annuitants don’t received their 1099R Tax Forms until the end of January or the beginning of February by regular mail. If you are registered to use OPM’s Retirement Services Website your 1099 R is now available for download. I visited the site on January 18, 2016 and was able to download my copy […]

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Annuity Calculator – What You Will Have When

Posted on Saturday, 29th October 2016 by Dennis Damp

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Everyone planning their retirement needs to know how much they will have to live on in retirement and how much their annuity and the surviving spouse’s benefit will grow over time. Unlike many private sector retirement plans, our annuities are adjusted annually – most years – with a COLA. I was at a family gathering […]

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2017 COLA, Federal Employee’s Leave Chart, & Pay Raise

Posted on Sunday, 23rd October 2016 by Dennis Damp

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WOW! They finally approved a COLA increase.  It’s amazing how low they can go, .03 Percent for 2017. If your federal retirement annuity is $2,000 per month, you will see $6 more in your check. The average Social Security increase is $4 a month!  The Federal Reserve continues to keep interest rates so low that […]

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FEHB Open Season Update & Best Date to Retire in 2017

Posted on Friday, 14th October 2016 by Dennis Damp

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I was fortunately able to get an early start on this year’s FEHB Open Season that runs from November 14 through December 12.  Last week’s column discussed the average 4.4% premium increase for 2017 and post card that GEHA sent about changes to my plan. I was able to download the GEHA 2017 plan brochure; […]

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