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Preparing for Retirement: Are you the Ant or the Grasshopper?

Posted on Friday, 1st August 2014 by Herbert Casey

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I’m sure all of you remember Aesop’s fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper.  Briefly, it’s about the ant that toiled through the summer to store food for the winter.  The grasshopper hopped about and sung to its heart’s content.  He had plenty to eat and didn’t see a need to work hard to store […]

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Final Arranagements – Funeral & Burial Options (Part 2)

Posted on Friday, 25th April 2014 by Dennis Damp

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Updated 2/20/2024 My Aunt Pauline and Uncle Jack preplanned their final arrangements in their early 50s. Uncle Jack had several major heart attacks in his mid 40s and thought for sure he would be the first one to go.  He lived to 81 and my aunt passed away a year before he died. They purchased […]

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Qualifying Life Events, Don’t Lose Your Benefits

Posted on Thursday, 20th February 2014 by Dennis Damp

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(Updated 12/15/2024) What prompted this article was an email from Holly, a federal retiree, who recently moved to Arizona. She had been calling OPM, trying to change her health care plan, for almost 2 months without success because the FEHB plan she had didn’t offer services at her new location. The one time she did […]

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Medicare and FEHB Options – What Will You Do When You Turn 65? (Part 1)

Posted on Thursday, 12th December 2013 by Dennis Damp

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Updated 10/20/2023 We receive many questions each year about how Medicare interacts with the FEHB program. This is the first of a three part series that introduces the Medicare program including Part A and how to apply. Part 2 discusses what to consider before enrolling in Medicare Part B and Part 3 talks about whether […]

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2014 Leave Record & Scheduling Spreadsheet Plus FEHB Same-Sex Coverage

Posted on Friday, 8th November 2013 by Dennis Damp

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Our 2014 Leave Record & Scheduling Spreadsheet is now available for download to your desktop. Use it to automatically track your leave balances in all categories, annotate your schedule, and to establish realistic retirement target dates to maximize your benefits when you leave. This FREE spreadsheet automatically calculates your accrued annual and sick leave balances, […]

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2014 COLA & Military Deposit Rule Changes

Posted on Friday, 1st November 2013 by Dennis Damp

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Federal retirees, social security recipients, and military retirees will receive a 1.5% COLA next year!  This is the lowest COLA since 1985 not counting the two years we did without one. Based on the average retiree’s annuity the 2014 COLA will add approximately $48 monthly for CSRS retirees and $18 for FERS retirees age 62 or older.  It’s hard to […]

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Projecting your Retirement Annuity & Survivor’s Benefit

Posted on Thursday, 1st August 2013 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 spouse’s survivor benefit will be. Frank Cullen, a retired federal manager, friend, and former associate, sent me a comprehensive spreadsheet prior to my retirement that projected my annuity and survivor benefit for the next […]

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Protecting Your Most Valuable Retirement Asset – Your Home

Posted on Friday, 19th July 2013 by Dennis Damp

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We purchased a 9 year old home last year and the seller thankfully included a home warranty. Since we moved in we used the home warranty services many times saving us thousands of dollars in repairs. Recently, I renewed the contract and had to call them out shortly thereafter. When we were purchasing our new […]

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